Highlights
Cape Town and Table Mountain
The flat-topped mountain rises straight behind the city; take the cable car or hike up via Platteklip Gorge. Below it are the V&A Waterfront, the colourful houses of Bo-Kaap and ferries to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years.
Kruger National Park
One of Africa's largest game reserves, with all of the 'Big Five' and a good road network that makes self-drive safaris possible. Private reserves along its western border offer guided drives and walking safaris.
Cape Winelands
Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl sit among mountains about an hour from Cape Town, with Cape Dutch farmhouses and wine estates producing Chenin Blanc and Pinotage, a grape bred in South Africa.
Garden Route
A coastal drive roughly between Mossel Bay and the Storms River, passing lagoons, forests and beaches. Stops include Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and Tsitsikamma, with its suspension bridge over the river mouth.
Cape Peninsula
Drive Chapman's Peak to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, then see the African penguin colony at Boulders Beach near Simon's Town.
Drakensberg
A UNESCO-listed mountain range on the border with Lesotho, with the Amphitheatre cliff, long hiking trails and thousands of San rock paintings in caves and overhangs.
Johannesburg and Soweto
The Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill explain the country's recent history. In Soweto, Vilakazi Street holds the former homes of two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
Hermanus
From roughly June to November, southern right whales come close to the cliffs here, and you can often watch them from the coastal path without a boat.
Interesting facts about South Africa
- South Africa has three capital cities: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative) and Bloemfontein (judicial).
- It has twelve official languages, including South African Sign Language, which was added in 2023.
- Vilakazi Street in Soweto is often described as the only street in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize laureates have lived.
- The Vredefort Dome in Free State is the remnant of one of the largest known meteorite impact structures on Earth.
- The Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest of the world's floral kingdoms but has an extraordinary concentration of plant species, many found nowhere else, including the king protea, the national flower.
Best time to visit
South Africa is a year-round destination, but timing depends on the region. Cape Town and the Western Cape have dry, warm summers (November to March) and wet, cooler winters. Kruger and the north-east are best for game viewing in the dry winter months (May to September), when vegetation thins and animals gather at water. Summer brings afternoon thunderstorms to the interior and green landscapes. Whale season on the southern coast runs roughly from June to November. School holidays around December and January are the busiest period.
Practical information
| Capital | Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial) |
|---|---|
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Languages | English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, siSwati, Tshivenda, isiNdebele, South African Sign Language |
| Plugs | Type C, M, N |
| Voltage | 230 V, 50 Hz |
| Emergency | 10111 police, 10177 ambulance, 112 from mobile phones |
| Driving | On the left |
| Tipping | Customary: around 10 to 15 percent in restaurants, a tip for petrol attendants who fill your tank, and small change for car guards who watch parked cars. |
Getting around
Distances are long, so many visitors combine domestic flights between Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban with a hire car for each region. Driving is the best way to explore the Garden Route, the Winelands and Kruger, on generally good roads. In cities, ride-hailing apps are widely used and are the simplest way to get around after dark. The Gautrain links Johannesburg's OR Tambo airport with Sandton and Pretoria. Long-distance coaches connect major cities, and the scenic Blue Train and other luxury rail services run on selected routes.
Staying connected in South Africa
Mobile coverage is good in cities, towns and along the main highways, with 4G widely available and 5G in parts of the larger cities. In national parks, the Karoo, the Drakensberg and other remote areas, signal can be weak or absent for long stretches, so download offline maps first. Power cuts, known locally as load-shedding, have at times affected mobile masts and Wi-Fi; check the current situation before you travel. Wi-Fi is common in hotels, lodges and cafés, though often slower in the bush. Install an eSIM before you fly and switch it on when you land.
See South Africa eSIM plans · How to install an eSIM
Useful apps for South Africa
- Uber and Bolt: Ride-hailing in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and other cities, and a safe way to travel at night.
- Google Maps: Self-drive navigation; download offline maps for national parks and the Karoo.
- EskomSePush: Shows scheduled power cuts (load-shedding) by area, when they are in effect.
- SANParks: Information and bookings for national parks such as Kruger and Table Mountain.