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Let yourself be seduced by the landscapes of South Africa and discover the story of Nelson Mandela. A culturally rich country that will not leave you indifferent! This guide to South Africa will help you plan your wonderful trip.
Between discoveries, cultural walks, family activities, and restaurants, you will be delighted!
South Africa is well worth discovering for the beauty of its territory, but also for its heavy and complex history, which shaped the country and left indelible marks.
The arrival of the first settlers in the 15th century would mark the beginning of several expeditions, wars, and conquests.
The afrikaners designating white Africans of Dutch, French, German or Scandinavian origin, will occupy the Cape of Good Hope region and will gradually advocate their superiority over the blacks.
In the course of time, a policy based on racial segregation will be put in place, including that of Apartheid in 1948 which will be abolished only in June 1991 thanks in part to Nelson Mandela, who became in 1994 the first black President of South Africa.
Many have fallen in love with this country once they have come! This is also our case, and we hope this guide will help you better prepare your future trip or make you want to discover it. A multitude of activities and visits await you.
Finally, at the end of the article, you will find suggested itineraries for 1, 2 or 3 weeks and more!
Cape Town is a very pleasant city with many tourist attractions and breathtaking scenery. The atmosphere is completely different from the one in Johannesburg, it feels really good!
It is possible to visit it in a few days if not even 48 hours. Ideally, we recommend at least 4 days, setting aside 1 day to visit the Cape of Good Hope and other nearby attractions, as well as 1 day to visit the vineyards. Stellenbosch has the advantage of being closer than Franschhoek, but if your time is very limited, choose Constantia winery. However, the town of Franschhoek—more charming and set in a beautiful valley—is truly worth the detour for its French flair and excellent wines.
Visit the site on the Stellenbosch region and its wine route to make a choice and find out about all the events in the region.
The West Coast, north of Cape Town, can also be interesting to visit, as several vineyards and national parks are located there, with more of a focus on birdwatching and flora. Favour spring to go there and observe the budding of the flowers.
Close to Cape Town, the Garden Route is a road renowned for its panoramic views of the coast with its hilly landscapes. Officially it starts in Riversdale and ends in Storms River via the N2 road. As you continue on your way, this one will take you to Port Elizabeth.
In just a few hours’ drive, you will pass through various seaside resorts, farms, memorials, hiking trails, national parks, and much more—all safely.
Buy the NMB pass or Nelson Mandela Bay pass, which will give you free or low-cost access to many attractions.
As you can see, there’s no shortage of activities, but there’s plenty of time! Many more activities are available. For more ideas, read the free Gateway guide to the Garden Route. You will have to make choices—or come back on future trips 🙂
Discover the city of Durban, a seaside resort in South Africa, and its surrounding attractions!
If the Kruger experience or Addo Elephant Park was not enough for you, you will be delighted with this route, where several national parks are located!
The Kruger Park remains the best known and will seduce nature lovers. It will make everyone want to play “hunter”! Of course everyone will be looking for the Big 5, blessed are those who see them. But what a happy moment to observe elephants, giraffes or zebras in their natural habitat.
Reach South Africa’s East Coast by crossing the Kingdom of Eswatini. Please be aware that if you drive through this area, additional charges will be applied when you rent your car.
The Eswatini is known for its nature reserves and will allow you to meet the Swazi people and learn more about their culture.
Enjoy various activities such as hiking, safaris, mountain biking or horseback riding. Many more are offered, of course.
The country is considered safe in general, however, it is on increased vigilance, as acts of stolen cars or assaults have been deplored: respect the safety instructions at all times!
Johannesburg, or Joburg, is the most populous metropolis in South Africa.
The city experienced a high level of crime, but efforts made in the city’s development in the early 2000s helped reduce this rate.
Some neighbourhoods are still to be avoided, however the city offers safe tourist attractions.
We suggest, if you go there, to have a local guide to visit the city and use the red CitySighteeing buses to take the pulse and discover it.
Some neighbourhoods/safe places where you can walk around without any problem:
Interested in the Krüger? I want you to know he’s not the only one. You will find the list of the different national parks on the SanParks website, as well as ALL activities offered in South Africa (hiking, safaris, golf, canyoning, fishing, etc.) and ALL accommodations available within the parks.
For each of the parks, an entrance fee is to be paid. You will therefore need to assess whether it is worth buying the WildCard, depending on how many people you are and how many days you plan, for example, to enter Kruger National Park. The pass can be purchased online or directly at one of the Conservation Centre’s ticket offices.
A quick word about Game Reserve
You look everywhere until your eyes hurt. Hours and hours of driving, sometimes without seeing any animal for 1 to 1.5 hours on the road. Sometimes you get rewarded at a turning point. You will observe peaceful scenes—hunting, confrontations, naps, mating, and heartwarming moments—amid green landscapes, plains, open or dense forests, and rivers winding through in places. A real pleasure for the eyes to discover all this.
Our advice
The least pleasant part is for the driver, as they cannot scan the surroundings as much.
Watch your speed, the fines are steep. It is not uncommon for an animal to want to cross without you seeing it, so respect the speed limits as much as possible.
Go to the camps to see their viewpoint or their museum such as the Letaba Elephant Museum. You can eat at their restaurant, but do not expect fine dining or exceptional service. Some areas are also available for picnics: do your shopping before entering the park.
South Africa is also experienced through its flavours and culinary specialties.
Take part in a braai, the traditional wood-fire BBQ inherited from the Afrikaners, with beautiful cuts of ostrich, antelope, or even crocodile meat—you will not be disappointed! The quality here is exceptional; these meats melt in your mouth and are very flavourful, served with a great sauce! The objective, to bring the world together for a moment of convithroughexceptionality.
Several lodges also offer braai packages—lively, friendly evenings that bring guests together around a campfire.
Don’t miss the Amarula, the local alcohol that is drunk like whey, so excellent! Also worth trying in your café (on the weekend, of course 😉 )
Some recommendations
Several flights are now available to Cape Town or Johannesburg. Aeroplan miles can get you there with a stopover in Zurich, allowing you to discover this city as well!
Check with your hotel to see if a shuttle service is available.
Do not hesitate to stop by the Bidvest Sky Lounge lounge, accessible to Priority Pass and LoungeKey members during your visit!
If you decide to rent a car and wish to go to your hotel, you should prefer to drive during the day as a general rule and follow the safety instructions.
We suggest that you take a hotel close to the airport for late arrivals to avoid stress.
Another idea: hire a driver who will guide you throughout your stay.
It all depends on where you want to stay and your budget! Within the parks, if you are willing to pay the price, do not suggest you look at the availability on the SanParks website. Expect prices that can be extravagant.
Preferring to optimize our spending, we opted for the hotels of the Marriott chain, and were not disappointed since several of them had overnight stays between 5,000 and 25,000 points! A great deal, considering how much accommodation can cost in dollars!
There are more than 100 hotels in South Africa that are members of the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program .
During our 3-week trip, we had chosen to stay with several of them. Find here the list of all our complete reports:
If you want to earn Marriott Bonvoy points, the easiest way is to sign up for the American ExpressMD Marriott BonvoyTM Card and/or the American ExpressMD Marriott BonvoyTM Corporate Card, of which these are the current offerings:
You can easily get both cards, allowing you to earn more than 120,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
And if you are a couple, we are talking about 240,000 Marriott Bonvoy points—enough to fully cover the cost of hotel nights in South Africa.
We rented several houses on Airbnb during our trip to South Africa. To do this, you could use one of these credit cards whose points are applied to Airbnb bookings:
Don’t forget to carry a card credit card with no conversion fee for your foreign currency transactions! That’s 2.5% savings on every transaction!
Here are the 3 best no foreign transaction fee credit cards in Canada, ideal for travellers:
The roads in South Africa surprised us so much because they were so beautiful and well maintained. So there’s nothing to worry about. The indications are clear.
Avoid driving at night, however, as the cities and surrounding areas are not lit. As driving is on the left, you will need to get used to it, but within a few days or even hours, you will quickly find your bearings.
It is not uncommon to see some tourists make a mistake, so stay alert.
Keep your doors closed whether you’re in the city or the country, a measure that will make you feel safe.
If your GPS shows you a faster route, check where it takes you so you don’t end up in an unsafe place (like us) and stay on the busier streets.
Passes are available to get discounts on your visits. You can get information and buy them on the spot at the tourist office for example or in advance on the internet in order to get more discounts.
The iVenture website offers various packages, as do the City Sightseeing buses, or—as mentioned above—the NMB pass or Nelson Mandela Bay pass.
The Ulysses guides offers you different guides to help you prepare your trip and understand the South Africa.
At the tip of the black continent, South Africa is attracting more and more visitors. Cape Town (Le Cap), with Table Mountain and the Cape of Good Hope, and the entire Western Cape—with its wine regions (Stellenbosch, Franschhoek), inns, and beaches on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans—are among the most popular South African destinations.
The twin cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria also have their share of attractions.
And what about photo safaris in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Reserve or in the Kruger National Park, the most popular in the country.
In this section you will find an incomparable choice of guides and maps to help you prepare your trip to South Africa.
Whether you plan to discover major cities, beaches, national parks, or South Africa’s vineyards, you will find everything you need here to make the most of your stay.
You can consult all travel guides dedicated to South Africa from our partner Ulysse!
I suggest you to have a look at the Cape Town Tourism or the General site for South Africa before your future visit! You will find important information, dates of future festivals for example or ideas for outings. These are the sites to follow!
Finally, many Gateway Guides are available in PDF version on their website and for different regions of South Africa. Perfect for preparing your itineraries!
You will find everything you need in the Woolworths, Spar, Pick&Pay or Checkers open all day from 8am to 8pm in general. Be sure to pay with a no foreign transaction fee credit card such as the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card to save 2.5% on your foreign currency transactions.
Note that power cuts can occur and can therefore interrupt the cold chain for experience. It is sometimes better to rely on canned goods or foods that do not require refrigeration to be safe, when these outages occur several times a day and over long periods.
The climate varies greatly by region; however, the recommended period remains the spring season.
For example, we had a lot of rain near Kruger and wind in Cape Town in December.
Taking a trip to South Africa can quickly become very expensive as thousands of dollars! This is why passes such as the WildCard, and many other passes, can help you save money. There are ways to be careful, it’s up to you to define your travel desires:
No visa is required to enter South Africa, if the journey does not exceed 90 consecutive days, a valid passport is sufficient. The same applies to French nationals.
Children’s birth certificates
Previously, parents travelling with their children were required to present their child’s birth certificate. Now it’s been a thing of the past for a few months! Only a valid passport is required.
An antimalarial treatment, necessary?
Depending on the areas you visit, it is indeed advisable to take medication to prevent malaria. The choice is personal and should be made with a healthcare professional at a vaccination centre, and not based on others’ opinions on a forum or with your coworkers. Make an appointment! However, you should be aware that antimalarial treatments are available locally.
In addition, carry a medicine kit with you so that you have what you need. Your pharmacist can help you put it together before you leave.
This is a common topic when talking about South Africa, as crime is known to be common there.
The country has put in place effective preventive measures to secure areas and thus ensure the safety of travellers. However, outside these areas, great care is needed.
It is possible to travel safely in this country as long as you follow these rules to the letter at all times, from the moment you enter the country to the moment you leave.
We recommend that you consider these travel safety rules.
Consult the Canadian government recommendations before departure, and consular services are available on site.
It all depends on whether you are travelling alone, as a couple or with your family of course, or on the hobbies you enjoy. However, here are a few suggestions to simplify the preparation of your trip:
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