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Introducing South Africa
Travel Alert: Crime is a problem throughout South Africa; see the Health & Safety section for details.
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It’s no wonder that South Africa draws more visitors than anywhere else in sub-Saharan Africa. World-class wildlife-watching, cosmopolitan cities like the great big beating heart of Johannesburg, stunning natural panoramas from Table Mountain National Park and vibrant cultures make the country appealing to almost every taste and budget. Geographically, its extremes include the arid semidesert of the Karoo, the snowcapped peaks of the Drakensberg Range, the lush subtropical coast of KwaZulu-Natal and the fertile temperate valleys of Western Cape. Within the space of a day, you can journey from vineyard-clad hillsides in the Western Cape to the vast open spaces of the Kalahari; from waterfront chic in Cape Town to isolated Zulu villages; from elephant-spotting in Kruger National Park to the sublime seascapes of the coast.
While it’s easy to focus on the glitz and developed infrastructure, you’ll only get below the surface by seeking out the country’s other face – most visible in the sprawling townships where far too many people live stalked by the shadows of hunger, poverty and one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world. Behind its incredible natural beauty, South Africa is the stage for the daily drama of one of the world’s greatest experiments in racial harmony. The intensity of this drama surrounds you wherever you go, and is likely to be one of the most fascinating and challenging aspects of your travels.
Make it happen
Ready to go? These recommended tours make it easy:
- take a tour from Johannesburg to Cape Town visiting Kruger National Park, Swaziland, Zululand, Transkei and the Garden Route.
- see the best of South Africa on this spectacular 8-day family tour
- go the long haul and travel from Cape Town to Nairobi
Want more? Choose from a wide selection of similar trips South Africa
Last updated: Oct 23, 2009
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South Africa
Our Top Picks For South Africa
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1 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Revel in the Kalahari's haunting vistas and vastness
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2 Namaqualand
Visit Namaqualand in springtime, when the rugged landscapes soften under an explosion of wildflowers
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3 Winelands
Treat yourself to fine wining and dining in the verdant valleys around Franschhoek, Paarl and Stellenbosch
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4 Cape Town
Savour the cosmopolitan chic of one of the world's most beautiful cities and get pelted with spray at Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve
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5 Southern Coast
Explore South Africa's coastline, from Hermanus with its whales to the rivers and ravines of Tsitsikamma National Park
Fast Facts about South Africa
- Borders
- Visa
Free, 90-day entry permits issued on arrival to citizens of most Commonwealth countries (including Australia and the UK), most Western European countries, Japan and the USA
- Time
GMT/UTC + 2
- Telephone
Country code 27; international access 09
- Money
Rand; US$1 = R7.4
- Seasons
Cape Town: cold & wet (May to August); sunny & warm (September to May); Durban & Johannesburg: dry (May to September); wet (October to April)
- Population
46.9 million
- ATMs
Found in most cities and large towns
- Capital
Pretoria (administrative), Bloemfontein (judicial) and Cape Town (legislative)
- Budget
US$25 to US$50 a day
- Languages
11 (English, Afrikaans, Ndebele, Sepedi, Setswana, Sotho, Swati, Tshivenda, Xhosa, Xitsonga, and Zulu)
Related Groups
Our favourite South Africa Blogs (beta)
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Kruger National Park, South Africa
Blog: Patrick and Katrina do the Globe - 26 December 2009
Lions and leopards and rhinos, oh my! Upon arrival in Africa we got right down to business and drove from our landing point in Johannesburg to Kruger National Park for safari fun. This expansive frontier in the northeast corner of South Africa is about the size of Massachusetts with the most notable and profound difference being there are wild animals roaming around.
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Shark bait - I was this close!
Blog: Kampala Days (Diary of a Mzungu) - 23 December 2009
Awaking to a nightmare at 4.45 a.m. was not the ideal start to a day that involved leaving the house before dawn, on my own, for a drive across country to dive into cold Atlantic water with man-eating sharks ....
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Traveling Off the Beaten Path/ Watching my bank account bleed dry
Blog: Nilikuta Shani - 18 December 2009
I have to confess that I really haven’t really traveled off the beaten path before I began this yearlong adventure. When I was living in England I was able to travel a bit through Europe, but I never considered those trips the sort that required any real forethought—planning in advance consisted of finding my passport [...]
