If you have already booked your flight to South Africa, congratulations to you! You are one step further to an unforgettable, mindblowing experience this colourful country.
If you are still wondering whether or not to go… We can only tell you - choose wisely! Why? Because once you go there you might get infected with the "African Virus" how they call it there with a wink. If you have been there once, experienced the beauty of the country - you will always long to come back over and over again.
We must admit. We have been infected. We lost our hearts to this amazing country, the friendly and diverse people, the awesome food and wines, and the wild and beautiful nature.
Read below what you need to know before planning your trip.
How to get there.
Best way to travel to South Africa is by plane. There are direct flights from major cities in Europe to either Cape Town or Johannesburg. Flight time is about 10 Hours, which you can use for some sleep before the big adventure or watching some movies in the inflight entertainment program that you have always wanted to see.
If you are travelling more on a budget and prices for direct flights have already spiked up you can have a look at flights with a short stop. For example the Airlines from the gulf region offer reasonalbe priced flights with an awesome service. And why not make the flight more enjoyable with an additional city stopover in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha?
Transportation.
We recommend to rent your own car when travelling South Africa.
When you travel around South Africa you surely need to visit big cities as Johannesburg and Cape Town. But you also need to travel around and explore the beautiful nature around the country.
With your own car you are more flexible and it is also possible to drive into the National Parks on your own. This means you can take as much time as you want to make your private safari experience perfect.
So get yourself a nice ride (prices start at around EUR 25 per day) and do some prep-shopping for your road trip ahead.
Driving in SA is on the left side of the road. If you are used to driving on the right side, don't be scared! The driver seat is on the right side of the car, which makes driving left more intuitive. Also if you drive carefully (what you of course always should) you will quickly get used to it.
In Johannesburg we also used Uber for getting around in the evening when we wanted to enjoy some wine with our dinner. This was also a good option and we felt safe with all the drivers we had. However, we also learnt that the locals would ask the diver to get a look into the trunk (or boot how South Africans call it). In the past there have been some cases of robbery when with people hiding in the trunks - we were told.
We recommend you to ask some locals in your hotel or so which taxi Company they can recommend or if they would prefer Uber.
We think it is always best to get some insights from the locals.
Safety.
The first thing that Isabella was confronted with when deciding to spend 6 month as a Semester abroad in South Africa - were safety concerns.
There were so many incidents of robbery, rape, etc. in the press. Not to forget the HIV problem of the country.
On the first day at University there was a safety briefing. It basically said to not get into people's car that you don't know. Do not carry around your valuables on display. And if you get into the situation when somebody wants to rob you - just give them what they want. The phone can be replaced and the money is also not important compared to your health.
So with these rules in mind we never experienced any kind of problem when we were in South Africa.
Here again the Safety Rules:
- Do not carry around much valuables
- Only have a small amount of money with you.
- Do not carry around your expensive phone or camera or jewlery on display. You do not want to provoke anything.
- Do not walk in the dark or in areas that are not safe - I mean you also don't do this in your home city!
- Do not let anybody help you when withdrawing money at an ATM - it really works the same way like at home. Why would you need help!
- Do not accept a ride from a stranger. Also not if the people asking you happens to be a police man. Just don't do it.
- If you are robbed. Give away what they want. Report it to the police and file an insurance claim.
- Most important: Do not worry to much! Behave with common sense and enjoy jour trip! People in South Africa are so nice and hospitality is great.
Food, Food, Food & Wine.
We don't know if anybody told you yet. South Africa is THE ULTIMATE PLACE FOR FOODIES!
Really. There is so much amazing food around and prices are comparatively low to what we know from Europe or the US.
In the cities you will find the best breakfast options you can dream of. From healthy brekkies with quinoa and fruits over all kind of egg options with avo sandwiches to pancakes with fuits and maple syrup for a sinner's breakfast. You will find it all.
The locally grown fruits are what makes fruit salads and juices taste like a symphony.
Veggies and Vegans - we love you but please skip a few lines:
If you are a Steak Lover - welcome to heaven! There are so many options of amazing steak types available at the highest quality. You not only get amazing Beef but also game meat is awesome. You can try out Ostrich, Kudu, Springbok, Impala, Zebra, Crocodile to name a few. Some restaurants also offer tasting platters where you can get the full variety in one dish.
You have probably heard that South Africa has a lot of wine estates which produce good wines. In fact it has countless wineries that produce amazing wines. There are the following wine regions in South Africa :
Constantia and Cape Point, Durbanville, Franschhoek, Helderberg, Paarl and Wellington, Robertson, Stellenbosch, Swartland, Worcester, Elgin and Walker Bay and KwaZulu-Natal.
You know what the greatest news is? All but KwaZulu-Natal are located at the Western Cape. So when you are in Cape Town plan enough time to explore all the beautiful wine estates and taste the delicious creations of their cellar masters.
The wine estates range from beautiful white Cape Dutch style to mediterranean styles surrounded by lush greeneries and stunning mountain landscapes. Some of the estates do not only offer wine tastings and cellar door purchase but also offer picknicks in the estate gardens, or have excellent restaurants where you can enjoy a pairing of nice food with the local wine.
Please make sure you don't drink and drive! There are guided wine tasting tours available with transfer. Or you pamper yourself with an overnight stay at one of the wine estates that also have an enclosed hotel.
Where to go? See the Must-Sees!
So where to go when you are planning to travel to South Africa?
This is an important question to be answered.
And it is also a tough one!
Why? Because there are so many amazing places to be seen in this country. So depending on the time you have for your trip you can plan different paces to visit.
The longer time you have the more into detail you can explore each region and also the more regions you can visit.
But to make the long story short. What are the essential places to see?
- Johannesburg
- Kruger National Park
- Cape Town
- Cape Region incl. Cape of Good Hope
- Cape Winelands
- Garden Route
Where to stay.
There are many options for accomodation in South Africa. It also depends on where you travel and what style of travel you prefer.
How to stay in the City?
In the cities you have the full range from small Boutique Hotels, over big hotel chains to family owned guest houses, hostels and Airbnb.
We like to stay in a mix of options mostly in places that accommodate not a large number of guests and that are privately run. For example in Cape Town we stayed in a lovely guest house run by an amazing woman who made us breakfast with Fresh juice every morning. Our room was overlooking the table bay - how awesome is this?
How to stay in the Cape Winelands?
Of course there are also hotel and guesthouse options in the smaller cities of the Cape Winelands. However, staying in the guesthouses, apartments or hotels located on a wine estate is an unforgettable experience. There are options available for all kind of price ranges.
Who does not want to wake up to a view like this?
How to stay on Safari?
The decision for your Safari acommodation depends on your desired type of travel - how close do you want to be to mother nature - and also on your budget.
You can go for camping. If you bring a tent of have a campervan /-truck you can make use of the campsites inside the national parks. This is probably the closest you can get to the nature and the wildlife.
Another option is the camp accomodation in the national parks. The options are basic huts or apartments with kitchen and a barbecue. The standard is nothing fancy but all basic needs are satisfied. And you are still in the middle of the national parks. Some camps have a river or water hole next to it where you can keep on spotting wildlife in the evening.
The most exclusive option is staying in a luxury lodge in a private game reserve. In private game reserves the animals also roam free in their natural habitat but generally the density is higher which makes it more probable to spot some big cats. The package prices offered by the luxury lodges not only include luxury accommodation but also first class food and activities like game drives.
Let's sum it up!
To sum it up - South Africa is an amazing country to travel to.
A diverse culture (with a dark history) meets with the most beautiful landscapes. People say that South Africa is a heaven for photographers as the light there is different - colours are so vibrant here.
South Africa offers travel options for everyone. Whether you seek luxury travels with private safaris or are looking for the thrill to camp under the stars in the territory of lions, leopards and the other big five. Cape Town enchants with beautiful sceneries and wonderful food and wines.
South Africa is truly a country that spoils your senses! We can only encourage you to go there and explore its beauty!
As this is part 1 of the travel guide, stay posted as there is more to come!
More tips, more details, more photos, more inspiration. We can't wait to share more memories with you!
Please leave us a comment below and let us know how you like this travel guide, if you have questions or which of the Must-Sees you would like to have the next post about!
Thank you so much!
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