South Africa holiday guide

For those travelling to South Africa and seeking top class accommodation will not be dissapointed. With many large hotel groups operating in the major cities, visitors have their choice of luxury hotels, all offering exceptional service, picturesque settings and palatial rooms.

For those desiring more affordable accommodation, South Africa offers an abundance of hostels, guest houses,homestays and budget hotels in all popular destinations such as Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Eastern Cape.

There are numerous places that you can visit and enjoy but this is a list of the few places that you can look forward to once in South Africa.

Cape Town

Cape Town is one of the largest cities in South Africa and is located in the Western Cape Province. There are many things that can be done here from visiting the various museums and galleries to surfing, kayaking and shark diving. If you are interested in theatre and jazz, then there are many places that you can visit. Some of the places that are worth visiting are The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, Ratanga Junction, Robben Island, Bo-Kaap, The Castle of Good Hope, South African National Gallery, and District Six Museum. Many major events happen throughout the year like Cape Town Jazz Festival, the MCQP costume party bash in December, the Spier Summer Arts Festival, beach volleyball tournaments, the Cape Town Minstrels at New Year's Day, the Cape Argus cycle race in March, the X-Games.

Cape Winelands

Cape Winelands is home to some of the beautiful wine hills and mountains. It is one of the most scenic places in South Africa and hence a photographer's paradise. The fertile soil and Mediterranean climate of the Western Cape, makes the Cape Winelands one of the most renowned wine producing areas in the world. Some of the captivating towns worth visiting here and tasting wines at one of their wine farms are Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, and Paarl Garden Route

The Garden Route in the Western Cape is one of South Africa's main tourist attractions and is generally thought to stretch from Mossel Bay and Port Elizabeth along the Indian ocean and also includes parts of the inland. The places worth visiting here are Tsitsikamma National Park, Oudtshoorn, Plettenberg Bay, Vic Bay, Bloukrans Bridge-world's highest bridge for bungee jumping.

Kruger National Park

The Kruger National Park (KNP) is located in north-east of South Africa and and runs along the border of Mozambique in the east, Zimbabwe in the north, and the southern border is the Crocodile River. The park covers 20,000 square kilometers and is divided in 14 different ecozones, each supporting different wildlife. It is one of the main attractions of South Africa and it is considered the flagship of South African National Parks. Durban

Durban is a city of about 3 million people on South Africa's east coast in KwaZulu-Natal. It no longer remains just a holiday/resort city, boasting industry and South Africa's busiest container port. Some of the places worth having a look at are City Hall, Berea, Umhlanga Rocks, Victoria Street Market, Essenwood Craft Market, Fitzsimons Snake Park, uShaka Marine World, Greyville Race Course, and Shark Institute. The things that can be done here are swimming, surfing, canoeing, taking helicopter rides, gambling, bungee jumping.

For the majority of foreign nationals who travel to South Africa for vacation, entry is straightforward and hassle-free. All visitors to South Africa must be in possession of a valid passport in order to enter the country, and in some cases, a visa. Upon arrival in South Africa, you will be given a free entry permit sticker that outlines how long you may remain in the country. This automatic entry permit is usually for a maximum of 90 days.