--- title: "South Africa travel guides, city by city | Wimup" description: "South Africa on Wimup: Top 10 city guides, safari and coast timed by month, what to know before you go, and the videos worth watching first." url: https://wimup.com/country/south-africa type: Country guide updated: 2026-10-06 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Top 10s across South Africa Two coastlines, a wine industry running since the **1650s**, and **big-game reserves** a short flight from any major city. South Africa gives you three trips in one country. ## Quick answer First trips run **Cape Town and the Winelands** for a week, then fly north for three or four nights in **Kruger**. Add the **Garden Route** if you want a road trip, or **Durban and the Drakensberg** for warm water and mountains. **March to May** and **September to November** hit the sweet spot: dry, open bush, a mild coast, and rates below the December peak. ## Quick facts - **Best months:** Mar–May · Sep–Nov - **Ideal length:** 10–14 days - **Budget per day:** $100–180 - **Language:** English, isiZulu, Afrikaans - **Getting around:** Car hire & domestic flights - **2** City guides - **62,027,503** People - **1** Video guide South Africa is a long country that rewards picking a corner rather than crossing it. Cape Town and the Winelands make the natural first week, and the Garden Route, the Drakensberg and the Kruger each justify a second. ## 2 South Africa city guides 1. [Cape Town](https://wimup.com/city/cape-town.md): Africa · 10 picks 2. [Gqeberha](https://wimup.com/city/gqeberha.md): Africa · 10 picks ## Know before you go - **Population:** 62,027,503 - **Area:** 1,221,037 km² - **Density:** 50.8 / km² - **Capital:** Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial) - **Major cities:** Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Gqeberha - **Tourism board:** Official site - **Money:** R South African rand Cards work almost everywhere in cities, at fuel stations and in the parks. Keep some cash for markets, tips and car guards. - **Language:** English plus eleven others Twelve languages are official. isiZulu is the most widely spoken at home, and English is the common ground in business, signage and tourism. - **Calling code:** +27 - **Power:** 230V · Type M/N Sockets take the large three-round-pin Type M and the newer, smaller Type N. Both turn up in the same building, so bring a universal adapter. - **Emergency:** 10111 police · 10177 ambulance 112 reaches an operator free from any mobile phone, with or without credit. - **Visa:** Visa-free · 90 days Most Western passports get up to 90 days visa-free for tourism. Confirm for your own nationality with the Department of Home Affairs before booking. - **Getting around:** Car hire and domestic flights Distances are long and intercity rail is limited. Fly between Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, then hire a car for the Winelands, the Garden Route and the parks. - **Driving:** Keep left Traffic drives on the left, most hire cars are manual unless you ask for automatic, and a home licence in English with a photo is accepted. - **National parks:** Book through SANParks Kruger camps, Addo and the Kgalagadi are booked online and go early for school holidays. - **Tipping:** Around 10% Ten percent in restaurants, a few rand for the car guard who watched your parking space, and a per-day amount for a safari guide at the end of a stay. - **Staying safe:** Plan like a big city Stay aware after dark, take ride-hailing at night, and leave nothing visible in a parked car. Tourist areas and the parks are heavily visited and well policed. ## When to visit - **Jan** (peak) - **Feb** (good) - **Mar** (best) - **Apr** (best) - **May** (best) - **Jun** (good) - **Jul** (good) - **Aug** (good) - **Sep** (best) - **Oct** (best) - **Nov** (good) - **Dec** (peak) ## Fun fact South Africa recognises twelve official languages. Eleven were written into the 1996 constitution, and South African Sign Language was added in 2023. ## Stereotypes, sorted out - **Myth:** South Africa is one long safari **Reality:** The parks are one part of it. Cape Town is a coastal city with a mountain through the middle, the Winelands are farm country, and the Drakensberg is hiking terrain. Most trips mix two or three of those. - **Myth:** It is hot all year **Reality:** Seasons run opposite to Europe and the range is wide. Cape Town winters are wet and windy, and Highveld nights in June get cold enough to want a jacket in the game vehicle. - **Myth:** Everyone speaks Afrikaans **Reality:** Twelve languages are official and isiZulu is the most widely spoken at home. English is the common ground in business, signage and tourism, so you will be understood everywhere you travel. - **Myth:** Malaria is everywhere **Reality:** Most of the country carries no malaria risk at all. The Kruger lowveld is seasonal, and the Cape, the Winelands, the Garden Route, Addo and the Kalahari sit outside the zone entirely. - **Myth:** It is too dangerous to visit **Reality:** Crime is real and concentrated, and it calls for what any large city asks: stay aware after dark, use ride-hailing, keep valuables out of sight. Millions of visitors a year travel here without incident. - Greet before you ask. A hello and a how are you comes first, and skipping it reads as brusque. - A braai is a gathering, not a barbecue. If you are invited, bring something for the fire or the table. - Tip around ten percent in restaurants, and a few rand to the car guard who watched your parking space. - Ask before photographing people, especially on township and rural village visits. - Now-now means soon and just-now means later. Neither one means immediately. - Keep a torch and a power bank to hand. Load-shedding still cuts the power on a published schedule. ## Famous South African faces - **Nelson Mandela**: Anti-apartheid leader and first democratically elected president - **Desmond Tutu**: Archbishop who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission - **Charlize Theron**: Oscar-winning actor, born in Benoni - **Trevor Noah**: Comedian who hosted The Daily Show for seven years - **Siya Kolisi**: First Black Springbok captain, twice a World Cup winner - **Miriam Makeba**: Singer who carried South African music to the world - **Christiaan Barnard**: Surgeon who performed the first human heart transplant, in 1967 - **Nadine Gordimer**: Novelist and Nobel laureate in literature in 1991 - **Albert Luthuli**: ANC president and the first African Nobel Peace laureate, in 1960 - **Oliver Tambo**: Led the ANC in exile for three decades - **Steve Biko**: Founder of the Black Consciousness Movement - **Helen Suzman**: For thirteen years the lone opposition voice against apartheid in parliament - **Thuli Madonsela**: Public Protector whose reports reshaped the accountability debate - **Gary Player**: Golfer with nine majors and a career Grand Slam - **Ernie Els**: Four-time major champion - **Caster Semenya**: Two-time Olympic 800m champion - **Chad le Clos**: Olympic butterfly champion in 2012 - **Francois Pienaar**: Captain who lifted the 1995 Rugby World Cup - **Wayde van Niekerk**: Set the 400m world record winning gold in Rio - **Hugh Masekela**: Trumpeter and the sound of South African jazz - **Ladysmith Black Mambazo**: Isicathamiya choir with a shelf of Grammys - **Johnny Clegg**: Musician who fused Zulu music with rock across the divide - **Black Coffee**: DJ and producer, Grammy winner for dance music in 2022 - **Tyla**: Won the first Grammy for Best African Music Performance, in 2024 - **John Kani**: Actor and playwright, from Sizwe Banzi to Black Panther - **Neill Blomkamp**: Director of District 9 - **Sharlto Copley**: Actor who broke out in District 9 - **William Kentridge**: Artist whose charcoal animations tour the world museums - **Esther Mahlangu**: Ndebele painter who took her wall patterns onto a BMW - **Max Theiler**: Nobel laureate in 1951 for the yellow fever vaccine - **Allan Cormack**: Nobel laureate in 1979 for the theory behind the CT scan - **J.M. Coetzee**: Novelist and Nobel laureate in literature in 2003 - **Alan Paton**: Author of Cry, the Beloved Country - **Elon Musk**: Born in Pretoria, founder of Tesla and SpaceX - **Patrice Motsepe**: Mining magnate and president of the Confederation of African Football ## Must-try South African food - **Bobotie**: Spiced beef mince baked under a set egg custard. - **Potjiekos**: A cast-iron pot stewed slowly over coals, never stirred. - **Chakalaka**: Spiced vegetable relish that goes beside almost everything. - **Pap and wors**: Maize porridge with a coil of farm sausage. - **Biltong**: Air-dried spiced beef, cut thick or shaved fine. - **Boerewors**: The coiled farm sausage that defines a braai. - **Sosaties**: Skewered lamb with apricot and curry spice. - **Braaibroodjie**: Cheese, tomato and onion toasted over the coals. - **Shisa nyama**: Buy the meat at the counter, grill it in the yard. - **Cape Malay curry**: Mild and faintly sweet, built on spice with little heat. - **Denningvleis**: Lamb stew soured with tamarind. - **Tomato bredie**: Slow lamb and tomato stew out of the Cape kitchen. - **Bunny chow**: A hollowed half-loaf filled with Durban curry. - **Gatsby**: A long roll cut four ways, Cape Town after midnight. - **Vetkoek**: Fried dough split and filled with curried mince. - **Kota**: A quarter loaf loaded with chips, polony and atchar. - **Samoosa**: Triangular fried pastry, a Cape and Durban standby. - **Malva pudding**: Warm apricot sponge under hot cream. - **Melktert**: Cinnamon-dusted milk tart, cold from the fridge. - **Koeksister**: Plaited dough soaked in cold syrup. - **Peppermint crisp tart**: Caramel, cream and crushed mint chocolate. - **Rooibos**: Redbush tea from the Cederberg, grown nowhere else. - **Pinotage**: South Africa’s own red grape, crossed at Stellenbosch in 1925. - **Amarula**: Cream liqueur made from the marula fruit. - **Umqombothi**: Sorghum and maize beer, brewed at home. ## By theme - [Wildlife & safari](https://wimup.com/wildlife.md) ## Films - [Cape Town in 10](https://wimup.com/watch/cape-town.md), 43:26 ## FAQs ### How many days do you need in South Africa? Plan 10 to 14 days for a first trip: about a week around Cape Town and the Winelands, then three or four nights on safari. With less than a week, pick one region and stay in it. ### When is the best time to visit South Africa? March to May and September to November are the sweet spot. The bush is dry and open for game viewing, the Cape is mild, and rates sit below the December and January domestic peak. ### Is South Africa safe for tourists? Take the precautions any large city asks for. Avoid walking alone after dark, use ride-hailing apps, and leave nothing visible in a parked car. Tourist areas, the Winelands and the national parks are heavily visited and well policed. ### Do you need a car in South Africa? For the Winelands, the Garden Route and self-drive safari, yes. Central Cape Town works on the MyCiTi buses, and the Johannesburg to Pretoria corridor runs on the Gautrain. ### Where can you see the Big Five? Kruger National Park is the largest and the easiest to reach, with SANParks camps you book online and private reserves along its western edge. Addo Elephant National Park near Gqeberha carries the Big Five too and sits outside the malaria zone. ## Related countries - [Morocco](https://wimup.com/country/morocco.md) - [Algeria](https://wimup.com/country/algeria.md) - [All of Africa](https://wimup.com/africa) Part of [Africa](https://wimup.com/africa.md) ## Sources - [Tourism board](https://www.southafrica.net/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Visa](https://www.dha.gov.za/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [National parks](https://www.sanparks.org/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.