The Best Places to Visit in South Africa
South Africa is one of the best destinations to visit in the world with so much to offer, from the Big 5 to whale, winelands and a lot more. Each of South Africa’s region is so different, thus offering a wide range of experiences and places of interest.
South Africa is a country of exceptional natural beauty and is home diverse cultural variety and incredible welcoming people, there is a vast range of amazing experience to do.
Here are the 10 best places to visit in South Africa.
- Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is Africa’s safari icon and South Africa’s biggest and most famous national park, the park is home to greatest diversity of wildlife including the highly sought-after sightings of cheetah and wild dog delivering some of the finest game viewing in the world.
Kruger National Park is one of the best South African Vacation spots offering unparalleled safari experience, with guaranteed encounter of Africa’s iconic Big 5.
- Cape Town
Constantly voted as one of the top vacation spots in the world for families, solo travellers and couples, Cape Town is worth a visit. This fascinating city is often referred to as the magical Mother City and in a short drive you can see why.
Cape Town is a world in one city, you will be greeted with spectacular beach, at the base of towering Table Mountain, in the Cape’s Culinary corner, or exploring world-class winelands. It is a multi-faced destination that deserves to be explored. The town boasts spectacular natural beauty, superb accommodation and fantastic weather all year-round.
Cape Town offers alluring food and wine experiences and incredibly beautiful landmarks including the Table Mountain – one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the world, and for some of the best land-based whale watching on the park, visit the Whale Coast during Whale Season.
- Cape Winelands
Cape winelands situated only an hour’s drive from Cape Town is one of the prettiest places to visit in South Africa, its green valleys nestled by craggy mountains is as much of a treat for the eyes as its cuisine is a treat for the palate. The picturesque valley of the Cape Winelands are famous for their grand old-estates, pretty little towns, award-winning restaurants and their wine of course.
There are more than 20 wine-growing regions surrounding Cape Town but the term Cape Winelands generally refers to the three most popular regions, Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Paarl. Each set in rolling countryside with spectacular Alpine style views. Wander the oak-lined streets of Stellenboash, stopping in at art galleries and quaint coffee shops, or take your pick from the many excellent restaurants in Franschhoek, the undisputed cultinary capital of South Africa.
- Garden Route
The world famous Garden Route is a beautiful length of coastline stretching a couple of hours outside Cape Town to just after the seaside town of Plettenberg Bay, it is a favourite for families on South African vacation.
The Garden’s Route’s secret is that it combines the fun of a classic bucket-and-spade holiday with unforgettable African Adventures, embark on a forest canopy tour or visit a monkey or bird sanctuary. Dolphins are often see offshore as well as whales in season, for more wildlife thrills, end your beach holiday with a Big 5 Safari in one of the reserves in the Malaria-free neighbouring Eastern Cape Province.
Although charter flights are available between destinations, the ideal way to explore all the Garden Route’s sandy beaches, rocky shores, quaint towns and indigenous forests is to rent a car and drive yourself.
- Madikwe Game Reserve
Madikwe Game Reserve is one of the largest yet least known Big 5 reserves in South Africa, lying on the edge of the Kalahari and close to the Botswana Border. With an area of 75 000 hectare, the reserve is home to a mix of savannah animals and desert specialists, delivering thrilling, big game safari that exceeds visitors expectations.
The park’s mix of Kalahari grasslands and woodlands are haven for the Big 5 and endangered wild dogs, unique desert specialists like brown hyena and the rare aardwolf among others.
Madikwe Game Reserve is a perfect South Africa destination for family-friendly vacations, romantic retreats and honeymoon holidays.
- Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a hard to miss destination in South Africa as it offers exciting and stress-free Big 5 Safaris perfect for a whole family. The region offers a combination of child-friendly lodges in malaria – free reserves, most of the reserves here boast the Big 5 in easy to see habitats and offer a variety of safari activities ranging from game drives and river cruises to horseback and walking safaris.
Addo Elephant National Park is the most famous wildlife park in the region, for its large elephant herds, incredible bight cat sightings and luxurious accommodations.
All the reserves in Eastern Cape are situated within driving distance of the Garden Route’s finish line or Port Elizabeth International Airport.
- KwaZulu – Natal
KwaZulu Natal (KZN) is often a favourite spot for the South Africans to go a vacation, this beautiful province of South Africa is home to teeming game reserves and echoing battle grounds, flanked by mountain peaks and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. It has everything South Africa is worldly known for, long golden beaches, abundant wildlife, a diverse and welcoming people, and a sunny sub-tropical climate.
KwaZulu Natal is a perfect destination for visitors on a self-drive vacation, it has well-maintained roads running right up the coast and into the interior which means you can easily get from the beach to the big game reserve.
On a KwaZulu Natal Holiday, some of the activities to do include scuba diving, battlefield tours and horseback riding in the spectacular Drakensberg Mountains.
- Johannesburg
Dubbed as the “Place of Gold”, Johannesburg also known as Jozi by the locals is one of the most exciting places to visit in South Africa. In the park Johannesburg used to be a stop for visitors to catch their connecting flight, now it is a vacation haven boasting a fantastic selection of hotels and guest houses, a thriving café culture, budding restaurant scene and vibrant night life.
Johannesburg offers its visitors a unique perspective of Urban South Africa. Catch the ultra-modern Gautrain straight from the airport to the Sandton, its shinning shopping centres filled with high-end boutiques.
For visitors interested in learning about South Africa’s recent past, we recommend visiting the Aparthied Museum for a highly informative and moving experience.
- Sun City Resort
This world renowned resort is South Africa’s undisputed “Kingdom of Pleasure”, situated about three hours from Johannesburg. It is one of the top vacation spots in South Africa and a perfect spot if you are looking for true escape and non-stop entertainment.
The resort has championship golf courses and world-class casinos, slide-filled water theme parks, night clubs, shops and restaurants. Sun City Resort is a perfect spot for travellers looking for an uncomplicated, multi-faced vacation in a sunny, safe and ever smiling environment. It even has its own beach making it an unbeatable destination in South Africa.
Sun City is situated right next to the Pilanesberg National Park, where you can head for a Big 5 Safari.
- Pilanesberg National Park
Home to Africa’s Big 5, Pilanesberg National Park is one of the best spots to visit in South Africa for excellent sightings of rhinos, leopard, elephants as well as cheetahs and a collections of birds on morning, afternoon game drives and night game drives.
Pilanesberg National Park is situated only a couple of hours from Johannesburg, right on the doorstep of the Sun City Resort, the park is set within the crater of an ancient volcano and centred around a large hippo – crocodile – filled lake. The park is easily accessible offering visitors a genuine safari experience with a wide choice of safari activities and incredible big game viewing.
Pilanesberg National Park is a vast and a varied reserve and with no doubt, it is one of the most beautiful wilderness places for a South Africa Safari. The striking landscapes and abundant wildlife make for fantastic photography, and since the whole region lies outside the malaria belt, malaria should not be of your worries.
In addition to phenomenal game viewing safari, the park has a wide selection of excellent safari lodges and on your South Africa Safari, we recommend spending a night or two in this beautiful piece of African wilderness.
