Welcome to South Africa, affectionately known as Mzansi locally (Nguni for South) a land of breathtaking landscapes, diverse cultures, and unforgettable experiences! Situated at the southern tip of the African continent, the country offers a rich tapestry of history, wildlife, and adventure. It was the late, great "Arch" - Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu - who called it the Rainbow Nation - a nickname that has come to reflect the rich tapestry of experiences that make South Africa one of the world's leading travel destinations.
Whether you're drawn to thrilling wildlife encounters, cultural immersion, or simply soaking in the stunning scenery, South Africa promises an unforgettable journey filled with warmth, hospitality, and the spirit of Ubuntu - the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all of humanity. Welcome to South Africa, where diversity is celebrated, and every corner holds a new adventure waiting to be discovered.
At Boutique Travel Experts, we specialize in creating tailor-made tours and holidays to South Africa. Our mission is to elevate your vacation with family or friends into an unforgettable experience. We understand the significance of your trip, and our team of experts will craft an exclusive itinerary that perfectly suits your travel style. We provide assistance seven days a week throughout your trip, and we are committed to responding promptly to any requests.
If you’re unsure where to start with planning your trip to South Africa, we’re here to help! Our Travel Specialists will work with you to create a customized itinerary that matches your interests and budget. We offer a range of packages, including cultural experiences, family tours, romantic getaways, and group packages. From vineyards and safari holidays to beach trips, we have something for everyone. Take a look at our South Africa holidays and tours page for more inspiration.
At Boutique Travel Experts, we strive to ensure that you get the most out of your time while traveling. Let us take care of all the details so that you can relax and enjoy your trip. Choosing the best places to visit in South Africa is a bit like selecting which countries to visit on a global tour. Each region is so different, offering a diverse range of experiences, places of interest, and premier South Africa vacation spots. It’s also important to know when to go to South Africa.
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If you’re considering a South African family holiday, we’ve got some great news. You are right on trend! The country at the southern tip of Africa has become a favourite destination of travellers from the world over of late. Plus, it’s particularly suited to group holidays and family vacations. When you’re travelling in a group, it can be hard to tailor a holiday that suits everyone’s unique tastes. Some might like to get their adrenaline pumping; others want to visit museums and art exhibits. Some like to spend their days on the beach; others crave the glamour and fast pace of the inner city. This is why South Africa is such a wonderful destination.
As an emerging economy, South Africa’s currency is quite affordable when compared with those of Europe, America and the East. This means you can enjoy a wonderful holiday without spending too much. Additionally, you’ll be contributing to the local tourism sector, which means you are helping to create jobs!
Must-Visit Destinations in South Africa
South Africa really does have a knack for combining a variety of stunning landscapes and topography into easy-to-digest pockets of mixed-up amazingness, and nowhere is this more true than on the celebrated Garden Route. Here are some of the must-visit places we recommend including on a South African safari that can easily be combined with one another as well as a range of other complementary destinations...
1. Kruger National Park
South Africa's biggest and best-known national park is home to the country’s greatest diversity of wildlife. As one of the oldest conservation areas in Africa, it boasts healthy populations of wildlife and highly sought-after sightings of cheetah and wild dog. But the Kruger's pièce de résistance is an almost guaranteed encounter with the super-celebrities of the safari circuit: Africa's iconic Big 5. You can expect up-close sightings of elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and leopard all year round.
The Greater Kruger is made up of the legendary Kruger National Park - one of Africa's most revered game reserves - and key privately owned neighbouring game reserves that have opened their fences to it, allowing for the free movement of iconic wildlife species across a huge swathe of protected wilderness. This really is safari central in South African terms, with some of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Southern Africa including the legendary "Big Five" - buffalo, elephant, rhino, leopard and lion, as well as cheetah and African wild dog.
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With a fabulous selection of luxury lodges, rustic bush camps and private safari villas, this is where the action happens! Musts: Morning and afternoon/evening game drives, walking safaris, horse trails, mountain biking, hot air ballooning.
2. Cape Town
If you’re looking for some of the best South Africa vacation ideas, look no further than Cape Town. Consistently voted as one of the top vacation spots in the world for families, couples and solo travellers, Cape Town is one of the best places to visit in South Africa. The ‘Mother City’ boasts spectacular natural beauty, superb accommodation and fantastic weather year-round - and some of the best beaches in the world! The city's acclaimed food and wine experiences are as alluring as its iconic landmark: Table Mountain, one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.
Known as the "Mother City" thanks to being the first European settlement in South Africa, Cape Town is full of history and outstanding natural beauty. Dominated by the iconic Table Mountain, the city spreads out around the scenically beautiful, safe harbour that first attracted men of the Dutch East India Company way back in 1652.
Vibrant, fun, stylish, gorgeous to look at and filled with an array of things to do and see, Cape Town is the perfect place to start or end a South African safari. Musts: Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens; Table Mountain; Cape Peninsula tour; Robben Island; Victoria & Alfred Waterfront; Two Oceans Aquarium; African penguins on Boulders Beach.
3. Cape Winelands
The beauty of the Cape Winelands' green valleys ensconced by craggy mountains is as much of a treat for the eyes as its cuisine is a treat for the palate. Sip, swirl and sample award-winning wines, indulge in gourmet farm-to-table cuisine or wander down oak-lined streets to local art galleries with this stunning scenery as your backdrop. Although only an hour's drive from Cape Town, a night or two in this peaceful patchwork of vineyards and mountains will dissolve any lingering city stress.
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Home to some of the finest vintages in the world, the Cape Winelands begin at the historic town of Stellenbosch and spread out beneath the towering peaks of some of the most breathtaking mountain ranges in the country.
Perfect for day trips or more focused, multi-day explorations, you can combine wine tastings with superlative food, enjoy a hop-on, hop-off tram that visits all the best wine farms in the renowned growing region around the picturesque town of Franschhoek and browse countless art galleries and shops filled with antiques and artisanal crafts. Musts: Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl; Spier Wine Estate; Babylonstoren farm; Boschendal Estate; Jonkershoek Nature Reserve.
4. Garden Route
A firm favourite when it comes to South Africa vacation ideas for families, the world-famous Garden Route is a beautiful length of coastline that stretches from a couple of hours outside Cape Town to just after the seaside town of Plettenberg Bay. 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 - although charter flights are available between destinations, if you don't have the luxury of time.
With towering mountains, rolling hills, indigenous forests, endless deserted beaches and iridescent lagoons, this route hugs the east coast of the country between Mossel Bay in the Western Cape and Storms River in the Eastern Cape.
Dotted with endearing coastal towns and wonderfully wild wilderness, it's the perfect way to enjoy a meandering trip in one of the nation's most scenically beautiful regions. Musts: Knysna; Wilderness; George; Plettenberg Bay, Tsitsikamma National Park; Outeniqua Mountains.
5. Madikwe Game Reserve
About a five-hour drive, or short charter flight, from Johannesburg lies one of South Africa's least known game reserves: Madikwe. Its Kalahari grasslands and woodlands are surprisingly full of animals, a haven for the Big 5 and endangered wild dog. Unique desert specialists like brown hyena and the rare aardwolf also thrive here. Madikwe offers fantastic family-friendly South Africa vacation ideas, incredible game viewing and exquisite safari lodges.
6. Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is hard to beat when it comes to exciting and stress-free Big 5 safaris for the whole family. The region offers a combination of child-friendly lodges in malaria-free reserves, all within driving distance of the Garden Route's finish line or Port Elizabeth International Airport.
7. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)
It's often said that locals know best. When South Africans go on a vacation, their favourite choice is often KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
Mountains, beaches, wilderness, wetlands and the Zulu nation... All of the things that make the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal fascinating and worthy of inclusion on your safari. If you're a culture vulture and history buff then the midlands battlefields beckon, along with the tales of derring do and absolute disaster that marked the Anglo-Boer and Zulu wars.
Hike the roof of South Africa - the mighty Drakensberg or take in the solitude of endless beaches fringed by lush wetlands and lakes and pristine wildernesses filled with wildlife. Musts: Rorke's Drift, Isandlwana and Spioenkop battlefields; Drakensberg National Park; iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
8. Johannesburg
In the past, visitors to South Africa whizzed through Johannesburg, stopping just long enough to catch their connecting flight. Nowadays, however, Johannesburg (or Jozi as it's known to locals) is one of the most exciting places to visit in South Africa. Boasting a fantastic selection of hotels and guest houses, a thriving café culture, budding restaurant scene and thrumming night life, Jozi offers its visitors a unique perspective of urban South Africa. Catch the ultra-modern Gautrain straight from the airport to the heart of Sandton; its shining shopping centres are filled with high-end boutiques. For greater insight into South Africa's recent past, we recommend a visit to the Apartheid Museum.
But don’t leave Johannesburg out of your gastronomic adventure. After years in the culinary wilderness, eGoli is teeming with exciting new restaurants and markets. But the best place for you to tap into the new energy coursing through the city’s culinary scene is in the downtown Maboneng Precinct.
9. Sun City
About three hours from Johannesburg lies Sun City, South Africa's undisputed ‘Kingdom of Pleasure'. This is one of the top South Africa vacation spots if you're looking for true escapism and non-stop entertainment. There are championship golf courses and world-class casinos, slide-filled water theme parks plus nightclubs, shops and restaurants. They've even built their own beach!
10. Pilanesberg National Park
Set within the crater of an ancient volcano and centred around a large hippo- and croc-filled lake, the Pilanesberg National Park is one of the best places to visit in South Africa if you don’t want to travel far from Johannesburg to enjoy a fantastic safari experience. Although conveniently close to Sun City, these two top destinations feel worlds apart.
South Africa's Culinary Scene
South Africa’s culinary heritage is as colourful as its flag, and as multi-layered as its 11 official languages. At LEETO - “journey” in the indigenous Khoi language - chef Garth Almazan finds inspiration in the wild coastline and fresh fish landed at Paternoster’s main beach each day.
On the hills above, Kobus van der Merwe is blazing a culinary trail at Wolfgat, creating an entirely unique menu of Strandveld cuisine with wild ingredients foraged from the dunes and shoreline. “It’s a menu that’s really inspired by the landscapes,” says van der Merwe, who incorporates everything from dune herbs to sustainably farmed oysters and subtly scented local lamb on his ever-changing menu. Little surprise he won the Chefs' Chef Award at the 2017 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards, South Africa’s premier culinary awards.
FFurther along the East Coast, Durban is fast developing into a culinary destination in its own right. Alongside the superb seafood served up on its sultry seafront, it’s spice that is the defining flavour of this bustling port city. While high-end hotels add an upscale spin to the humble curry, don’t leave town without trying the city’s signature dish, the “bunny chow”. As humble as street food can be, this KwaZulu-Natal classic is simple: a half-loaf of white bread hollowed out to form a bowl, then filled with a dollop of curry. For a true local flavour, be brave and order the fiery mutton curry. Afterwards, let your taste buds cool off with a wander through the colourful Victoria Street Market, where stalls are piled high with fragrant spices.
Planning Your Trip: The Best Time to Visit
South Africa is a fairly large country, which means it has various climatic regions. As such, you can plan your trip to coincide with the weather. E.g. if you’re travelling between July and August, you’re heading into South African weather. This does not mean you have to get wet though. The eastern parts of South Africa like Kruger National Park have a summer-rainfall climate, so winter is a great time to go on safari. Conversely, Cape Town gets winter rainfall, so you’ll have wonderful beach weather when you head there between November and February.
Embrace the Culture
If you’re travelling with your children in the hope of instilling an appreciation for other cultures, head to SA. The country has 11 official languages! But that’s just the start of it. The true magic lies in the integration and overlap of it all. Here you can eat boerewors, morogo, putu pap and chakalaka all in one meal. You’ll see Caucasian gents in shweshwe shirts and Zulu ladies in haute couture. Local music draws influences from countless cultures, underpinned by an infectious African beat. Roses grow alongside cacti; vellies are worn with silk stockings. When we say the locals are friendly, we really mean it (read what our founders have to say about this). And not only in a hi there, yes please spend your money in our country kind of way. South Africans love to engage with tourists. Perhaps because the country is such a tapestry of cultures to start with, they are open to meeting and befriending folks from all around the globe. You can expect to be roped into celebrations, invited to braais and engaged in vigorous bouts of beach tennis.
From cosmopolitan Cape Town (voted the world’s favourite destination yet again in 2018), to glitzy Johannesburg, you can get up to pretty much anything. See the Big Five in Kruger National Park. Zipline among the treetops along the Garden Route. Explore the Cape Floristic Kingdom at Cape Point Nature Reserve. See modern African art at the Zeitz MOCAA. Eat, drink and be merry with the locals. If you’re into immersive travel experiences South Africa is the place to be. From riding on ostriches in the Karoo, to picking golfball-size cherries in Ceres, you can really dig in and get your hands dirty. Take part in grape stomping, head into the woods to gather mushrooms, go fishing, cook Cape Malay food. Learn to mill alpaca wool, go spelunking along centuries-old cave systems or take up a craft like beading or pottery.
Top 10 Things To Do In South Africa
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