Places of Interest:

Overshadowed by Table Mountain, Cape Town is one of the world's most beautiful cities. You can visit the tranquil winelands and sample fine, or explore the country towns, lagoons and forests along the pretty Garden Route.

South Africa is the perfect holiday destination for wildlife lovers with the world famous Kruger National Park (home to lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards and rhino) in the northeast of the country and further west is the game-rich wilderness of the Limpopo & North West provinces.

Sun City is a purpose-built holiday resort approximately 2 hours drive from Johannesburg, and features 4 hotels, 2 Championship 18-hole golf courses and it is becoming an increasingly popular holiday destination.

Activities

Holidays to South Africa provide a myriad of things to do from climbing Table Mountain whilst in Cape Town, whale watching in the African winter months along the South African coast, and visiting one of the National Parks to witness animals in the natural surroundings. Golf is an immensely popular pastime in South Africa with 100’s of courses throughout the country.

Summer 2010 brings the FIFA World Cup to South Africa, this runs from 11th June to 11th July across various cities throughout the country and will bring a huge amount of interest from all parts of the world.

Local Customs

Christianity is the religion of approximately two thirds of South African nationals. The 2 main languages are English and Afrikaans, however part of the country have their own localised language.

Nightlife

In South Africa, nightlife is quite diverse depending on where you stay. In the big cities such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban there is a thriving music scene with a big emphasis on jazz. There are a number of local music and arts festivals throughout the year all across South Africa. In the parks and reserves night-time entertainment where safari lodge guests may swap stories with locals around a campfire.

Durban and Cape Town are the best cities for shopping in South Africa with the 2 largest malls in the Southern Hemisphere, The Gateway Mall in Durban is reputed to be the largest, closely followed by Canal Walk in Cape Town. Away from the malls African souvenirs can be bought in coastal resorts and cities.

Health & Visa Information

For current vaccination information and general travel advice from NHS Direct please click here.

For more information regarding your Visa please click here.