A guided holiday to South Africa means you don’t waste any of your precious time being lost or confused. You won’t end up in sticky situations, get lost in dodgy places or accidentally find your way into dangerous areas where tourists really don’t want to be. Everything’s free and easy because the practical side of sightseeing is taken care of for you. No faffing around with maps, directions or transport. So what awaits you in exotic South Africa? Let’s take a trip.
Experience South Africa’s unique charms
We all came out of Africa, the place where the human race first evolved. It’s a prime safari destination for people who want to see the Big 5 African animals up close and personal. For huge African animals, try any of the 19 national parks and numerous private game reserves, each unique. But there’s a lot more to this vibrant nation than safaris.
South Africa is ethnically and culturally diverse with food, wines and art to match. There’s a variety of unforgettable landscapes to discover, from wild coastlines to deserts carpeted with wildflowers, the famous veldt, the lush tropical forests and of course the country’s cosmopolitan cities and fascinating towns.
Foodie heaven
Cape Town’s culinary scene is quite something, perfect for foodies thanks to centuries of invasions by a wide variety of peoples from faraway places. The food blends British, French, Indian, Dutch, Asian, African and more cooking styles to create unusually delicious experiences. Eat Cape Malay style for food influenced by African, Asian and Dutch recipes, good and spicy and majoring on stews and curries. Don’t miss the sociable practice of braii, where people get together to eat BBQ meat, talk, laugh and enjoy each other’s company.
Stunning wildernesses
The wildflowers of Namaqua alone will change your life with their delicate beauty and vivid colours spread out like a glorious carpet as far as the eye can see. This is how our planet looked before humans came along and messed it up.
Remote Little Namaqualand might be dry and inhospitable most of the time but in July the winter rains bring it to vibrant life. You’ll see literally billions of flowers of every colour growing in the deserts, valleys and mountains of this extraordinary place, more than 3500 species in total. Richtersveld, the Skilpad Wildflower Preserve and the Namaqua National Park itself are pure natural magic.
Bizarrely beautiful Table Mountain
Walk or take a ride to the summit of Cape Town’s bizarre Table Mountain for views to die for over Cape Town itself and the surrounding countryside, the sea, Table Bay, and Robben Island where nelson Mandela spent so much time imprisoned. There’s a variety of trails, each giving you different views on your way up, dotted with fertile valleys, cool forests and glittering waterfalls.
Just under two miles uphill on the Platteklip Gorge Trail is one of the most dramatic, an extraordinary experience. If you’d prefer a bit more solitude on your climb, the Kloof Corner trek is just under a mile long and is properly hair-raising at times, not for the faint hearted. Or hop on the cable car and you’ll be at the summit within five minutes.
Jo’burg’s shameful history
Johannesburg itself is an emotional rollercoaster for people interested in the history of the country’s grim apartheid past. The Apartheid Museum sets the scene, and the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum in Soweto adds to your store of knowledge about this shameful era, when one lot of humans’ mad feelings of superiority made the lives of millions of others miserable. Mandela’s simple four-room home has also been turned into a museum, an emotionally charged destination.
Brilliant wines
You’ll probably fancy a glass of wine after all that, which leads us to the wonders of the country’s 350 year old wine making scene. The ancient vineyards of the fertile Cape Winelands is the result, home to the beloved local Pinotage red, a robust rustic treat you won’t want to miss. Wine estates, farmers markets, quirky little museums, brilliant eateries and three scenic wine towns are yours to explore here.
A truly wild coastline with pockets of sophistication
So is the Wild Coast as wild as the name suggests? The answer is yes, another breathtaking natural marvel to experience for yourself. Think fresh sea breezes, huge waterfalls, empty valleys like something out of Jurassic park, and stunning cliff-backed beaches offering spotless sand and enough solitude to give you a real feel for this splendid place. The entire 155-mile coast, from the Indian Ocean in the Eastern Cape, is yours to relax into. Find your own private beach, enjoy a hike, canoe the mighty Xhosa River if you like, overlooked by the Xhosa people’s pretty turquoise houses.
Here there be whales! Whale watching from the land or out at sea is another experience that’ll leave you breathless with excitement and joy. There are 37 different whales and dolphins to spot here, from the shore at Lambert’s Bay, Yzerfontein, Plettenberg Bay and Hermanus, with the best experiences from June to November when the southern right whales stop for a rest en route from Antarctica.
Lounge on the golden sands of the Durban Golden Mile to watch the beautiful, the rich and the tourists doing their thing in a location were the microclimate delivers as many as 320 sunny days every year. The four miles of exceptional beach running from uShaka Beach to the Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World is particularly nice, with beach activities and watersports to match. The surf at South and Addington beaches is perfect for beginners, and Bay of Plenty Beach is where the fishermen go. Or stroll the promenade parallel to the Golden Mile accompanied by Zulu artisans selling their wares, runners, hikers and cyclists. It’s all very cosmopolitan.
Say hello to our ancestors
Visit the place where your distant ancestors might have lived, where scientists found the 2.1 million year old skull of Australopithecus Africanus, who lived here before our own genus, Homo, evolved. This is also home to the Little Foot skeleton, three million years old and almost complete. In 2015 they found another, this time Homo naledi, a completely new kind of ancient human whose origin and place in the long chain of our evolution remains a mystery. To know more, visit the Cradle of Humankind, Maropeng visitor centre and Sterkfontein Caves.
The natural violence of the Cape of Good Hope
There’s something extra-magical about Africa’s most south westerly point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet at Cape Point, the Cape of Good Hope. It’s a wild, crazy place where violent waves crash, the gales roar and the jagged rocks provide a dramatic backdrop for photos. It’s no surprise so many ships have been wrecked off this scary place. There’s even a dizzying lighthouse at the top, accessible on foot or via the famous Flying Dutchman Funicular, an experience in itself. Visit the African penguin colony at Boulders Beach for an extra treat, one of just two land-based penguin colonies on earth.
If you’re more into action than sightseeing there’s everything from whale watching and shark swimming to hiking, fishing, kayaking and surfing, horse riding, diving with crocodiles – honestly! – plus some of the best dark skies on the planet. Look up to see our home galaxy in all its extraordinary glory, a sight we seldom see in the UK thanks to light pollution. It will blow your mind.
Book a sky safari to blow your mind
A sky safari in the Karoo is a sheer delight, a wonderfully empty landscape where the skies are the star of the show. A semi-desert, it offers not far short of two million square miles of magic covering the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and the Free State. This is where you’ll experience some of our planet’s darkest, clearest skies, bringing the universe so close it feels like you can touch it. Here’s where your sense of awe gets a work-out, making you realise how very small you really are and how enormous the space is that surrounds us.
A guided tour of the South African Astronomical Observatory is a fun way to know more about the remarkable sights you’ll see once darkness falls and you join your pre-booked sky safari.
The night skies here are humbling, as is so much of South Africa, the cradle of humanity, our ancient ancestral home, and a place that once visited is impossible to forget. That’s just the tip of the guided travel scene in this extraordinary country. You might just find yourself coming back for more, and more and more…
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