country
South AfricaiNingizimu Afrika · Suid-Afrika
First trip: Cape Town for 4–5 nights, then either a Garden Route self-drive (4–5 nights, one-way) or a flight to the Kruger area for 3–4 nights of safari; with two weeks do both, but fly between the Cape and Kruger rather than drive.
South Africa trips break on distance and on driving after dark: Cape Town to Kruger is roughly a two-hour flight, not a road day, and a single long drive that runs past sunset is where most self-drive problems start. The rules that apply everywhere: drive on the left, finish every drive in daylight, keep bags off the car seats and out of sight, and use ride-hailing rather than walking in city centres at night. Seasons pull in opposite directions: the Cape's rainy winter (June–August) is the dry, best game-viewing season in Kruger.
All regions, cities and parks in South Africa (Atlas) →
Regions
Cape Town base; Cape Peninsula, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek winelands as day trips
4–6 nights
One-way drive from Mossel Bay to Storms River (Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Tsitsikamma)
3–5 nights
Kruger National Park rest camps or a private reserve; Panorama Route
3–4 nights
Durban, the Drakensberg and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi
3–5 nights
Arrive
JNB
O. R. Tambo International (Johannesburg)
Main hub; connections to Kruger-area airports and the region
CPT
Cape Town International
About 20–30 min by car to the city centre outside rush hour
DUR
King Shaka International (Durban)
For KwaZulu-Natal and the Drakensberg
Time math
- 5 days
- Cape Town 5 (Table Mountain, Cape Peninsula drive, a winelands day)
- 7 days
- Cape Town 4 + Stellenbosch or Hermanus 3
- 10 days
- Cape Town 4 + Garden Route one-way 3 + fly to the Kruger area 3
- 14 days
- Cape Town 5 + Garden Route 4 + Kruger 4 + a Johannesburg night before the flight home
Country rules
- Check visa and entry rules for your passport with the Department of Home Affairs or a South African mission before booking; exemptions depend on nationality.
- Travelling with children: check the current document rules for minors (birth certificates, parental consent) with Home Affairs and your airline before you fly.
- Driving is on the left. If your licence is not in English or has no photo, get an International Driving Permit before you travel; rental companies also check it.
- National park gates open and close at fixed times; you must be inside your camp before the gate closes, and speed limits in parks are enforced.
Etiquette
- Greet before you ask for anything; a quick "hello, how are you" comes before the question.
- Ask before photographing people, especially in townships and rural villages; township visits are best done with a local guide.
- Queues are respected; "just now" can mean later, not immediately.
- School holidays (Dec–Jan, Easter)
- Coast, Garden Route and Kruger book out; roads out of Johannesburg and Cape Town are busy.
- Cape winter (Jun–Aug)
- Rain and wind in Cape Town and the Garden Route; also the best dry-season game viewing in Kruger.
- Summer in the Lowveld (Nov–Mar)
- Heat, afternoon storms and thicker bush in Kruger; animals are harder to spot.
Money & passes
Cash necessity: 2/5
- Currency is the South African rand (ZAR, R). Cards are accepted almost everywhere in cities and at lodges; carry small cash for tips.
- Tip car guards, petrol-station attendants (fuel is served for you) and restaurant staff in cash; around 10–15% is normal in restaurants.
- Use ATMs inside shopping centres or banks, keep your card in sight when paying, and decline help from strangers at ATMs.
Before you fly: eSIM before you fly · Visas and entry
Safety
- City centres: do not walk around at night or show phones and cameras openly; use ride-hailing for evening trips, and ask your host which streets to avoid.
- Smash-and-grab: keep bags in the boot and windows up at traffic lights, especially in Johannesburg and on airport routes.
- Self-drive: no driving after dark outside cities; animals, pedestrians and unlit vehicles are on rural roads, and distances between fuel stops can be long.
- In parks, stay in your vehicle except at marked places; never feed animals.
- Beaches: swim only between lifeguard flags; currents on both coasts are strong.
- Emergency: 10111 police, 10177 ambulance, 112 from a mobile phone.
- Health: see a travel clinic well before you fly about vaccinations and malaria prevention, and check whether a yellow-fever vaccination certificate is required for your passport and route, including transits.
South Africa is the air hub of Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Victoria Falls, Eswatini, Lesotho and Mozambique are short flights or drives from Johannesburg or Cape Town.
Sources
- UK FCDO foreign travel advice: South Africa (official)
- South Africa Department of Home Affairs (official)
- Wikivoyage — South Africa (secondary)