Locally called Mzansi, this country has a diverse population and equally varied landscapes, languages, and iconic attractions. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the stars of the show.
Kruger National Park
In the northeast of the country, a trip to South Africa isn’t complete without a visit to this legendary reserve. The park presents an amazing density of wild animals like the Big Five and many more.
Spend up to three days exploring this incredible park and the bushveld punctuated by mountains and tropical forests. It’s an ornithologist’s dream, too, with eagles, vultures, storks, colorful sunbirds, barbets, rollers, and ostrich in the wild.
Cape Town
The “mother city” is one of the most beautiful metropolitan areas in the world and central to South Africa holiday packages. Iconic Table Mountain is an obvious must-see, along with the V&A Waterfront, Two Oceans Aquarium, and Kirstenbosch gardens.
Visit the spartan conditions on Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela spent almost 27 years. Don’t forget the museums, hiking the mountain trails, or visiting the townships for an authentic experience.
When it comes to food and drink, you’re spoiled for choice. The Cape is known as the wine country, and our South Africa tours include packages to Stellenbosch, Paarl, or quaint Franschhoek. These wineries are a hugely popular day out in quite fantastic surroundings and mouthwatering delights.
If the beach is more your speed, hang out in trendy Camps Bay, learn to surf in Muizenberg, or swim with African Jackass penguins at Boulders. Modern, cosmopolitan, gorgeous, and chic, Cape Town regularly rates among the coolest cities in the world.
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope refers to the western tip at the end of the peninsula. It ends in a rocky promontory called Cape Point. Visit this part of Table Mountain National Park on our South Africa tours.
Cape Point is often mistaken for the most southerly point of the continent, but Cape Agulhas, about 100 miles east, owns that honor. There are towering cliffs and unique flora as endemic fynbos. Watch out for the baboons and visit the lighthouse for epic views.
Oudtshoorn
About 260 miles (418 km) east of Cape Town, in the Klein Karoo, you’ll find the world’s ostrich capital. Learn more about the flightless bird and its development on a South African tour. Try an ostrich omelet that feeds 15, or sample an ostrich steak or biltong, the local dried meat snack.
Nestled between two mountain ranges, take in the unique semi-desert beauty and colors. It’s home to the Cango Caves, the country’s largest. A series of dripstone caverns open into enormous halls with stalactite and stalagmite formations that developed over millions of years.
Other attractions
Our carefully curated itineraries allow free time during your South Africa tour, giving you the freedom to explore at your own pace. Discover South Africa off the beaten path for a unique experience that you’ll never forget.
A South Africa trip also offers evidence of the earliest humans in the Sterkfontein caves, often called the Cradle of Humankind. In the northern Cape, the landscape changes with the red dunes of the Kalahari desert and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
Visit the educational Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg to learn about the country’s turbulent history. Get lost on the Wild Coast of the Transkei, go whale-spotting near Hermanus, visit Addo Elephant Park, or laze on the golden beaches and warm water of Durban.