South Africa

A country of contrasts

South Africa packs an unusual range of experiences into one country: a cosmopolitan coastal city, some of the world's best-known wine valleys, and malaria-free safari reserves, all connected by a mature road and air network that makes independent travel straightforward.

Cape Town and beyond

Cape Town sits at the country's southwestern tip, framed by Table Mountain and the Atlantic, and works as both a city break and a base for day trips into the nearby Winelands around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek; our Cape Town & Winelands itinerary follows this route. Further afield, Kruger National Park and the private reserves along its border offer some of Africa's most accessible big-game safaris, with many lodges free of malaria risk and reachable by short domestic flight from Cape Town or Johannesburg. The country's layered history, and the legacy of figures such as Nelson Mandela, is woven through museums and heritage sites in Cape Town and beyond, adding depth to a trip built primarily around scenery and wildlife.

Choosing your season

South Africa's seasons run opposite to the northern hemisphere's, with winter falling between May and September. This is generally the best window for safari, since dry vegetation and clustered water sources make game easier to find, while Cape Town and the coast are at their warmest and driest from November to March, making shoulder months such as September to November or March to April a reasonable compromise for itineraries that combine both. Many travellers extend a South Africa trip northward to Victoria Falls or a Kenya and Tanzania safari for a longer multi-country journey.