The checklist as a PDF
Entry, health, money, transport and safety, laid out for print, with their sources and verification date.
South Africa
Southern Africa
Breathtaking views, buzzing cities, paradise beaches, safari and culture. Cape landscapes, Robben Island and a layered cultural heritage.
- On the map
CapitalPretoria / Bloemfontein / Cape Town
When to goMarch–May and September–November
Suggested length10 days min.
Currencyrand
LanguagesEnglish +11
The Viafro verdict
For whom, and for which trip.
An editorial bearing, with no percentage and no rating: our criteria are written down, and every “good to know” links to its source.
- For which trip
- Cape Town · Johannesburg · Durban · Cape Town · Johanesburg
- Best season
- March–May and September–November
- Length
- Allow at least 10 days for these 5 essentials, one stop every two or three days. (Viafro’s rule of thumb)
Best time to visit
Twelve months, in colour.
Hover or tap a month: its reading and its source appear. Bars measure rain, the figure is the capital’s mean maximum.
Ideal
November
Spring; start of the Cape summer.
- Mean maximum
- 29 °C
- Rain
- 98 mm
- Station
- Pretoria
Source: Rough Guides
Before you go
The essentials, tab by tab.
Entry, health, safety, money and facts: dated official extracts, never paraphrased.
Visa, passport, customs
GOV.UK advice, written for British passport holders. French travellers: see France Diplomatie (https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/afrique-du-sud/conseils-aux-voyageurs-entree-sejour).
- Your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least 30 days after the date you leave South Africa and have at least 2 blank pages.
- You can visit South Africa without a visa for up to 90 days for business or tourism. The Department of Home Affairs also has information on South Africa visas and immigration regulations.
- To enter South Africa, you must have a certificate to prove you’ve had a yellow fever vaccination if you’re coming from a country listed as a transmission risk. For full details about medical entry requirements and recommended vaccinations, see TravelHealthPro’s South Africa guide.
Vaccines, malaria, water
This is not medical advice: talk to your doctor or an international vaccination centre before you travel.
- At least 8 weeks before your trip: Altitude sickness is a risk in parts of South Africa, including Johannesburg. Read more about altitude sickness on TravelHealthPro.
- There is no healthcare agreement between the UK and South Africa. Public medical care varies across South Africa. Standards of treatment and hygiene may not be the same as in the UK.
Per the ministries
Viafro gives no safety rating: here are the zones and advice published by the French ministry (in French) and the official extracts, with their dates.
Vigilance zones published by France Diplomatie (in French) · page updated on 29 Sept 2026 · see the official map
- Zone · À Johannesburg :
Prévoir un accueil à l’aéroport : il est recommandé de demander à son hôtel d’organiser un transfert depuis l’aéroport ou de s’assurer les services d’une compagnie reconnue de transport de personnes avant l’arrivée.
Quartier de Melville : renforcer sa vigilance en raison du risque élevé d’agression violente dans cette partie touristique de la ville.
- Zone · À Pretoria :
Si Pretoria, capitale administrative de l’Afrique du Sud, est plus sûre que Johannesburg, il convient toutefois d’y respecter les consignes générales de sécurité.
- Zone · À Nelspruit :
Le jardin botanique.
Prudence de mise sur la route du parc Kruger : éviter de s’arrêter sur le bas-côté de la route ou à la demande d’inconnus - vigilance dans les stations essence.
- Zone · À Hazyview :
La plus grande vigilance est de mise dans la zone à proximité des portes d’entrée du parc national Kruger de Phabeni gate et Numbi gate, en raison des agressions opérées par des fausses voitures de police.
- Zone · À Durban :
Quai Victoria, passages souterrains du Workshop Shopping Centre et de l’embarcadère Victoria, Point Road, aux alentours immédiats du Wheel Shopping Complex et du port.
Être prudent, à toute heure, sur le front de mer.
- Zone · Au Cap :
Privilégier dans la mesure du possible les arrivées de jour à l’aéroport et s’assurer que le transfert depuis l’aéroport est organisé à l’avance (taxi réservé, véhicule de l’hôtel…).
En cas de déplacements en voiture, il convient de planifier ses itinéraires. Ne pas se laisser guider par le GPS mais rester sur les grands axes (ne pas sortir des axes principaux à proximité de l’aéroport, le GPS…
- Zone · Dans l’Eastern Cape :
Ne pas se rendre dans les townships de Port Elizabeth et East London sans être accompagné d’un guide ou d’une personne familière des lieux et que l’on connaît bien.
A port Elizabeth, ne pas prendre la route R335 qui traverse le township de Motherwell.
- There is a high crime rate in South Africa, with incidents including: snatching jewellery and valuables
- There is a high threat of terrorist attack globally affecting UK interests and British nationals, including from groups and individuals who view the UK and British nationals as targets. Stay aware of your surroundings at all times.
What the country’s law provides
Photography, alcohol, drugs, relationships: the rules published by the ministries, quoted as they stand, without comment.
- Illegal drugs, including cannabis, carry severe penalties. Whilst the personal consumption of cannabis is considered legal, all other drug possession, use or smuggling illegal drugs, including when transiting through the airport is illegal.
Currency
randViafro publishes no price or budget range without a source: amounts will come from our own expenses recorded on the ground, dated and itemised.
- There are strict rules about goods you can take into or out of South Africa. You must declare anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty.
Express card
Structured data from Wikidata and the CIA World Factbook, re-checked at every site update.
- Population · 2025
- 64,747,319
- Time zone
- +1 h from Paris
- Plugs and voltage
- Type C, D and G plugs · 230 V
- Driving side
- Driving on the left
- Calling code
- +27
- Languages
- English, Afrikaans, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sesotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu, South African Sign Language
- Area
- 1,221,037 km²
- Highest point
- Mafadi, 3,450 m
- Main religions
- Christian 86%, ancestral, tribal, animist, or other traditional African religions 5.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other 1.5%, nothing in particular 5.2%
Getting there and around
Airports, roads and transport.
- JNBOR Tambo International AirportJohannesbourg21.2 M passengers · official site
- CPTCape Town International AirportLe Cap10.7 M passengers · official site
- DURKing Shaka International AirportDurban5.5 M passengers · official site
- HLALanseria International Airport1.9 M passengers · official site
Direct flights from Paris are to be checked on the airport’s or airline’s website.
On the road
- If you are planning to drive in South Africa, see information on driving abroad. You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in South Africa for up 12 months.
Destinations
The essentials.
Cape Town
A city notebook framed by mountains, the ocean and conversations about design.
Open the destination
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( joh-HAN-iss-burg, US also -HAHN-, Afrikaans: [jʊəˈɦanəsbœrχ]; Xhosa: eGoli [ɛˈɡɔːli]; Zulu: iGoli [îˈɡóːli]), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "the City of Gold", is the capital city of the province of Gauteng and the largest city in…
Durban
Durban ( DUR-bən; Zulu: eThekwini, from itheku meaning 'bay, lagoon') is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Cape Town
A city notebook framed by mountains, the ocean and conversations about design.
Open the destination
Johanesburg
Activities
What to do, sheet by sheet.
Starting point, season, tips and sources: each sheet says only what its sources say.
South Africa
Table Mountain
A flat-topped mountain overlooking Cape Town, Table Mountain rises to 1,086 m at Maclear’s Beacon.
South Africa
The Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point
The Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias rounded it in 1487 and first called it the Cape of Storms.
South Africa
The penguins of Boulders Beach
In Simon’s Town, on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula, a colony of critically endangered African penguins settled in 1982.
South Africa
Robben Island
In Table Bay, 11 km from Cape Town, the island has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.
South Africa
The Garden Route
The name is given to the 170 km from Mossel Bay to Storms River, on the 700 km route between Cape Town and Gqeberha.
South Africa
Safari in Kruger National Park
South Africa’s first national park, in 1926, Kruger covers 19,623 km² in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.
South Africa
The Drakensberg (uKhahlamba)
The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park covers 2,428 km² in KwaZulu-Natal and belongs to the Maloti-Drakensberg Park, declared a World Heritage Site on 30 November 2000.
South Africa
The vineyards of Stellenbosch
Founded in 1679, 50 km east of Cape Town, Stellenbosch is South Africa’s second oldest town.
South Africa
The Blyde River Canyon and the Panorama Route
26 km long, in Mpumalanga, the Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon on Earth, and a “green canyon” covered in subtropical vegetation.
South Africa
iSimangaliso and Lake St Lucia
On the KwaZulu-Natal coast, about 235 km north of Durban, iSimangaliso Wetland Park runs along 280 km of coastline and covers some 3,280 km².
Johannesburg
Filmed by usMust-try food
Six dishes, and where to taste them.
Boerewors
Boerewors is a type of sausage which originated in South Africa. It is an important part of South African, Setswana, Zimbabwean cuisine and is popular across Southern Africa. The name is derived from the Afrikaans words boer and wors ('sausage'). According to
Bobotie
Bobotie is a South African dish consisting of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping. It is not however a national dish.
Biltong
Biltong is a form of air-dried, cured meat which originated in Southern Africa. Various types of meat are used to produce it, ranging from beef to game meats such as ostrich or kudu. The cut may also vary, being either fillets of meat cut into strips following
Chakalaka
Chakalaka is a South African vegetable relish, usually spicy, that is traditionally served with bread, pap, samp, stews, or curries. Chakalaka is said to have originated in the townships of Johannesburg or in the gold mines surrounding Johannesburg, when Mozam
Yellow rice
Yellow rice is a traditional yellow-colored rice dish in Iranian, Middle East, Moroccan, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Caribbean, Portuguese, Filipino, Afghan, Indian, Sri Lankan, South African and Indonesian cuisines. It is made using white rice turned yellow by anna
Bunny chow
Bunny chow, often referred to simply as a bunny, is an Indian South African fast food dish consisting of a hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with curry and a serving of salad on the side. It originated among Indian South Africans of Durban. Throughout va
Culture and etiquette
Customs, dress, useful words.
- Hellohello
- Thank youthank you
- Pleaseplease
- Entries checked on Wiktionary.
- Religions: Christian 86%, ancestral, tribal, animist, or other traditional African religions 5.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other 1.5%, nothing in particular 5.2%.
- Languages: isiZulu or Zulu (official) 25.3%, isiXhosa or Xhosa (official) 14.8%, Afrikaans (official) 12.2%, Sepedi or Pedi (official) 10.1%, Setswana or Tswana (official) 9.1%, English (official) 8.1%, Sesotho or Sotho (official) 7.9%, Xitsonga or Tsonga (official) 3.6%, siSwati or Swati (official) 2.8%, Tshivenda or…
Festivals and events
The big dates.
- National holiday
Freedom Day, 27 April (1994).
- Independence
31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 22 August 1934 (Status of the Union Act); 31 May 1961 (republic declared); 27 April 1994 (majority rule).
Fixed dates and moveable events, each with its source; moveable dates change every year and are to be checked on an official calendar.
Did you know?
Three things to remember.
The country’s highest point, Mafadi, reaches 3,450 m.
64,747,319 inhabitants in 2025 on 1,221,037 km², about 53 per km².
Independence on 31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State).
The country on video
South Africa, in motion.
Gallery
See it before you go.
Real photographs: free images under a verified licence and Viafro images. Never a generated image. Credits in the footer.
Share your trip with #viafro: the best images will join this gallery, with your credit.
Live, work, invest
A few key figures.
Sourced data (World Bank). No investment advice.
GDP per capita (current US$)6.6World Bank · 2025GDP growth1.1 %World Bank · 2025Inflation (consumer prices)3.2 %World Bank · 2025Unemployment (ILO estimate)32.4 %World Bank · 2025International tourist arrivals3.9 ,600World Bank · 2020
World Bank data (World Development Indicators), consulted on 28 Oct 2026. Tourist arrivals are the latest year published.
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Sources and verification dates · 21 sources, checked on 28 Oct 2026
Travel advice · GOV.UK (FCDO)Entry, visa, safety: the official page, kept up to date by the ministry. Travel health · US CDCVaccines and precautions from a reference medical source. World Heritage · UNESCOThe country’s inscribed sites and tentative list. WikidataCapital and currency, verified structured data.
- Wikidata · South Africa (Q258)
- World Bank · World Development Indicators
- GOV.UK (FCDO) · South Africa · Foreign travel advice · Entry requirements (page updated on 19 Oct 2026)
- GOV.UK (FCDO) · South Africa · Foreign travel advice · Health (page updated on 19 Oct 2026)
- GOV.UK (FCDO) · South Africa · Foreign travel advice · Safety and security (page updated on 19 Oct 2026)
- Rough Guides · Best time to visit South Africa
- Wiktionary · Checked entries (English)
- Wikipedia · Boerewors
- Wikipedia · Bobotie
- Wikipedia · Biltong
- Wikipedia · Chakalaka
- Wikipedia · Yellow rice
- Wikipedia · Bunny chow
- Wikipedia · Le Cap
- Wikipedia · Johannesburg
- Wikipedia · Durban
- Wikipedia · Cape Town Stadium
- CIA World Factbook · South Africa (public domain) (page updated on 29 Oct 2026)
- France Diplomatie · Afrique du Sud · Travel advice · Security (zones, in French) (page updated on 29 Sept 2026)
- Wikidata · Airports of the country (IATA code, traffic) (page updated on 29 Oct 2026)
- Wikipedia (climate normals) · Pretoria · monthly normals (NOAA (sun and humidity 1961−1990)) (page updated on 29 Oct 2026)
Information checked on 28 Oct 2026. Check the official source before you travel. Viafro gives no safety rating and publishes no price without a source.
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