South Africa showed the world that they successfully hosted hundreds of thousands of visitors during the 2010 Soccer World Cup and that this country has so much to offer. Millions of people across the globe saw that South Africa is a fantastic holiday destination with many and varied destinations. One legacy of the Soccer World Cup is an excellent tourism infrastructure and an upbeat goodwill amongst the people that is evident and palpable.
South Africa’s attractions span every kind of South Africa vacation you could wish for and one click to the various destinations on this website will highlight what's on offer for your holiday in South Africa. For example, we feature Cape Town the 'Mother City’ and its signature luxury hotels, the rugged Cape Peninsula and the elegant Cape Wineland’s including the gourmet towns of Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Paarl. The Garden Route extends from Cape Town along the coast mixing adventure and beauty for a perfect South African self-drive holiday. At the opposite end of South Africa - a 2 hour flight north-east - is the commercial heartland of Johannesburg and the vibrant hotels of upmarket Sandton. From here it is just a skip and a hop to find yourself on safari in the renowned Greater Kruger National Park where elephant, lion, leopard and all the big game of Africa roam free. KwaZulu Natal is also known for its game parks, with many endangered black rhino. But what's special about KwaZulu Natal is that you can see elephant and rhino in the morning and whales and turtles in the afternoon. The Indian Ocean can be seen from the major game reserves and some extend right down to this warm water coastline.
Cape Town is a city of seductive ease and coastal languor. Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain is an emblematic landmark of a country full of incredible contrasts and unique geographical, botanical and zoological diversity. The crescent beaches of Camps Bay and secluded Clifton attract sun worshippers, while others are drawn to the energy of a city rooted in maritime trading heritage and colonial history.
The Winelands founding town of Stellenbosh and Franschhoek the original French town settled by the Huguenots have reputations based on European standards offering guest houses, hotels and restaurants of superior international quality. These fertile valleys contain distinctive ‘Cape Dutch’ architecture of white farmsteads of rounded gables. The rich soils yield grape varieties producing robust reds to dispel winter blues and delicate fruity whites to accompany summer seafood lunches; sweet dessert wines are also prized. Many award-winning labels and vintages have emerged as a result of producing such fine blends as chardonnay pinot noir. The wine routes have many distinctive destinations where wine-tasting and world-class dining is set amid rolling hills of picture-postcard perfection.
The Garden Route is South Africa’s most famous tract of verdant coastline containing incredible diversity of attractions where beach, forest and mountain landscape compete for attention. Wildlife enthusiasts and lovers of the great outdoors will appreciate a coastline from which to spot southern right whales, dolphins and Cape fur seals and Great White sharks. Game reserves are also dotted along the coast, many in elegant lodges of colonial or modern safari style.
South Africa is blessed with diversity of wildlife including the largest land-based mammal: the African elephant, the tallest: the giraffe, the fastest: the cheetah, the smallest: the dwarf shrew, the largest non-flying bird: the ostrich and the largest flying bird: the kori bustard. The famed ‘Big Five’ consist of lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo (sometimes supplemented by cheetah and wild dog to make the ‘Big Seven’); many visitors aspire to ‘tick off’ their viewing list safari journal entries as many of these as possible...try to spot a dazzle of zebra or pod of hippos!
