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South Africa

Africa · Destination guide

South Africa

A world in one country.

SafariWildlifeFood & WineFamilySelf-DriveGolf

Nowhere else strings together a leopard sighting at dawn, a world-top-ten lunch in the winelands and an Atlantic sunset from Table Mountain — in the same day if you push it. South Africa is the great-value luxury destination: the rand makes five-star lodges and tasting menus startlingly accessible from the UAE.

The classic first journey pairs Cape Town and the winelands with a Kruger-area safari; families add the Garden Route’s whales, ostriches and beach towns in a gentle self-drive.

Where to go

Finding your South Africa

Cape Town

Table Mountain, Camps Bay sunsets and the Cape Peninsula’s penguins.

The Winelands

Stellenbosch and Franschhoek: Cape Dutch estates and serious cellars.

Kruger & Sabi Sands

The Big Five heartland — private reserves for guaranteed quality.

The Garden Route

Knysna lagoons, Plettenberg beaches and forest walks by hire car.

Seasons

When to go

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Best Good Possible Less suitableSeasons are guidance, never a weather guarantee.

May – September

Prime safari: dry bush, animals at the waterholes. Cape Town’s green winter.

October – March

Cape Town’s summer — beach days, long winery lunches. Green-season safari with baby animals.

June – November

Whale season in Hermanus — southern rights from the clifftop.

Things to experience

Moments worth flying for

Big Five game drives

Dawn and dusk with rangers who read the bush like a newspaper.

Table Mountain cableway

Up for sunset, city lights on the way down.

Franschhoek wine tram

Hop-off tastings through the prettiest valley in wine.

Penguins at Boulders Beach

African penguins at swimming distance.

Whale watching, Hermanus

The world’s best land-based whale viewing (Jun–Nov).

Cape Point drive

Chapman’s Peak bends to the meeting of two oceans.

Where to stay

Styles that suit

Private safari lodges

Sabi Sands suites with plunge pools and leopards past the deck.

Cape Town boutiques

V&A waterfront glamour or Camps Bay beach houses.

Wineland manor houses

Cape Dutch estates among the vines.

We recommend specific hotels once we know your dates and party — availability and rates are always confirmed by a specialist.

Popular holidays

Trips we build to South Africa

Our itineraries are starting points, not fixed packages — open one for the full day-by-day plan, then let us reshape it around you.

Gallery

South Africa, in pictures

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Ready when you are.

Tell us your dates and your dream — a South Africa specialist replies typically within one working day.