Important Travel Tips for South Africa

I came to South Africa with a totally open mind, having not done much research prior to visiting. I went full throttle into South Africa for 30 days last October and travelling around the whole month led me to some observations about the way of life, behaviours and culture of the local South Africans.

The purpose of this article is to thus share some of these observations I’ve made about the country and offer you valuable travel tips for your South Africa trip planning so that your worries and concerns about travelling to South Africa and be assuaged.

Driving almost the whole of South Africa, what took me by surprise is the vast variety of landscapes the country offers, on top of the alarming number of animal species. It is truly quite a sight to behold once you’re on this side of the Earth.

View from the top

One minute you’ll be driving through the deserts and red soil like Arizona or Utah, and the next, you’ll be drifting through grass fields and green hills, much like Scotland or New Zealand. Oh, not forgetting, you’ll also cruise through miles and miles of vineyards; you can almost smell the champagne in the air. (I exaggerate.)

Then when you’re in the bush, you’ll experience the most unexpected wild animals suddenly before your eyes. Elephants, buffalos, cheetahs, zebras, giraffes, ostriches… You just have to be still, observe, focus and open your eyes wide enough to see them present everywhere.

It reminded me of my little road trip that I took in Kangaroo Island, Australia, where we would encounter so many wildlife while taking our drives (some that even have to make us stop to let them pass!).

Interesting Facts about South Africa

But first, care to indulge while I surprise you with some interesting facts about South Africa?

Did you know:

• South Africa has 3 capitals? Pretoria for executive purposes, Cape Town for legislative purposes and Bloemfontein for judicial purposes.
• While South Africa borders the southernmost tip of the African continent, it actually encloses 2 landlocked countries, eSwatini and Lesotho. These countries are totally surrounded by South African territory.
• South Africa has the greatest number of official languages in the world – 11!
• South Africa is a temperate country, so extreme hot and cold weather are rare. Most of the country is at rather high elevation, and this allows certain regions (like the Winelands) to be extremely conducive for producing wines.

So, this brings us to my list of South Africa travel tips to equip you and help with your South Africa trip planning, along with other interesting observations I’ve made that are unique to South Africa.

Real Travel Tips For South Africa to Prepare for Your Trip

1. Safety in South Africa

Is South Africa safe? Is it safe to travel to South Africa? Should I be concerned about my safety? Do I have to take any vaccinations? It seems to be everyone’s first concern when visiting Africa. Granted, Africa is wrapped around a stereotype that it’s a dangerous continent to travel to.

While I fully understand and had my concerns too, after travelling for 30 days (most days with another girl friend, and other times solo), I can say that safety should not be too large a concern as long as you’re a sensible and respectful traveller.

Having visited different cities, towns and resorts throughout the whole of October in South Africa, I’ve found that as long as you keep to the fairly populated areas, you don’t have to worry about safety.

Of course, you should do your due diligence such as not flashing your valuables in public, not leaving anything in the car that is visible to onlookers, and not foolishly wandering around dingy alleys in the middle of the night. Be respectful towards the culture, don’t make unnecessary eye contact, and as long as you avoid getting into trouble, you have nothing to worry about.

The one time I was staying in Cape Town alone, I wandered around the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town close to midnight on my own, as a solo female, and did not, at any one time, found my safety threatened. I even went to a random bar on my own and ended up making a friend that night!

As with everything, I always recommend every traveller to get travel insurance before a trip. South Africa travel insurance is no exception. Get your quote here.

2. Be Prepared to Drive Everywhere

It almost seems like everywhere in South Africa, the better transportation option is to drive. We could have taken public transport in Cape Town, given that it’s a developed and accessible city, but the cost and convenience of driving far outweighed the use of public transport.

While the other alternative is to fly from one town to another (yes, South Africa is massive!), if you want to do day trips around the city (like from Cape Town to Franschhoek for wine heaven), having a car is still the better option.

Unlike driving in eSwatini, where roads are mostly on soil paths, and lane lines are ambiguous (and the occasional goats that linger by the side of the roads make for huge car hazards), the roads in South Africa are all concrete slab roads that are very well-marked and well-paved. Getting from one town to another just means being on a highway with multiple lanes – easy!

We rented our car from Around About Cars the entire duration of our South Africa trip and found them to have really responsive service and reasonable cost – only 316 R/ USD 20 per day!

3. It’s Okay if You Don’t Drive

The best way to get around cities if you don’t drive is via private hire. Similar to Uber, Grab and Lyft, South Africa uses another app called Bolt. While Uber is also available in South Africa, it’s usually pricier. You can get from one town to another via domestic flights – and yes, they are rather affordable too.

4. Lack of Auto Cars

While on the topic of renting cars, if you have a preference for automatic cars, make sure to explicitly state so. While we might be used to being rented auto cars by default in other countries, South Africa very much still has more supply of manual cars than auto cars. You might have to pay a little more to rent auto cars due to its limited supply, but as long as you rent it in advance, you shouldn’t have a problem getting an auto car to drive on your trip to South Africa.

Recycled cars that likely come from your country – One rather surprising finding I found was how some of the cars in South Africa and eSwatini are imported from developed countries like Singapore.

In Singapore, you’re permitted to own a car for 10 years; thereafter, the car has to be sent for scrapping, even if the car is fully functional and operating! Some warped law, I know. So, these cars are exported and being reused in this part of Africa. Using these cars again when renting to drive around South Africa almost feels like reuniting with a long-lost family, heh!

5. Left-Hand Drive

South Africa follows a left-hand drive, much like UK, Japan and Singapore.

6. Cheap Parking Tips

For reference, when we were at the biggest shopping mall in Cape Town, Canal Walk, it was 10 R/ USD 0.60 for the first 2 hours. And that was in a mall where tourists frequent! Think of it as an outlet mall.

We spent a good chunk of time in this mall escaping from the crazy madness of a rain (that offered zero visibility on the road and made driving hazardous) working at Mugg & Bean.

7. Expect to Tip “Parking Attendants”

They aren’t actual parking attendants, but they don reflective vests to make them look like they are. They hang around in popular parking lots e.g. near farmer’s markets, around popular restaurants and when they see you approach, they guide your car into a sweet parking space.

When you come out of the car, they expect you to give them a tip. Should you worry that they will wreck your car if you don’t? Not if you don’t have valuable belongings in the car. NEVER ever leave any belongings in the car in anyone’s sight. It’s usually hard to get away from such confrontational situations when they explicitly reach out with their hands asking for a tip; locals are used to it and simply brush them away.

If you’re afraid of incurring someone’s wrath, you can appease them by offering a little tip. It doesn’t have to be much. The key is to be polite and respectful about it, even if you decline them.

8. Luxury Lodges in South Africa Are Totally on a New Level

In all the luxury properties I’ve stayed in different parts of the world (Maldives included), the luxury resorts in South Africa is unparalleled!

You get services such as a private escort to your room and turndown service to name a few. Prior to this, I had not even known what turndown service is. And then you’ll have rooms with two sinks, a bathtub, and a shower, spoiling you for choice!

They redefine luxury in a way that will forever change the view of how I see luxury from now on.

9. Travel Adapters Are Different

An annoying point about South Africa is that it has its very own kind of electricity socket. It would not be compatible with any kind of universal travel adapter you may have, no matter how frequently you travel. This is the one I’m talking about.

10. Up-and-Coming Food and Coffee Scene

When visiting popular cities such as Cape Town, I noticed how trendy and modern their cafes and restaurants look. There’s even a rise in work-friendly cafes with free and fast WiFi.

The food and drink scene in South Africa is only going to be more competitive, which is a boon for us visitors because this means greater choices and competitive prices!

11. A Trending Digital Nomad City

Co-working spaces in Cape Town

With the rise of co-working spaces and WiFi-friendly cafes around Cape Town, it’s becoming a favourite and popular hub for digital nomads (like myself) to work from there! Not only that, the cost of living is also pretty affordable (think 30 R/ USD 2 coffees!). I am already planning my escape back to Cape Town!

12. Food Is More Varied Than You Can Imagine

Already, you can find all kinds of cuisines in farmer’s markets in Cape Town, anything from Korean to Belgian, Japanese to Portuguese. As long as you have a certain food craving, you won’t have trouble satisfying it in bigger cities like Cape Town, Durban or Plettenberg Bay. (You can tell I’m very biased towards Cape Town.)

13. Shopping Is a Unique Experience

I’m not a fan of shopping, but there are a plethora of boutique shops, handmade handicrafts, and unique apparel from local designers all around South Africa. We visited a mill factory in Plettenberg Bay, weaving their own cloths, and when at farmers’ markets, we’re exposed to so many unique works from talented designers.

Even if you prefer shopping in multi-chain stores, you can do that too. Stores like TAG Heuer, Victoria’s Secret, ZARA, Superdry, Ted Baker, and BOSS can all be found in large department stores.

14. Get Used to Greetings

Their most common greeting is “how are you”, and it’s usually asked before you begin any conversation. It’s thus wise (and polite) to bear that in mind. Instead of diving straight into your request or question, greet the locals first!

While I personally don’t refute the fact that it’s polite, I find it extremely unnecessary, because after all, why do they ask it when they don’t really mean to hear what the reply is (unless, of course, you really mean to ask how they are)?

15. Big Coffee and Tea Culture

Almost every time we are on a tour, and there is a break, coffee and tea are always offered to guests. Whether it is waiting for my white shark cage diving tour or waiting for my sunrise safari game drives, there’s always tea and coffee available for you to perk your day up, anytime of the day.

16. Water Shortage

Certain areas in South Africa – Cape Town especially – are feeling the effects of water shortage, due to heatwave conditions and the lack of rain in the region. South Africa is generally semiarid, and as a result, many farmers often face water shortages.

More than 20% of the country is arid and receives less than 8 inches (200 mm) of precipitation annually, while almost 50% of South Africa is semiarid and receives 8 – 24 inches (200 – 600 mm) annually. Only about 6% of the country averages more than 40 inches (1,000 mm) per year. Precipitation levels decrease from east to west.

Hence, while hotels would put up little reminders to conserve water, it’s also mindful to use water sparingly when travelling around South Africa.

17. Hotels Don’t Serve Any Water

If you’re puzzled as to why every hotel room that you are in never serves any form of bottled water in the rooms, that’s because their tap water is drinkable. If not for poor sanitation issues, South Africa actually has one of the cleanest water in the world!

18. Get Used to Power Cuts

Power cuts can happen periodically, depending on your luck. Usually, they are scheduled in advance, so hotels are usually prepared and inform guests beforehand.

They would normally have battery-powered lamps in the rooms, and the service staff would usually do room calls to check if everything is fine (since phones don’t work as well!).

Take it as a chance to go offline and spend quality time with yourself or your companion(s).

19. Expect to Tip Service Staff

Much like in the US, you’re expected to tip in South Africa, especially in restaurants. How much to tip? I generally stuck to a general rule of thumb of tipping at least 10% of the total bill.

20. Have the Right Documents

As someone who’s been there, I can’t stress enough the importance of staying aware of your surroundings and taking simple safety measures. But don’t overlook the necessity of having the right travel documents. Trust me, it can make all the difference.

Before your trip, take the time to get acquainted with the South African Traveller Declaration. It’s a small step that can ensure your journey is hassle-free from start to finish. 

So there you have it – my list of travel tips for South Africa! Hopefully, these real-world encounters that I encountered in South Africa help you with your next South Africa trip!

In all honesty, I’d enjoyed South Africa more than I expected to… So much so that I’m planning another one a year later to take my family with me!

Were there any South Africa travel tips that surprised you or that you didn’t expect to learn about?