The Drakensberg Mountains Holidays

The south of the country (around Cape Town and The Garden Route) is best in our winter, from October through April, when temperatures will be in the early to mid-twenties Celsius and rainfall is at its lowest. If you travel out of season, you’ll still not experience terrible weather – it would be like late spring or early autumn for us, and the prices are a bit lower too!

The north of the country, from the Kruger across to the Madikwe is warm (early to mid-twenties Celsius) and dry in our summer, and hot (early thirties Celsius) and wet in our winter – but you can visit year-round, as the rain tends to be focussed in short, heavy bursts in the late afternoon, rather than endless drizzle!

KwaZulu-Natal has an almost tropical climate. In our winter, it’s not a great time to travel as it gets hot and very wet – with twice as much monthly rainfall as a typical month in the UK. However, in our summer (when the south of South Africa isn’t at its best) it’s lovely with temperatures in the late teens / early twenties Celsius and rainfall is minimal. It’s also the only stretch of South African coastline with pleasant temperatures in the mid-twenties Celsius rather than the positively chilly late teens seen along the rest of the coast.

South African food is incredibly good, cheap and plentiful: It's almost impossible to not eat exceptionally well on a South Africa holiday! For casual lunches and dinners, you can pick almost any restaurant you see and know you’ll get a decent meal for less than £10 a head. And if you want to push the boat out, there are some world-class restaurants to choose from, where a tasting menu paired with wines costs £40-£50 per head – and this is for food of a Michelin-star standard!

With thousands of kilometres of coastline, it’s no surprise that fresh seafood is a delight in South Africa. Similarly, with vast areas of the country dedicated to livestock and game farming, it's easy to see why meat is a staple of the South African diet. Produce is always fresh and the main influence on cuisine is classical European cooking. There are Indian and Cape Malay influences as well, in dishes like the lightly-spiced bobotie.

South African wine

South African wines are superb, and, in addition to “typical” South African grapes like Pinotage and Chenin Blanc, they also produce excellent Bordeaux-style blends, as well as increasingly sophisticated wines made from all major grape varieties. Some estates have become rightly famous, and with it their price tags have risen: the trick is to find a similar but less well-known estate where a very similar wine will be that little bit cheaper, and give you bragging rights! We're here to help with that! 

The main choice facing the traveller to South Africa is whether to fly direct or indirect. The direct flights are more expensive, but the indirect flights (usually via Europe, Istanbul or the Gulf) are longer – much longer in the case of flights via the Gulf. When you consider that the direct flight time is 11-12 hours, you don’t want to add too much to this otherwise it becomes an incredibly long journey!

UK passport holders don't need a visa to visit South Africa for tourism. Other nationalities should check with the South African embassy or consulate.

Passport: Your passport should be valid for a minimum period of 6 months from the date of entry into South Africa and have at least two completely blank pages for immigration to use.

Travelling with children: Parents travelling with children under 18 on a UK passport are required to provide a valid passport to enter South Africa. If children are travelling with one or neither of the biological parents, then affidavits are required from the absent parents allowing the child to travel. Please check the South African Department of Home Affairs for more information.

As we’re not medical experts we feel it is essential you contact your G.P. regarding vaccinations and the like for travel to South Africa. What follows is some suggestions, but they must be verified by a medical professional. In addition to such vaccinations as you’d routinely have for living in the UK, further boosters are recommended for Hepatitis A, Tetanus and Diptheria. Malaria exists in the lowland areas of Mpumlanaga Province (including the Kruger), Northern Province and north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal in an area including the wildlife reserves and the Elephant Coast. Please consult your G.P. for advice on what malarial precautions to take.

We also like these guys but again you must talk to your GP first: The Travel Doctor, an interactive website providing specialist health information for travellers plus customised lists of travel medicines, vaccines and malaria tablets for holiday makers, global adventure travellers and expeditions.

South Africa has a reputation as a dangerous country with high crime rates. Whilst crime rates are high, these are almost always perpetrated well away from areas that tourists might venture. We honestly believe that if you behave sensibly, exactly as you would when travelling to any major city or developing country, then you are no more likely to be a victim of crime than you would be almost anywhere else in the world.

In over a decade of travelling to South Africa ourselves and sending countless clients there on unforgettable holidays, there have been but a handful of incidents of minor crime. Once you get there, we're sure you'll be pleasantly surprised by how safe you feel.

Swimming in South Africa

It's possible to swim off the beaches of South Africa, however most of them have strong currents and significant surf, so we only advise swimming if there is a lifeguard on the beach. There are secluded lagoons and coves which are more sheltered and swimming is easier. Generally the further east and north towards Mozambique you get, the more pleasant the water temperature is. Around Cape Town it is the Atlantic Ocean and you’ll probably need a wetsuit all year round.

Self-driving is by far and away the best way to experience South Africa, as driving is on the left, the road network is good and traffic laws are adhered to much more than is generally the case in Africa! Self-driving also gives you the most flexibility to adapt your plans as you wish. Generally, we will book your hotels and car hire for you and make suggestions for excursions and outings to do in each place. Having a car means you can pick and mix between our suggestions and any other ideas that take your fancy, at your own schedule.

The local currency is the rand (R) and at the time of writing £1 was worth R23. Credit cards are widely accepted and ATMs are widespread, the exception being in some of the more rural areas. 

Tipping is common in South Africa. 10% is normal in restaurants, around R10 for porterage, and then a couple of rand for the unofficial car park attendants you will doubtless encounter. For guided services (including on safari) we would advise around R150 per person per day, with about R100 a day for your tracker on safari. Lodge staff can also be tipped at R50 per person per day. Drivers for your transfers can be tipped about R25 per standard airport transfer. It is important to remember that tipping is a very personal thing, and if you feel someone deserves more or less, or even no tip, then that is entirely your prerogative and you should not feel bound by these suggestions. Fuel prices are regulated, changing at the beginning of each month. Currently, prices are hovering around £0.70 per litre. Food costs are relatively low, it being possible to dine out for less than £10 per person; even if you really push the boat out you’ll seldom top £50 per person.

We believe travel should be a force for good. That means exploring with open eyes, treading lightly, and respecting the people and places that make the world so special. Our code of conduct isn’t about rules, it’s simply a guide to help you travel thoughtfully, ethically, and with care. Because every small choice makes a big difference.

• If you choose to trust us with your holiday, we’ll send you a “Travel Facts” document when confirming your booking. This includes useful facts and travel advice, such as restaurant recommendations, reading tips, basic language information, cultural traditions, climate information, brief historical overviews, and more. We feel that this offers a useful insight and can help you interact with local residents in a more sensitive, well-informed manner. Please do try to take the time to read this information before your visit, it’s worth the time!

• A number of the countries in which we operate holidays are religious societies with a widely observed set of customs. Always respect these norms, particularly when visiting religious buildings.

• To the best of our knowledge, all hotels, lodges, and camps within our portfolio operate stringent measures to minimise water usage. All of our destinations have issues with water supplies to a certain extent, so feel free to raise any possible wastage should you encounter it during your stay, either with the accommodation or with us upon your return.

• Please ask permission before taking photographs of people, and respect their wishes if they are not happy to be photographed. We find that friendly requests and a smile are usually met with a ‘yes!’

• Strive, where possible, to make your own contribution to environmental practices as you travel. This might include minimising your electricity usage, not smoking in protected areas, avoiding coral while snorkelling, and safely disposing of all litter (recycling where possible).

• Where possible, try to purchase from local suppliers. This includes shopping for souvenirs, dining out at restaurants, and booking additional excursions during your free time. In areas where haggling is an accepted part of daily life, don’t be offended if you’re unable to obtain what you perceive as a fair price for an item.

• We emphasise to local suppliers that our clients should never be taken on unsolicited shopping trips, but if this does happen, try to retain your sense of humour, provide a firm refusal to participate and do let us know about it on your return. We pass on all feedback from every trip undertaken with us to our relevant local suppliers, who all share our commitment to travelling with sensitivity.

• Please don’t remove any indigenous items from their natural habitat and attempt to bring them home as a souvenir. This particularly applies to everything from coral, shells, plants and food in the natural world, to cultural artefacts and antiques.

If you’re unsure about anything relating to the above, please feel free to chat to us. We’ve travelled extensively in the country and will be more than happy to offer our considered advice.