South Africa Travel Forum

i just have some questions for you guys which i hope you can answer for me. im planning on traveling to south africa next year as part of a round the world trip and i just wanted to know some stuff.
i plan on staying there for about 4 weeks, will this be enough time to see all the hot spots or do i need to spend more or less!?
how much do you think i will need for this length of time just for some sight seeing and some safri trip and a possible bunjy jump!? iplan to try and do it as cheap as possible by staying in cheap hostels and eating street food.
what should i not miss here?
any info here guys will be much appreciated and i thank you in advance!
happy travels :)

South Africa is a treasure trove of sites and sights. It could take you up to a few months to see and experience all the hot spots. I suppose it depends on what your interests are. While it is a relatively large country, you could travel by road if you plan your itinerary carefully. To give you an idea of what there is to see - I'll start in the south - the following:

Francis Drake, rounding the Cape in 1580, commented, "This Cape is the most stately thing and the farest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth." The former Cape Province boasts superlative beaches (Muizenberg, Plettenberg, St Francis, East London); breathtaking scenery (wilderness trails, crystal pools, caves and balancing rocks of the Cedarberg range); dramatic views of Cape Town and Table Bay from Table Mountain; spectacular wild-flower shows along the West Coast; whale watching in Hermanus; wine routes in Stellenbosch and Paarl; wildlife in various game reserves (Addo, West Coast National Park); fishing and oysters in Knysna; the Cango Caves in the Klein Karoo.

Durban is the biggest city in the former province of Natal. Well-known as a holiday destination within South Africa, it has lovely beaches and good surf. The south coast is dotted with sandy beaches and warm lagoons. The north coast is home to the Zulu nation. Awesome safari at the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi; boating and fishing at St Lucia. Fantastic camping in the Drakensberg Mountains.

The central plains of South Africa, about 1400m above sea level, lies between the Orange and Vaal rivers. This golden prairieland is flooded with sunshine and producing buckwheat, lucerne, peas, barley, onkions, potatoes, oats, maize, wheat and sorghum, is regarded as one of Africa's principal pantries. The eastern Free State has superb specimens of Bushman rock art and natural features such as the great hole in Aasvoelberg (Zastron). The Free State is also the ideal entry point into Lesotho's Maluti Mountains.

The former Transvaal is "bosveld" country! The savannah is the haunt of big game. The Kruger National Park is the most well-known but there are many game reserves providing outstanding safari experiences. The east provides stunning views towards the lowveld (Blyderiver Canyon, Three Rondavels) and historic villages such as Pilgrimsrest hark back to the great gold rush (look out for the robbers grave, which is at add angles to the rest of the graves!). The potholes at Bourkes Luck is another stand-out natural attraction.

I hope this gives you a starting point to fine-tune your itinerary. Feel free to watch my video on the Western Cape.

You will find SA is way cheaper than the Uk or Europe in general and you will often be able to stay in a B&B or guest house for the same money a hostel would cost in the UK. Hostels here are VERY cheap. Food is also a bargain, even restaurants are good value for money. You can have a decent steak and a couple of beers for 5 Pound. Yopur biggest expense will probably be transport. Ideally you will wnat to use a rental car and drive yourself, simply because of the lack of public transport options and the vastness of the country. Plan on ca ZAR 500/day (max, can be much cheaper if you shop around) for a rental car (30 Pound)and petrol is ZAR 10/l.

Hi !!!
You will really need 4 weeks to enjoy South Africa. There are so many things to do as JohanIsWeg said. I travelled in South Africa last summer during 20 days, it was awesome. I was in the same state of mind before coming in South Africa : cheap accommodation, road trip, skydiving or bungy jumping !

First, I was in Cape Town during Three days : Table mountain climbing(we took some amazing pictures), eating sushi, hiking around the Lyon heads, being on Long street Saturday evening to see what is cape town by Night ! And i did the higher bungee jumping in the world : 216 meters !!! I will never forget the moment before jumping !

Then, I did an overland trip during 15 days, from Victoria Falls to Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar. It was really cool because i was with a little group, camping in the bush, and speaking with local people. We moved a lot and we have been from victoria Falls to Dar es Salaam via Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia...For each step of the trip, we were moving with a big truck caring our stuff to eat and sleep. The most intersting in my Overland trip was to camp and not to be in expensive lodge..i really enjoyed it. In Zanzibar, after 12 days of travel, i took two days off to go hiking alone and be really " into the wild ".

That is why you should really do an overlanding trip because you can make a normal safari with a group but also, be alone, hiking in wild area, camping in the bush and trying a crazy bungy jump !! And all of this, in only 15 days. After you have plenty time to go around.. that is why 4 weeks will be great for you, you can do so many things if you are ready to move on !!

Enjoy your trip

thanks guys for your helpful information this will all come in useful for me in planning my trip!! thank you once again

I think Johan gave a great tip.. SA is wonderful, but a car would be better unless you take the bazz bus option which goes from Hostel to Hostel..( http://www.bazbus.com/ ) check their site.I mostly do pages on the smaller towns on VT so check my South Africa pages..