The Spinny Index: South Africa
Spinny's verdict: unscientific, but built on a lot of travel. 5 wheels = maximum.
Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula: Table Mountain, penguins and Robben Island
In Cape Town, Table Mountain rises right behind the city. Hike up, or ride the cable car to the top.
Out in the bay, Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 of his 27 years in prison, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
At Boulders Beach, near Simon's Town, you can watch a colony of African penguins from boardwalks.
Then drive south to Cape Point, in Table Mountain National Park, for sea cliffs and wide ocean views.
Best for: city breaks, beaches, hiking · Spinny tip: The cable car only runs in good weather. Check its status online before you head up.
South Africans are obsessed with…
Kruger and Zululand: Big Five safaris and rhino country
Kruger National Park is South Africa's largest national park, and home to the Big Five: lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo.
You can drive yourself on the park's roads, or join a guided game drive at dawn or after dark.
In Zululand, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park is best known for its black and white rhinos.
Nearby, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a World Heritage site, has lakes, swamps, dunes and coral reefs.
Best for: safaris, wildlife, photography · Spinny tip: Gate times in Kruger are strict. Plan your drive so you're back at camp before the gates close.
Spinny's food dare
Four words that open doors
| Hello | Hallo | HA-lo |
| Thank you | Dankie | DANG-ki |
| Cheers! | Gesondheid! | khə-SONT-hejt |
| Goodbye | Totsiens | TOT-sins |
Capitals = stressed syllable. ə = a short, neutral vowel.
The Winelands and the Garden Route: wine estates and a coastal road trip
A short drive from Cape Town, the Cape Winelands are made for long lunches. Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl are the classic wine towns.
South Africa's own grape, Pinotage, is a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut, first bred in the 1920s by Professor Abraham Perold.
The Garden Route follows the south coast past lagoons, forests and beaches, with the Knysna estuary as a highlight.
In the Tsitsikamma section of Garden Route National Park, a suspension bridge crosses the mouth of the Storms River.
Best for: wine, road trips, coastal walks · Spinny tip: In Franschhoek, the hop-on hop-off Wine Tram links wine estates, so nobody has to drive.
South Africa in 60 seconds
- Over 3 million years ago Early human ancestors live in what is now the Cradle of Humankind, near Johannesburg.
- 1488 Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias sails around the southern tip of Africa.
- 1652 Jan van Riebeeck sets up a Dutch East India Company refreshment station at the Cape.
- 1994 South Africa holds its first democratic elections, and Nelson Mandela becomes president.
- Today A "Rainbow Nation" of many languages and cultures, from Cape Town to the bush.
The Drakensberg and the Wild Coast: rock art, mountain hikes and green hills by the sea
The Drakensberg is part of the Maloti-Drakensberg Park, a World Heritage site shared with Lesotho.
Its caves and rock shelters hold one of the largest groups of rock paintings in Africa south of the Sahara, made by the San people.
On the Wild Coast, green hills roll down to quiet beaches. Near Coffee Bay, the Hole in the Wall is a rock in the sea with a hole worn right through it.
This is the Eastern Cape, where Nelson Mandela was born, in Mvezo, and went to school in Qunu.
Best for: hiking, culture, quiet beaches · Spinny tip: Wild Coast roads can be slow and rough. Avoid driving after dark.
South Africa: three easy mistakes
South Africa by numbers
Myth vs truth
💶 What it costs
Food, wine and local transport are good value. Safari lodges, guided game drives and car hire cost the most.
🛂 Visa & entry (tourist stays)
- EU/EEA citizens: Many EU citizens need no visa for stays of up to 90 days. For some EU countries the limit is 30 days, so check the official list. Your passport needs 2 blank pages.
- US citizens: No visa is needed for stays of up to 90 days. Your passport must be valid for 30 days after you leave and have 2 blank visa pages.
- UK citizens: No visa is needed for tourist stays of up to 90 days. Your passport must be valid for at least 30 days after you leave and have at least 2 blank pages.
Other nationalities, longer stays or work: check the official source.
General guidance only, not legal advice. This information is collected automatically and may be incomplete or out of date. SpinYourDestination takes no responsibility for your entry to any country – always check the official source or the embassy before you travel.
