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🇿🇦Things to Do in South Africa
From Table Mountain to a Kruger safari - the essential sights, and how to keep your own record of them.
Travel guide - last updated September 2026
South Africa manages to combine a world-class city, wine country, a dramatic coastal drive and Big Five safari game viewing within one country - a rare combination that usually means splitting a trip between Cape Town and the Kruger region on opposite ends of the country. Here are 8 places worth building a trip around.
Top attractions
The sights most first-time visitors build an itinerary around.
Table Mountain, Cape Town
A flat-topped mountain overlooking the city, reachable by cable car or a several-hour hike. The cable car closes in high wind - check conditions before planning your day around it.
📍 Cape Town
🚉 MyCiTi bus route 107 runs from Civic Centre station to the Lower Cable Station on Tafelberg Road, where the rotating cable car climbs to the summit in five minutes.
Kruger National Park
One of Africa's largest game reserves and among the most reliable places to see all of the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhino). Both self-drive and guided lodge safaris are common, with lodges generally offering better wildlife odds.
📍 Mpumalanga & Limpopo
🚉 There is no public transport into the park: fly to Skukuza, Nelspruit or Hoedspruit and pick up a hire car, which you also need inside, since self-drive game viewing is how Kruger works.
Cape Winelands
Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, an hour from Cape Town, produce some of the Southern Hemisphere's best wine in a setting of Cape Dutch architecture and mountain backdrops.
📍 Stellenbosch & Franschhoek
🚉 Nearest station: Stellenbosch, on Metrorail's line from Cape Town in about an hour, with the town's estates walkable or a short ride; Franschhoek has no station and is reached by road.
Boulders Beach Penguins
A colony of African penguins living on a beach near Simon's Town, protected within a marine reserve with boardwalks for close viewing without disturbing them.
📍 Simon's Town, Cape Peninsula
🚉 Nearest station: Simon's Town, the end of the Southern Line along False Bay, then a 20-minute walk or short taxi along Bellevue Road to the boardwalks.
Garden Route
A coastal drive between Mossel Bay and Storms River, through forests, lagoons and small towns - Knysna and Plettenberg Bay are the two most common overnight stops.
📍 Garden Route, Western Cape
🚉 No railway runs the route: intercity coaches such as Intercape and the Baz Bus connect Cape Town, Mossel Bay, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, though a hire car is what most visitors use.
Robben Island
The island prison where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years, now a museum reachable by ferry from Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, often guided by former political prisoners themselves.
📍 Cape Town
🚉 Ferries leave from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront, a 30-minute crossing - tickets sell out days ahead and sailings are cancelled in heavy swell.
Cape of Good Hope
The scenic southwestern tip of the Cape Peninsula, part of a national park with baboons, ostriches, and dramatic cliffside viewpoints over where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet.
📍 Cape Peninsula
🚉 The reserve has no bus service: it is about 90 minutes' drive from Cape Town, and the usual approach is a hire car or a Cape Peninsula tour that also covers Boulders and Chapman's Peak.
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park
Africa's oldest proclaimed nature reserve, in KwaZulu-Natal, and one of the best places on the continent to see both black and white rhino in the same reserve.
📍 KwaZulu-Natal
🚉 No public transport reaches the gates - the park is roughly three hours by road from Durban, and visitors self-drive or arrive on a lodge transfer from Hluhluwe town.
Mark South Africa, get the stamp
In MyPassportStory, every country you mark - visited, lived in, or still on the list - becomes a stamp like these in your own travel passport. Add the cities you stopped in, draw the route between them, and turn the whole trip into a shareable passport-style image.
Open MyPassportStoryPlanning questions
How many days do you need in South Africa?
10 days covers Cape Town and the Winelands well, plus a short safari extension. Two weeks lets you add the Garden Route or spend more time in Kruger without rushing the safari itself.
What's the best time to visit South Africa?
May-September (dry winter) is the best time for safari, since animals gather more predictably around water sources and thinner bush means better visibility. Cape Town's own best weather runs November-March, its summer.
Is South Africa good for a first-time visit?
Yes - Cape Town is a manageable, English-speaking introduction, though a rental car (or an organized tour) is the practical way to see the Winelands, Garden Route and Kruger.
Do I need a visa to visit South Africa?
Many nationalities, including the US, UK, EU and Australia, can visit visa-free for short tourist stays; other nationalities need a visa arranged in advance. Check the official visa information for your nationality: dha.gov.za.
What are some things to do in South Africa on a tight budget?
Hiking up Table Mountain instead of taking the cable car is free, Cape Town's beaches cost nothing, and the Company's Garden and most city parks are open and free to everyone.
Can I rent a car in South Africa, and what licence do I need?
Yes, and both Kruger and the Garden Route effectively require it. A foreign licence is valid if it carries your photograph and signature and is printed in English; otherwise you need an International Driving Permit alongside it. Minimum age is usually 23, with a surcharge under 25, and a credit card is required. Traffic drives on the left. Two practical notes: check whether your rate includes unlimited kilometres before a long route, and treat four-way stops and rural road conditions with more care than you would at home. National transport information is published at gov.za and by the Road Traffic Management Corporation at rtmc.co.za; cars come from Avis, Europcar and Hertz.