South Africa is home to thriving cities, national parks full of roaming animals, and spectacular natural landscapes that make any trip to this magical land a memorable one – and you will find everything you want to see in the comprehensive tour comparison South Africa itineraries.
City tours, Kruger National Park and ostrich riding in tour comparison South Africa
South Africa tour comparison begin and end in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, with both regional tours and options for combinations with East Africa available. Itineraries under tour comparison South Africa focus on outdoor adventure while ensuring travellers are comfortable and safe, with reliable overland vehicles fully equipped with storage, safety and viewing windows, professional and certified safari guides who know where to spot wildlife, and included camping and cooking equipment.
One of the country’s premier attractions, Kruger National Park, is a popular item in tripadvisor South Africa packages, along with visits to Blyde River Canyon, guided walks in Blouberg and Zulu villages, exploration of the Cango Caves with knowledgeable local guides, and pre-reserved tickets for Robben Island – which is especially packed during summer. In the way of activities travellers can try riding an ostrich at farms in Oudtshoorn, take part in African drumming lessons, wine taste their way through the Stellenbosch region, enjoy free time in Cape Town and Johannesburg, and explore Cintsa and the Wild Coast.
Not only will travellers enjoy a wide range of activities and sights, but you’ll also indulge in some serious taste testing of South African cuisine, with included African Ivory Route cultural dinners, traditional Zulu lunches, Cape Malay meals, and Boma restaurants under the stars near Kruger National Park. South Africa tours tripadvisor also offer exclusive campsite/lodge accommodation in Kruger National Park, eco-lodge housing in Hluhluwe–iMfolozi, overnight stays on working farms, and quality hotels and hostels.
Optional excursions in tour comparison South Africa include trips to the Apartheid Museum, Kruger Night game drives, white water rafting, shark cage diving, Table Mountain cycling or abseiling, hiking, aerial cabling, kloofing, Robben Island tours, Heritage Mine tours, surf lessons, Orange River canoe trips, Cedarberg wine tastings, Lion Park visits, Coffee Bay tours, and bungee jumping.
Ready to plan your trip? Visit our tour comparison South Africa to find the right tour for you.
Want a taste of that insider South Africa tourism knowledge we mentioned before? We have collected the best facts from real life tour guides. Impress them on tour with how much you already know.
- South Africa is divided into nine provinces, with Gauteng home to the economic centre of Johannesburg, the seat of President in Pretoria, and fascinating fossils at the Cradle of Humankind.
- The province of Mpumalanga boasts big cat game viewing at Kruger National Park, while Western Cape is home to wine tasting in the Cederberg Mountains, wineries in the student town Stellenbosch, and Table Mountain in oceanside Cape Town.
- In Eastern Cape you will find the scenic Garden Route, elephants and rhinos in Addo Elephant National Park, the well-known beaches of Port Elizabeth, the intersection of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and the Dragon Mountains of The Drakensberg.
- Kwa-Zulu-Natal province features Indian temples and surfing in Durban, the world’s second highest waterfalls at Tugela, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, while Free State is home to the supreme court city of Bloemfontein, and Vredefort crater – the largest verified meteorite impact crater on earth.
- The Northern Cape is characterised by the semi-arid landscape of the Karoo Desert and The Richtersveld, the green Blyde River Canyon, ostriches in Oudtshoorn, diamond excavation in Kimberley and popular canoeing spot Orange River.
- The province of North West is known mainly for the Rustenburg mountains and its wine, while Limpopo’s most prominent feature is the settlement of Polokwane.
- Well-known South African politicians include Nelson Mandela, archbishop Desmond Tutu, former African National Congress President Oliver Tambo, the first African ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize: Albert John Luthuli, anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, statesman Jan Smuts, and Presidents F W De Klerk, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.
- The armed wing of the African National Congress, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), was co-founded by Nelson Mandela following the Sharpeville massacre.
- King Shaka Zulu was an influential Zulu monarch in the late 18th to early 19th centuries, who is still revered in traditional culture.
- The Boer War from 1899 to 1902 and apartheid, which saw the forced separation of black South African’s from the white community from 1948 to 1991, were two of South Africa’s most prominent conflicts.
- Jan van Riebeeck led the Dutch colonialisation of South Africa in 1652, and descendents of these Dutch settlers are today known as Afrikaners.
- Rugby is to South Africa what football is to South American’s, and one of the nation’s most celebrated players is Francois Pienaar.
- South Africa’s national rugby team is named the Springboks after the antelope, while the cricket team takes its name from the flower, Protea.
- Other well-known South African athletes include golfers Ernie Els and Gary Player, cricket players Jonty Rhodes and Kevin Pietersen, and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius.
- Singer Dave Matthews, musicians Hugh Masekela, Brenda Fassie and Miriam Makeba, actress Charlize Theron, and the film ‘Zulu’ are some of South Africa’s biggest entertainment exports.
- South Africa has a strong mining industry for diamonds, gold and platinum, with companies such as De Beers, Anglo American and Exxaro the most prominent.
- Nkosi Johnson was a HIV positive-born child who combatted misconceptions about the disease before his death at the age of 12 in 2001.
- Artist Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef, post-apartheid era photojournalists The Big-Bang Club and Nelson Mandela’s bestselling book ‘A Long Walk to Freedom’ are some of South Africa’s most important cultural exports.
- South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup, won by Spain, where the rest of the globe was introduced to the rather noisy vuvuzela.
- South Africa’s most important national holiday is Freedom Day, celebrated on April 27 since 1994 to mark the first post-apartheid elections.
- South African inventions include the CAT Scan, Pratley’s Putty, the Kreepy Krauly, dolos and Rooibos beauty products.
- The first human-to-human heart transplant was completed by South African Dr Christiaan Barnard in 1967.
Courtney Gahan is a serial expat, traveller and freelance writer who has bartered with Moroccan marketeers, seen the sun rise at Angkor Wat and elbowed her way through crowds on NYE in NYC