South Africa

Freed of its turbulent history, South Africa today boasts world-class adventure; and traveling to South Africa has never been easier. Surf on warm Indian Ocean breakers. Swim with sharks, launch an Antarctic adventure, or dance the night away in Cape Town. Sip refreshing chardonnays from a Western Cape winery. Hike the Drakensberg mountains and peer through "God's Window" down the Blyde River Canyon.

Tours & Packages to South Africa

9 days  •  from $2299 $1999

per person, double occupancy*

dates small group tour + flights

13 days  •  from $3599 $3199

per person, double occupancy*

dates small group tour + flights

13 days  •  $7699 $7099

per person, double occupancy*

dates luxury tour + flights

10 days  •  from $3799 $3399

per person, double occupancy*

dates small group tour + flights Fast Facts

Already booked on one of our packages to South Africa? See everything you need to know before you go.

Overview

Capitol: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial)Population:  49 million Currency: South African Rand (ZAR)Languages:  Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, Swati, Tshivenda, Tsonga, North SothoDrives on the: LeftTime zone: GMT + 2

Entry requirements

U.S. citizens must have a passport which is valid for at least 90 days after your return date, though we strongly recommend at least six months. Passports must have at least two blank pages for each entry into South Africa. (You will need four if visiting Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe during your trip.)

U.S. passport holders do not need a visa prior to travel to enter South Africa. Tourist visas will be issued upon arrival for stays up to 90 days. Consult the South African Embassy or the U.S. Dept. of State website for more information.

Booked on one of our packages with Scheduled Dates? If you do not hold a U.S. passport, you are responsible for obtaining any necessary visas and meeting all entry requirements. If a visa is required, we recommend using a fee-based visa service, such as our preferred provider VisaHQ.

Children under 18 must present an original or certified copy of their birth certificate which lists both parents. If the birth certificate is in a language other than English, it must be accompanied by a sworn translation. Children traveling alone, with one parent, or with a third party must have written authorization and copies of the identity documents or passports from the absent parent, as well as other documents. See the information leaflet from the South African government or the U.S. State Department website for more information.

More information about passports & visas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Check out our FAQs about traveling to South Africa, including currency conversion, tipping, weather, the best time to travel, what to wear, what to buy, voltage & plugs, immunizations you should get, and more.

Already booked on one of our packages to South Africa? See everything you need to know before you go.

Videos Articles

Check out our blog for our latest articles on South Africa.

Rave Reviews

The Taste of South Africa was wonderful and picture perfect. This is the second time we have toured with Friendly Planet and I have to say, your tours are so well thought out. The excellent guides have always imparted their love of their homeland with the touring.

Virginia BirdA Taste of South Africa

Just about everything you need to know is out on the web before you make a decision. I believe I called the Friendly Planet office only once with only one question during the entire booking process. I really appreciate all of the full disclosure of just about everything on the web site. It helped me make my decision to do the safari with Friendly Planet as opposed to Vantage or other companies.

John Schwab

Source: South Africa