South Africa Travel Guide: When to Go, Budget and Itineraries

Cape Town packs the essentials into a week: Table Mountain by cableway (closed in high wind), the Cape of Good Hope and the Boulders Beach penguins an hour's drive away on the peninsula, plus the Robben Island ferry, best booked weeks ahead since slots sell out fast. Allow three to four nights before heading to the Winelands or the coast, keeping at least half a day free for the colourful Bo-Kaap and an evening at the V&A Waterfront.

Under an hour's drive from Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl form one of the oldest wine regions outside Europe, founded by Dutch settlers as early as the seventeenth century. Two nights are enough to work through three or four estates, lunch at a farm restaurant, or ride the Franschhoek wine tram, which spares you from driving between cellars. Harvest runs through February and March, the region's busiest stretch.

This coastline between Mossel Bay and Storms River strings together lagoons, indigenous forest and cliffs over roughly 200 kilometres, usually driven along the N2. Knysna's lagoon framed by the Heads, the Robberg peninsula hike at Plettenberg Bay and the Tsitsikamma suspension bridge alone justify four to five days, before an optional detour inland over the Outeniqua Pass to the Cango Caves near Oudtshoorn.

Roughly 20,000 square kilometres of wilderness with one of southern Africa's best Big Five densities. The dry season from May to September concentrates animals around waterholes, making sightings easier, while the southern summer (November to March) brings green scenery and newborns but scatters the herds. This is a designated malaria zone: preventive treatment is generally advised, to confirm with a doctor.

Between Kruger and Johannesburg, the Blyde River Canyon, the Three Rondavels and the God's Window viewpoint can be covered in one to two days on this winding mountain road. Setting off early avoids the mist that often settles in by late morning, and the Graskop Gorge glass lift offers walkers an alternative way down to the waterfall without taking the footpath.

Often passed through in a single night before a flight home, Johannesburg still rewards a visit to the Apartheid Museum, which takes about three hours and closes on Mondays, plus a guided tour of Soweto taking in Vilakazi Street, the only street in the world to have produced two Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Constitution Hill and the Maboneng district round out a full day.

Off the classic Cape-and-Kruger circuit, this UNESCO World Heritage mountain range offers hikes from half a day to several days in the Royal Natal amphitheatre and San rock art thousands of years old. A detour of at least three nights, for a wilder, quieter counterpoint to neighbouring Namibia, a country also known for its wide open spaces and equally suited to a self-drive trip.