Fodor's Essential South Africa: with the Best Safari Destinations and Wine Regions

by Fodor's Travel Publications

Overview

Whether you want to explore the Winelands, visit Kruger National Park, or climb Table Mountain, the local Fodor’s travel experts in South Africa are here to help! Fodor’s Essential South Africa guidebook is packed with maps, carefully curated recommendations, and everything else you need to simplify your trip-planning process and make the most of your time. This new edition has been fully-redesigned with an easy-to-read layout, fresh information, and beautiful color photos. Fodor’s “Essential” guides have been named by Booklist as the Best Travel Guide Series of 2020!

Fodor’s Essential South Africa travel guide includes:

• AN ILLUSTRATED ULTIMATE EXPERIENCES GUIDE to the top things to see and do
• MULTIPLE ITINERARIES to effectively organize your days and maximize your time
• MORE THAN 35 DETAILED MAPS to help you navigate confidently
• COLOR PHOTOS throughout to spark your wanderlust!
• HONEST RECOMMENDATIONSon the best sights, restaurants, hotels, nightlife, shopping, performing arts, activities, side-trips, and more
• PHOTO-FILLED “BEST OF” FEATURES on “South Africa’s Hidden Gems,” “South Africa's Unusual Accommodations,” “South Africa with Kids”, and more
• TRIP-PLANNING TOOLS AND PRACTICAL TIPS including when to go, getting around, beating the crowds, and saving time and money
• HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INSIGHTS providing rich context on the local people, politics, art, architecture, cuisine, music, geography and more
• SPECIAL FEATURES on “Winelands 101,” “What to Watch and Read Before You Visit,” and “Best Beaches”
• LOCAL WRITERS to help you find the under-the-radar gems
• Afrikaans, Swahili, and Zulu LANGUAGE PRIMERS with useful words and essential phrases
• UP-TO-DATE COVERAGE ON: Capetown, Johannesburg, Durban, Hermanus, The Garden Route, the Drakensberg, Kruger National Park, Addo Elephant National Park, Cape Winelands, Blyde River Canyon, Victoria Falls, and more.

Planning on visiting any other African safari destinations? Check out Fodor’s The Complete Guide to African Safaris

*Important note for digital editions: The digital edition of this guide does not contain all the images or text included in the physical edition.

ABOUT FODOR'S AUTHORS: Each Fodor's Travel Guide is researched and written by local experts. Fodor’s has been offering expert advice for all tastes and budgets for over 80 years. For more travel inspiration, you can sign up for our travel newsletter at fodors.com/newsletter/signup, or follow us @FodorsTravel on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We invite you to join our friendly community of travel experts at fodors.com/community to ask any other questions and share your experience with us!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781640973565
Publisher:	Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	07/19/2022
Series:	Fodor's Travel Guides Series
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	544
Sales rank:	83,097
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

For over 80 years, Fodor's Travel has been a trusted resource offering expert travel advice for every stage of a traveler's trip. We hire local writers who know their destinations better than anyone else, allowing us to provide the best travel recommendations for all tastes and budgets in over 7,500 worldwide destinations. Our books make it possible for every trip to be a trip of a lifetime.

Table of Contents

1 Experience South Africa 6

22 Ultimate Experiences 8

What's Where 16

Wildlife 18

South Africa's Unusual Accommodations 20

What to Eat and Drink in South Africa 22

Unique Things to Bring

Home From South Africa 24

What's New in South Africa 26

South Africa's History 28

What to Watch and Read 31

2 Travel Smart South Africa 33

Know Before You Go 34

Getting Here 36

Essentials 42

What to Pack 51

Great Itineraries 52

On the Calendar 58

Contacts 60

3 Cape Town 61

Welcome to Cape Town 62

Planning 65

Cape Town City Centre 77

Bo-Kaap 90

Woodstock 93

Observatory 95

Gardens 99

Tamboerskloof 105

Oranjezicht 105

V&A Waterfront 107

Green Point 117

Mouille Point 118

Sea Point 119

Clifton 123

Camps Bay 125

Table Mountain National Park 128

Constantia 134

Activities 137

4 Cape Peninsula 141

Welcome to Cape Peninsula 142

The Cape Peninsula Beaches 144

Planning 148

Hout Bay 151

Noordhoek 154

Kommetjie 156

Muizenberg 158

St James 159

KalkBay 161

Fish Hoek 163

Simon's Town 164

Cape of Good Hope 168

5 The Western Cape and Winelands 171

Welcome to the Western Cape and Winelands 172

Cape Winelands 101 174

Planning 179

Somerset West 184

Stellenbosch 187

Franschhoek 198

Paari 204

Tulbagh 210

Worcester 213

Robertson 213

McGregor 215

Montagu 216

Gordon's Bay 217

Betty's Bay 219

Kleinmond 221

Bot River 222

Herman us 223

Bredasdorp 226

Arniston (Waenhuiskrans) 228

Swellendam 229

Greyton 231

Darling 233

Langebaan 235

Paternoster 238

Elands Bay 240

Clanwilliam 240

Citrusdal 245

Riebeek West and Riebeek Kasteel 245

6 The Northern Caps 247

Welcome to the Northern Cape 248

Planning 253

Kimberley 258

Upington 265

Augrabies Falls National Park 268

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 271

Tswalu Kalahari Reserve 278

Kuruman 281

Garies 282

Kamieskroon 283

Springbok 284

Port Nolloth 287

7 The Garden Route and the Little Karoo 289

Welcome to the Garden Route and the Little Karoo 290

Planning 293

Mossel Bay 295

George 297

Wilderness 299

Knysna 302

Plettenberg Bay 306

The Crags 310

Tsitsikamma 312

Storms River 313

Sanbona Wildlife Reserve 315

Oudtshoorn 316

De Rust 320

8 The Eastern Cape 321

Welcome to the Eastern Cape 322

Planning 327

Gqeberha 331

Cape St Francis 337

Addo Elephant National Park 338

Shamwari Game Reserve 341

Kwandwe Private Game Reserve 344

Graaff-Reinet 346

Nieu Bethesda 350

Samara Private Game Reserve 353

East London 354

Cintsa 357

Hogsback 358

Bulungula 359

Coffee Bay 360

9 Durban and Kwazulu-Natal 363

Welcome to Durban and KwaZulu-Natal 364

Planning 368

Durban 376

Umhlanga 397

Valley of a 1000 Hills 401

Dolphin Coast 403

South Coast 405

The KwaZulu-Natal Midlands 406

The Drakensberg 411

Ladysmith 414

Spioenkop 416

Dundee 416

Rorke's Drift 417

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park 418

iSimangaliso Wetland Park 422

Phinda Private Game Reserve 426

Thanda Private Game Reserve 428

Manyoni Private Game Reserve 429

Zimanga Private Game Reserve 430

10 Johannesburg 431

Welcome to Johannesburg 432

Planning 435

City Center 442

Soweto and the South 449

Rosebank and Houghton 453

Melrose and Illovo 456

Melville and Emmarentia 457

Parktown, Parkview, Saxonwold, and Westcliff 460

Parkhurst and Parktown North 462

Sandton 463

Near OR Tambo International Airport 466

Side Trips from Johannesburg 467

11 Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park 483

Welcome to Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park 484

Planning 487

Sabie 493

Pilgrim's Rest 495

Graskop 498

Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve 500

Hazyview 503

White River 504

Mbombela (Nelspruit) 506

Kruger National Park 507

Sabi Sands 516

West of Kruger 527

Index 531

About Our Writers 543

Maps

Cape Town City Centre and Bo-Kaap 80-81

Woodstock and Observatory 96-97

Gardens, Tamboerskloof, and Dranjezicht 100-101

V&A Waterfront, Green Point, and Mouille Point 108-109

Sea Point, Clifton, and Camps Bay 120-121

Table Mountain National Park and Constantia 130-131

Peninsula's West Coast 152

Peninsula's East Coast 160

Cape Winelands 185

Breede River Valley 211

The Overberg 218

West Coast 232

Kimberley 260

The Kalahari 266

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 274

Namaqualand 282

Frontier Country and the Sunshine Coast 332

Amatole and the Wild Coast 346

Durban 384-385

Umhalanga 398

KwaZulu-Natal 404

Elephant Coast 420

Johannesburg 444-445

Soweto 450

Side Trips from Johannesburg 468

Mpumalanga 494

Kruger National Park 510

Sabi Sand Game Reserve 518

Editorial Reviews

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“Fodor’s can help you plan the perfect adventure.” – Arizona Republic

From the Publisher