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South Africa

South Africa

Capital: Pretoria

🗂️34 places
Franschhoek Wine Tram+50
Franschhoek Wine Tramattraction
Boulders Beach Penguin Sanctuary+14
Boulders Beach Penguin Sanctuarypark
Aquila Private Game Reserve+26
Aquila Private Game Reservepark
Bacco Estate Winery+1
Bacco Estate Wineryrestaurant
Babylonstoren Wine Estate
Babylonstoren Wine Estaterestaurant
Table Mountain National Park+16
Table Mountain National Parkattraction
Heaven Coffee Shop+1
Heaven Coffee Shoprestaurant
Hyatt Regency Cape Town
Hyatt Regency Cape Townhotel

About

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres of coastline that stretches along the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini; and it encloses Lesotho. Covering an area of 1,221,037 square kilometres, the country has a population of over 63 million people, making it the sixth-most populated country in Africa. Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament, is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is regarded as the judicial capital. The largest and most populous city is Johannesburg, followed by Cape Town and Durban.

Cities (8)

BarbertonCape TownDurbanJohannesburgLangebaanPretoriaTouws River

Saved on my South Africa lists

34 places · 34 visited

View on Google Maps (opens in a new tab)Open list →
Aquila Private Game Reserve
Aquila Private Game ReservePark★ 5.0
Heaven Coffee Shop
Heaven Coffee ShopRestaurant★ 5.0
Boulders Beach Penguin Sanctuary
Boulders Beach Penguin SanctuaryPark
Franschhoek Wine Tram
Franschhoek Wine TramAttraction
Table Mountain National Park
Table Mountain National ParkAttraction
Babylonstoren Wine Estate
Babylonstoren Wine EstateRestaurant
Bacco Estate Winery
Bacco Estate WineryRestaurant
Hyatt Regency Cape Town
Hyatt Regency Cape TownHotel

More places

  • ◐Karibu Restaurant★ 5.0
  • ◐Seaforth Restaurant★ 5.0
  • □The Watershed★ 5.0
  • ⌂Protea Hotel Cape Town Waterfront Breakwater Lodge
  • ◐Baked De Waterkant
  • □Baraka Gifts and Decor
  • □Bay Harbour Market
  • ◐Biesmiellah Restaurant
  • ◎Bo-Kaap
  • ◐Brad's Grill Sea Point
  • ◎Castle of Good Hope
  • ◎Cellar Door Wine Tasting at Boschendal
References4▾▴

These references support the changing or licensed material on this page. Personal notes and ordinary geographic facts are not footnoted individually. Entry rules can change, so verify them before booking.

  1. Travel practicalities. Entry, driving, electricity, water, and official application context. Related: Driving side, World Standards, CDC Yellow Book, WHO drinking-water guidance.
  2. Country background. Wikipedia summary may be clipped or paraphrased. Numeric baselines are cross-checked with Wikidata. Related: Wikidata, .
Upington
L2Increased cautionstate.gov ↗

By the numbers

Population
62.0M
Area
1.2M km²
GDP (nominal)
$405.9B
GDP per capita
$6.5k
HDI
0.713
Life expectancy
62.8 yr

Wikidata · most recent values circa 2022.

Travel

Language
IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, English, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, siSwati, Tshivenda, isiNdebele
Currency
ZAR R
Calling code
+27
Schengen
No
Voltage
230V/50Hz
Plugs
C, M, N
Drives on
Left
Tap water
Treat first
Emergency
111, 112
Tipping
Appreciated in tourist service: about 5-10% where no service charge is included.
US visa
Visa-free
CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Country flag. Country flag image fallback from ISO code. Related: MIT license.
  • Planning lookups. Daily currency conversion and upcoming public-holiday dates. Related: Nager.Date.
  • Maps, image licenses, and the full dataset registry are listed in site credits.

    When things are closed

    Upcoming public holidays in South Africa. On these dates, expect banks, post offices, and government services to close. Many shops and museums close or run shortened hours; transit typically still runs.

    National Women's Day
    August 10, 2026
    Monday
    Heritage Day
    September 24, 2026
    Thursday
    Day of Reconciliation
    December 16, 2026
    Wednesday
    Christmas Day
    December 25, 2026
    Friday
    St. Stephen's Day · Day of Goodwill
    December 26, 2026
    Saturday
    New Year's Day
    January 1, 2027
    Friday