7 Awesome Reasons To Make South Africa Your Top Tourist Destination in Africa
Updated On: April 07, 2024 by Ciaran Connolly
In the words of the great Nelson Mandela, “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” He was talking about love, but we can relate it to South Africa, giving you a merry heart to match a cool head.
In today’s fast-paced world, you must deliberately seek out places to escape life’s hustle and bustle. A well-thought-out tourist vacation can be reinvigorating, giving you a new burst of energy for life. It’s also an opportunity to learn and appreciate other cultures worldwide.
Augustine of Hippo said, “The world is a book, and those who don’t travel only read one page.” Mark Twain added, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” To expand your knowledge base, understand that there is unity in diversity, and deal a great blow to prejudice, you must travel while you can.
Choosing a place to visit as a tourist can be overwhelming. The array of beautiful cities, especially the series of beckoning adverts in the news and on social media, complicates the matter.
Why South Africa Should Be Your Next Tourist Destination?
This article helps you to understand a top tourist destination in Africa and enables you to make a quicker decision. Africa is a beautiful continent with a melting point of cultures, natural scenes, and incredible wildlife. With its lions, South Africa shares many of these natural wonders, making it a top tourist destination choice in Africa and the world.
The country is steeped in splendid, world-class natural wonders. With a history rich in culture, an exceptional array of natural landscapes, and top-of-the-bunch wildlife, South Africa is a country you must visit.
If you need more reasons to plan your South Africa trip, keep reading.
With its spectacular mountains, the country is blessed with subtropical rainforests and wildlife-rich savannahs. It is also adorned with cosmopolitan cities of world-class status and breathtaking beaches.
Choosing it as one of the places to visit in Africa is a great tourist choice. The place is what bucket lists are made of. You’ll indeed have an experience like no other in this beautiful country.
According to Statista, 16 million tourists visited South Africa in 2017, and the number is projected to reach 19.5 million by 2022.
Do you need more reasons to consider this country your top tourist destination? If you do, let me outline seven reasons why the country is a top choice for all who want a cool head with a merry heart.
1. Incredible Wildlife Safari
Visiting South Africa is a lifetime opportunity to see wildlife in its incredible natural surroundings. It will be encouraging and inspiring to see and experience what life is like for the Big Five—the Buffalo, Elephant, Rhino, Lion, and Leopard—the famous South African animals.
Seeing them in one location is rare; South Africa is one of the places you can see all five together. From the pride of lions roaming about to a lone black rhino or a herd of buffalo, a South African wildlife safari offers a sacred opportunity to see the Big Five up close and personal.
In fact, one of the country’s places is Kruger National Park Safari, which offers a 98% chance to see all five incredible animals. An adventure never to be forgotten awaits you!
2. South Africa has a Sparkling Culture
Digging deep into South Africa’s cultural heritage reveals a rich early history. Exploring these stories, which date back to early humanity, makes the country a top tourist destination in Africa.
Being in South Africa is part of a story that goes back to the start of all humanity. Today, the country has evolved into a fantastic mix of modern cultures, inspiring history and incredible heroes. It is a melting pot with roots that run deeper than you think.
For instance, on a tourist visit to South Africa, it would be exciting to know that most of the creative rock arts you will see are works of the indigenous Khoikhoi and San culture.
The Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Ndebele, Shangaan, and Venda are among the Bantu migrants with diverse and colourful cultures. Adding South Africa to your top tourist destination choice to visit in Africa gives you the superb opportunity to see first-hand these beautiful traditional cultures with their attractive attire, natural creative arts, and traditional cultural events right in their home.
It is exciting to note that the Xhosas had exceptional oral prowess and a history of ancient heroes. Records indicate that their leaders started the struggle against apartheid and later formed the ANC (African National Congress). The most prominent of these leaders were the iconic Nelson Mandela And Desmond Tutu.
Visit South Africa to explore and experience pure and sensational cultural diversity!
3. A Tourist Dream Adventure
Imagine kayaking with hippos and crocodiles! Imagine releasing yourself off the highest bungee jumping bridge in the whole world! If you love adventure, where else could be your top tourist destination in Africa? Have you ever dreamed of getting so close to sharks? Diving with a great white shark is an unforgettable adventure. In South Africa, you can do all that and more.
Adding a visit to South Africa to your bucket list, be sure to consider these top ten adventure activities:
- Abseil Down Table Mountain:
It offers an experience you’ll not quickly forget in this lifetime with its breathtaking views.
- Hike The Otter Trail:
This activity requires some form of fitness. The beauty and ambience are so soothing to body and soul. You need to just sign off from the world and explore. This offers you just that!
- Explore The Cango Caves:
Located in eye-catching and breathtaking caves under the Swartberg mountains, the Cango Caves help boost the country’s status as a top tourist destination in Africa.
- Kayak With Hippos and Crocodiles In KwaZulu-Natal:
It is a beautiful adventure getting close to some of the most dangerous animals in the world!
- Snorkel With Seahorses in Knysna:
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see a seahorse with the head of a horse, a monkey’s tail and a chameleon’s eyes? I used to think they were just mythical drawings, but you will see them in real life.
- Bungee Jump From Bloukrans Bridge:
Considered the world’s highest commercial bungee jumping bridge, jumping straight off it into the water below would be an adventure. A tourist visit to South Africa affords this adrenaline-pumping adventure.
- Zip-Line Over The Koekedouw River in Ceres:
You’ll be given training before engaging in this adventure of a lifetime, making it more heart-pumping. You can experience eight slides between 110 – 291 m long and uncover stunning country views as you zip line down.
- Experience Shark Cage Diving In Shark Alley:
It has the world’s highest concentration of great white sharks. Visit South Africa as a tourist and get the thrill of a lifetime by getting close to one of the world’s most dangerous animals. Both are terrifying and exciting simultaneously, but only for the brave.
- Motorbike In Baviaanskloof:
The country lets you see one of the best top adventure sites. Beyond being considered one of the world’s best adventure routes for motorbiking, it thrills you through the most undisrupted wilderness in Africa. This helps to boost it as a top tourist destination in Africa.
- Skydive:
Everywhere in the country is fit for skydiving. It’s an adrenaline-pump sport that requires introductory practice for first-timers before the main taste. Skydiving is a top adventure choice in Africa.
4. Fascinating Scenery for Tourism
From Coffee Bay’s wildness with its spectacular sandy coves, steep green hillsides, and cliffs to Cape Vidal Beach’s breathtaking beaches, South Africa is an indispensable top tourist destination.
South Africa is a world in one country with so many world-class natural places to see. Adding it to your bucket list and visiting lets you explore this unique world. You will be fascinated to see endless horizons, top-of-the-range high mountains, endless oceans, and other breathtaking scenes. You will get endless memories to treasure for a lifetime.
5. Vibrant and Cosmopolitan Cities
Listed in South Africa’s Top Ten Vibrant Cities, including Cape Town. Known as the “Mother City,” it boasts one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature: Table Mountain. Also included in the list is the culturally rich Durban, which has its locally made delicious cuisine.
Numerous cities stretching through Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, East London, and so on, with their world-class architecture, make South Africa a top tourist destination.
In South Africa, you can effortlessly move from one adventure to another by hitching a ride, taking a flight, riding a train, or driving a car.
6. South Africa is Home to 10 World Heritage Sites
Wouldn’t it be exciting to visit a country that hosts 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites? Interested in history and culture, it’s worth making South Africa your top tourist destination in Africa and visiting these incredible sites. These top of the notch UNESCO World Heritage Sites are:
- Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa
- iSimangaliso Wetland Park
- Robben Island
- Maloti-Drakensberg Park
- Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape
- Cape Floral Region Protected Areas
- Vredefort Dome
- Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape
- Khomani Cultural Landscape
- Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains
7. A Trip to South Africa is budget-friendly
Choosing South Africa as your top tourist destination in Africa offers exceptional value for a lifetime of memories. You won’t need to break the bank to visit the country. Numerous options exist to accommodate every budget.
As they say, “South Africa is a World in One Country”. It’s an understatement to clarify South Africa as simply beautiful. It is breathtaking, spectacular and mesmerising. Its diversity is unrivalled. To explore South Africa in one visit is impossible. It offers a rich cocktail of the African continents with all its diversity.
Choosing South Africa as your top tourist destination is a must on your bucket list.
Check out other blogs that might unleash your travel bug:
Incredible Natural Wonders Around the World | Discover the Wild Atlantic Way: An Unmissable Irish Coastal Road Trip | Discover the Most Unique Places to Stay in Ireland | Top Things to do in Hamburg: A Hamburgers Guide | Street Murals Around the World |