7 Awesome Reasons To Make South Africa Your Top Tourist Destination in Africa

In the words of the great Nelson Mandela; “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” Here 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 get away from the hustle and bustle of life. 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 around the world.

It was Augustine of Hippo who 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, 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 with a series of beckoning adverts in the news media and 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. South Africa, with its lions, share 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 need to visit.

Need more reasons to plan your South Africa trip, well keep reading…

South Africa with its spectacular mountains, is blessed with subtropical rainforests and wildlife-rich savannahs. It is also adorned with cosmopolitan cities of world-class status along with 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 be sure to have an experience like no other in this beautiful country.

In 2017, 16 million tourists visited South Africa which is projected to be 19.5 million visits by 2022, according to Statista. Huge numbers!

Do you need more reasons to consider this country as your top tourist destination choice? In case you do, let me outline seven reasons why South Africa is a top tourist destination choice for all who want a cool head with a merry heart.

1. Incredible Wildlife Safari

A visit to South Africa is a lifetime opportunity to see wildlife in its incredible natural surroundings. It will be encouraging and inspiring to see, an opportunity to 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 and 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 to 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% opportunity to see all five incredible animals. An adventure never to be forgotten awaits you!

2. South Africa has a Sparkling Culture

Digging deep into the cultural heritage of South Africa is rich in early history. Exploring these stories that date back to early humanity makes the country a top tourist destination in Africa.

To be in South Africa is to be part of a story that goes back to the start of all humanity. Today, the country has evolved into an amazing mix of modern cultures, inspiring history and incredible heroes. It really 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 there are the works of the indigenous Khoikhoi and San culture.

The Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Ndebele, Shangaan, and Venda are among the Bantu migrants that come 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 interesting attire, natural creative arts, and traditional cultural events right in their home.

It is very interesting to note that the Xhosas came with exceptional oral prowess with a history of ancient heroes. In fact, records have it 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 a pure and sensational diversity in culture!

3.  A Tourists 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? 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 go explore. This offers you just that!

• Explore The Cango Caves:
  Located in eye-catching and breathtaking caves under the Swartberg mountains, the Cango Caves helps to boost the country as a top tourist destination in Africa.

• Kayak With Hippos and Crocodiles In KwaZulu-Natal:
  It is a truly 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 a head of a horse, the tail of a monkey and eyes of a chameleon? I use to think they were just mythical drawings, but you will see them in real life.

• Bungee Jump From Bloukrans Bridge:
  Considered as the world’s highest commercial bungee jumping bridge, what an adventure it would be, to jump straight off it into the water below. A tourist visit to South Africa affords you 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 in length and uncover stunning views of the country as you zip line down.

• Experience Shark Cage Diving In Shark Alley:
  It’s the world’s highest concentration of great white sharks. Visit South Africa as a tourist and get a thrill of a lifetime getting close to one of the world’s most dangerous animals. Both terrifying and exciting at the same time, only for the brave.

• Motorbike In Baviaanskloof:
  The country lets you see one of the best top adventure sites. Beyond being considered as 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 to visit in Africa.

• Skydive:
  Everywhere in the country is fit for skydiving. It’s an adrenaline pumping sport requiring introductory practice for first-timers before the main taste. Skydiving is a top adventure choice in Africa.

4. Fascinating Scenery for Tourism

From The wildness of Coffee Bay with its spectacular sandy coves, steep green hillsides, and cliffs to the Cape Vidal beach with its breathtaking beaches, South Africa is an indispensable top tourist destination choice to visit in Africa.

South Africa is a world in one country with so many world-class natural places to see. Adding it to your bucket list and actually visiting enables you to explore this unique world. You will be fascinated seeing 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 includes Cape Town. Known as the “Mother City”, it boasts of one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature; Table Mountain. Also included in the list is the culturally rich Durban with its locally made delicious cuisines.

All these numerous cities stretching all through Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, East London, and so on with their world-class architecture make South Africa a top tourist destination to visit in Africa.

You can effortlessly move from one adventure to another in South Africa, either 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:

1. Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa
2. iSimangaliso Wetland Park
3. Robben Island
4. Maloti-Drakensberg Park
5. Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape
6. Cape Floral Region Protected Areas
7. Vredefort Dome
8. Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape
9. Khomani Cultural Landscape
10. 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 South Africa. 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 to say the least. 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 to have on your bucket list.

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