Jeanne Horak-Druiff is a food and travel blogger who describes herself as South African by birth but Londoner by choice. She has lived in London since 2000 and in this piece she shares her favourite blog posts about South Africa – but you can also keep up with her other adventures on her blog Cooksister, Instagram or Twitter.
Cast your mind back maybe fifteen years or so and try to remember how you booked and planned overseas trips then. I know I was still calling up my travel agent and chatting through flight options as she tapped away at her keyboard to search through arcane systems like SAAFARI (South African Airways’ online reservations system) that were inaccessible to mere mortals like me. And once the flight was booked and the seat secured, there was the debate about how much currency to take out in travellers’ cheques and the list of recommended hotels from the travel agent; and then I’d go out and buy the Let’s Go guide to the relevant destination and enthusiastically highlight relevant attractions and restaurants with Post-It notes. Fifteen years is not that long ago, and yet the paragraph above seems now like a quaint time capsule of How Things Used to Be.
These days, people (me included) far more likely to be searching for and booking their own flights via one of the myriad of online flight booking sites available; and researching and booking their accommodation through Tripadvisor or AirBnB. And when it comes to deciding on which attractions and restaurants to visit, I almost always start by combing through blog posts by my favourite travel bloggers to see what they have done and what they’d recommend. In my office, I have become known as the go-to girl for travel advice to South Africa, which has made me realise that people are keen for first-hand travel recommendations to my beautiful homeland. So with that in mind, here is my personal selection of six of the best travel blog posts about South Africa:
Best for visiting Johannesburg
The first thing that many people think of when they hear the word Johannesburg is crime – but although the city certainly has its share of problems with crime, there is so much more to it than this narrow, and depressing view. That is why I love the exuberance of this post by Adventurous Kate about the many and varied facets of this culturally vibrant and historically rich city, from where to eat, to what to do and even where to bungee jump!
Best for visiting the Cape winelands
Although it is classified as the New World, South Africa has been producing wines since the late 1600s and had a very long history of winemaking. This means that there is a bewildering variety of wine estates to visit in and around Cape Town but still only 24 hours in a day! You can’t get to all of them, but in this post I have hand-picked a selection of seven of my favourite estates together with a good reason to visit each one. Cheers!
Best for luxury hotels
One of the things that surprises people the most when they visit South Africa is how ridiculously affordable luxury accommodation is. From B&Bs or guest houses to holiday rentals to 5-star hotels – you have to keep pinching yourself as a reminder that you are not dreaming and that this really is the price. Few travel bloggers know more about luxury hotels than Mrs O around the World, so when she says she approves, you know it’s worth a visit.
Best for relaxed budget travel
I am a planner. I like to know where I am staying every night of a trip and I have been known to create spreadsheets… But here’s a different perspective from one of my favourite travel bloggers Paul (aka Travmonkey) who arrived in Cape Town with little more than a return ticket and a taste for adventure. This 11 days of unplanned activities in Cape Town shows you just how much fun you can have without spending a fortune (and without a spreadsheet!).
Best for the adventure traveller
Many visitors to South Africa never get beyond Cape Town and possibly a safari – which is a pity because there is so much to see in the rest of the country. Durban, on the county’s tropical east coast, has a rich cultural heritage, encompassing the proud Zulu history, a British colonial history, and the history of the largest Indian population outside India. It’s also where you can do a bungee jump from the top of the Moses Mabhida stadium, one of the beautiful modern stadiums built for the 2010 football World Cup. Not for the faint-hearted – luckily Mallory on Travel took the jump and wrote a great post about it, so I don’t have to!
Best for ticking off the bucket list
South Africa is a great country for ticking things off your bucket list, from climbing mountains, to diving with sharks, to bungee jumps. If you have a couple of weeks and a bit of money to spend, the sky is the limit – and here are some ideas of top South African experiences from the Traveldudes. There’s something for everyone, from adventure-seekers to spa-seekers.
So what are you waiting for? Book your flights today!
Discussion1 Comment
Thank you for including my piece about bungee jumping at the Durban stadium, glad you enjoyed it.