South Africa Travel Guide

Social Conventions

Handshaking is the usual form of greeting, sometimes in a more elaborate African handshake that foreigners will be taught readily. Casual wear is widely acceptable, especially in less formal Cape Town. Smoking is prohibited in public buildings and on public transport.

International Travel

Getting There By Air

The national airline is South African Airways (SAA) (www.flysaa.com). There are frequent direct and indirect flights by numerous major airlines from destinations throughout Europe and North America.

Departure Tax

All taxes are included in the price of an air ticket.

Main Airports

Cape Town (CPT) (Cape Town International) is 22km (16 miles) east of the city (journey time - 20 minutes). To/from the airport: Round-the-clock shuttle buses meet incoming flights. Courtesy buses are operated by some hotels. Authorised airport taxis are operated by Touch Down Taxis, with a surcharge after 2300. Facilities: Duty-free shop, car hire, bank/bureau de change, ATMs, postal services, tourist information desk, restaurants/bars, wi-fi (subscription / credit card), medical clinic and conference facilities.

Durban (DUR) (Durban International) is 18km (11 miles) southwest of the city (journey time - 20 minutes). To/from the airport: Airport shuttle buses and taxis are available to the city. There is a high-speed Gautrain between OR Tambo Airport and Sandton in Johannesburg. Facilities: Duty-free shop, car hire, bank/bureau de change, ATMs, postal services, tourist information desk, restaurants/bars and wi-fi (subscription / credit card).

Johannesburg (JNB) (OR Tambo International) is 22km (14 miles) east of the city (journey time - 50 minutes). To/from the airport: Shuttle bus services and taxis to Pretoria and Johannesburg are available. Courtesy coaches are operated by major hotels within the vicinity of the airport. Facilities: Duty-free shop, car hire, bank/bureau de change, ATMs, postal services, tourist information desk, restaurants/bars, wi-fi (subscription / credit card), medical clinic and conference facilities.

Port Elizabeth (PLZ) (Port Elizabeth International) is 5km (3 miles) west of the Capital Business District (journey time - 15 minutes). To/from the airport: There is an airport shuttle bus to the main international hotels in Port Elizabeth upon request. Taxis are also available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, car hire, ATMs, post box, information desk, restaurants/bars and conference facilities.

Information about all the airports is collated by the Airports Company South Africa at www.acsa.co.za.

Getting There By Water

Main ports: Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth. For more information regarding the ports, contact Transnet National Ports Authority (www.transnetnationalportsauthority.net).

Several international cruise liners call at Cape Town or Durban.

Getting There By Road

There are main routes into South Africa from Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Coach services to the capital cities of neighboring countries are provided by Intercape (tel: 0861 287 287; www.intercape.co.za), Greyhound (tel: 0839 159 000; www.greyhound.co.za), and Translux (tel: 021 774 3333; www.translux.co.za).

Duty Free

Overview

The following goods may be imported into South Africa by passengers over 18 years of age without incurring customs duty:

• 200 cigarettes and 20 cigars and 250g of tobacco.
• 1L of spirits or liquor and 2L of wine.
• 50mL of perfume and 250mL of eau de toilette.
• Other goods up to a value of ZAR3000. Additional goods up to R12,000 are charged duty of 20%.

Restricted items
South African bank notes in excess of R5 000, gold coins, coin and stamp collections and unprocessed gold; endangered species of plants or wildlife, including articles made from them, plants and plant products, such as seeds, flowers, fruit, honey, margarine and vegetable oil; animals, birds, poultry and related products. Medicines (excluding sufficient for one month for own personal treatment accompanied by a letter or certified prescription from a registered physician).

Prohibited Imports

Narcotics; automatic, military and unnumbered weapons, explosives or fireworks; poisons, meat, unlawful reproductions of any works subject to copyright and prison-made goods, processed cheese and other dairy products.

Internal Travel

Getting Around By Air

Several airlines operate domestic routes with regular links between Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Nelspruit and Port Elizabeth and relatively frequent flights to several smaller towns and cities too. Main operators are South Africa Airways (SAA) (www.flysaa.com); Comair, a division of British Airways (BA) (www.ba.com); Mango (JE) (www.flymango.com); Kulula (MN) (www.kulula.com); 1time (1T) (www.1time.co.za); and Airlink (4Z) (www.flyairlink.com).

Getting Around By Water

The main ports of Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth are industrial or geared towards international cruise liners rather than domestic ferry routes.

Getting Around By Rail

Intercity services are run by Shosholoza Meyl (tel: 011 774 4555; www.shosholozameyl.co.za), with trains between Johannesburg, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Trains are extremely slow and most go overnight. Tourist class has a restaurant car and sleeping compartments with shared showers; economy class just provides seats and a snack bar. Children under four travel free. Children aged four to 12 pay half fare.

Luxury trains: Premier Classe (tel: 086 000 8888; www.premierclasse.co.za) runs between Johannesburg and Cape Town twice a week, and is more comfortable than the regular train. The Blue Train (tel: 021 449 2672; www.bluetrain.co.za) and Rovos Rail (tel: 021 421 4020; www.rovosrail.co.za) offer luxurious cabins and gourmet food in elaborate dining cars and run occasionally between Pretoria and Cape Town.

Gautrain Rapid Rail Link: This underground and overground railway is still under construction and when completed will link Johannesburg, Pretoria and OR Tambo International Airport (tel: 011 891 7108; www.gautrain.co.za).

Getting Around By Road

Traffic drives on the left. Roads and national highways link all the major areas and the only untarred roads are in rural areas and in some game reserves. Severe rains and a lack of maintenance have left many roads scarred with potholes, however. Road signs are in English. National highways are denoted with an ‘N' and some are toll roads. Credit cards cannot be used to pay for fuel so carry cash.

Coach/bus: Coaches criss-cross the country between most major towns and cities, although distances are far and journeys are long. Operators include Intercape (tel: 0861 287 287; www.intercape.co.za), Greyhound (tel: 0839 159 000; www.greyhound.co.za), and Translux (tel: 021 774 3333; www.translux.co.za). The Baz Bus (tel: 021 439 2323; www.bazbus.com) is aimed at backpackers and runs along the coast between Cape Town and Durban, then links to Johannesburg.

Tickets can also be bought through Computicket (tel: 011 340 8000; www.computicket.co.za), which has online booking and kiosks in some shopping malls.

Taxi: Available in all towns, hotels and airports, with meters fitted. They are not particularly cheap. Taxis do not cruise and must be ordered by phone or at a taxi rank.

Car hire: Dozens of care hire firms are operating, including the major international players.

Regulations: The legal driving age is 18 years, though car hire companies often require drivers to be at least 23. The speed limit on highways is 120kph (75mph), 80-100kph (50-62mph) on national roads and 60kph (37mph) in urban areas. Licenses must be carried at all times and seatbelts must be worn.

Car theft and hijacking is a problem, so keep doors locked and don't pick up hitchhikers.

Emergency breakdown service: The AA (tel: 0838 4322; www.aa.co.za). Yellow SOS telephones are available on major routes.

Documentation: Foreign licenses are valid if they are in English with a photograph of the holder, but the AA recommends an International Driving Permit to prevent potential complications.

Getting Around Towns and Cities

Public transport is generally dreadful. Although there are bus networks in all main towns reliability is dubious. Routes for the minibus taxis used by local commuters are too confusing to even try to explain to a short-term visitor.

Cape Town buses are run by Golden Arrow and in Johannesburg by Metrobus. Metrorail trains in larger cities used by commuters are generally not recommended to visitors due to the crime risk.

Journey Times

The following chart gives approximate journey times (in hours and minutes) from Cape Town to other major cities/towns in South Africa.

	Air	Road	Rail
Johannesburg	2.00	15.00	27.00
Durban	2.10	18.00	38.00
Pretoria	2.00	16.00	26.00
Port Elizabeth	1.10	7.00	-