Travel Information

South Africa does not change its clocks during the year, and there are no regional variations within the country. South African Standard Time is (+2) Greenwich Mean (or Universal Standard) Time, (+1) Central European Winter Time, and (+7) USA’s Eastern Standard Winter Time

The banks are open from 9am to 3.30pm (Monday – Friday), and 8.30am to 11am on Saturdays. All major credit cards can be used in South Africa, with American Express and Diners Club enjoying less universal acceptance. In some small towns, you may find you’ll need to use cash. You can’t purchase fuel with a credit card. You can pay road tolls with MasterCard or Visa.

Tipping is common practice in South Africa for a range of services. In restaurants the accepted standard is around 10% of the bill, although sometimes a gratuity will be included (often in the case of a large party). It is also appropriate to tip taxi drivers, tour guides and even hairdressers. If you park a car in a populated area such as near a shopping centre, street security guards will usually ask whether they can watch over your car and in return should be paid a small fee – anything from two rands upwards.

Value-added-tax (VAT) is charged on most items. Foreign visitors to South Africa can have their 14% VAT refunded (value of purchases exceed R250.00). VAT is refunded at the point of departure provided receipts are produced.

There are 11 officially recognised languages, most of which are indigenous to South Africa. English is spoken everywhere you go. English is the language of the cities, of commerce and banking, of government and official documents. All our road signs and official forms are in English and service staff will speak English.

South Africa enjoys a temperate and pleasant climate, with warm sunny days most of the year. The seasons of the southern hemisphere are opposite to those in the northern hemisphere so our Summer runs from November to February, when most of the country is characterised by warm to hot weather. We have a warm sunny climate and you should wear sunscreen and a hat whenever you are out of doors during the day, particularly between 10am and 2pm, regardless of whether there is cloud cover or not.

Medical facilities in cities and larger towns are world-class, but you will find that in rural areas the clinics and hospitals deal with primary health needs, and therefore do not offer the range of medical care that the large metropolitan hospitals do. Trained medical caregivers are deployed round the country, so help is never far away. For more information, service, alerts and advice, check out SAA Netcare Travel Clinics.

High-quality tap water is available almost everywhere in South Africa, treated so as to be free of harmful micro-organisms, and in any area other than informal settlements, is both palatable and safe to drink straight from the tap.

The Cape is a malaria free region.

• 1 January – New Year’s Day
• 21 March – Human Rights Day
• Good Friday (the Friday before Easter Sunday)
• Family Day (the Monday after Easter Sunday)
• 27 April – Freedom Day
• 1 May – Workers Day
• 16 June – Youth Day
• 9 August – Women’s Day
• 24 September – Heritage Day
• 16 December – Day of Reconciliation
• 25 December – Christmas Day
• 26 December – Day of Goodwill
If a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following becomes a public holiday.

For the majority of foreign visitors who travel to South Africa entry is straightforward and hassle-free. All visitors to South Africa must be in possession of a valid passport in order to enter the country and in some cases, a visa.

The Department of Home Affairs’ website will give you the low down on visa costs, processing time, where to apply, visa requirements (what to submit), requirements for people in transit, duration and purpose of stay, medical visas and photographs.

Services to foreigners General visa information Supplemental visa information Visa application form

All visitors intending to drive around South Africa are required to obtain an international drivers permit, visitors found driving without a permit will be fined and not permitted to continue on their journey. Visitors will also not be able to rent a car without a valid driver’s permit. The wearing of seatbelts is compulsory and strictly enforced by law.

Country code +27, International access code 09

1011 Police,
10222 Ambulance,
1022 Fire