South Africa has something for everyone, from cool, cosmopolitan Cape Town and the Stellenbosch and Franschhoek wine regions to epic game drives and life-changing moments witnessing “big five” wildlife in Kruger National Park.
Tourist Visa for US Citizens: Not required for stays under 90 days.
► US Department of State South Africa Information
The South African Customs online traveller declaration system has been successfully implemented at all South African air, land, and sea ports. Travellers entering or leaving South Africa will need to complete a traveller declaration. The online traveller declaration process will collect and process your travel information and provide an electronic response via email confirming declaration. Travellers arriving in South Africa will receive customs instructions that will guide and inform them about customs requirements on arrival. Travellers leaving the country are required to follow the instructions received in their declaration with confirmation once they are at the port of entry.
► Official South Africa Online Traveller Declaration
Sabi Sands
Size: 12 rooms and suites
Designer/Architect: Cécile and Boyd
If there’s a brand that embodies the safari gold standard, it’s Singita, which runs 19 lodges and camps across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Rwanda. Ebony Lodge, overlooking the Sand River in a private concession in the leopard-rich Sabi Sands Game Reserve, was the one that started it all, back in 1993. But in some ways Singita’s other lodges (we adore the nature-modernist Sweni lodge) had overtaken its traditional aesthetic—until a richly textured redesign led by Cape Town designers Cécile and Boyd was unveiled in spring 2024. The new Ebony Lodge—with the indoor-outdoor stepped central area that descends toward the river, and the glass and canvas that has replaced walls in the 12 richly textured suites—is more flowing, more immersed in nature. Singita’s game drives are always next-level, and for us, private sightings, like of a tree-bound leopard chillingly devouring an impala, were followed by blissful moments by our private plunge pool watching elephants loll in the riverbed. The new Ebony is smarter than ever but, happily, remains a classic. From $2,580. —Toby Skinner
CONDE-NAST TRAVELER GOLD LIST: 2025
Cape Town
Size: 28 rooms and suites
Style: Modern Art
Year Opened: 2017
Safe to say there’s nothing else in Cape Town quite like the Silo Hotel. This eye-catching concrete structure, with its bulging, faceted windows, stands atop the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, right on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. It’s a converted grain silo, hence the hotel’s name, and its style incorporates industrial elements, along with a wealth of eclectic, extravagant influences. With just 28 rooms this is a proper luxury boutique hotel; each one is faultlessly comfortable, with extraordinary views, especially from the bathrooms. There’s a spa using Ling products; don’t miss the swanky Willaston Bar, the open-air Silo Rooftop, or breakfast at the Granary Café.
Kalahari Desert
Size: 14 tented suites
Style: Indigenous
Tswalu is a visionary conservation project in the southern Kalahari, supported by nature-based tourism, with sustainability at its core. Understated luxury and an authentic sense of place characterise its three camps, representing the lowest ratio of guests to space in a privately protected area in South Africa. Each camp is positioned to take in the reserve’s dramatic landscapes of savannah grasslands, red dunes and ancient mountains.
The Motse and exclusive-use Tarkuni are complemented by Loapi, a light-footprint camp with six tented homes offering the ultimate private wilderness experience. At all three camps a private vehicle is guaranteed with each booking, providing complete freedom to traverse and explore this vast, semi-arid wonderland with a dedicated guide and tracker. Days on safari are unscripted and immersive, a unique journey of discovery into the rare and unusual from desert-adapted fauna and flora to San rock engravings. Iconic Kalahari sights include black-maned lion, oryx, desert black rhino as well as shy, elusive creatures like brown hyena, aardvark and pangolin. Guests contribute towards Tswalu’s regenerative vision to leave the world better than how it was found, ensuring that vital habitat is restored so that biodiversity can once again flourish for the benefit of both planet and people.
► VIRTUOSO: South Africa Information Page
Here is a good place to start for some additional information on quality Hotels, Water Adventures and Activities.
► WIKIVOYAGE: South Africa Page
A great resource for all the basic information you need for South Africa.
► VISIT SOUTH AFRICA
The official visitor information for South Africa.
► UBIGI eSIM
For Asia / Africa / Oceania, Ubigi is my favorite selection for a travel eSIM.
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page updated: October 2025
images courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, South Africa Tourism Board
Please Note: All Hotel / Resort / Cruise / Services Amenities are subject to availability and may have changed since the date of this being originally published.
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