South Africa’s travel operators have welcomed the lifting of Covid restrictions, and expect a boost to tourism in the country. Flight Centre MD Euan McNeil says: « The COVID entry requirements imposed by our government during COVID made sense at the height of the pandemic. Lately, however, these restrictions have been causing some confusion for travellers […]

South Africans abroad are accustomed to passport and visa application delays to visit SA, but there’s a new visa hell for friends and family wanting to visit the UK. This week an anxious South African mother, whose daughter lives in Hanoi (Vietnam), posted the following letter to Cashel Gleeson, Deputy Head of Mission at the […]

JOHANNESBURG – Comair has announced that it is ‘regrettably’ obliged to suspend all British Airways (operated by Comair) and kulula.com flights from Tuesday evening 31 May 2022 pending successfully securing additional funding. The company’s business rescue practitioners (BRPs) have advised that the process to raise the necessary capital is in progress and that there is […]

KLM will celebrate 30 years of flying between Cape Town and Amsterdam… by offering even more flights! As travel demand between the cities continues to increase, the airline has announced that it will be celebrating this milestone by adding three additional direct flights between the two cities per week from the beginning of November this […]

The world’s largest airline, Emirates, and South African Tourism have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly promote tourism and boost visitor arrivals and inbound traffic to South Africa from key markets across the airline’s network. The MoU was signed on the side-lines of Arabian Travel Market by Badr Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President […]

Visitors to South Africa’s legendary Kruger National Park will be pleased to hear that SA National Parks (SANParks) has announced the start of a R370 million upgrading and refurbishment infrastructure programme in the Kruger over the next three years. Several Kruger tourists, particularly locals who are regular visitors, have complained on Kruger forums about the […]

Two Field Rangers have been arrested in the Kruger National Park, on charges related to Fraud, Money Laundering and Corruption. South African National Parks (SANParks) said in a statement that it had today, 23 April 2022, been informed of the arrests which were the result of an extensive investigation led by the Directorate for Priority […]

The Western Cape has welcomed the news that Delta Air Lines’ application to fly a triangular route between Atlanta, Johannesburg and Cape Town has finally been approved by the SA national government. The approval, which had previously been denied, means that tourists and South Africans living in the US will soon be able to enjoy […]

The Zanzibar Commission for Tourism says it has begun an investigation into allegations made by a tourist, Zainab Oladehinde, of sexual assault and robbery she suffered in a hotel on the Tanzanian island last April. Nigerian national Zainab Oladehinde, who turns 24 today, had visited the island as a solo traveller last year to celebrate […]

A young woman who travelled alone to a hotel in Zanzibar last year, to celebrate her 23rd birthday, has posted a string of tweets today alleging that the hotel, and the police on the Tanzanian island, covered up a traumatic attack she suffered in her room in the dead of night. Zainab Oladehinde claims that […]

South Africa’s hospitality association has welcomed last night’s lifting of the State of Disaster – after 750 days – BUT has re-issued its call for the urgent removal of the PCR test requirement for unvaccinated children between the age of five and 12-years-old… which FEDHASA says is damaging tourism. Fedhasa said it’s “delighted” by the […]

Cape Town’s popularity continues to attract an increasing number of tourists to South Africa with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines today announcing it is increasing its flight schedule between Cape Town and Amsterdam. The airline said in a statement on Tuesday that the schedule increase is a result of a greater demand for flights between Amsterdam […]

Air Belgium has announced plans to operate seasonal flights to South Africa starting in September 2022, with up to three flights each week flying simultaneously to Cape Town and Johannesburg. The Johannesburg and Cape Town routes are currently the airline’s only continental Africa flights. Brussels has historically been CPT’s second largest unserved market and the […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the easing of several restrictions, including Travel, as part of Adjusted Alert Level 1, which will take effect tomorrow (Wed 23 March) once they’re gazetted. Travel industry organisations welcomed the announcement, saying tonight that the PCR test removal for inbound vaccinated travellers will be a major boost for South Africa’s […]

The Telegraph newspaper in the UK has declared Cape Town, South Africa, “the greatest city in the world to visit right now”. Of course Capetonians already knew that, but it always feels so good when the rest of the world acknowledges it… and the compliments for Cape Town are bursting in this particular Telegraph article, […]

The French government has further eased travel restrictions previously placed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, making it easier for tourists from South Africa to travel to France. Air France confirms that, effective immediately, South Africa has been moved to the ‘Green’ country list for France. The new regulations feature some significant changes – […]

Finally, a foreigner appears to have almost nailed the South African accent. Well, at least better than most who’ve come before him. The brilliant Australian actor, comedian (and father to three boys) Jimmy Rees has posted a hilarious video in which he masters several accents (random Aussie, posh Melbourne accent, whining New Zealander and competitive […]

Dear Minister of Transport, Mr Mbalula; SANRAL, Mr Macozoma; MEC for Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs, Mr Harcharan; and all interested parties… writes tourism business owner in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Megan in this open letter. I love South Africa and have recently had the privilege of travelling through the country a little. It’s a huge […]

If all goes according to plan and Delta Airlines’ latest application is approved, then tourists and South Africans living in the US could soon be enjoying direct flights between Atlanta and Cape Town. Delta Airlines will operate a year-round route with a schedule of 3 flights per week from Atlanta to Cape Town, starting mid-November […]

To preserve and honour the legacy of South Africa’s iconic leader, Nelson Mandela, his home in Houghton, which was a symbol of his presidency and struggle against apartheid, has been transformed into a luxury hotel which was opened in September last year. “Sanctuary Mandela” as it’s now called was the Madiba’s first home in Johannesburg […]

South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park has always been particularly popular with holidaymakers from Germany… and soon those tourists will be able to fly directly from Frankfurt to Mbombela (Nelspruit), Kruger National Park, directly! Eurowings Discover is the first intercontinental airline ever to start scheduled operations to SA’s largest national park. Eurowings Discover is the […]

South Africa’s luxurious Blue Train is being suspended, effective from today 14 February 2022, until further notice, according to a Transnet message shared on social media. “Due to safety considerations the business has taken the decision to suspend The Blue Train operations in order to conduct a full analysis following the recent unfortunate incidents that […]

United Airlines today announced its plan to start flying non-stop from New York / Newark to Cape Town International Airport (and back) all year long! “Nonstop to Cape Town, now year-round!” tweeted the airline. The service will begin on 5 June, ahead of schedule, and will include three nonstop flights per week between the US […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the South African eVisa system has been launched in 14 countries, including China, India, Kenya and Nigeria, as per the government’s commitment. For those in the US, Australia, Canada and the EU… it’s not yet in place, but the South African online visa is planned for these nationalities too. In his […]

DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that it will lift a travel ban on its vaccinated citizens to travel to South Africa, the state news agency WAM said on Friday. The ban is also being lifted for 11 other countries in Africa. These include: Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, […]