South Africa: Regions, Cities & Travel Guide

What is South Africa known for?

South Africa is known as the 'Rainbow Nation,' a country of striking variety in land and life. Its coastline runs a long way between the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. Johannesburg is the largest city and the country's beating heart, Cape Town holds the seat of Parliament beside the sea, and Durban lines the warm Indian Ocean coast.

Wildlife, mountains, and vineyards pull visitors from across the world, and the whole span falls across nine provinces. Few countries pack in so much.

Where is South Africa?

South Africa is the southernmost country in Africa, a broad land wrapped by ocean on two sides. Its coastline runs for thousands of kilometres, meeting the cold South Atlantic on one flank and the warmer Indian Ocean on the other. Inland, the country shares long borders with its neighbours.

Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe lie along the north, Mozambique and Eswatini sit to the east, and the whole small kingdom of Lesotho is enclosed within South African territory. Between the coasts the land shows the widely varying landscapes the country is known for, from dry inland stretches to green coastal belts. The large inland city of Johannesburg stands well away from the sea, as does Pretoria, while Cape Town, Durban, and Bloemfontein anchor other corners of the map.

The country is genuinely large, well over a million square kilometres in all, and its nine provinces divide that space into distinct regions. From two oceans to the dry interior, the range of country is enormous. Roads and rail have to cover great distances to knit one region to the next, and no single trip can take it all in.

Distance shapes every journey here.

What is the history of South Africa?

South Africa took its modern form in 1910, when its separate territories were joined into a single country. That union set the country's outline. The land later became the Republic of South Africa, the formal name it still carries, governed as one state across a wide and varied territory.

Its borders enclose the small kingdom of Lesotho and run up against Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Eswatini. The country's population has always been diverse, drawn from many peoples and traditions, and in time South Africa came to be called the 'Rainbow Nation' for that variety. Over the following century its cities grew into major centres.

Johannesburg rose as the largest city, while Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, and Bloemfontein each took on roles in the life of the nation, three of them serving as capitals of different branches of the state. The story of the country is one of many strands brought under a single flag. Nine provinces now divide the map.

From the union of 1910 to a modern republic of great variety, its history runs through the meeting of its many peoples.

What is South Africa like?

South Africa calls itself the 'Rainbow Nation,' a phrase that captures its great human variety. Many peoples share the country. That diversity shows most plainly in language, with a dozen official tongues in daily use, Zulu among the most widely spoken, so a single conversation can cross several languages at once.

Custom, food, and music vary as much as speech from one region to the next. The country's culture also grows out of its land and its history. Wildlife and open country run deep in the national image, and the varied landscapes give each region its own character.

Its towns and cities carry their own traditions too. Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban each hold distinct communities and ways of life, and the shared story of the nation since its founding binds them loosely together. Even the seat of government is spread, with Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein each holding a branch of the state.

The result is a country of many cultures under one flag. That blend of many peoples across a varied land is what the Rainbow Nation name points to. Unity and difference sit side by side.

What is the climate of South Africa?

South Africa has a broadly subtropical climate, though its size gives it many local variations. Two oceans set the tone. The cold South Atlantic borders one flank and the warm Indian Ocean the other, and the contrast between them shapes the weather along each coast.

Because the country lies south of the equator, its seasons run opposite to those of the northern half of the world, so the warmest months fall near the year's end. Sun, sea air, and long dry spells.

How do you get to South Africa?

Most long-haul visitors arrive through Johannesburg, the largest city and the country's main hub, with Cape Town and Durban taking direct flights of their own. The country is huge. Because South Africa is well over a thousand kilometres across, moving between the cities usually means a domestic flight or a long drive rather than a quick hop.

Good roads and regular flights tie the nine provinces together, and the coast links the port cities along both oceans. Land in one city, tour from there.