South Africa Things To Do

This stirring museum pays tribute to South Africa’s fight for freedom under the apartheid regime, taking visitors on a heart-wrenching journey via photographs, eyewitness news accounts, documentary footage, artifacts, and text.

Close to the Apartheid Museum, Gold Reef City is a kitschy-yet-fun theme park and casino that pays homage to Joburg’s gold mining past.

Walk in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela on Vilikazi Street, the only street in the world that has been home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners (Mandela and Desmond Tutu), feast on local cuisine in a shebeen (tavern), and stop by the Hector Pieterson Museum, dedicated to the township’s 1976 youth uprisings.

Spot over 200 species of birdlife, including the endangered Verreaux’s Eagles. You can also enjoy regular live concerts on the grounds.

Another major testament to the struggle against Apartheid, these former prison grounds, where Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were held, are now home to South Africa’s Constitutional Court.

Learn more about ancient rock art (and your own DNA lineage) at this family-friendly, interactive museum exploring humanity’s origins in Africa as told by the ancient San people.

This 420-acre nature reserve and archeological site where Stone Age men hunted, walked and lived some 2.5 million years ago (even then, Melville was trendy!) offers numerous hiking trails and handsome views of the city.

See why bustling Cape Town, a cosmopolitan city boasting fantastic hotels, restaurants, and beaches, is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world by taking an aerial cableway ride to the top of Table Mountain and gazing at the city through the rolling fog.

A prison for South Africa’s most notorious political prisoners (including Nelson Mandela) until 1984, this island, 7 miles off the coast of Cape Town and accessible via ferry, is now one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions. Visitors are taken on tours by former political prisoners.

Home to over 140 species of mammals, including the Big Five (lion, rhino, leopard, buffalo, and elephant), the park is well-equipped for guided safaris, though many travelers enjoy the self-drive option.