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South Africa is a popular tourist destination, with around 860 000 arrivals per month (March 2008) of which around 210 000 is from outside the African continent. Among the overseas visitors are Europeans, by far the largest number, followed by visitors from North America. South Africa is one of the world's fastest growing travel destinations and offers many exotic attractions as well as excellent infrastructure, transport and accommodation; on top of this it has a reputation for delivering value for money.
South Africa is divided into 9 provinces; among these The Western Cape continues to be one of the destinations most favored by foreigners. Cape Town is the capital of the province with famous landmarks such as the Table Mountain and the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. From Cape Town it is only a short boat trip to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27 years in jail. Among other attractions, the Western Cape also includes the wine routes with superb accommodation available in historic towns such as Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, as well as on many wine estates and farms; the Whale route; most of the Garden Route and the Cape of Good Hope.
The Eastern Cape province includes the remainder of the Garden Route, the former Homelands, the Wild Coast with spectacular coastlines without a tourist crowd, superb beaches in Port Elizabeth, East London and Jeffreys Bay the surfing mecca of South Africa.
The capital of KwaZulu-Natal province is Durban, a popular coastal holiday destination for South Africans. The Drakensberg mountain range, if you like hiking and also the Tugela Falls, the world's second highest waterfall.
Mpumalanga province is a gateway to Mozambique and the southern section of the Kruger National Park and home to the Drakensberg Escarpment with the Blyde River Canyon, the third largest Canyon in the world.
The Limpopo province to the northeast is a good jump off point for visits to the northern parts of the Kruger National Park, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Limpopo is home to approximately 50 further provincial nature reserves and is an excellent destination for get-away-from-it-all luxury holidays in the bush.
The North West province is famous for Sun City, Pilanesberg and Madikwe Game Reserve, while the Gauteng province includes Pretoria the administrative capital of the country and Johannesburg the most common entry point into South Africa. Northern Cape is the biggest province with fewest people; Upington is the second biggest city and a good base when exploring the Kalahari Desert. Free State is home to the Vredefort Dome, the oldest and largest meteorite impact site in the world. It was formed about two billion years ago when a giant meteorite hit Earth.
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