Passports:

Be sure to have at least two blank pages available in your passport should you require a visa to travel to South Africa. Otherwise one blank page is sufficient, even though only half a page is needed for the stamp at immigration.

More information at: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/SouthAfrica.html

Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after the date of departure
from South Africa.

Airport Customs Allowance 

Currently the following duty-free allowances apply per person:

200 cigarettes,

250 grams of tobacco and 20 cigars,

two liters of wine,

one liter of other alcoholic beverages,

50 ml of perfume and

250 ml of eau de toilette.

Also, gifts, souvenirs and all other goods to the value of R 500.00. No person under 18 is entitled to the alcohol or tobacco allowance. Duty is levied at 20% thereafter.

Credit Cards

All major international credit cards such as MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club and Visa are widely accepted.

You can’t purchase fuel with a credit card but you can pay road tolls with MasterCard or Visa.

Understanding VAT

Value Added Tax: (VAT) of 15% is levied in South Africa.

Give a little get a little

VAT paid on these goods:

Reclaiming VAT is only applicable for goods that you are able to produce at the airport and not for any services whatsoever.

When purchasing your products you should request a tax invoice.

VAT Reclaim Offices are found at Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town Airports.

Before departing, visit the customs official offices where your invoices and goods purchased will be inspected. Once your invoices have been approved and stamped, the VAT Reclaim Office will refund you the appropriate amount.

Culture Shock 

Languages
The most widely spoken language is Zulu, then Xhosa, followed by Afrikaans. However, just about everyone speaks English.

Pleasure…
It’s all of the Afrikaner’s favorite word. “Pleasure” is the unofficial way to say “you’re welcome” in South Africa.

Don’t pronounce Zebra wrong
The pronunciation of the word Zebra is “zeh-bra” and not “zee-bra”.

General

Capital:

South Africa has no legally defined capital city. Instead, there are three South African capitals. They are:

Pretoria (executive capital)

Bloemfontein (judicial)

Cape Town (legislative)

Currency:

South African Rand (ZAR)

Stay Connected: 

Vodacom, Telcom, OneCell, and MTN are cell phone and internet providers.

When is the Best Time to Visit?

Spring & summer in the Southern Hemisphere is between September and February. These are great times to visit.

Seasons:

Summer – December to February
Autumn – March to May
Winter – June to August
Spring – September to November

Packing Tips