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, […]

Italy is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The European destination offers unforgettable sights for tourists to experience and is a popular destination for South Africans. From the mountainous north to the Mediterranean south, Italian travel offers experiences that will last a lifetime. Sailing around the magnificent waters of Italy in a yacht […]

The Dutch government has eased restrictions previously placed on Southern African countries (due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant) making it easier for tourists from South Africa to travel to The Netherlands. It is now possible for fully vaccinated travellers from South Africa to enter The Netherlands with no quarantine restrictions. The new entry regulations are […]

South African Airways (SAA) has announced that it will be resuming flights to Mauritius after the island nation lifted its travel ban on the country in January. The nation banned travel from Southern African countries in November last year following the emergence of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. SAA interim CEO, Thomas Kgokolo, said the airline […]

As Tom Cruise prepares to begin filming Mission Impossible 8 in South Africa, SAPeople spoke to 22-year-old British-Libyan actor, Adam Ali, about his experience filming in the country. Adam, who recently won the Best Actor award at the inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) for his performance in ‘Europa’, spent the month of October […]

The voice of South Africa’s hospitality industry – FEDHASA – has issued a call to the SA government to remove the compulsory PCR test required for inbound international and returning South African travellers who are fully vaccinated. Whilst welcoming last night’s announcement on the reduction in Covid-19 restrictions in South Africa (including isolation no longer […]

Tourism Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, has welcomed the lifting of travel bans to Southern Africa by the European Union (EU), but said the damage has already been done and it comes after peak tourism season. On Monday, EU states agreed to lift the travel bans, which were imposed following the onset of the COIVD-19 Omicron variant. […]

Cape Town is one of the most popular cities in Africa to visit by night, if Instagram posts are anything to go by. According to a new research study, Cape Town is the fifth most popular city by night in Africa, with over 2,400 Instagram hashtags. The study of over 250 of the most populated […]

Germany is the latest country to drop travel restrictions on South Africa and its neighbouring countries. From today (Tues 4 Jan), SA is no longer considered a “virus variant area” by Germany, which means fully vaccinated or recovered passengers can now enter Germany from SA without needing to complete a compulsory two-week quarantine. These restrictions […]

ASATA has called on the Mauritian Government to lift its travel ban against South Africans with immediate effect so that the travel industries in both countries can collectively try to salvage the balance of the summer season. Mauritius recently extended its travel ban against Southern African countries until 31 January 2022, despite the presence of […]

For many South Africans living abroad, returning home for Christmas is a dream come true – the friendly people, the beautiful climate, the stunning landscape… but mostly, the ‘welcome home’ hugs and kisses from loved ones you miss so, so very much. For SA dance celebrity Oti Mabuse, who is a household name in the […]

US President Joe Biden has announced the lifting of travel restrictions imposed on South Africa, and other Southern African countries, following the emergence of the COVID-19 Omicron variant last month. The travel ban is expected to be officially lifted on Friday morning. The new coronavirus variant was announced by South African scientists at the National […]

With France banning travel to and from the UK  for most – although not all – travellers, the Western Cape has pounced on the moment to promote its beautiful beaches as a fabulous alternative to the French Riviera. From midnight tonight French local time, only UK citizens/residents will be allowed to leave France to enter […]

“I couldn’t be more excited after hearing the wonderful news that our beautiful City, Cape Town, has bagged a double at the 2021 World Travel Awards!” Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says. For the second consecutive year Cape Town has been named the World’s Leading Festival and Event Destination, which is fantastic news for everyone […]

Cape Town says it is destination-ready and can’t wait to welcome back its visitors… many of whom will be SA expats heading home for the holidays, or British sun-seekers desperate to soak up SA’s fabulous culture, cuisine and cool beaches. The UK has scrapped its red list (from 4am Wednesday) meaning that their travellers are […]

The UK government has said that all 11 countries currently on its travel Red Llist, including South Africa, will be removed from 04h00 on Wednesday morning! “Tears rolling down my cheeks,” said SA expat Loulou C, who is in Scotland. “I am SO SO happy… going to cuddle my mum and not let her go; […]

This month, South Africa’s Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, has announced that the government will launch its new eVisa (Electronic Visa) system in March 2022. The system will simplify international visitors’ visa applications to South Africa, and thereby invigorate both South Africa’s tourism sector and the wider economy. At the time of launch, citizens of […]

The UK’s dreaded Red List may be scrapped soon, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday. Thousands of travellers from South Africa and other southern African countries have found themselves forced into expensive quarantine hotels (over £2,000 for the mandatory 10 days) in the past two weeks, since SA and many of its […]

A petition to allow fully vaccinated people, coming from Red List countries, to isolate at home when they arrive in the UK, has successfully reached over 100,000 signatures and will therefore be debated by the UK Parliament. The UK Parliament confirmed “Parliament will debate this petition” and set the date for 17 January 2022. The […]

A South African traveller, who flew from Cape Town via Germany, on his way to the Netherlands, has shared his unfortunate experience and offered some advice for others contemplating a trip to Europe. For obvious reasons he’d like to remain anonymous. We’ll call him Jannie. Jannie told SAPeople he had been studying in the Netherlands, […]