Beach Holidays
South Africa’s best beaches are along the Southern Coast in our Summer (Cape Town, Hermanus, Arniston, Wilderness, Plettenberg Bay) and along KwaZulu Natal’s North Coast and Coastal Maputaland all year round. For a tropical island beach holiday..., see Mauritius for the finest family-friendly resorts and the Mozambique Islands for a more relaxed beach holiday.
Malaria
Before thinking about the bush, some reflection on health issues is advisable. Malaria is a concern in most, but not all, safari areas of Southern Africa. We recommend that very small children do not go to malarial areas. Older children simply take the same precautions as adults. European and North American Summer holidays are during our winter months when the risk of malaria is greatly reduced. This is the time when South African children visit the Kruger and the KwaZulu Natal game reserves. Non-malaria areas also offer excellent game-viewing in the Eastern Cape, the Madikwe Game Reserve and the Waterberg.
Holidays for Younger children
We recommend the following areas for the under 6’s:
• Cape Town – the Oceanarium, Planetarium, World of Birds, Imhoffs farm, boat trips, beaches, forests and mountain trails.
• Hermanus and the Overberg – beaches and whales, plus ideal for breaking the journey to the Garden Route.
• Little Karoo – Cango Caves to explore, ostrich farms, Cango wildlife ranch and many other child-orientated attractions.
• Garden Route – beaches, forest trails, boat cruises on the lagoon, steam trains, boat trips to see the whales, dolphins and seals ……
• Eastern Cape – malaria free game reserves, sandy beaches, Addo Elephant Park
• Durban and the North Coast – ideal for SA winter sun and swimming, Zulu villages with dancing displays, boat cruises, Natal Shark centre
• Pilanesberg Game Reserve near Sun City – Sun City resort for a day visit, game drives in the reserve
• Northern Reserves - malaria-free game reserves of Waterberg or Madikwe
• We don’t recommend Malaria areas for younger children.
Holidays for Older children
Most areas of South Africa have something to suit the older child.
Relaxing Family Holidays
Older children also enjoy the beaches of the Overberg, Garden Route, Durban & the North Coast. You can add Coastal Maputaland in KwaZulu Natal, which is ideal for winter sun (July and August), swimming & snorkelling, turtle tracking in season (November to February) and a very low risk malaria area.
Exploratory Family Holidays
In addition to the above you may like to also consider:
• Cape Town – the Oceanarium, Planetarium, World of Birds, Imhoffs farm, boat trips, beaches, forests and mountain trails.
• Little Karoo – Cango Caves to explore, ostrich farms, Cango wildlife ranch and many other child-orientated attractions.
• Natal Battlefields (fascinating stories of the Anglo-Zulu and Anglo-Boer battles)
• Visiting the ancient rock art sites in the Cedarberg (and perhaps enjoying some white water rafting and hiking as well)
• Visiting two different game reserves for an insight into which animals enjoy which terrain
• Staying in an authentic Zulu cultural village
• Coastal Maputaland for canoeing in the ancient freshwater lakes, swimming and snorkelling, turtle tracking in season (November to February) and seeing the ancient fish traps along this pristine coastland.
Active Family Holidays
• Cape Town, the Garden Route, the Cedarberg mountains and the Drakensberg Mountains are all wonderful areas for getting active, especially for older children.
• Cedarberg mountains for hiking, ancient rock art, canoeing, white water rafting in season (June to mid September). Ideal for 10 years and up.
• Drakensberg Mountains – wonderful walking trails, lots of sporting facilities at the mountain hotels. Ideal for 6 years and up
• Drakensberg Escarpment for hiking and horse-riding. Ideal for 8 years and up.
Safaris
South Africa’s best game reserves are in intermediate risk malaria areas. The Northern Hemisphere Summer holidays are during our winter so the risk of malaria is greatly reduced. This is the time older South African children visit the Kruger, the adjacent private reserves and the Northern Natal game reserves and pristine coast. Many of our lodges allow children over 6 on game drives but only children over 12 can take a game walk.
For many families, flexibility is the key on a holiday. Family activity centres have one base from which we offer a range of exciting, fun and educational activities that may appeal to all the family or just some. You can choose how many you do and who in the family does them.
