ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA

Useful information about South Africa

• Climate
• Credit Cards and ATMs
• Tips
• Health tipps
• Garages/Petrol stations
• Shopping
• Smoke-free zones
• Phoning
• Parking

Climate

South Africa is blessed with a wonderful climate. You have warm temperatures in summer and a mild winter, very seldom does the temprature go below freezing point.
Especially in the Cape Province the climate is mainly mediterranean. The summers are dry and there is a bit of rain in winter, although temperatures during the day are still warm.
In Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal the summers are hot and rainy and the winters are mild and clear. The best Safaris are experienced in the cool and dry winter months between May and October.

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Credit Cards and ATMs

VISA, Master Card, Diners Club and American Express Cards are accepted virtually everywhere. South Africa has a modern banking system and ATMs are widely available.

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Tips

In South Africa tips are not included in the bill if not explicitely mentioned. Usually they are between 10%-15% of the total, depending on how happy you were with the service. Please take into consideration that due to the low salary levels tips are an important source of income.

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Health tipps

In the most of South Africa there is no risk of Malaria. Only in the northern and eastern regions, the provinces Mpumalanga and Limpopo (mainly the whole of the Kruger National Park) and in the north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal there is a risk. Therefore it is important to inform yourself in advance and maybe take some medication as prevention. Also the use of insect cremes and sprays is recommended in these areas.
The South African sun is often underestimated by tourists, so the use of sun creams and sun blockers, sun glasses and hats is necessary
South Africa has an excellent medical system. It can in most cases be compared to European systems. In the big cities but also away form the major tourist routes there is always competent help close by. The european helth care certificates and/or cards are often not valid in South Africa and the health care does often not cover the cost of treatments afterwards. Before beginning your trip get a medical insurance for abroad, in case this is not included in your medical insurance.

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Garages/petrol stations

South African garages don't accept usual credit cards but only cash and so-called Garage Cards (which you can obtain if you own a SA bank account). So always have enough cash with you when filling up your tank. Most garages have ATMs though, so you can get cash there.

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Shopping

The shops are open during the week mostly from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.. In the larger shopping malls (e.g. the Waterfront in Cape Town) the shops are open every day from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m.

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Smoke-free zones

In South Africa smoking in public places (except open spaces) is forbidden. But most restaurants have a smoker's zone which is seperated from the rest of the restaurant. Please ask the hotels before you book if they have smoker's rooms.

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Phoning

Within South Africa you must always dial the local city code (e.g. 021-xxx for Cape Town), even if you are in the same city. The international calling code for South Africa is +27 or 0027. If you want to phone from South Africa to the UK you need to dial +44 or 0044 as country code. Die country codes for other countries are available in the White Pages.
Mobile phones can be rented at airports. SIM-cards can be bought at any supermarket (usually € 0,50, or R 5).

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Parking

In South Africa there are park attendants at many parking places, who help you with parking and watch over the cars and protect them against vandals. When driving off one usually gives them a few Rand.

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