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Cape Town Hotels: 3275 Reviews - 5893 Photos
Johannesburg Hotels: 1145 Reviews - 2003 Photos
Durban Hotels: 488 Reviews - 815 Photos
Port Elizabeth Hotels: 213 Reviews - 261 Photos
Sun City Hotels: 361 Reviews - 848 Photos
Pretoria Hotels: 467 Reviews - 650 Photos
Kruger National Park Hotels: 767 Reviews - 1563 Photos
Knysna Hotels: 215 Reviews - 352 Photos
Oudtshoorn Hotels: 143 Reviews - 258 Photos
Franschhoek Hotels: 47 Reviews - 96 Photos
Nelspruit Hotels: 18 Reviews - 44 Photos
Stellenbosch Hotels: 101 Reviews - 215 Photos
East London Hotels: 7 Reviews - 11 Photos
Richards Bay Hotels: 11 Reviews - 21 Photos
Sandton Hotels: 14 Reviews - 12 Photos

South Africa Tourist Traps

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Tourist Traps
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Looking from sundeck of one of the...
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Tourist Traps
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Tourist Traps
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Sandton Square
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Most Viewed Tourist Traps in South Africa

51.

V&A Waterfront Cape Town

15 Reviews I am a local and can assure you one can spend a day at this " trap" and it could cost as little as US$10Fairly reasonable entertainment but of course. A very good thing to do is spend a few hours at...

See All 37 Tourist Traps in Cape Town

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Car Park guards

by Grootpiet

Guys 'watching' your car, and asking for a tip afterwards... normally happy with 1 or 2 rands.The crime rate has given SA a lot, but this is probably the worst. For every 1 honest, hardworking soul, 10 lazy ones hang around parking lots directing traffic, leaning against your car, and sometimes harassing you if you ask them to point at which car is yours, after they promised to look after your, specific vehicle.Most memorable moment... one of these guys asking a friend for his tip as he was walking to his car, for the nice job he's done... In the meantime, the car has been neatly stolen from under his attentive gaze.

Nice but Overpriced!

by caslu

We were warned about crime in South Africa (although we had no problems) but the biggest crime we encountered were the prices in the stores on the Victoria and Albert Waterfront. Don't get me wrong, this was a very nice, upscale shopping/dining area but it's not much different from an upscale American mall shopping/dining area. Go for the views of Table Mountain or even to try one of the trendy restaurants but DO NOT buy your souvenirs here. It's really not unbearable but I didn't go to Africa to go mall shopping at a very "American-style" mall. Go walking along the waterfront for great views of the harbor and of Table Mountain but save your souvenir shopping for later. If you're looking for shopping, try Greenmarket Square or even the Pan African Market. Believe it or not, you'll find some of the same stuff being carried by the street vendors but for a lot less money.

VENDORS

by Braveheart.southafrr

THE VENDORS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE ANY STOP YOU MAKE THEY ARE THERE , MAKE SURE YOUR CAR OR TRUCK IS LOCKED AT ALL TIMES OTHERWISE YOU COULD BE LEFT WITHOUT YOUR TRANSPORT....................................

Roadside souvenirs

by Grootpiet

More on my favourite topic of South African souvenirs. After you've stopped at the millionth roadside stall, take a closer look at the wooden carvings from exotic woods. Most of these are made from cheap wood, and then polished with nugget (shoe polish) so that it looks like more expensive wood was used. Wiping them with a wet cloth should tell you whether its the real thing or not. Better this than finding that the nice looking fruit bowl is turning your bananas brown.

Pilgrim's Rest

by Bwana_Brown

Pilgrim's Rest is not really a tourist trap, but it could be if you are not careful! It is actually a collection of preserved buildings from the late 1800's depicting what a gold mining town looked like at that time. The town is located in a very picturesque setting in the eastern Drakensbergs and there are a number of interesting buildings and restaurants. There are a few shops for tourist trinkets as well.

St. Lucia resort- meet the real Afrikaans-people

by DanielleT

St. Lucia is said to be a nature reserve which is of global meaning. But don't go to St.Lucia resort. There is nothing to do but a boat tour (which is much too expensive). And there are only unfriendly people. A typical place where the racist whites have spent their holidays and you still can feel it. Don't spend a night there, if possible. And if you have to, go to one of the (lousy) bars and get drunk. If you feel like seeing wild animals, go to one of the other national parks. They are all better.

Zulu villages

by spetterke

If you want to visit a Zulu village,don't go to Shakazulu,nordeast of Durban.This village is build up for the movie,and now it is a big trap.Every day a lot of bustourists are drop down there.A more original village is Dumazulu,north of Mtubatuba,nearby St Lucia.We were with only 4 visitors and they learned us some Zulu words,guided us through the village and danced the famous war dances.

A typical tourist trap is...

by antz

A typical tourist trap is Pretoria. One of the most over rated places I visited was the Voortrekker monument. Unless you are really interested in the history of the Boers, I wouldn't advise visiting.I have to admit that I was quite annoyed when I visited Pretoria, the one thing I wanted to do was visit the Parliament Buildings and, just my luck, they were closed when I went over!

Make sure you have South...

by MayBarker

Make sure you have South African Rand ready for the toll ways. There are a lot of them to and from Jo'burg, on the way to Nelspruit, and also to and from Swaziland, if you go there via the quick route.

Sun City, a couple of hours...

by Imbri

Sun City, a couple of hours from Pretoria, is the ultimate tourist trap! It’s shiny and spangly andfilled with beautiful people. It’s South Africa’s answer to Vegas. Apparently it’s MichaelJackson’s favourite place in Africa! I think that everyone has to visit there, but it’s unbearablyoverrated. It does, however, have a golf course fit for the gods! The Lost Palace is an exclusive hotel...the best part of my day there was sneaking inand taking pictures of myself in various compromising positions.

Top 3 Hotels in South Africa

The Table Bay Hotel Cape Town

9 Reviews and 345 Opinions One of the more expensive options, but if you can afford it then go for it. The location is great,...

Hotels in Cape Town

The Westcliff Hotel Johannesburg

5 Reviews and 201 Opinions Being a local, I have never stayed here (and probably couldn't afford to!) - having visited business...

Hotels in Johannesburg

Skukuza Restcamp - Kruger National Park Kruger National Park

8 Reviews and 100 Opinions This is the largest camp on the banks of the Sabie river, it is also the administrative centre of...

See all 33 Hotels in Kruger National Park

1,814 Hotels in South Africa

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Popular Regions in South Africa

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Questions and Answers

Q: Hi all, im travelling to South Africa and Malarone is not sold in Argentina, so I should buy it when I get to South Africa. Do you...

A: You will need a prescription from a South Africa registered doctor.

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