Travel in South Africa

“I’d been making ice cream for the longest time and I'd never bothered to make flavours that would’ve made sense in an African context,” says Tapiwa Guzha. “Once I realised that, I couldn’t ignore it.” 

The cruise industry is a major player in the global tourism industry, and it continues to grow year after year. The global cruise market was valued at $7.25 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow 11% from 2022 to 2028.

Nadia "Sparkle" Henry

ONBOARD THE AMAKRISTINA -- The tears came early on the AmaKristina, on Day 1 of the inaugural Soulful Epicurean Experience cruise, AmaWaterways' first Black heritage river cruise itinerary.

Just off the Thames in Southwest London, a prehistoric type of South African palm tree has been living for almost two centuries. Growing an inch a year, today it’s the height of a double-decker bus and slopes drunkenly 16 feet to the side. It needs four metal crutches to keep from falling over altogether—for an expat at least 249 years old, not bad.

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For Andrea Kleinloog, an interiors whiz and the cofounder of Hesse Kleinloog Studio in South Africa, designing a sustainable hotel starts with the site. At the new Molori Mashuma in Zimbabwe, the walls are made with thatch and textile cladding; the decks are built of local wood; and the couch cushions are fashioned from waste fabric and embroidered as part of a community initiative in South Africa. Sustainability, Kleinloog says, requires a holistic approach that varies by location. “There is no blanket solution.”

Not many countries have the sights-to-size ratio of South Korea. You can get from one corner of the country to the other in just two and a half hours, and in between you’ll find mountain trails leading to Buddhist hermitages, super-spectacle K-Pop concerts, back-alley pubs serving craft rice wines, enchanting bamboo forests and much more.

To see where Cape Town's cool kids hang out, stop by the Pot Plant Club. Set amid the Victorian row houses on trendy Bree Street, the boutique, cofounded by Salik Harris in 2022, doubles as a social club for locals, who linger at the shop's café and rifle through racks of oversized jackets and denim. The emporium's collection includes emerging labels like Asa Sadan, the Paint Company, and Yarns Worldwide alongside Harris's own streetwear brand, Leaf Apparel. All were founded by talents from the Cape Malay community, a South African ethnic group with a huge impact on the city's cultural life.

Apeejay Surendra Park Hotels, commonly known as Park Hotels, is set to have its IPO on February 5. The group currently operates 30 hotels in 20 cities across India, with 2,298 rooms. Through a strategic mix of ownership, management contracts and leased properties, the group aims to open 56 hotel by 2026.

Which countries are the best for wildlife photography?

The European Commission has submitted a proposal to increase the basic fee for a Schengen visa in 2024.

Today, there are lots of ways to see the world in one go. Self-serving, globe-traversing plane tickets where you pick your stops along the way and stay in each as long as you want. Months-long cruises that ply well-trodden coastlines of countries both massive and miniscule. Few, however, promise to be as extraordinary, informative and indulgent as the White Desert World tour, just announced for departure in January 2025 (for those with very deep pockets).

After the travel frenzy of 2023, all signs point to increasing interest in far-flung destinations, villa rentals, private jet bookings and personal pilgrimages in 2024.

If 2024 is the year to complete a bucket-list trip to discover a destination that's a little different, or to travel to a one-off event, then here are a few ideas—new long-haul flight routes from the U.S., unmissable one-off global events, 'new' European places to discover and new cruise lines venturing into dramatic waters in Australia. Here's what's waiting to be ticked off on your 2024 travel bucket list.

TTC Tour Brands’ various tour operators are offering up to 25 percent savings on a variety of trips around the world with its annual 2024 Big Tour Sale, going on now through February 15, 2024, and available on each tour operator's website.

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Citizens of dozens of countries can enter Thailand visa-free.

The best time to visit South Africa depends on where you want to go and what you want to do on holiday. The temperatures range based on where in the country you are visiting, with the north seeing warmer temperatures than the south of the country. The Western Cape is famed for experiencing rainy seasons in the winter, but the Indian Ocean coastline provides warmer and more equatorial temperatures. Needless to say, it's important to plan!

Travelers who've dreamt of living on a cruise ship could soon try out the lifestyle with a two-month sailing aboard Oceania Cruises' upscale 1,250-guest Riviera.