Visa and entry requirements South Africa:
Passport required
No visa is required

Information from the Foreign Office about your trip to South Africa:
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/suedafrikasicherheit/208400

The Republic of South Africa is a country in the south of the African continent with around 57.5 million inhabitants. The country borders Namibia to the northwest, Botswana to the north, Zimbabwe to the northeast, Mozambique and Swaziland to the east, the Atlantic to the west and the Indian Ocean to the south. As a special feature, the small kingdom of Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa as an enclave.

There are a total of eleven official languages in South Africa, including Afrikaans and English. The official national currency is the South African Rand, where 1 euro is equivalent to around 17 ZAR.

The state practically has three different capital seats. The government sits in the formal capital Pretoria, the parliament is in Cape Town and the Supreme Court of Appeal operates in Bloemfontein.

The country's largest cities include Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Nelspruit, Kimberley, Polokwane, Stellenbosch and Pietermaritzburg.

South Africa is one of the founding members of the United Nations and is one of the most progressive countries in Africa.

The national territory is crossed by the Drakensberg Mountains and the highest point in the country is the 3,450 meter high Mafadi. In the north of South Africa are the foothills of the Kalahari Desert. The Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet at the southern tip of the continent, Cape Agulhas, and further west lies the famous Cape of Good Hope.

There are several national parks in South Africa, the largest and most famous of which is Kruger National Park. A total of over 325 mammal, 125 reptile and almost 550 bird species are protected in these national parks and some wildlife sanctuaries. The many large animal species include elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes, zebras, rhinos, antelopes, giraffes, warthogs, waterbucks, cheetahs, hyenas, wildebeests, wild dogs, impalas, ostriches, flamingos, African penguins and springboks.

South Africa has very rich deposits of mineral resources such as diamonds, gold, platinum, manganese, vanadium, hard coal, iron ore, nickel, palladium, antimony, chromium and titanium. The extraction of these mineral resources brings South Africa almost 55% of the state's export earnings. For chromium, manganese, vanadium and platinum, it even accounts for half of the world's total production. The country's other export goods include wine, corn, wheat, vegetables, fruit, sugar cane and beef.

An additional important economic factor is tourism, which has increased steadily in recent years. The most important sights in the country include the Garden Route, Sun City, Cape Town with Table Mountain, Lions Head, Signal Hill and its beautiful beaches, Durban with its white sandy beaches, the Drakensberg, the Amathole Mountains, the Kruger National Park, Namaqualand, the wild penguins in Boulders Beach, the vineyards around Stellenbosch, the whale watching in Hermanus, the Cape of Good Hope and downtown Johannesburg.

So far I have visited South Africa twice, in November 1995 shortly after the end of apartheid and in July 2018. On my first trip I spent a week in Cape Town and the surrounding area. Every day there was a different highlight on the program, so it was never boring. South Africa has a fantastic landscape and is definitely always worth a trip. The visits to the Cape of Good Hope, the city of Stellenbosch, the jumping whales in Hermanus, the funny penguins on Boulders Beach, the misty Table Mountain, the impressive garden route, the sunset at Signal Hill and the party nights in the nightlife of will remain unforgettable memories Cape Town's city center.

In the summer of 2018 I was in Johannesburg and used the city as a starting point for my flights with South African to the surrounding countries in southern Africa. Of course I took a day to cover all the highlights of Johannesburg. The Old Fort, Nelson Mandela Square, Soweto and the two large stadiums were on my program.

I was a bit shocked about the city center, the architecturally beautiful city center is sinking into its own garbage. I have never seen anything like this in a major metropolis anywhere in the world, it was actually unbelievable. Speaking of the high level of crime, it is not advisable to walk around alone in this city, unfortunately it is far too dangerous.

Johannesburg, you should be ashamed of yourself, I can happily do without something like that and I definitely won't be coming back for the next few years.