Breaking SA Travel News

Last updated: 11 October 2024

Luxury Train + 5*Hotel + Travel Insurance
Enjoy a luxury trip on the Blue Train or Rovos Rail, whichever you prefer, a complimentary night in a five star hotel in Pretoria/Cape Town, free transfer between the hotel and the train station, and free travel insurance (limited) if you're South African and under the age of 70.

Pretoria Hotels suitable for Rovos/Blue Train bookings
Pretoria five star hotels near Rovos Rail's Pretoria Train Station; as well as the Blue Train.

Woodford eliminates 1-way fees to Cape Town
In anticipation of the busy summer season, and to incentivise clients to drive their cars to Cape Town (where they are needed in summer), Woodford have eliminated the 1-way fee on car hire if your drop-off spot is the Mother City

Cape Town Hotels suitable for Rovos/Blue Train bookings
Rovos Rail and Blue Train passengers demand a high standard of luxury. Here are some hotels in Cape Town which are suitable for bookings of passengers on these ultra luxury train rides.

Free extra night Rovos Rail
Would you like an extra night to be attached to your Rovos Rail holiday? When you book through SA Travel Online, we will add a free night's accommodation at either the departure town or final destination town of the Rovos Rail train trip

SAA Adds Congo Flights & Increases Perth Frequency
Soon you'll be able to fly from Johannesburg to Lubumbashi, Congo.

December car rentals in Cape Town
Still some pretty decent car hire prices for December in Cape Town. This wont last long. First Car Rental cheapest.

Rovos Rail Golf Safari
Book this 9 night golf safari with SA Travel Online; and we will give you R50 in travel vouchers for each par or better you shoot!

Cheaper bus tickets with Big Sky
Big Sky and Intercape are sister companies; so you can book for both of them on Intercape's website; but Big Sky Intercity is often the cheaper option.

Is hot air ballooning safe in South Africa?
Following the controlled crash landing of a hot air balloon in KZN, some perspective on the safety of hot air balloon flights in SA.

Rovos Rail Package Deals
Luxury adventure holiday from Pretoria to Cape Town on Rovos Rail, spending 2 nights at their St James Manor, caving hike or tidal pool walk, and supper at the Brass Bell or Cape to Cuba.

Mayor's expensive car rental
Apparently car rentals are not so free in the A Free State; where a mayor paid over R100k for a month's car rental (allegedly with Avis).

What 30 days car hire is cheaper than 29
Comparing prices of Sani Car Rentl from Port Elizabeth Gqeberha.

Skyscanner car hire in South Africa
Amazing news that you can now hire cars in SA by using Skyscanner's price comparison engine.

Property purchase travel vouchers
Are you about to sign an offer to purchase a house? Get legal experts to have a look and protect your interests. At the same time we'll throw in some travel vouchers.

Intercape Namibia is hiring drivers
Are you an experienced professional driver, based in Windhoek and looking to do intercity trips? Closing date 13 Sep 2024

Durban accommodation from R200* per person per night
For a couple spending a night in Durban, it is still possible to find lodgings for less than R200 per person for the night.

Car Hire from R184* per day if you rent for a full month (JNB)
*Click the link to see whether this price is still available. Prices do change, the longer you take to book the greater the chance of prices changing.

Pay for bus tickets in 4 instalments
Intercape have a new payment option called Payflex, where you can pay for certain categories of tickets in instalments, interest-free.

Tempest Car Hire Trippa Discount
Tempest are offering a 15 discount for those who sign up for their loyalty program in September 2024p. Click for details. Ts & Cs apply.

Airlink Adds New Route
Local airline, Airlink, is connecting Botswana and Cape Town from April next year.

SAA Expands Fleet as They Celebrate 90 Years!
National carrier SAA has recently added three more Boeings to their fleet as they plan on further expanding into Africa.

Winter Ballooning special extended to August
Better weather and you can sleep later - what's not to love about winter hot air ballooning in Gauteng

First Car Rental's 25th birthday competition
One lucky person stands to win car rentals with FCR, accommodation with Protea-Marriot, and 2 flights with FlySafair (Ts and Cs apply).

Travel Vouchers on Property Sales update: fee increase
The Law Society has announced that conveyancing fees are increasing by just over 5 percent, from the 27th May 2024. To avoid the price increase, get a conveyancing quote for your house sale before 27 May 2024

Shosholoza Meyl restarts Johannesburg - East London route
Shosholoza Meyl sitter class from just R300 one-way and sleeper class only R480. Book now, this wont last long.

Emirates Cancels Flights Due to Floods
Dubai has experienced a record amount of rain over the last two days, resulting in large-scale flooding in the city which has affected airport runways and major roads in the city. Emirates Airlines has had to cancel and reschedule several flights as a result.

Earn Double Travel Vouchers on 2024 House Sales
For those who sign up to the newsletter during April, you stand to earn double the travel vouchers on your house sales during the rest of 2024. See details by following the link.

Car rentals from R250/day
Prices may have changed, perhaps even by the time you read this! This was a quote we saw when checking what it would cost to hire a car from King Shaka Airport for the whole of May.

Woodford Car Sales opens its doors
Woodford Car Sals has opened its doors in Springield, Durban, sourcing its previously owned vehicles from Woodford and Enterprise's car rental fleets.

SAA Takatso Deal Fails
Pravin Gordhan announced yesterday that the long-awaited 51% sale of SAA to the Takatso Consortium is no longer taking place.

Cheapest Kalk Bay hotel revealed
Not only does this spot have the best views in Kalk Bay, it's also the cheapest place to stay in this quirky suburb of Cape Town.

Save on Flights to Visa Free Destinations
Not only are you saving on visa application fees (sometimes up to R2000!), but with Qatar Airways you can save up to 25% on selected flights to visa free destinations. Book by 29 February 2024 to take advantage of this deal.

Woodford 5 Percent Special
It pays to linger longer! We were browsing the Woodford website, and after a while this 5 percent off special popped up on the screen: "Want 5 percent off? Book a car within the next 5 minutes and we'll give you 5 percent off the rate."

Intercape bus specials
Youth deals, family specials, frequent traveller discounts and Sanlam Reality discounts. Email us a review of your Intercape Vouchers and further discount your next bus trip.

Sani Car Rental pre-approvals
SANI (previously Thrifty Car Rental), is now offering pre-approved credit authorisations, saving you time and angst at the point of collecting your vehicle.

No dashcams with car rentals!
We've discovered a a gap in the car rental market - there are no car rental agencies in South Africa offering dash cams as an accessory. Instead we rate the agencies on their speed to reply.

Visa applications to visit South Africa
Check out how to apply and the requirements.

Free Golden Arrow bus tickets for unemployed jobseekers
The Western Cape Government is teaming up with Golden Arrow to offer 12 free bus tickets to each unemployed jobseeker nominated by a partner employer.

Cemair Launches Johannesburg - East London Flights
Business travellers can rejoice as Cemair is finally connecting Johannesburg and East London! From 7 April weekday flights will simplify life for those travelling for business meetings.

Airlink Launches New Seasonal Route
Airlink will operate seasonal flights between Johannesburg - Kruger - Mozambique from 1 July 2024.

Protours Buses
Protours offers offers charter bus trips from their bases in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

Overland Tours Bus Hire
Overland Tours offers charter bus trips from its base in Cape Town.

Blunden bus hire
From its base in Gqeberha (PE), Blunden offers luxury coach charter options in the Eastern Cape and Garden Route to Cape Town.

Big Sky Intercity bus tickets
Big Sky Intercity bus service has been launched by Intercape (although it doesn't use the Intercape brand name, it is owned by them).

Delta Coaches bus bookings
Delta Coaches is a Zimbabwean bus company offering coach trips between Cape Town, Johannesburg, Bulawayo and Harare.

Car rental jobs in South Africa
Are you looking for a job in the car hire industry in SA. This page will guide you towards finding a job with Avis, Europcar, Budget, First Car Rental, Hertz, Tempest, Sani (was Thrifty) or Bluu.

SAA Adds Sao Paulo Flights
The first flight between Cape Town and Sao Paulo took off today, 31 October 2023, with another twice-weekly flight between Johannesburg and Sao Paulo scheduled to start from 6 November 2023.

LIFT Makes Domestic Travel Fun This Holiday Season
Disney planes and silent disco's are what LIFT has in stall for travellers this holiday season, putting the fun back into travelling domestically.

Mango Sale Could Be Approved by October
A recent court order granted in favour of Mango's Business Rescue practitioner and NUMSA could result in the sale application being approved. The order stated that Minister Pravin Gordhan had 30 days to make a decision, otherwise the application for the sale will automatically be approved. The unnamed investor could then go ahead with the purchase of the airline.

New Regional Routes for FlySafair
Enjoy better connectivity with our neighbours from October, when FlySafair are introducing flights to Harare, Livingstone, Victoria Falls and Maputo.

Save on Qatar Airways Flights
Save up to 20% on Qatar Airways flights when booking before 4 August 2023. Destinations are on sale for travel on selected dates until 31 March 2024.

FlyCemair Adds Victoria Falls Route
Local airline FlyCemair just announced that they will start operating flights between Johannesburg and Victoria Falls before the end of the year.

The End of Eldo Coaches
Local coach operator Eldo announced that they will cease operations in June 2023.

Airlink to Add Flights to Malawi
From September 2023, travellers will be able to book flights to Malawi's Blantyre and Lilongwe.

Save on Eldo Coaches
Save up to R100 on Eldo Coaches when booking for travel before 31 March 2023.

Airlink Reintroduces Flights to Madagascar
Madagascar finally lifted the travel ban, allowing Airlink to resume weekly flights.

Save on Mauritius Flights
Book by 27 January 2023 to save on direct flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg on Air Mauritius.

LIFT Adds New Route
Domestic airline LIFT is adding flights between Cape Town and Durban from 25 November 2022.

SAA New Regional Routes
SAA is launching a host of new regional routes soon and also increasing frequencies on existing regional and domestic routes.

FlySafair Voted Best Low-Cost Airline
The airline was voted the Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa at the recent Skytraz Awards.

Cemair Gets More Regional Flights
The airline just received approval for seven additional international routes into Africa.

FlySafair Regional Routes Get Approved
Soon we'll be able to board one of the most on-time airlines for flights to Vic Falls, Windhoek, Seychelles and more.

LATAM is Back!
The South-American airline will resume services between Johannesburg and Sao Paulo next year.

LIFT Introduces New Domestic Route
The domestic airline has announced that they will start operating flights between Johannesburg and Durban later this month.

Hyundai Atos is the cheapest car hire
Cheapest car hire in South Africa is the Hyundai Atos, at the time of writing going for R350*/day (over 10 days), may have changed.

More Direct Flights from Cape Town to London
Getting to the UK wil be easier this festive season! Virgin Atlantic is finally back, offering direct flights between Cape Town and London from 5 November 2022.

Entering SA Just Became A Lot Easier
The new updated COVID-19 entry regulations are making it a lot simpler for travellers to enter South Africa, including doing away with the entry requirements for those under 12 years old. Find all the latest requirements here.

Delta Cape Town Flights Approved
The airline's triangular route between Atlanta, Johannesburg and Cape Town has finally been approved.

Greyhound is Back!
After a brief absense from our roads, Greyhound is resuming operations on 13 April 2022. Find a full list of routes operated here.

More Connections to the US on the Cards for SA
United Airlines hopes to launch direct flights between Cape Town and Washington before the end of the year.

Cape Town Cycle Tour Flights & Bike Transport
We've rounded up flight prices from Johannesburg to Cape Town for the Cycle Tour. Use our sheet to determine the cheapest way to get yourself and your bicycle to the start line.

SAA Adds Domestic Route
Flights between Johannesburg and Durban will be the airline's second domestic route when added to the schedule on 4 March 2022.

Airlink Launches New Route
As international and regional travel restrictions ease, Airlink announced a new route. Flights between Durban and Botswana will start soon.

Progress in the Sale of Majority SAA Stake
The Takatso Consortium has finally signed on the dotted line to purchase 51% of SAA. The sale won't go through until it has been approved by various regulatory bodies.

Delta Airlines Plans Direct Cape Town Flight
The airline applied for year-round rights to fly between their hub in Atlanta and the Mother city. If approved they will operate three flights a week.

Emirates Returns to SA
After more than a month's absense, Emirates has finally returned. With that they've simplified their boarding requirements, doing away with the 6-hour PCR test.

FlySafair Mauritius Flights
FlySafair will finally launch flights to Mauritius later this year. Find out all you need to know about this service here.

Where Can Vaccinated South Africans Currently Travel
Omicron cut down our list of international destinations South Africans can visit, but luckily it is growing again. With the Seychelles, Germany and now France allowing Saffas we're hopeful that the world will soon be our oyster again! Find all the entry requirements in the article.

SAA Denies Merger With Kenyan Airways
SAA denied an agreement to merge with Kenyan Airways and said instead the two airlines will just continue working together in accordance with the Strategic Partnership Framework signed in November last year.

The World Shuts Down Travel to SA
Due to the Omicron variant being identified by scientists in South Africa, first the UK and then the rest of the world imposed travel restrictions on South Africa. South Africans now have very few international holiday destinations to choose from, mostly limited to destinations in Africa.

Turkey One Of Latest Countries To Open To SA
Turke has dropped the quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated South Africans, making it one of the latest countries that no longer imposes restrictions on travel from South Africa. A negative PCR test and passenger locator form is still required.

Alitalia Re-launches as ITA
The Italian national airline, Alitalia, is no more. In it's place you'll now find ITA, which is basically the same airline just rebranded.

UK Removes SA From Red List
Travel to the UK can resume from today, 11 October 2021, as South Africa is removed from the red list and our COVID vaccinations are being accepted.

SAA Changes International Schedule
The airline has reacted to lower demand for their international flights and reduced the frequencies of most, delaying other routes until December.

More Flights to Mauritius
FlySafair are introducing flights to Mauritius! The airline will add services between Johannesburg and Mauritius to their schedule at the end of the year.

SAA Resumes Services
South Africa's national carrier has returned to the skies, resuming a single domestic route with plans to soon include several regional routes as well.

Mauritius & Seychelles Opens to South Africans
More and more destinations are opening up to South Africans, with these island destinations being the latest. Find out what is required to enter these countries and where else you can travel.

SAA Releases Plans To Take To The Skies
If everything goes according to plan, we could have a national carrier back in the skies by the end of the September.

Kulula Now Offers Bagless Fares
Following the latest airline trend, Kulula are now offering bagless airfares when they resume services on 1 September 2021.

More Countries to Allow Vaccinated South Africans
An increasing amount of international destinations are allowing vaccinated South African travellers without the need to quarantine. Austria is the latest to downgrade our status and allow vaccinated South Africans.

Emirates Comeback!
After months of absence, Emirates is finally resuming passenger service to South Africa on the 6th of August 2021. All you need is a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours in order to transit through Dubai to any of their wonderfull destinations!

Mango Faces Business Rescue
It looks like Mango Airlines will enter business rescue soon, following months of racking up debt with little financial relief.

Gauteng Leisure Travel Resumes
As SA moves down to lockdown level 3, leisure travel to and from Gauteng can resume from 26 July 2021.