Is South Africa the best place to road trip in the world?
South Africa - The Good News Translate This Article
18 September 2014
Last year, South Africa (SA) was ranked highly in a number of travel awards and reports, which rated everything from beauty to infrastructure, proving that our country really is one of the best places to take to the open road. In the prestigious Reader's Travel Awards by UK magazine Condé Nast Traveller, South Africa was placed in the top ten travel destinations in the world. The 747 000km of road, the longest road network in Africa (and the 9th longest globally –Economist 2014), coupled with beautiful landscapes and idyllic weather are big draw cards for international tourists who spend a lot of their year under clouds of smog or surrounded by snow. In their Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013, the World Economic Forum ranked South Africa as one of the top 50 countries in the world for the quality of our roads and government prioritisation of the travel and tourism industry.
Expat, Sine Thieme said, “Compared to the rest of Africa, South Africa’s road network is extensive and in good condition, but ... anyone planning on going on any self-drive safaris will travel their share of dirt roads.” Dirt roads are the most exciting part of driving through South Africa, taking you from a bustling metropolis to the bush in just a few days drive.
The Garden Route is our most famous route, ranked number 2 in the world by Rough Guides, “Mountains and vineyards on one side, and rocky shores and sandy beaches on the other.” Jill Starley-Grainger of the Luxury Traveler also ranked SA in her top two road trip. Even though she felt the Garden Route was “over hyped”, South Africa made it onto her list because she decided to take less traveled routes, and that, as they say, made all the difference. She cited South Africa as the best place for wildlife spotting, spying whales, penguins and baboons.
CNN listed the road trip along our coastline as one of their top ten ultimate drives and warned that with, “Over 65 wineries along the way, will have you wishing you were a passenger rather than the driver.
Hippo have created an extensive checklist and guide for one of the greatest road trips in South Africa, from Cape Town to Mozambique.
(http://www.hippo.co.za/blog/insurance/The-Greatest-South-African-Road-Trip-Cape-Town-to-Mozambique) From the paperwork you will need to cross the border to what you’ll need in your toiletry bag, this list covers it all.
South Africans often forget about the beauty that is waiting just down the road and we think it’s about time we all got out there and became tourists in our own country; what better way to do that than by road tripping.
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