DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: South Africa

I'm not going to go into the specifics of the book - read the other reviews (they are accurate). What I can say is it's the best book to travel with out there (all the Eyewitness Travel Guides - I have 13 books). When we travel (we lived in Europe for 3 years, so we traveled to many countries), we always picked up one of these books. For the person that gave this book a bad review - buy a good map. This book is jam packed with information, but not one book is 100% perfect to your specific trip. During our tip to RSA we did a lot traveling by car all over the country, so we needed a good road map. Didn't expect it to be in the book - use your head! You should buy the book and look through it before your tip and find out what else you need to make a good trip, but you should be 90-95% covered. Depending on the area you travel to, you might need additional information. My Rome book has a street map & subway map in it because the book is only on Rome. The books that cover a whole country (like this one) might have a little less very specific information on every city. All in all, it's a great book - a must buy for any traveler.

This was one of several books we bought for a trip to South Africa. The book itself is beautiful-good photos, concise descriptions, good background and is itself a keepsake of the trip. It provided some good background and historical information about the different areas of the country and what to expect, but it is not the kind of book that will tell you all you need to know about where to stay, what time the trains run, etc. It is a great start to get excited about where you're going, but should only be considered as an adjunct to another book (like Frommers or Lonely Planet) that provides all the nuts and bolts information you actually need to travel there. If you have both, you're in great shape, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it ahead of time.

Unfortunately, this edition didn't help us much on our trip to South Africa. There are some good maps and bits of information, but it's pretty out-of-date otherwise. It didn't even list most of the things we found on the internet, that wanted to do in Johannesburg. It didn't even have a listing for the Wildlife Reserve we went to, either. It may be a good book to have for reference or in a pinch to find a hotel or something standard, but if I had it to do again, I'd go with something much more up-to-date.

The Eyewitness Travel products are excellent and I have used them in Costa Rica, Paris, and Japan. Recently I was on a short trip to South Africa and used the guides in Johannesburg/Pretoria and in Cape Town. Again, I found the guide to be excellent and very helpful. Because of the large number of beautiful color photographs in the guide, it certainly is a good keepsake. South Africa is an enormous country and the guide tries to cover all the major geographic regions.The history of South Africa is fascinating and the more you learn before you go, the more sense you will be able to make of the institutions. Cape Town was originally a stopping off point for Dutch traders on their way to Dutch colonies in Indonesia, however many of the Dutch decided to stay in Cape Town due to its pleasing climate and beauty as well as the fact that vineyards could be established in this part of Africa. French protestant Huguenots also moved to Cape Town to escape persecution in France, and they also contributed to the vineyard culture of the region. However native peoples were pushed northward and eastward as more Europeans arrived. The Ndebele people were displaced as pioneers moved north and the Xhosa people were displaced as the pioneers moved further east. This trend was increased several fold when the British began arriving and challenging the Dutch. These Boer farming families pushed further east in the great Voortrekker movement of the 1830's, displacing many native peoples, yet the British continued to push their authority into Boer areas. The stakes were dramatically increased with the discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa, tensions increased which erupted in the South African Boer War of 1899-1902. The character of Cecil Rhodes greatly influenced this period as expansion into Zulu, Botswana, Namibia, and Lesotho increased in the search for diamonds and gold. To maintain control of such a vast land mass with a broad range of native communities, the Boer and English forces together imposed Apartheid on the people to separate, as much as possible, Europeans from indigenous people. This system was upheld through highly repressive techniques. Only in 1990 were the Apartheid laws overturned and the democratic process begun for the vast number of South Africans. The release of Nelson Mandela from a political prison in 1990 and his subsequent election as the new State President in 1994 are stunning historic events with which every visitor to South Africa should be familiar before planning a trip.We stayed at a guest house in Pretoria in the same neighborhood with the Embassies and large historic homes. We found the neighborhood to be full of Victorian homes or large Dutch manor homes and we were within walking distance of the University of Pretoria campus. On the campus there is a pizza pub with outdoor seating. I noticed that for the most part, students grouped themselves according to race with only a few mixed race groups sitting together in the pub. There was extensive security precautions around these embassies and large homes including high fences topped with barbed and electric wire. There were also security cameras, gated driveways, and watch dogs. We visited the University of Witwatersrand where I observed large numbers of African and European students in the main student cafeteria, most often eating with persons of similar racial background but there were some groups that included East Asian, African, and European young people. While in Pretoria, we visited the impressive Union Building and surrounding park. In the distance we could see the Voortrekker Monument on the hilltop.The section on Cape Town is very detailed and helpful. When we flew into Cape Town, our taxi driver proudly pointed out Groote Schuur Hospital where he first successful heart transplant took place in 1967. We made our way past the V&A waterfront to the Ramada which was located directly on the ocean looking out on Robben Island.On the V&A waterfront in Cape Town there were numerous African choirs of young singers, older women singers, and older men singers. The shopping here is international with many of the same shops that are seen in Barcelona or Los Angeles. However there were some shops with African crafts that were well worth visiting. I especially liked the beautiful hand-embroidered Shangaan Textiles with their bright colors and bold images. We had business in downtown Cape Town and thus drove past Long Street with its nightclubs and walked down St. George's Mall where we ate at an outstanding restaurant housed in an old bank building. We visited the outdoor markets in front of the imposing City Hall building. We also drove through Muslim neighborhoods with brightly painted homes.We saw the three major tourist sites, Cape Point, Robben Island, and Table Mountain. We tried to go from Cape Town to Cape Point and back in 4 hours. This was not wise. We took 5 hours and still felt that we could have stopped several times to see more of the cape on the way down to Cape Point. We drove through some of the wine country and saw beautiful charming Cape Dutch architecture. The twisting mountain roads over the water are as spectacular as Big Sur in California or the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy. On the way to the Cape Point, we stopped at and saw a beautiful little harbor at Hout Bay with Cape minstrels meeting and greeting the tour boats as they return to the harbor. Cape Point is not actually the southern most point of Africa but the views were spectacular from the point. Cape Agulhas is actually the southern most point of the African continent. At the Point, baboons can be seen, as well as Bonteboks and ostriches.We caught the ferry to Robben Island at the historic Victorian clock tower on the V&A waterfront. This is a spectacular excursion. The ferry takes you to Robben Island where you take a tour of the political prisons and the island. You will see the cell where Nelson Mandela was held as well as Anglican churches built for the use of the lepers who were sent to Robben Island before it became a prison island. Both ostriches and Jackass penguins roam the island.We ate dinner at a restaurant in the V&A waterfront that offered game such as Springbok and Kudu, both of which tasted less gamey than American venison or domestic US lamb.On Table Mountain we saw large stands of bright red Ericas, a red bell-like flower that grows wild on the windy mountain top. We were lucky in that the clouds were not covering either the mountain or the city or the coastlines which gave us spectacular views of the entire area.South Africa has only recently moved beyond Apartheid and there is racial tension at times when visiting South Africa. Only once in our week in South Africa was their any open confrontation which occurred one evening when our party was driving to a restaurant and a young woman screamed at our passing car that she was tired of seeing `white faces'. There is a crime problem and thus walking around alone or at night is not advised. However, crime has multiple causes including resource allocation, social norms, and criminal justice infrastructure.We were warned that the baggage handlers in the Johannesburg airport are notorious for going through luggage and stealing cameras and other electronic products. Unfortunately one person in our party was told by the attendant on a South African flight that only 2 items could be carried aboard the flight. She had a purse, briefcase, and gym bag and she was forced to check the gym bag planeside, however when we retrieved the bag at luggage claim her camera was gone. Therefore I would urge anyone flying into or out of Johannesburg to make sure all valuables are in your carry-on luggage and that if you are forced to check your carry-on, that you go through it quickly and remove anything of value. There are shrink wrap services that will shrink wrap you luggage for around $3.50 per bag, which is certainly well worth the price.If I return to South Africa for vacation I would probably focus on the Cape Winelands, the Southern Cape, and the Garden Route to Grahamstown. The sections of the book on these areas was very compelling and inviting. The guide was extremely useful.

The Eyewitness Guides are always comprehensive and informative, not only about sights to see and places to dine, but also about cultural and historic background facts. With maps, photos, and ready references, this series offers the best for the size and the money. The new South Africa edition is no exception.

This guide provides a delightful collection of lovely photographs of South Africa. Skimmed or savored they serve to whet the prospective traveler's appetite, and provide a good preliminary description of the country that will be most valuable in formulating an itinerary.The guide does not, however, provide much of the nitty-gritty detail that is necessary to manage the details of his or her trip. Taken in company with one of the more detailed guides, this can be a real asset in developing your vacation.

I always like DK eyewitness tour guide books.

Get all the info before you go. I wouldn't use it as a travel guide while you are there. It's very complete with great pictures and info. Glad I bought it.