South Africa - Health AND Travel Advice

Health Advice

Recommended Immunisations

Hepatitis A
Polio
Tetanus
Typhoid Fever

Yellow Fever Yellow Fever Certificate is required for entry into South Africa if travelling from a Yellow Fever infected area. This includes passengers travelling back from Zambia and those transiting through an infected area.

Malaria Most areas in South Africa are malaria free. However, in the following areas malaria is prevalent all year round - the highest risk is during October to May: Low altitude areas of the Mpumalanga Province (incl. Kruger National Park) Northern Province North-eastern KwaZulu Natal as far south as Tugela river (incl. Hluhluwe/Umfolozi National Park)

Passport & Visa

Your passport needs to be valid for no less than 30 days after expiry of the intended stay and South Africa is enforcing a 'blank page, condition of entry' policy. Hence you are advised to have at least 3 blank pages in your passport when presenting your passport to the immigration officers. Failure to meet this requirement could result in your entry being refused.

British nationals and most other EU-member States visiting South Africa on holiday for less than 3 months do not require visas. A visitor's permit is obtained at immigration on arrival. Overstaying without the proper authority is a serious matter and overstayers are likely to be arrested on departure and detained before appearing in court.

General Tips

Most cities and towns have piped water systems, however it is advisable to use bottled mineral water at all times for drinking.

The local currency is the South African Rand (generally abbreviated to ZAR or R (Rand), and is divided into 100 Cents. The exchange rate is approximately US$1 = R10, £1 = R15 and €1 = R13. All major

credit cards are widely accepted and ATMs and Banks are available in all cities, towns and airports for cash withdrawals. Internet and email facilities are available at most hotels, and internet cafes are widely available in cities and towns.

South Africa uses 230V electricity and goes through phrases of load shedding. Plugs and sockets vary, but are usually the South African three-round-pin or the European two-round-pin types. The South Africa time zone is GMT+2, meaning that during the summer time period in Europe, South Africa is 2 hours ahead of the UK and 1 hour ahead of most other Western European countries.

For more general health & travel advice, packing tips and travel insurance, please check our Travel Planning section.