Whether you need to flesh out a weekend or a school holiday, it can be daunting coming up with ideas for keeping kids entertained. Here’s a list of some of the best child-friendly outdoor activities on offer in SA’s main cities:
Top tips in:
- Cape Town. The Mother City is overflowing with options to keep kids big and small busy for weeks. Some local favourites include swimming with penguins at Boulders Beach near Simon’s Town, the Ratanga Junction theme park (open during school holidays only), strawberry picking in the Winelands (October – December), tobogganing at Cool Runnings in Bellville, fish-spotting at the Two Oceans Aquarium and up-close encounters with giraffes, antelope, buck and some scary-looking reptiles at Giraffe House near Stellenbosch. Brush up on the best of Cape Town with a handy Cape Town travel guide and search here for the cheapest flights to Cape Town from the rest of the country.
- Johannesburg. The City of Gold gets a bad rep as not having many child-friendly options. Rid yourself and your friends of this misconception once and for all: Some memorable family fun options in Jozi include a day at the Gold Reef City theme park, an educational outing to the Cradle of Humankind (the underwater boat ride that takes visitors through the creation of Earth is great fun and everyone will learn something), a visit to the Joburg Zoo (the night tours are particularly memorable) and a fun boat ride on Zoo Lake. So PriceCheck the cheapest flights to Johannesburg from your neck of the woods.
- Durban. The warmer waters that lap Durban’s beaches are one of the city’s biggest drawing cards, making watr-based activities popular for family fun outings all year round. Some of the best things to do include a day at uShaka Marine World (yes, allow a full day – there really is that much to do), a swim at the famous Umhlanga beaches, a hike at the Umhlanga Lagoon Nature Reserve, checking out a fine selection of feathered friends at the Umgeni River Bird Park and a boat cruise around Durban’s famous harbour. Find the cheapest flights to Durban on PriceCheck.
- Port Elizabeth. The “Friendly City” has a host of child-friendly adventures to entertain your tots. Go elephant-spotting near PE at Addo Elephant Park, the third-largest national park in SA, take a slow ferry cruise down the Sundays River, go sandboarding at the Maitland’s Sand Dunes or go pony- or horse-riding at Sardinia Beach. To get to PE, PriceCheck the cheapest flights here.
- Bloemfontein. Visitors to the “City of Roses” can choose from a wide range of family activities including an afternoon of animal-sighting at the Bloemfontein Zoo, a one-kilometre walk along the Botanical Garden Tree Route to spy 43 indigenous trees, an up-close encounter with a cheetah at Cheetah Experience or (for a slightly pricier adventure) take a hot air balloon or fixed wing plane flight to experience the beautiful expanse of the Free State from the air. Get the cheapest flights to Bloemfontein with PriceCheck.
