South Africa guide › South Africa at a glance
Where is South Africa?
Right at the bottom of the map: South Africa covers the southern tip of the African continent, with the Atlantic on its west coast and the Indian Ocean on its east. It's a big country, about 1.2 million km² (470,000 sq miles), roughly five times the size of the UK or nearly twice Texas, home to more than 62 million people.
Its neighbours are Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), and it completely surrounds another country, the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. One myth worth busting: the southernmost point of Africa isn't the Cape of Good Hope but Cape Agulhas, about two and a half hours' drive from Cape Town, where the two oceans officially meet.
It also has three capitals: Pretoria (Tshwane) for the government, Cape Town for Parliament and Bloemfontein for the judiciary. Johannesburg, the biggest city, isn't one of them.
Getting there nonstop depends on where you start:
- From the UK: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic fly from Heathrow to Johannesburg and Cape Town in around 11 to 12 hours, mostly overnight (some Cape Town services are seasonal).
- From the US: United flies nonstop from Newark and Delta from Atlanta, to both Johannesburg and Cape Town, in roughly 15 to 16 hours.
- From Australia: Qantas flies to Johannesburg from Sydney (around 14 hours) and Perth (under 11 hours), with nonstop Sydney–Cape Town flights announced from October 2027.
- With one stop (Europe, the Gulf or Africa): longer, often cheaper, and the easiest way to reach Durban.
South Africa runs on UTC+2 all year, with no daylight saving. That's one or two hours ahead of the UK (hardly any jet lag), six or seven hours ahead of the US East Coast, and eight or nine hours behind Sydney.
The thing that catches most first-timers out is distance. Cape Town and Johannesburg are about 1,400 km (870 miles) apart, a two-hour flight or two full days on the road, and Kruger National Park is another four to five hours' drive from Johannesburg. More on that in How many days do you need in South Africa?.
Tip: from the UK, take the overnight flight: you sleep on the plane, land in the morning in almost the same time zone, and don't lose your first day.
Information checked in November 2026; double-check before you travel.