South Africa listed as a top holiday destination for 2021

Condé Nast Traveller (CNT) has listed South Africa as one of the best holiday destinations for 2021. Our borders will be reopening to international visitors on October 1 but the much-anticipated list of countries that can travel to and from South Africa still needs to be published.

CNT said this about South Africa: ‘Like many countries, South Africa’s tourism industry has been through the wringer of late. But while the world has taken a forced break, a new generation of genre-busting creatives have been busy shining a light on the most diverse cultural community on the African continent.

‘Biennales, fairs and new artist-run spaces are at the helm of the country’s enlivened art scene, with exciting local artists – including twin sisters Noncedo and Nonzuzo Gxekwa – getting prime wall space at galleries such as the Maitland Institute and The Centre for the Less Good Idea.’

‘All-women music festivals, Soweto township theatre groups and a burgeoning container coffee-shop scene in Maboneng draw the focus firmly onto Johannesburg. In Jozi, pan-African dinner clubs such as Yeoville, run by chef Sanza Sandile, rub up alongside lively rooftop bars and secret hole-in-the-wall spots in the bohemian suburb of Melville.

‘That’s not to mention the parade of fresh hotels and lodges waiting to welcome international guests in 2021, which includes Kruger Shalati – a stupendously smart cabin hotel stationed on a historical railway line – as well as AndBeyond’s new supremely good-looking solar-powered Ngala Treehouse, rising above the predator-filled bush on the edges of Kruger National Park.’

South Africa placed 20 out of 21 countries that CNT selected as the best holiday destinations for 2021.

In first place is Slovenia, Yorkshire in England scooped up second place and third Melides in Portugal.