It’s that time of the year again to step out of bulky clothing and hit the beaches. However, don’t go grabbing the bucket and spade just yet; there is still the question of “what to wear?” While some beach goers will more than happy to flaunt around in bikinis, small shorts or skimpy tops, others might not feel so comfortable and selecting the right wardrobe can take a little longer than you might be anticipating.

Beach style options

Don’t have much on top? You can still wear a bikini and show off that great figure. Two-piece swimsuits come with a padded top and a generous bottom part. For women on the heavy side, plus sizes are not hard to find. Try the tankini with its built-in brassiere that supports the breasts. Go for a classic black tankini to mask those bulges and for an instant slimming effect that is sure to provide a stylish look.

Have a wide waist? Choose styles of swimwear that simulate the illusion of a belt. Waist cinching is a trend that continues to prosper, defining waists and shaping up tomboyish figures. If you have a great body and are prepared to show it off, don a string bikini or a monokini.

For men, swim briefs (also known as speedos) and square leg suits are great for swimming and sunbathing while conservative guys can wear swim trunks, a type of swimwear that resembles knee-high shorts. Or, dare yourselves and wear a fundoshi, a kind of briefs resembling attire worn by Samurai wrestlers.

The season’s trends

This season is all about sunny prints and florals. Take your pick from delightful 2-piece bikinis to one-piece swimsuits in refreshing mono and print colours. Get stylish and choose triangle or halter tops embellished with beads, ruffles, and laces.

Think of accessories to complete a beach outfit. Slip into lovely sarongs made of cotton or chiffon. From the beach to the restaurant, get one that converts into a stylish dress. Or, get rid of cumbersome towels and top off swimwear with a light jacket or sweater for those cool mornings and evenings. Don’t forget protective sunglasses, beach thongs, scarves, and jute bags.

Whether it’s to laze around the poolside or indulge in water sports activities, feeling and looking stylish are important even while on holiday. With plenty of swimwear styles and designs out there, it’s not that difficult to achieve a chic look.

Picture: Jonas Glaubitz – Fotolia

South Africa is known for its great variety of water attractions that offer tremendous scuba diving opportunities. The country has an extensive coastline with a great variety of marine life, underwater topography and water temperatures that offer some of the world’s greatest scuba diving experiences The Mozambican currents flowing towards the eastern side of South Africa carry warm currents known to make the water perfect for sighting dolphins, eagle rays, manta, white sharks, whales and intricate display of coral reefs.

Outstanding Dive Sites

South Africa offers terrific diving sites at Northern Pinnacles in Protea Banks. The area is renowned for glorious stretches of pink coral and some of the world’s rarest fish. Divers will be tempted to try cave diving at Hole in the Wall for captivating penetration dives. The place is also a focal point where ragged tooth sharks can be spotted in November.

For novice or intermediate divers, a small reef known as Anton’s reef at Sodwana Bay is distinguished for shallow dives. For more adventurous dive, cage dives are rife at Mosselbaai where shoals of white sharks can be spotted. Sodawana Bay’s Nine Mile Reef offers great diving sites for deep underwater divers. The place has stunning underwater topography with predominant pinnacles and coral tree growth.

The Western Cape coast offers cool diving sites where divers can dive in chilly yet beautiful kelp forests. Divers can float beneath the canopy as they admire the stunningly colorful reef diversity

Dive Schools

Novice divers can take their first dive in a derelict quarry called Komati Springs situated in Mpumalanga Province. Here, deep diving, mixed gas and re-breather courses are taught. A wide selection of scuba diving resorts are also found at Rocktail Bay and Sodwana bay. Both venues operate dive camp as well as offer a range of dive packages, PADI dive courses in addition to diving equipment hire.

Best Time to Dive

Since the waters are known to reach 19 degrees Celsius between July and October, the warmer months — when the temperatures reach as high as 24 degree Celsius — are highly recommended for diving in February and March. Ragged tooth sharks can be spotted from June to November, and if looking to sight hammerheads and tiger sharks, then December and January are the ideal months.

Image jomare – Fotolia

The South African city of Cape Town provides more than her fair share of affordable accommodation for tourists. Since the city is one of the most visited in the world, housing beautiful tourist attractions that include two World Heritage Centers, accommodation in the city for tourists is as plentiful as it is modern. Depending on your purse, and perhaps also your purpose of being in South Africa’s second largest city, there are accommodation options ranging from very cheap hostels to five star hotels.

Things to consider when choosing an accommodation

Two things that may often determine the choice of accommodation when visiting Cape Town are location and price. Different areas of the city have their peculiarities. Some areas, such as the Century city, Tygervalley, are known to be very vibrant, during both the day and the night. Rondebosch, Simon’s Town and other places in the south of the city are more renowned for their quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

Hostels

There are accommodation possibilities in hostel rooms with multiple beds, which are ideal young groups of friends as they are usually much cheaper than traditional hotels. Also, it is possible to rent a self-care apartment, where the facilities provided make you feel at home. The cost of accommodation in such a place might also be determined by its location in the city.

Hotels

Booking to stay in a Hotel is another option open to tourists visiting Cape Town. Ratings of Hotels can be found on the internet and may range from one to five star. The ratings and the geographical location of the hotel similarly affect the booking costs, charged on a per-night basis. In most cases, facilities provided may include internet and tourist transport options.

Image: Nolte Lourens

Backpacking is a great way to explore South Africa, one of the world’s most diverse and beautiful countries. Whether you are a true adventurer exploring the wilder side of life, or simply looking for a little rest and relaxation, South Africa can provide a range of fascinating experiences other countries simply cannot match.

Accommodation and Getting Around

Backpacking hostels can be found all across South Africa. When backpacking in the Republic, a traveller can find hostels right from the historic parts of Cape Town, to the borders of Kruger Park, and everywhere in between. Prices typically vary between 100 to 150 Rand a night, depending on the location. Double and triple rooms are usually also available for variable fees, which are ideal for groups travelling in large numbers.

Travelling around such a vast country can obviously be difficult, with many a backpacker opting to hire a car rather than being restricted by the public transport system. There are many car rental services available in South Africa that offer discounted deals for travellers. The Baz Bus is also a popular mode of travel for backpackers, consisting of a bus network which links backpackers’ hostels across the country. Covering 180 hostels in over 40 destinations, it really is a boon to people travelling on a budget.

Destinations and Culture

For visitors looking for adventure and unique thrills, South Africa offers an impressive range of outdoor activities that can’t be enjoyed anywhere else. The Drakensberg Mountains, located close to Ladysmith the tiny country of Lesotho, are growing increasingly popular with hikers and outdoors enthusiasts of all varieties.

Durban and Natal are a good destination for those looking for what the beach and the sea can offer and the sub-tropical climate here means that the weather is warm almost all the time. Cape Town has some stunning landscapes as well as historical attractions. The beach life is also good, but the waters are much colder than Durban and divers will need to equip themselves with dry suits at most times of year.

Image: hendrik holler – Fotolia

South Africa is one of the world’s most popular international beach holiday hotspots and every measure is being taken to maintain this reputation. This is perhaps because of the variety of golden sands and tranquil seas the country has to offer. As a country, South Africa is multi-cultural, multi-lingual and its diverse culture lends itself to its unique history, while also embracing its promising future.

A beach holiday in South Africa with a Seventh Wonder backdrop

Table Mountain in Cape Town, the Western Cape, was nominated as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and is a backdrop to all of the city’s tourist activities. It is not surprising because of its spectacular fauna and flora, cultural and environmental heritage and, of course, its spectacular view. Standing on Table Mountain, tourists may view the breathtaking beaches that line the coasts of South Africa.

Chapman’s Peak (Table Mountain) is where the three major oceans meet; the cold Atlantic, warm Indian and the temperate Pacific Oceans. The Mediterranean climate is conducive for a beach holiday in South Africa. Further north, the city of Durban in Kwazulu Natal offers a taste of tropical paradise ideal for scuba diving and snorkeling.

Beach holiday

Equally spectacular is the coastal sunrise or sunset drive around the peninsula where travelers may enjoy a beach holiday along the various beach fronts; from the feared shark infested waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the warm embrace and splashing Indian Ocean and right through to the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean. Restaurants, picnic spots, tidal pools and barbeque areas are found all along the drive. Some travelers follow hiking trails and walk down the mountain and long the beaches and later enjoy the freshly caught fish of South African oceans. Alternatively, travelers can enjoy the breakfast train from the city hub along the coastline to the historical city of Simon’s Town.

Image: Sebastian Walter – Fotolia

South Africa offers some of the most unique and beautiful specimens of marine life on Earth. The diversity and variety of the flora and fauna found in the seas off the coast of this great country is largely the result of the meeting of three great oceans. The cold waters of the Atlantic and the Southern Ocean meet the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, creating a variety of different habitats for marine life that can’t be found anywhere else.

Marine Mammals

South African waters are alive with marine mammals such as whales and dolphins. The so-called ‘Whale Route’, where migrating whales can be often found in good numbers at the right times of year, stretches right from just west of Cape Town and right across to Durban, covering approximately 1,200 miles. Southern Right Whales can be seen in the waters off the Western Cape from June through to November, while Humpback Whales are there from May until December. Visitors will need to venture further out to see Bryde’s Whales, but they are there all year.

Other marine life includes dolphin species, which can be seen in the waters off South Africa and include the Heavisides Dolphin, a rare species seen off the Western Cape. Fraser’s Dolphin can be seen in the Indian Ocean off South Africa. Seals are also prevalent, with Seal Island just under six kilometers off False Bay near Cape Town, a massive breeding colony for Cape Fur Seals.

Sharks and Other Fish

The numbers of seals at Seal Island attract predators, most notably the fierce Great White Shark, which rises up from the depths to attack its prey, bearing the seal in its mouth as it leaps from the sea. There are few other places on Earth where such a unique scene can be witnessed. Hammerhead and Tiger Sharks are more common in the Indian Ocean off South Africa.

Overall, there are some 2,200 fish species in the seas around South Africa, a stunning richness of marine life. Many of them are considered typical of South Africa, including the 38 species of klipfish, 28 species of gobies (28 species) and 25 species of seabream.

Photo: Olga Khoroshunova – Fotolia

South Africa is a perfect setting for those with a passion for Scuba Diving. In addition to the beautiful surroundings and picturesque scenery, South Africa also offers a wide variety of marine life and stretches of water that are ideal for exploration.

Places to scuba dive in South Africa

Scuba diving in South Africa opens up a previously undiscovered underwater world – so ensure you take the time to visit all the country’s scuba diving hotspots, starting with the South African’s most popular scuba diving hotspot; Sodwana Bay. This range of sub-tropical reefs stretches over nine miles and offer an almost limitless surprise of explorable secrets. The dive sites along this area are varied so divers of any experience can enjoy them. Ribbon reef is a fantastic place to dive from, launching from two spectacular rocks.

If you want to localize your scuba diving adventures, then Dyers Island is a perfect place to both admire the marine life from the shore as well as explore underwater flora and fauna in the seas. There is a kelp forest under the waters, where larger marine mammals can be found roaming. The Aliwal Shoal is a South Africa scuba diving area with fantastic visibility, reaching over 20 meters in some areas. The water temperature is also pleasant all year round, reaching highs of 23 Degrees Celsius.

The Produce Wreck is a great place for exploring to bring out the inner pirate in you. Not only is the shipwreck interesting to explore in itself, but you will be able to spot numerous sea creatures that have made this sunken ship their home.

What to look out for when scuba diving in South Africa

The amount of marine life you can discover when Scuba Diving in South Africa will make you want to return again and again. Not only are there several species of fish to observe, for example Lionfish, Stingrays and Snappers, but there are also several species of turtle as well as shell fish such as the South African Rock Lobster. Larger sea creatures, including inquisitive dolphins, are also very common. For those that are more daring, sharks and whales – even humpback whales – can be observed. The endless reefs of coral are well preserved too, and truly make for a magnificent scuba dive experience.