The South African rand has been in steady decline for the past few years, but the currency has been in a particularly precarious freefall since December — as of this writing, the rand is hovering around 16 to the US dollar, so your money goes twice as far today as it did just four years ago.
What this means for you is that South Africa is now more affordable than ever for Americans. Here’s how to splash out on the finest hotels, restaurants and wines — all while barely making a dent in your bank balance.
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1. World-class dining could be classified as “cheap eats” here.
La Mouette’s Head Chef Andre Hill and Chef Patron Henry Vigar.Handout A six-course tasting menu for under $25? When you convert it, that’s about how much you’ll shell out these days for a refined dinner at chef Henry Vigar’s elegant La Mouette in Cape Town — even with wine pairings, it’s still under $50. Great value abounds at the highest end of the culinary spectrum as well: the tasting menu at the Four Seasons Johannesburg’s View restaurant is under $50 (add about $25 for wine pairings), while the seemingly never-ending Gourmand menu at Luke Dale-Roberts’ lauded Test Kitchen in Cape Town, ranked 28 in the world’s top 50 list last year, is about $75 — just under $100 with wine. And with one of the largest Indian communities in the world, Durban is known for its spicy fare; the popular curry buffet at the opulent Oyster Box Hotel will burn only your tastebuds, not your wallet: fill up on the finest lamb vindaloo, butter chicken, prawn curry, and more, all for about $17.50 per person.
will burn only your tastebuds, not your wallet: fill up on the finest lamb vindaloo, butter chicken, prawn curry, and more, all for about $17.50 per person.
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2. You can indulge in some of the world’s most underrated — and underpriced — wines
Delaire Graff Estate.Delaire Graff Estate The hills and valleys of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, less than an hour from Cape Town, are studded with hundreds of wine farms producing sublime pinotages, chardonnays, cabernet sauvignons, and sparkling wines. Dedicate a day or two to trying them all. At the posh Delaire Graff estate, overlooking the scenic Helshoogte Pass in Stellenbosch, a tasting with five wines costs about $4; over at La Motte in Franschhoek, sample three whites and four reds for $3.
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3. Where else would you stay in sweet digs at virtually hostel-like prices?
Four Seasons Johannesburg.Four Seasons Even at the higher end, you’ll find yourself paying a fraction of what a luxury hotel would cost almost anywhere else — so now would be a great time to splurge on the Four Seasons Johannesburg, Taj Cape Town, or the chic Winelands retreat Babylonstoren. (Doubles start from $200-$300 a night at all three.) More intimate boutique hotels are a steal across the country: The stylish 16-room Peech in Johannesburg has doubles from $157; rooms at Durban’s quirky Concierge hotel — complete with a restaurant set in a shipping container — start around $73 a night; and the playful Airstream trailers atop the roof of Cape Town’s Grand Daddy Hotel are $140. Airbnb has also infiltrated South African real estate scene in a big way — stay in an Art Deco building in the heart of Cape Town for $50 a night, an industrial-chic loft in Johannesburg’s hip Maboneng Precinct for $42, or a darling cottage in the seaside Garden Route town of Plettenberg Bay for $49.
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4. The wildlife never been more accessible
Has the high sticker price of a safari relegated it to a near-permanent spot on your bucket list, unlikely to be crossed off? It might finally be time for you to dust off your binoculars. “Book now!” urges Cherri Briggs, president of Explore Inc. “Everyone is starting to increase prices by 20 percent, but many luxury lodges are still at at old prices, making for killer deals.” And while the Singitas and Royal Malewanes might still remain out of your price range, rooms at smaller lodges across the country are going for unrivaled bargains: Suites at Samara Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape start at about $150 per person per night during the low season; in the renowned Sabi Sabi Game Reserve at Kruger National Park, you can check in to Umkumbe Safari Lodge for about $175 per person; and in the KwaZulu-Natal province, consider Thula Thula Private Game Reserve for $170 per person. If you’d rather go underwater for a close encounter with a great white shark, book a thrilling shark-cage diving trip to Gansbai, about two hours from Cape Town — a day-long excursion with an outfit like White Shark Diving Company or Sharklady costs less than $100.
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5. This might be the world’s next great art destination
Zeitz MOCAA.Heatherwick Studio The gallery scene is thriving across South Africa, but it’s at a fever pitch in Cape Town these days — the eagerly awaited Thomas Heatherwick-designed Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, set to open in early 2017, might have something to do with that. Art connoisseurs should also add the annual Cape Town Art Fair to their calendars. Held Feb. 19-21 this year, the event is the best way to discover up and coming South African artists — or even well-known masters that simply haven’t made it onto your radar yet.
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6. Shopaholics, rejoice!
Katherine-Mary Pichulik.Handout You’ll likely be confounded when you compare the haul you’ve amassed here with your credit card statement: funky baseball caps handmade with leather and shwe shwe fabrics from JK Millinery come to about $20; design star Katherine-Mary Pichulik’s unusual rope necklaces and earrings range from $20 to $100; handmade leather sandals from Durban’s Jane Sews are about $50; and graphic Johannesburg-inspired tees by Love Jozi start at around $20.
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7. The celebs are already here
Hollywood budgets have been reaping the benefits of South Africa’s affordable shooting locations for a few years now, and everyone from Meryl Streep to Colin Firth to Jude Law has decamped to the country for extended periods while filming. When they’re around, they live like the locals do — you’ll run into Claire Danes browsing a local market, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz indulging in gelato, Charlize Theron meditating at a yoga studio, or Milla Jovovich hiking Lion’s Head.
