Durban
South Africa
A warm sea in winter, and the best curry outside India
Photo by Weyland Swart on Unsplash
Photos by Yao, Raquel Pereira, Olivia Pedler and Sibusiso Zondi on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of South Africa
April to October, the dry winter, when the sea is still warm and the humidity has gone
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 135mm in Jan
Where it is
29.86°S, 31.03°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Walk or cycle the beachfront promenade early, before the heat
- Eat a bunny chow at a curry house rather than a hotel
- Spend a morning at uShaka Marine World if you have children
- Base yourself in uMhlanga and come into the city by day
- Drive the Valley of a Thousand Hills on a clear day
- Use Durban as the start of a loop to the Drakensberg or St Lucia
Durban travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget South Africa
Good valueCards work nearly everywhere. Keep small notes for car guards, petrol attendants and the beachfront stalls. Draw rand from a bank machine rather than changing cash at the airport.
ATMs & cards
Use machines inside a mall — Gateway in uMhlanga, the Pavilion, or a bank branch — and not the street-facing ones along the beachfront. Decline anyone offering to help, cover the keypad, and do it by day.
Avoid these
- street-facing machines on the beachfront
- any ATM at night
- any ATM where a stranger offers to help
Use these instead
- FNB
- Standard Bank
- Absa
- Nedbank — inside a mall or a branch
Card swapping and shoulder-surfing are the risks. Use a machine inside a building and decline all assistance.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of South Africa
Stay alertUse a rideshare after dark, even for a few blocks; keep bags in the boot and phones off the dashboard at traffic lights. The CBD is for a guided visit by day. Swim between the lifeguards’ flags on the netted beaches only — the rips are strong — and check the day’s water-quality notices, because some beaches are closed after heavy rain.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (8 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- uMhlanga
- Gateway Theatre of Shopping
- Florida Road — restaurants, by car
- Durban beachfront promenade — by day
Worth more attention
- Durban CBD — on foot, and anywhere in it after dark — go with a guide, by day
- Durban beachfront — after dark, and the streets behind it — take a car
- traffic lights at night — smash-and-grab through the window; nothing on the seats
- unguarded beaches — rips, and only the lifeguarded beaches are netted
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa South Africa visa rules
No visa neededup to 90 days
Other passports
No visa neededup to 30 days
Visa required in advance
How to get it: Two completely blank passport pages are required on arrival, and this is enforced — people are refused entry over it.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of South Africa
Good and affordableRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
- Malaria prophylaxis only if you are going to Kruger or the north-east — Cape Town has no malaria
Getting treated
Private hospitals (Netcare, Mediclinic) are genuinely world-class and cost far less than Europe or the US, which is why medical tourism exists here. The public system is overloaded. Insurance is worth it, and private ambulances (ER24, Netcare 911) respond faster than the state service.
Tap water is safe in Cape Town. No malaria in the Western Cape.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
Very goodDurban curry is its own thing — hotter and redder than the Cape Malay kind, born of the Indian community that has been here since the 1860s. Order a bunny chow, a hollowed quarter loaf filled with curry, and eat it with your hands. Fresh line fish and prawns along the coast.
Travel tipsNightlife
A relaxed, warm-evening city: restaurants and bars along Florida Road, sundowners in uMhlanga, and clubs that play gqom, the Durban-born dance music.
- Florida Road — the main bar and restaurant strip
- uMhlanga — sea-view bars, quieter and earlier
Closing: Bars around midnight to 02:00.
Rideshare between venues and home, as everyone local does.
Getting around
Limited- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- inDriveWorks here
- Against a taxi
- There is no metered taxi trade to speak of. The apps are how a visitor moves, and the minibus taxis are a different thing entirely.
Wait indoors for the car rather than on the street at night, which is what locals do.
Time zone and your working day
Africa/Johannesburg — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for South Africa, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
South African English — local usage
- HelloHowzit
- ThanksThanks / DankieDUNK-ee
- BarbecueBraaibry
- Traffic lightRobot
4 more phrases
- Yes, definitelyYebo
- No problemSharp sharp
- The bill, pleaseThe bill, please
- GoodbyeCheers / Totsiens
Religion
Christian majority
Around 80% Christian, alongside African traditional belief, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish communities. The constitution protects all of them explicitly.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Greet with howzit and take time over it; abruptness is rude
- Tip 10-15% at restaurants, and a few rand to car guards
- Accept a braai invitation — it is the central social ritual
- Ask locally which areas to avoid; the answer changes by street and by hour
Don't
- Do not walk alone at night, or use a phone visibly in the street
- Do not accept help at ATMs from anyone, ever
- Do not discuss race and politics casually; the history is recent and raw
- Do not leave anything in a parked car, or resist if you are robbed
Where to stay in Durban
No Holistay rentals in Durban yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Durban on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into King Shaka, Durban DUR
35 minfrom the airport· 29 km as the crow flies
35 min to the beachfront by car.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
