South Africa’s third-largest city, beachside Durban is a happening, year-round holiday destination. While the sun-kissed beach is certainly the focus for most tourists, the shopping malls, bars and restaurants of the city manage to draw traveller inland. Dubbed the largest Indian city outside India, Durban fuses African and subcontinent cultures to form a unique sensory experience. Colonial and Art Deco buildings also reflect South Africa’s European influence. Durban’s sub-tropical weather makes it a year-round destination. Situated on the east coast of South Africa in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, tourists find even more stunning scenery just beyond Durban’s city limits. Head towards the north and you will come across the bustling coastal town of Umhlanga and to the south the Sapphire Coast, an endless sub-tropical paradise.

In the west, you’ll encounter the Valley of 1000 Hills with its lush nature reserves and cultural villages. The Golden Mile (known to locals simply as “the Mile”) is named after the beaches near downtown Durban that stretch along the Indian Ocean from South Beach to the newly-constructed Suncoast Casino. It is well known for its excellent surfing and wide sandy beaches. Walk on the wild side with a cheetah walk at Le Sueur Cheetah and Wildlife Centre in the Nambiti Private Game Reserve. You’ll be joined on a two-hour stroll through the bush with a trained guide and cheetahs. South Africa’s last free-ranging elephants are protected in the dry, sandy coastal belt forests of Tembe Elephant Park partly-owned and fully managed by the Tembe tribe.