Boutique hotels in South Africa

South Africa may be the most varied country on the continent for travelers who love small hotels. In a single trip you can stay in a clifftop villa above the Atlantic, a Cape Dutch manor among the vines and a glass-walled lodge in the bush where leopards pass at night. Service is polished, food and wine are excellent, and the exchange rate makes luxury good value.

Cape Town and the Winelands

Cape Town, set between Table Mountain and two oceans, has the country's most stylish city hotels. An hour inland, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch combine historic estates with restaurants that rank among Africa's best, while Tulbagh and Robertson are quieter wine valleys.

The coast

The Garden Route runs east from Wilderness through Knysna to Plettenberg Bay, a string of lagoons, forests and beaches. Hermanus is the place for whale watching, Paternoster is a whitewashed fishing village on the West Coast, and Durban and Umhlanga bring Indian Ocean warmth.

Safari

The private reserves of the Sabi Sand, bordering Kruger National Park, and the Greater Kruger around Hoedspruit offer superb leopard sightings and lodges of every style. Madikwe, near the Botswana border, is malaria-free, and Phinda in KwaZulu-Natal combines bush and beach.

Mountains and the Karoo

The Drakensberg's basalt walls hide San rock art, Clarens is an arty village below sandstone cliffs, and Prince Albert is a peaceful oasis in the semi-desert Karoo.

When to go

The Cape is best from October to April. Safari is excellent all year, but the dry winter months (May to September) make game easiest to spot.