Late winter in South Africa offers unique travel opportunities across various regions

Gastronomic tours in South Africa offer a unique way to get to know the country, allowing travelers to experience its history, culture, and communities through the lens of locals who know these places best.

South African food culture is layered, regional, and closely tied to history. From Cape Malay cuisine in Cape Town to Bunny Chow in Durban and favorite dishes in Soweto townships—the best way to understand where you are often lies through the people who live there.

These local culinary events offer more than just a meal; they encourage slowing down, asking questions, and looking at a familiar place from a different perspective.

Bo-Kaap in Cape Town: History and Cuisine

Few places intertwine food and history as closely as the Bo-Kaap neighborhood in Cape Town. Located on the slopes of Signal Hill, this area has roots dating back to the 1760s when rental houses were built for slaves brought to Cape from places such as Southeast Asia and other parts of Africa. Today, Bo-Kaap remains an important center of Cape Muslim culture and heritage.

The best way to get to know the area is to go with someone who knows it. The company Bo-Kaap Roots is run by local guides Bilkes Baker and Rafik Jacobs. Their tours combine the area's history with food, stories, and community events. Depending on the tour, you can walk through the neighborhood, visit the Auwal Mosque, hear personal stories, stop for tea and traditional treats, enjoy Cape Malay cuisine, or participate in a cooking class in a local resident's home.

The culinary experience is especially valuable for those who have always wanted to learn the secret behind the aromatic curries, samoosas, rotis, and koesisters characteristic of Cape Malay cuisine. Instead of just ordering a dish in a restaurant, visitors see the cooking process and hear the stories associated with the recipes.

After the meal, it is recommended to spend time in the area: exploring the Bo-Kaap Museum, wandering the steep cobbled streets, admiring the colorful houses, and visiting local spice shops. Cape Town Tourism also advises exploring the mosques, kraals, food markets, and craft markets of the area. It is important to understand that the neighborhood is not just a backdrop; Bo-Kaap Roots asserts that its events directly support residents and give locals a platform to tell their own stories.

Durban: A Taste Trail of the Indian Community

Durban is one of South Africa's great culinary cities, and you can spend days tasting the local cuisine here. The city's culinary identity is closely linked to its Indian community. The first indentured Indian workers arrived in Durban in 1860, and by the end of the 19th century, Indian immigrants were involved in agriculture, food production, trade, and other businesses. Currently, Durban is home to the largest Indian population in South Africa.

This history is one reason why the food in Durban seems so distinctive. The gastronomic event Taste of Africa by Honest Travel Experience immerses visitors in the city with a local guide, using public transport and stopping at markets and local eateries. The program includes bunny chow, other street food, and traditional dishes, with the option of an additional drumming experience.

The operator describes this event as a blend of Zulu and Indian influences. Bunny chow is definitely worth trying. There are several competing stories about its origin, but the dish is unmistakably associated with Durban: it is a hollow bread filled with curry. South African History Online notes that one version links its beginning to the Bania restaurant on Grey Street, while another suggests it evolved as a practical way for migrant workers to take vegetable curry for lunch.

The essence of the gastronomic tour here is not just ticking bunny chow off a bucket list. It is understanding why Durban tastes the way it does. After the tour, you should spend more time in the city: exploring Victoria Street Market, walking through the city center, visiting the KwaMuhle Museum, or heading to the waterfront. If time allows, you can continue the culinary journey, as Durban is a city that doesn't expect you to leave hungry.

Soweto: Life Between Landmarks

Soweto is one of those places where a guide can completely change your perception of a location. Driving through the township shows the main sights, but walking with a local provides the necessary context.

Soweto on Foot was founded by local guide Lebo Mokoena in 2022 and offers walking tours of the township that combine history, community, and food. The culinary tour includes stops at local vendors and establishments where traditional snacks and dishes are part of the walk. You can encounter everything from magwinyi, also known as vetkoek, to traditional dishes, kotny, and local barbecue fare. The tour also covers areas like Vilakazi Street and Orlando, allowing food to coexist with the larger history of Soweto.

History cannot be ignored. Vilakazi Street is connected to both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the Hector Pieterson Memorial commemorates the 1976 Soweto uprising. The gastronomic tour works here because it allows visitors to see the township as a living community, not just a collection of historical sites. There is something refreshingly ordinary in the act of eating: a kofta from a local vendor, a snack from a street vendor, or a barbecue lunch can tell you more about daily life in Soweto than an exhibit in a museum.

After completing the tour, time should be set aside to visit the main attractions: visiting the Hector Pieterson Museum and Mandela House, walking along Vilakazi Street, and viewing Orlando Towers. The Department of Tourism increasingly emphasizes the importance of township tourism as a way for visitors to spend money directly in local economies, supporting small businesses, entrepreneurs, and community initiatives.

Franschhoek: Refined Cuisine with Historical Undertones

Franschhoek is not an obscure gastronomic destination, but there is a difference between simply booking a table and understanding why this valley became such a culinary hub. A four-hour guided group tour takes visitors on a walk through the village, combining tastings at cafes, wine bars, and other venues with stories about the region's history and culinary influences.

The history of the French Huguenots in the valley plays a central role in this narrative. The Huguenot settlers arrived here in 1688, and their influence remains part of Franschhoek's identity. However, modern food culture is not limited to French traditions. The tour also highlights Cape-inspired dishes, Cape Malay flavors, local artisanal beverages, and contemporary cuisine.

Visitors can expect tastings of artisanal coffee, baked goods, Cape-style dishes, craft beer, and wine, concluding with champagne overlooking the valley. The event is intentionally small, limiting groups to 12 people.

After the meal in the village, there are many activities: you can visit the Huguenot Memorial Museum, wander through the village, or continue wine tasting at one of the valley estates. If planning to stay overnight, it is worth staying after dinner, as Franschhoek is particularly beautiful early in the morning when the mountains are quieter and the village is not yet filled with daytime tourists.

Johannesburg: A Cosmopolitan View of Africa

The gastronomic history of Johannesburg is much broader than just barbecue and kofta. In the Yeoville area, the Taste of Africa tour by Honest Travel Experience introduces visitors to dishes from across the continent under the guidance of a local guide moving between restaurants. The program includes dishes from countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others.

This tour is ideal for travelers who want to see Johannesburg as a modern African city, rather than a collection of stereotypes about South Africa. Yeoville has long been one of Johannesburg's most cosmopolitan areas, and the food reflects this. Instead of trying one version of 'African food,' you can experience several different culinary traditions in one day or evening.

The event is structured around walking between restaurants, so it is recommended to come hungry. The operator warns that portions are generous. Furthermore, during the day, you can do much more: explore downtown Johannesburg with a local guide, visit Constitution Hill, the Apartheid Museum, or spend time in areas like Braamfontein and Newtown. A broader advantage of such a tour is that it challenges the notion that one must leave South Africa to experience the rest of Africa. Johannesburg's immigrant communities have helped create a city where cuisines from all over the continent meet, intersect, and develop.

In conclusion, gastronomic tourism, according to the South African Tourism Department, is an activity that connects visitors with food, culinary products, culture, heritage, and traditions. It also has the potential to support jobs, local communities, and small businesses. When choosing a tour, look for those where locals actively participate in storytelling, cooking, or hosting. It is important to choose small groups and remember that neighborhoods are primarily homes, not tourist attractions.

Although South Africa is a relatively young country from the perspective of the modern political system, the places people call home have a deep history. Long before colonial settlements were mapped, roads were laid, or church bells began to ring, people lived, traveled, traded, and adapted to these landscapes.

This makes the concept of 'oldest continuously inhabited places' in South Africa more complex than just a list of founding dates. While Cape Town can be considered the oldest founded city in the country, Stellenbosch is recognized as the oldest city in the formal European sense. However, indigenous communities have lived in different parts of the country for thousands of years, and some of these traditions are still part of the landscape.

Below are places where this long history remains visible, and where a visit feels less like visiting a museum and more like immersing oneself in ongoing history.

If Cape Town is the oldest founded city, then Stellenbosch has a different basis for this claim. The Municipality of Stellenbosch calls it the second oldest city in South Africa, dating its founding to 1679 when Governor Simon van der Stel named the island in the Eerste River Stellenbosch. The first agricultural work in the area began in the same year.

It is important to note that the definition of 'oldest city' refers to a formal, European-style settlement. The Stellenbosch Heritage Foundation emphasizes that indigenous settlements existed long before the founding of the colonial town. The town developed around agriculture, especially viticulture and fruit growing, and its oak-lined streets and Cape Dutch architecture are now among its most recognizable features.

The history of Stellenbosch is not limited to its most beautiful buildings; its narrative also includes slavery, forced labor, segregation, and the formation of a society of people from very different backgrounds. Here, you can spend a morning walking through history and enjoy good food in the afternoon. The historic center is compact enough for a walking tour, offering routes that include Cape Dutch style buildings, old streets, and centuries-old landmarks.

It is worth visiting the Stellenbosch Village Museum, where restored houses from past eras cover the period from 1709 to 1850, giving insight into various periods of the town's domestic history. And, of course, there is wine. The surrounding wineries have become one of South Africa's most famous gastronomic and wine destinations, allowing for an easy combination of heritage with cellar tastings, long lunches, and scenic drives.

Moving east, the towns become smaller, quieter, and perhaps even more atmospheric. Swellendam was officially established as a magistracy in 1745, making it the third oldest city in the generally accepted South African ranking after Cape Town and Stellenbosch. This district was created as Cape settlements expanded inland, as farmers required government administration closer to home. The name Swellendam was adopted in 1747 in honor of Cape Governor Hendrik van der Merwe and his wife Helena ten Dam.

However, the history of this region goes much deeper. Khoikhoi hunter-gatherers and pastoralists inhabited the Western Cape thousands of years before European settlement. The Swellendam Heritage Association notes that these communities were part of the region's landscape and history long before the town's founding.

Later, Swellendam became an important gateway to the interior. In 1795, its residents even declared independence from Dutch rule, creating the short-lived Republic of Swellendam, before British forces took control of Cape later that same year. Swellendam is perfect for a slow weekend. The town is situated under the Langeberg mountains, near the Breede River, with easy access to hiking, nature, and the wider Overberg region. Its historic center is best explored on foot, and the Drotsdi Museum provides insight into the town's colonial past. Beyond the town, the surrounding mountains and reserves offer many reasons to stay longer than just a brief heritage stop. It is also an excellent base for exploring the Tradouw Pass and further trips towards Klein Karoo.

On the Cape Peninsula, Simon's Town offers a completely different atmosphere of the old world. The town developed around Simon's Bay, an important natural anchorage that became the official station of the Dutch East India Company in 1743. The settlement initially remained small, with many residents tied to the seasonal movement of ships and the VOC fleet. Its significance grew considerably after the British established a permanent naval base in the bay in the 19th century. This naval history remains part of the city's identity today.

The history here is also more diverse than military structures might suggest. The early population of Simon's Town included VOC officials, soldiers, slaves from parts of Africa and Asia, indigenous Khoisan peoples, sailors, farmers, and traders. Come for the combination of sea views, history, and a walkable old town. The Simon's Town Historical Society has mapped the Historic Mile through the city, while the Simon's Town Museum explores community history, and the South African Naval Museum adds another layer to this history. Since you are on the peninsula, Simon's Town is also a natural stop on a longer trip to the Cape of Good Hope and the False Bay coast.

Founded in 1786, Graaff-Reinet is one of South Africa's oldest formal towns and the fourth oldest magistracy established under colonial administration. It was named after Governor Cornelis Jacobus van der Graaf and his wife Cornelia Reinet. Unlike the lush Winelands, Graaff-Reinet is situated in the rugged beauty of the Great Karoo, almost entirely surrounded by the Cederberg National Park. The town boasts over 220 heritage sites and an unusually rich collection of Cape Dutch, Victorian, and Karoo-style architecture.

However, the history of this area is much older. Archaeological traces of hunter-gatherer communities are found in the surrounding landscape, including Kuupule Boulder, where intentionally struck depressions are believed to have held ritual or symbolic meaning. Graaff-Reinet is a place where history and landscape truly merge. Spend time exploring the town's historic buildings before heading to the Cederberg National Park, which almost surrounds it. The park offers wildlife viewing, bird watching, hiking, mountain biking, off-road routes, and scenic viewpoints. The main attraction is the Valley of Loneliness, where massive dolerite columns rise above the Great Karoo. Viewpoints are easily accessible, and the Kraag Lizard trail and longer walks in Eerstefontein allow exploration of the surroundings on foot. For a road trip through South Africa combining heritage with vast landscapes, Graaff-Reinet is hard to beat.

Here, the conventional definition of an 'old town' begins to break down. The cultural and botanical landscape of Richterveld in the North Cape is not an old town at all. It is an extensive mountainous desert landscape where the Nama people continue a semi-nomadic pastoralist lifestyle. UNESCO recognizes the seasonal patterns in the landscape that may have persisted for up to 2,000 years. The Nama people move between pastures and grazing points, traditionally using portable dwellings made of reed mats, known as haru oms, while maintaining detailed knowledge of the landscape and its medicinal plants. This is an exceptional example of a place where cultural heritage is not locked behind glass; the landscape itself is part of the heritage. Richterveld was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007 as a living, evolving cultural landscape. As for the scenery, undoubtedly. But more importantly—it is the opportunity to understand how people adapt to one of the country's harshest environments.

The surrounding Richterveld National Park is harsh and remote, featuring dramatic mountains, the Orange River, unusual desert vegetation, and characteristic rock formations. Visitors should be prepared for a truly wild experience, as much of the park requires driving off-road. This is a place where slowing down is part of the experience. Drive, hike, photograph the landscape, and if possible, seek out events hosted by the communities that allow the Nama story to be told to those connected to it.

Further north, the red dunes of the Kalahari tell an even older story. The ǂKhomani cultural landscape, on the border of South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, contains evidence of human presence from the Stone Age to the present day. UNESCO describes this landscape as being linked to the ǂKhomani San people and their deep knowledge of plants, animals, water, and survival in an extremely challenging environment. This is not just archaeological history; the ǂKhomani community continues to revive cultural knowledge, languages, and traditions that were severely disrupted during apartheid-era forced removals. The landscape was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017. The obvious attraction is the Kaggalagadi Transfrontier Park, with its vast dunes, wildlife, and endless sky. But visitors interested in the cultural history of the landscape should also take time to interpret the ǂKhomani heritage in the Twee Rivieren. The SANParks interpretation center showcases the knowledge and stories of the Southern Kalahari people and was specifically created to preserve the ǂKhomani cultural landscape. There is also a deeper lesson here: visiting the Kalahari is not just about viewing an ancient landscape; it is about understanding that people have always been in the landscape, and their connection to it is what makes this place outstanding.

There is no single simple answer. If we speak of formal cities and settlements, Cape Town is the oldest founded city in the country, its colonial settlement dating back to 1652, followed by Stellenbosch in 1679 and Swellendam in 1745. Graaff-Reinet followed in 1786, while Simon's Town developed as an important settlement around its VOC anchorage from 1743. But this ranking shows only one version of South Africa's history. Stepping outside the colonial city framework, the timeline stretches back thousands of years. The ǂKhomani cultural landscape holds evidence of human presence from the Stone Age to the present day, while Richterveld preserves the traditions of the Nama pastoralists, which UNESCO states have been maintained for two millennia. Perhaps the most interesting thing about traveling through South Africa's oldest places is precisely this.

True history is not just about how old the buildings are. It is about the people who lived here before them, the people who built the cities, the people who were displaced from them, and the communities that continue to give meaning to these landscapes. Because sometimes the oldest places are not those with the oldest buildings. They are those where the connection between people and place has managed to endure.

If you are looking for a glamping spot near Cape Town, a list of wonderful options is presented. These places are suitable for both romantic getaways and quiet solitude in nature, offering various opportunities for relaxation and connecting with loved ones.

In the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, you can find tranquility at Dwyka Tented Lodge. This haven of peace is surrounded by ancient rock formations and the vast Karoo plains. Here, you can explore the wildlife, observe the Big Five, and create unforgettable memories.

At Botlierskop Game Reserve, you can enjoy luxury at Tented Lodge. Guests can admire stunning panoramic views of the Indian Ocean and the Outeniqua Mountains while staying in modern safari tents equipped with all necessary amenities. Furthermore, the resort offers children's entertainment, making it an ideal family holiday destination.

For an elevated glamping experience, consider Teniqua Treetops, where eco-friendly treehouses provide seclusion amidst nature. If you wish to enjoy the beauty of the Garden Route, this is a suitable place to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life, accompanied only by rare birds.

For a deeper exploration of the Garden Route, there is a picturesque private reserve showcasing the magnificent Langeberg and Outeniqua Mountains. There, you can embark on a luxurious tented safari adventure, learn about wildlife management, bush survival skills, and nature interpretation. The camp utilizes sustainable resources, runs on solar energy, and is a plastic-free zone.

The meadows and hills of Stanford offer a retreat at Africamps, featuring boutique tents in the foothills of the Klein River mountains. Guests can enjoy beautiful views of the fynbos-covered slopes and the farm's scenic pond. It is an ideal place for relaxation, where you can sample wines and savor fresh, local farm cuisine.

Old Mac Daddy, located in the Elgin Valley among an apple orchard and near a quiet lake, offers year-round family holidays. You can relax in hammocks overlooking the lush valley or cool off in the pool while enjoying breathtaking views. Each Airstream-style module is equipped with powerful temperature control systems for year-round comfort.

Thali Thali Game Lodge, spanning 1400 hectares, is a family reserve on the West Coast. Friendly wildlife, including buffalo, giraffes, zebras, and others, roams freely, often joining guests near the lodge. Canvas and stone glamping tents offer panoramic views of the veld and recreation areas, perfect for stargazing dinners. At the restaurant, which features a terrace, boma, and small pool, guests can enjoy West Coast hospitality and socialize in a picturesque natural setting.

!Khwa Ttu, situated among local flora and open plains on the West Coast, offers a unique blend of leisure and education. Visitors can immerse themselves in the ancient history and culture of the San people, enjoying spectacular sunsets from the comfort of solar glamping sites. These locations are ideal for large groups seeking exclusive accommodation, offering an unforgettable getaway amidst the breathtaking beauty of Cape.

AfriCamps at Oakhurst Farm offers adventure and natural beauty, nestled among an avenue of blue gum trees. This hidden gem provides numerous activities, including farm walks, archery, as well as a farm pond and waterfall. Don't miss the chance to try Shelly’s chicken pie from the on-site farm shop while exploring the picturesque surroundings of this adventure lover's paradise.

Wolfkop Camping Villages offers boutique camping villas on a picturesque 100-hectare citrus, buchu, and rooibos farm. Located along the tranquil banks of the Olifants River, each campsite provides access to the river and stunning views of the surrounding landscape. You can explore the scenic Cederberg region or simply relax in this riverside secluded area.

Whether you seek safari serenity, eco-friendly options, or riverside relaxation, these ten glamping spots near Cape Town promise unforgettable experiences surrounded by natural beauty.