Durban

Durban Cricket Holidays & Tours

East Coast Durban, with its skyline sparkling with mirrored office blocks along the beachfront, is South Africa’s tropical version of Manhattan. The warm waters of the Indian Ocean lap along its golden sands creating an enticing setting for South Africa’s playground. This cosmopolitan city has benefited from European, Indian and indigenous influences since being founded in 1824. Legend has it that British soldier Harry Fynn helped the Zulu King Shaka survive a battle wound. In return Shaka granted Fynn a “30-mile strip of coast a hundred miles in depth”.

Visit Durban

You’ll never be stuck for invigorating Durban activities, either bathed in the summer sun or by the glorious Indian Ocean. Locals recommend jogging or biking the golden mile (actually four) from the Blue Lagoon to Addington Beach and Durban Harbour. You can also explore Little India where street dealers in their colourful saris and kurtas sell a heady mix of spices and incense alongside exotic fabrics and food. Or you can just dive into the azure sea teeming with aquatic activities.

Wet your Whistle in Wilson’s Wharf

Wilson’s Wharf serves up Durban’s finest mix of fusion food and entertainment against a backdrop of yachts and gleaming skyscrapers. Durban’s most popular waterfront complex of craft markets and restaurants is a big draw for locals and tourists. Pubs line the harbour, overlooking the marina and Durban’s bustling port, alongside the ever-busy Catalina theatre. This is the place in Durban to relax quayside in the company of a beer with oysters and sushi or embark on a deep-sea fishing charter or sea cruise.

Soak up the Sun on Durban’s Beaches

The sun shines 300 days of the year, the temperature is a steady 70°F. Pack your speedos and bring a bucket, it’s time to hit the beach! Durban’s four miles of golden sand are conveniently packaged to suit most tastes. The South Coast stretch promises surf, while Addington is perfect for families. If you’re feeling a little more sporty, then Bay of Plenty serves up beach volleyball. While further afield, you can head for Durban’s ‘Beverly Hills’ Umhlanga Rocks, which combine swimming and kiting with glamour!

Botanical Gardens

Durban boasts the oldest surviving botanical garden in Africa and really makes the most of its historic heritage. These are gardens where you can ‘walk among living fossils’. But before you prepare for a Jurassic Park jaunt, its worth pointing out these are plants of antiquity rather than dinosaurs! You can still wonder at the park’s Cycad collection, dating back 250 million years. It was on the verge of distinction until the aptly-named John Medley Wood encountered a single plant in a Zulu forest.

Game for a Bushwalk?

Just an hour from Durban you’ll find Tala Game Reserve. It’s home to almost 400 bird and big game species from warthogs and wildebeest to giraffes and rhinos. The best way to explore the nature reserve is to take the two-hour guided tour with a ranger, but you can also go on a self-drive safari. An overnight stay in one of the reserve’s rondavel huts often includes an early morning wake-up call from the ‘voice of Africa’, the very distinctive African fish eagle.

uShaka Sea World

The uShaka Sea World boasts one of the world’s largest aquariums, amid a complex teeming with activities. You can opt for a wander around the Village Walk Shopping Center or plunge into the Wet and Wild Water Park. However, this Durban attraction’s most memorable moments involve diving deep. Don a breathing helmet and walk among shoals of rays, tuna and sardines in the Ocean Walker Experience or drop into a clear enclosed cylinder for a close-up encounter with sharks.

Durban