When you think about South Africa, you think Cape Town, Table Mountain, Drakensberg and Kruger National Park.
These attractions are on international tourist’s bucket lists, and many yearn to get the best photograph at these locations.
South Africa is also home to many other ‘charming’ destinations as revealed in a survey conducted by TravelMag.com.
The travel site shared 20 of the country’s most charming destinations with Polokwane in Limpopo and Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal among them.
Writer Paul Joseph in the article described South Africa as a country with “diverse landscape that comprises everything from pristine beaches, rugged mountains and craggy cliffs, to dense forests, crystal-clear lagoons and lush winelands.”
The online travel magazine created the list after speaking to more than 100 travel writers, photographers and selected professionals who shared their five charming South African towns or small cities.
All destinations across the country needed to have a population below 500 000 to be considered for the survey and votes were then added up to produce the Top 20.
With a total of nine destinations in the Top 20, Western Cape is the country’s most popular province.
Betty’s Bay, Franschhoek, Paternoster, Knysna and Hermanus were among the top spots.
These coastal destinations make for the ideal road trip. In KwaZulu-Natal, Umhlanga, Nottingham Road and Pietermaritzburg shined.
Nottingham Road in the Midlands is famous for its quaint shops and family activities.
Pietermaritzburg is an hour away from the coastal city of Durban.
Other towns on the list include Baberton in Mpumalanga, Clarens in Free State, Hogsback in Eastern Cape, Kimberley in Northern Cape and Port St John’s in the Eastern Cape.