South Africa the Greatest Country on Earth to Visit | The Telegraph

The fact that Telegraph readers have voted South Africa the greatest country on earth to visit comes as no surprise – the Rainbow Nation truly has it all. This is a double gold win for the place many of us call home. South Africa, the greatest country on Earth to visit and Cape Town, the best city in the world to visit.

The 2023 Telegraph Travel Awards announcement of the top country has made a big splash, knocking decade-long favourite New Zealand off the leaderboard. The awards, established in 1998, are voted for by the well-travelled readers of the UK newspaper – almost 30 000 of them.

Calling South Africa “a place of true beauty”, The Telegraph mentioned the ease of flights from the UK, and no jet lag (bonus); once on the ground, there’s the diverse variety of places to explore to suit every kind of traveller:

the “ribbon of road-trip nirvana” that is the Garden Route
the “roaring wildlife zone” of Kruger National Park
the “thrilling landscapes” of the Drakensberg and Mpumalanga
the “finely crafted vintages” of the Winelands
and “the supermodel at the foot of Table Mountain”, Cape Town.

Where do you dream of going… Venice, Paris, Florence, New York, Rio, Tokyo, Istanbul…? They’re all lovely, but Cape Town’s where it’s at. The Mother City has topped the Telegraph Travel Awards rankings for eight years in a row (since 2013, excluding Covid 2020 and 2021).
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Camps Bay with the Twelve Apostles rising behind CREDIT: Jon Hicks

South Africa is paradise for lovers of fine wine and food CREDIT: Teal Thomsen

Less than one per cent of the world’s tourists make it to South Africa CREDIT: Gerard Turnley

There is plenty of scope for connecting with the wild in South Africa's numerous national parks — There is plenty of scope for connecting with the wild in South Africa’s numerous national parks

And then comes the news that Telegraph readers have voted us the greatest country on earth. What joy! Tourism is the life blood of conservation; it supports entire communities, rewarding initiative and resilience. It also fuels pride, and for this I thank you. In return we will continue to nourish you with moments of awe. Aside from our superb nature, we have fabulous, affordable dining, a wide choice of accommodation, collectable art, unique fashion, fantastic people and well-stocked delis. What’s more is this is all surprisingly undiscovered: less than one per cent of the world’s tourists make it here. Clearly it takes a discerning, quality kind of traveller. Hats off, dear readers. Kudos to you.
ByPippa de Bruyn, DESTINATION EXPERT, The Telegraph

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The photos on this post first appeared on The Telegraph