Here are the non-negotiables for 2026 holiday travel:

1. Buy comprehensive travel insurance. Then actually read the Ts&Cs. “Honestly, it’s the best booking decision you’ll make,” says Zay Ferguson-Nair, Customer Experience Leader at Flight Centre South Africa. “Unspecified event cover is often included if you purchase cover within 24-72 hours of your trip being booked. Talk to your travel advisor about the right cover for your trip at the point of booking, and don’t leave it for later. It shouldn’t be an afterthought.”
2. Lock in your fare now, even if you’re travelling next year. “Our advice at the moment is simple: Book early, pay now, stay flexible,” says Ferguson-Nair. “You can book today’s prices for travel up to 12 months out, which means you can snap up the deals Middle Eastern carriers are offering right now and worry about packing later.”
3. Ask about an airline’s date-change policy. Change fees and flexibility can shift, and in some cases paying a once-off change fee works out cheaper than booking a fully flexible fare from the start. Always ask – and compare – before you book.
4. Always compare the total ticket cost, not the headline price. Fuel surcharges, flexibility and ancillaries can quietly pile up, so always compare apples with apples, says Ferguson-Nair. “In the current climate, we recommend paying a little more for flexibility. It can save you money in the long run.”
5. Quote and ticket on the same day. Fares are moving really quickly right now, and a quote held overnight can vanish by breakfast, so if you’re happy with the price, secure it.
6. Check your passport before you do anything else. Most destinations require at least six months’ validity (from your return date) and two blank pages, so check your passport first, then book. Ditto for visa requirements.
7. Travel “carry-on only” wherever possible. With some airlines raising checked baggage fees to offset rising fuel costs, a cabin-ready wheelie bag at your side saves money, time at the carousel, and a great deal of stress if your flight is suddenly delayed or rerouted. And if you do find yourself sprinting to a service desk to sort out a grounded flight, at least your bag is coming with you.
8. Pack light. Really light. Sudoku, packing cubes, or military rolls – pick your weapon. We all know we’ll be wearing the same two outfits on rotation, so why are we pretending otherwise?
9. Wear your bulkiest items onto the plane. Boots, puffers, and your heaviest jersey all count as free luggage when they’re on your body, and the cabin gets cold enough that you’ll thank yourself later.
10. Remember an in-flight essentials kit. A spare pair of undies, a toothbrush, contact lens solution, phone charger, a change of top, and any prescription medication should always travel on your person, not in the hold.
11. Bring an empty, refillable water bottle. Fill it past security at any refill station and you’ll skip the airport mark-up entirely, plus you’ll stay properly hydrated on the flight.
12. Download the airline app before you leave home. If your flight is delayed or cancelled, the app will keep you up to speed and in the know.
13. Better still: save your Travel Expert’s 24-hour support number to your phone. If things go awry, you want a friendly, efficient human on the other end of the line. Same goes for your travel insurance and your hotel.
14. Know the new power bank rules before you fly. Since 27 March 2026, ICAO rules limit passengers to two power banks in the cabin and ban charging them during the flight, with some carriers (Emirates among them) capping it at one. Never put a power bank in checked luggage or the overhead bin. These devices belong under the seat in front of you, where cabin crew can reach them fast if needed.
15. Ignore “airport theory” no matter how convincing the TikTok. The trend that challenges travellers to get from the airport entrance to the departure gate in 15 minutes or less is a great way to miss your flight, especially with current security wait times.

A bit of homework at the booking stage, a sense of humour at the airport, and a wheelie bag you can actually lift, and festive season travel is yours for the taking!

Instead, Corporate Traveller’s data points to something more interesting: a marked increase in trip duration. The insights form part of Corporate Traveller’s latest report: The smarter business travel guide for finance leaders.

As Juliette Da Silva, CFO of Flight Centre Travel Group South Africa explains, in 2024, the average business trip length was 3.21 days. In 2025 it jumped to 5.31 days – a 65% increase year-on-year.

“Companies are batching their meetings,” says Da Silva. “Travellers are visiting multiple stakeholders and combining market visits that would previously have been split into three separate trips. If you’re going to incur the cost and the traveller disruption of getting on a plane, you want to maximise the return on that journey.”

It’s also called trip stacking and Herman Heunes, General Manager of Corporate Traveller South Africa, sees the shift play out in booking patterns every day.

“The trips we’re booking in 2026 look nothing like the trips we were booking in 2023,” he says. “Clients are coming to us with bigger, more complex itineraries – multi-city, multi-stakeholder, often spanning a week or more. What used to be three separate Johannesburg-to-Cape Town hops for three different meetings has become one trip that does all three plus a client dinner and a team workshop on the way through.”

That shift has changed how Corporate Traveller’s client conversations unfold, Heunes adds.

“Five years ago, a lot of our cost conversations were around securing the best airfare. Now they’re about trip design: how you sequence meetings, where you base yourself, which hotel is actually closest to your three client sites rather than the one with the cheapest headline rate. Those decisions often save more money than a fare negotiation ever would.”

The behavioural shift is healthy for both ROI and traveller wellness, but it’s shifting where budget pressure shows up.

“Longer trips mean more hotel nights,” says Da Silva. “And South African hotel rates have been climbing steadily over the last three years – from an average room night of R1,050 in 2023 to R1,301 in 2025. So, while companies are getting better value per trip, they also need to be watching accommodation spend much more closely than they used to.”

Similarly, average international rates have climbed from R2,424 in 2023 to R2,877 in 2025. For a finance leader whose travel programme is still measured primarily on airfare savings, that’s a blind spot worth closing.

Both Da Silva and Heunes agree that travel policies need to catch up with traveller behaviour.

“The longer-trip, higher-ROI pattern should be baked into policy, not treated as an exception,” Heunes says. “If batching meetings is the new normal, your policy should actively encourage it. That means flexibility on minimum stay duration, smart advance-purchase requirements, and preferred supplier relationships that reward the kind of multi-night bookings your travellers are now making.”

Put simply, companies can save money in a number of ways: booking in advance (and as Da Silva notes, advance booking windows are already lengthening, up to 17.9 days in 2025), leveraging loyalty programmes, and exploring alternate accommodation options including guesthouses. Geographic clustering – combining multiple close destinations into a single trip – cuts airfare costs, while negotiating midweek rates lowers accommodation spend.

Da Silva frames it as a broader mindset shift.

“South African companies aren’t travelling less because business travel matters less,” Da Silva says. “The value of business travel is not in question. Instead, they’re travelling differently, stretching the return on every journey and tightening the discipline around when and how trips get booked. In today’s economic environment you have to make sure every rand counts. The companies doing this well are treating travel less as a line-item cost and more as a managed investment – and using current conditions as an opportunity to reset policies, renegotiate supplier agreements, and build programmes that flex with market volatility.”For a closer look at the data – and a practical framework for managing travel spend in volatile conditions – download Corporate Traveller’s latest report here.

2026 is not the year to leave this important decision that late.

Three forces are converging to make this December the most competitive South African holiday season on record, and understanding all three is the difference between a December holiday that works and one that costs significantly more than it should.

Force #1: The fuel crisis is removing seats from the market

December’s capacity picture is tighter than it appears. While Gulf carriers have largely restored their networks (Emirates has confirmed it has restored 96% of its global capacity, and Qatar Airways is targeting 150+ destinations from mid-June), the fuel crisis is driving a separate and significant wave of capacity reduction across the broader industry.

Airlines have cut 13,000 flights globally in May alone, removing nearly two million seats from the market according to Cirium. Lufthansa has announced 20,000 flight cancellations through October, Spirit Airlines has ceased operations entirely, and Air France, KLM, Air Canada, Delta, and SAS have all trimmed their summer schedules. The reason in every case is the same: jet fuel has more than doubled in price since the conflict began, making routes that were previously profitable no longer viable.

December is South Africa’s most demand-intensive travel month. It’s also the month into which a portion of disrupted June and July bookings have been rerouted as some nervous travellers adjust their plans. The combination of compressed supply from fuel-driven flight cancellations and elevated demand creates exactly the pricing pressure that makes early booking essential.

“December availability is filling faster than usual this year. The travellers who act now will be accessing a meaningfully different market from those who wait until spring to book,” says Antoinette Turner, General Manager at Flight Centre South Africa.

Force #2: Fuel costs are embedded – and not coming down quickly

As mentioned, jet fuel prices have increased from approximately $831 per tonne in late February to a high of $1,838 by early April. The Gulf region normally accounts for approximately half of Europe’s jet fuel imports, but that supply chain has not recovered to pre-conflict levels and, according to industry experts, will not do so quickly even if the Strait of Hormuz fully reopens.

The fuel arriving at South African airports today was purchased at higher prices weeks ago. South Africa’s dependence on imported fuel, supply chain lags, and the domestic refinery constraints that have been a structural feature of the local market since 2021 all mean that global oil price movements take time to filter through to local pump prices, and longer still to affect airline fare structures.

“Fuel surcharges are dynamic,” explains Turner. “They’re recalculated and reapplied as fuel costs shift. South African travellers booking December today are locking in today’s surcharge level, while the travellers who wait until spring to think about Christmas are booking at whatever surcharge level applies then – and the direction of travel, in the absence of a full and sustained resolution to the conflict, is upward.”

Furthermore, a 25 basis point interest rate hike was announced at the MPC meeting on 28 May, adding further pressure to household travel budgets, and in April, the rand was 3.5% weaker against the dollar than pre-war levels. In short, the financial environment for South African travellers is not improving in the short term, so the argument for locking in December travel costs now – at current levels, with current flexibility policies – has never been more concrete.

Force #3: South Africans already know this – they just need to act on it

South African travel intenders are the most advance-booking market in the world. 96% actively adapt their travel plans to make travel more affordable, the highest of any market globally, according to Flight Centre’s global PR report. 48% cite booking flights and accommodation well in advance as their primary affordability strategy (again the highest globally) and 46% cite travelling outside peak season.

Rather than abstract preferences, these are the specific behaviours of a market that understands, better than any other, that timing is the most powerful lever available to the price-conscious traveller.

The December saving most South Africans are leaving on the table

Emirates and Qatar Airways have returned to South African routes with competitive fares and genuine flexibility built into new bookings. Both carriers are currently offering complimentary date change options – a direct acknowledgment of the current environment and a meaningful reduction in the risk of committing to December travel today.

On several key routes, Gulf carrier pricing is currently meaningfully below non-Gulf alternatives. The gap on certain routes exceeds 60%. For a December booking, where base fares are already elevated by seasonal demand, that gap compounds into a material saving per person. A family of four booking December flights to Phuket, Singapore, or London via a Gulf carrier versus a non-Gulf alternative could be saving tens of thousands of rands on the fare alone.

Book early. Book smart.

The December holiday that most South Africans are planning to sort out in a few months’ time is available now, at a better price, with better availability, and with the flexibility to adapt if anything changes between now and then.

“The travellers who act on this today will be the ones who look back on December 2026 as the holiday that delivered everything they hoped for – without breaking the bank,” Turner concludes.

These two things – being the most social-media-inspired travellers in the world and the most committed to slow, restorative, nature-led experiences – are not easily reconciled. Because the destinations that dominate travel feeds are almost never the ones that deliver restoration or genuine immersion in the natural world.

“When the goal of a trip is the content it produces, the experience becomes subordinate to its documentation. Instead of admiring the sunset or enjoying the local meal, you’re managing the shot. The holiday becomes a production, and productions are exhausting in ways that holidays simply shouldn’t be,” explains Antoinette Turner, General Manager of Flight Centre South Africa.

The broader cultural mood is shifting in response. The de-influencing movement, which began as a pushback against product promotion on TikTok and has since expanded into a more general scepticism about curated online lives, reflects a growing appetite for something simpler and more honest. Travellers are beginning to ask whether the destinations they’re being sold are destinations they actually want to visit, or simply destinations they want to tick off their travel bucket list.

The destinations that deliver, and rarely trend

The data suggests South African travellers have been living this distinction for a while already.

Just under half (49%) of South African travel intenders are most likely to travel during off-peak season – again, the highest proportion of any market Flight Centre surveyed. This is primarily a cost strategy, but it also demonstrates a preference for the destination as it actually is – instead of chasing the moment that everyone else is chasing, Saffas are looking for their own version of the place.

The slow travel preference reinforces this. 86% of Saffas prioritising restful, unhurried travel isn’t compatible with the pace that Instagrammable itineraries typically demand – the four-country European sprint or the city break that ticks every famous landmark before lunch. Slow travel is, by its nature, selective. You go deeper into fewer places rather than skimming the surface of many.

Here are a few destinations that fit the bill.

• The Cederberg Wilderness Area in the Western Cape is a critical component of the Cape Floral Kingdom and nurtures some of the world’s most elusive plant species, like the Snow Protea. The Sneeuberg peak, the highest in the range, and other isolated places within this area are the only places on earth where the rare snow protea survives. The area also holds a significant collection of San rock art, with some paintings dating back 8,000 years.
• The Wild Coast is another underrated destination. It lies within the Pondoland Centre of Endemism, a global biodiversity hotspot where half the coastline features indigenous forests harbouring previously unknown plant species, like rare cycads and yellowwoods. And if you’re looking for a unique experience, each winter, the world’s largest biomass migration, the Sardine Run, sweeps along the coast, drawing a feeding frenzy of dolphins, sharks, seals and seabirds.
• Mozambique’s Quirimbas Archipelago sits at the northern extreme of the Mozambican coast, comprising around 32 islands from Pemba to near Tanzania – and it receives a fraction of the attention directed at Bazaruto, despite offering comparable marine biodiversity (including 52 coral species, 140 molluscs, and five different species of marine turtle). The diving is also world-class, with warm year-round temperatures, ranging from 25 to 29 °C.
• Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park offers a safari experience that the more famous parks like Kruger or the Serengeti can rarely deliver: genuine remoteness. The park was established in 1983 after serving as Zambia’s presidential game reserve, which kept it protected from mass tourism. It sits along the southern bank of the Zambezi, with Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools across the water. Home to around 50 mammal species and 400 birds, it boasts one of Africa’s healthiest elephant populations, plus vast buffalo herds and even wild dogs.

“The best trips I’ve ever heard clients describe are almost never the ones that produced the best content. They’re the holidays where something unexpected happened, or where they slowed down enough to actually be somewhere rather than passing through it. A photograph can capture a place. It cannot capture what it feels like to be unhurried in it,” Turner concludes.

“That ‘make-a-plan’ mindset defines how we live, but also how we travel,” says Antoinette Turner, General Manager of Flight Centre South Africa. “Fuel costs have risen sharply, but the conversation happening around braais, and in family WhatsApp groups right now isn’t ‘should we go?’ It’s ‘how should we get there?’”

With the June/July school holidays approaching, the question of how to get there has become just as important as where to go. Here’s what savvy South Africans are considering in order to get themselves from A to B and back again.

Flying is still (often) the right answer

Despite fuel surcharges, flying remains the obvious and most practical choice for a significant number of trips where time is the deciding factor.

The enduring appetite for air travel speaks for itself. Even while operating a reduced schedule during peak Middle East disruption in March and April, Emirates carried 4.7 million passengers. As of May, the airline has returned to near-full operations, with 96% of its global network restored.

“Flying remains the appropriate choice for older travellers, families with young children, or anyone for whom a long road journey presents genuine challenges. Convenience aside, sometimes it’s just the right call,” Turner adds.

“The drive from Johannesburg to Cape Town clocks in at around 1,400 kilometres and between 14 to 16 hours behind the wheel. Factor in fatigue, fuel, tolls, a night’s accommodation en route, and the return trip, and that R16,000* FlySafair return fare for a family of four starts to feel less like a splurge and more like a sensible call.” 

Good to know: Fares remain reasonable when booked in advance or outside peak windows. Off-peak domestic routes still offer good value, and locking in international flights early means protecting your budget against potential currency fluctuations.

*Estimate based on June/July flight pricing at the time of writing in May 2026.

When the road trip deserves consideration

There are, however, scenarios where the economics of driving have shifted enough to warrant genuine consideration, not as a consolation prize, but as a legitimately rewarding travel option.

The clearest case is the large family or group travelling a moderate distance, where the per-person cost of road travel drops significantly while the per-person cost of flying climbs. “The road trip is sometimes cheaper, sometimes comparable, and occasionally more expensive than flying. It depends on the group, the vehicle, the route, and the timing,” explains Turner.

Beyond the budget, there’s something else to consider: the journey itself. South Africa’s road network connects some of the most spectacular scenery on the continent, such as the Garden Route (ranked the number one road trip in the world by AutoTrader), the Panorama Route through Mpumalanga, and the mountain passes of the Western Cape, especially as the floral season kicks off from mid-August.

“These aren’t distances to be endured. For the right family, with the right attitude, and enough time, the road trip is the holiday,” Turner adds.

If you’re wondering what’s happening at the pumps in June, the picture is a mixed one. Diesel drivers are looking at a likely price drop, with mid-month data from the Central Energy Fund showing an over-recovery of up to R4.41 per litre on wholesale diesel. For a family covering 1,400 kilometres in a fuel-efficient diesel vehicle, that’s a meaningful saving.

Petrol drivers, however, are facing the opposite: a fourth consecutive monthly increase, with the combined effect of an under-recovery and the partial reversal of temporary fuel levy relief pointing to a rise of around R1.65 per litre or more. A wildcard remains the slate levy, introduced in May at R1.23 per litre and subject to adjustment in June, which could push petrol prices even higher.

The bottom line is that if your road trip vehicle runs on diesel, June’s pricing could actually work in your favour, but if it runs on petrol, it’s worth building some extra budget cushion into your travel plans.

The fly-drive option

If the choice between flying and driving feels like a binary one, there’s a compelling third option combining the best of both: the fly-drive.

“Fly the long haul to save time, then hire a fuel-efficient car at your destination to unlock the freedom and flexibility that aviation can’t offer,” advises Turner. “It’s a model that we champion for international itineraries, and it translates just as well for domestic travel,” she says.

Think flying into Durban and spending a week self-driving the KwaZulu-Natal coast and Midlands. Or arriving in Windhoek and traversing Namibia’s Skeleton Coast by rented 4×4.

Good to know: All-inclusive resorts and safari lodges help keep costs low. With activities included, there’s little need to leave once you fly in.

“When all the variables are accounted for, a road trip can be genuinely brilliant or genuinely expensive depending entirely on how you plan it. The mistake is assuming one option is always cheaper than the other without crunching the numbers,” Turner says.

“Savvy South Africans know that the best journey isn’t necessarily the fastest or the cheapest one. It’s the one that fits your family, your budget, and your time and that you actually feel good about,” she concludes.

The survey revealed that South African travel intenders lead the field on nearly every metric that matters:

• Trust in travel agents sits at 97%.
• 83% say travel is essential to their mental health and wellbeing.
• 62% are actively pursuing luxury travel.

“South Africa is one of the world’s most economically pressured consumer markets, and yet it carries one of the deepest relationships with travel of any country we surveyed,” says Antoinette Turner, General Manager at Flight Centre South Africa. “It is also one of the most under-researched.”

Turner argues that travel is not a discretionary reward for South Africans. Rather, it’s considered a necessity and a form of identity, and in many cases a deliberate act of resistance against difficult circumstances.

Here’s what Flight Centre’s latest data reveals about how South Africans want to experience the world.

Travel planning with intention

South Africans are actually among the most open to AI tools for travel planning of any market surveyed, and yet 97% still see value in using a human travel agent. In this market, technology and expertise coexist rather than compete.

“The data reflects a traveller who thinks carefully about where they go and who wants to feel cared for when they go. This traveller plans accordingly and has no interest in compromising on the experience. The relationship with a travel agent is genuinely valued in a way that’s quite different from other markets,” comments Turner.

Resourceful by necessity

96% of South African survey respondents are looking to make travel more affordable, and they’re doing it methodically by booking well in advance, hunting for package deals, and choosing budget airlines when they have to. They’re also, at 77%, among the most likely to have combined, or be open to combining, business and leisure travel.

What explains it? Partly geography, according to Turner. “South Africa sits far from most of the world’s major travel corridors, which means getting anywhere takes planning, money, and commitment. There’s no casual weekend trip to Paris or Rome. When South Africans travel, they mean it,” she says.

The 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia is already on the radar for many South African fans, and with Qantas operating direct flights from Johannesburg to Sydney (just over 12 hours) and both Qantas and SAA offering direct flights to Perth (just under 10 hours), the tournament has never been more accessible.

“South Africans are incredibly resourceful when it comes to making travel happen. Australia is still a long-haul, and traditionally expensive destination, but many South Africans are determined to get there anyway,” Turner adds.

Luxury, wellness, and slow travel

Although South Africans are the most likely of any market to travel during off-peak seasons (49%), they’re also amongst the most likely to prioritise luxury experiences, displaying an appetite for slow and restful travel (86%), food and gastronomy (83%), eco-tourism (76%), nature (67%), and spending time with partners and family (66%).

LATAM Airlines’ direct flight from South Africa to São Paulo, Brazil, launching in September 2026, matches this appetite well, bringing visa-free travel within easy reach without a stopover.

“We’ve always known that our customers here are deeply committed to travel. But seeing it quantified, and seeing how it compares globally, does make you look at this market differently,” Turner adds. “South African travellers think carefully about what they want, cherish what they choose, and deserve more credit than they get,” she concludes.

What happened next depended almost entirely on one decision that had been made weeks or months earlier, in a moment when everything still felt certain: how these travellers had booked their trip.

Had they booked through a travel agent – someone they could call immediately for support and damage control – or had they decided to go it alone?

What the airlines did right

Emirates and Qatar Airways, whose hubs in Dubai and Doha were most directly affected by the Middle East airspace closures, responded with speed, transparency, and genuine passenger care that set a very high standard. According to Sue Garrett, GM Supply, Pricing and Marketing at Flight Centre South Africa, the airlines communicated full refunds by 10am on the same morning the airspace closed, and they extended rebooking windows repeatedly as the situation remained uncertain. Furthermore, contact centres operated 24/7 throughout, including during Ramadan, when extended hours would not normally apply.

“Emirates ran open-forum webinars for travel agents the same afternoon policies were issued, and Qatar’s country manager in South Africa was communicating directly with Flight Centre via WhatsApp, ensuring agents had accurate, current information to pass on to clients,” comments Garrett.

This exceptional response during times of crisis matters. Because what follows is not an argument that the airlines failed, but about something more precise and more important.

The gap between communication and guidance

Good airline communication tells you what has happened. But it’s your travel agent who tells you what to do next.

When an airline notifies you that your flight has been cancelled, it can offer you two options: a refund or rebooking on the next available service. What it cannot tell you is which of those options is right for your specific situation – whether your onward connection can be salvaged or your hotel booking is recoverable, whether your travel insurance covers the additional night’s accommodation, or whether an alternative carrier has availability on your routing that would get you home faster than waiting for the airline’s next service.

“When a journey has already commenced and disruption strikes, the airline is the right first call. They’re best placed to manage the immediate flight situation,” explains Zay Ferguson-Nair, Customer Experience Leader at Flight Centre South Africa. “But the moment that’s resolved, the travel agent steps in to manage everything else, including the hotel extension, the car hire, the onward connection, and the insurance claim. Those are the moving parts that fall through the cracks when there’s no one coordinating them.”

That coordination happened automatically for travellers who had booked through a travel agent. For those who had booked directly, whether with the airline or through an online platform, the coordination was their responsibility – in an unfamiliar city, exhausted and stressed, with a phone full of conflicting information and a queue stretching the length of the terminal.

The moment that made it real

Among the thousands of South Africans navigating the disruption, one case stayed with Garrett.

A South African passenger had been stranded mid-route in Singapore. It was Sunday and she needed to be home by Tuesday for dialysis.

“I was trying to reach Emirates’ contact centre,” Garrett recalls. “When I finally got through, a supervisor called me back personally. We explained the situation, and without hesitation, they worked with us to confirm a seat on an alternative carrier, getting the client home in time for her treatment.”

What made that outcome possible was the combination of an airline supervisor willing to exercise human judgment, and a travel agent who knew who to call and how to make the case. Remove either element and the outcome changes.

What South Africans already know, and the data that proves it

Flight Centre’s Global PR Survey found that 97% of South African travel intenders see value in using a travel agent – the highest endorsement of any market surveyed globally. 66% cite expertise and knowledge as the primary value, 62% cite peace of mind if things change or go wrong, as well as reduced stress by having someone taking care of everything, and 54% value assistance with complex or multi-destination itineraries.

South African travel intenders are also the most likely of any market globally to trust travel experts as a source of travel advice – ahead of social media and significantly ahead of AI tools. Rather than blind loyalty, that trust is the accumulated evidence of what expert guidance actually delivers both in normal times and in moments of crisis.

“South Africans have always understood instinctively that having someone in your corner makes a difference. What the past few months have done is provide the clearest possible demonstration of what that difference actually looks like in practice,” says Garrett.

What’s ahead?

The Middle East crisis will resolve. Its timeline remains uncertain, but its eventual conclusion is not. When it does, the travel environment South Africans return to will be more complex than the one they left, with more routing options, carriers, variables to navigate, and AI tools promising to simplify what they often complicate.

The question of what human expertise actually delivers has never been more relevant.

So, book with someone who knows what to do when things go wrong. Because, as recent events have proven, things go wrong.

Table of Contents

There is a version of Stellenbosch that most people carry in their minds before they arrive. Oak-lined streets. Wine estates. Gourmet restaurants. Perhaps a cheese platter on a sun-drenched stoep.

It’s a beautiful picture, yes, but it tells only part of the story.

The Stellenbosch that reveals itself to those who look a little deeper, who wake early and follow a river instead of a map, is something else entirely. A place of genuine surprise, where the most memorable moments were never on the itinerary.

According to Annemie Liebenberg, CEO of Visit Stellenbosch:

“Stellenbosch has always been extraordinary. What has changed is the invitation. This year, we are moving beyond the highlights reel and asking a more meaningful question: what happens when you stop ticking boxes and start paying attention? The answer, captured in our promise of ‘Unexpected Firsts. Unforgettable Moments,’ is what this town has always quietly offered. Some places you visit. Stellenbosch, you experience.”

Here is what a single day of paying attention might actually look like – just one example of the thousands of incredible, unexpected “firsts” that await…

Sunrise: The Valley That Wakes Before the Town Does

There is a quieter, more intimate side of Stellenbosch that reveals itself in the early hours of the day.

Before the estates open their gates and the coffee shops pull back their shutters, the Dwarsrivier Valley (a stretch of raw, unhurried landscape framed by the Simonsberg mountains and threaded by the Dwars River) is already alive, offering the kind of stillness that makes you aware of your own breathing.

Accessible via the R310, roughly 10 to 20 kilometres from the town centre, the valley draws trail runners and mountain bikers who understand something others are only beginning to discover: that this landscape, at this specific time, is one of the most beautiful places in South Africa.

There are trails of varying lengths for both mountain bikers and runners, winding through rocky singletrack and open farmland with elevation gains that reward the effort with panoramic views across the valley floor. The paths suit a range of fitness levels, and local guides are available for those who prefer company over solitude.

Morning: A Gallery with No Walls

Come mid-morning, after a comforting cuppa and an energising breakfast, you can choose to follow the Eerste River and let it lead you somewhere special.

The Stellenbosch Art Mile is a 1.6-kilometre open-air gallery that runs along the riverbank from the Krige Street pedestrian bridge to the Coetzenburg bridge, crossing six bridges beneath a canopy of trees. It’s free and open around the clock, and it asks nothing of you except that you pay attention.

Various South African artists have placed their work along this route, including interactive metal sculptures and site-specific pieces tied to the river’s geology and history. Recent themes have explored concepts of reflection, time, and the layered human relationship with landscape. QR codes on many of the works connect to the artists directly, but there’s no gift shop and no queue.

For those who want to extend the morning, the Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden sits just a short drive away on Paradyskloof Road: seven hectares of indigenous fynbos and mountain views populated by more than 60 bronze sculptures exploring wilderness and the deeper terrain of the human psyche. Visits are by appointment only, which means you’ll never share the encounter with a crowd.

Together, the two experiences form something rare: an art morning that feels genuinely discovered rather than consumed.

Midday: The Table You Were Not Expecting

Forget, for a moment, everything the word “tasting” conjures.

In the Kayamandi township, just minutes from the centre of Stellenbosch, Nocawe Piedtopens her home and her table to visitors in a way that changes what hospitality means in this part of the world. This is the Township & Village home dining experience, and it’s unlike anything else available in the Winelands.

The table is laden with traditional Xhosa dishes, like pap, chakalaka, samp, stew, spinach with potatoes, pumpkin with sweet corn, and chicken feet, alongside amagwinya, the traditional Xhosa beer that has been poured at celebrations here for generations. There’sdancing, drumming, storytelling, and the particular warmth of a community that has chosen to share its culture not as a performance, but as a genuine act of welcome.

It’s the most unexpected lunch in the Winelands. It is also, for many who experience it, the most unforgettable.

Afternoon: A Tasting That Tastes Like South Africa

The conventional wine tasting is not what Vergenoegd Löw had in mind when they created their Indigenous Tasting.

Spekboom. Bokkoms. Roosterkoek. Kaiings. Amasi. Dexter biltong. Kei apple. The Indigenous Tasting draws on ingredients that have sustained communities across southern Africa for centuries. Flavours that most visitors have never encountered and that most tasting rooms would never think to serve. Each element is paired with estate-grown wines that reflect what Vergenoegd Löw calls their “merroir”: the particular character of this specific place andthis specific soil.

It’s a tasting that asks a quiet but significant question: how well do you actually know this land?

The answer, for most visitors, is not as well as they thought. Which is precisely the point.

Sunset: The Street That Becomes a Living Room

As the light turns golden and the oak trees cast long shadows across Drostdy Street, something shifts in Stellenbosch. The energy is contagious and everyone, locals and visitors alike, comes together to laugh, eat, sip, chat, and simply enjoy the moment.

The Stellenbosch Street Soirées, a summertime highlight, are among the most joyful expressions of what this town truly is at its core: a community that genuinely enjoys itself. Wine tokens in hand, visitors graze on street food and find themselves in conversations they never planned to have with people they never expected to meet.

No itinerary leads here, and no booking is required. You simply follow the music and let the evening unfold.

It is the perfect final note for a day that began in a misty valley and moved through river art, a township kitchen, and an indigenous wine pairing. A day that looked nothing like the Stellenbosch most visitors would imagine, and everything like the one they will spend years trying to describe to people who were not there.

Stellenbosch is only 40 minutes from Cape Town, or a scenic 25-minute helicopter transfer away, placing you within easy reach of your next unforgettable moment. For more information on experiences, visit www.visitstellenbosch.org

In fact, new global research points to what many of us already know: South Africans always consider the bigger picture before booking their holidays. According to Flight Centre’s Global PR survey, which surveyed thousands of travellers across South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada, and the US, a whopping 97% of us say ‘value for money’ is a non-negotiable part of holiday planning – higher than any other nation surveyed. After all, when your wallet has to work overtime to keep up with the dollar, pound or euro, every getaway needs a purpose that stretches past the postcard.

Enter the “whycation,” dubbed by Hilton as 2026’s defining travel trend. Hilton’s latest global trends report explains that after years of “more is more” travel, people are now moving towards intentional escapes, with an emphasis on comfort and connection.

As Antoinette Turner, General Manager of Flight Centre South Africa, says:

“For South Africans, travel has always meant a bit more than ticking off bucket-list destinations – it’s family reunions in faraway cities, birthday braais on the beach. The ‘whycation’ trend simply names what we’ve long embraced. That every journey has a story behind it – and Flight Centre is here to help our travellers tell theirs.”

The SA travel ‘why’

According to Flight Centre’s survey, South Africans’ top travel drivers are as follows:

• 67% of South African travellers say their biggest reason for getting away is to soak up nature and experience the great outdoors.
• Hot on its heels, 66% travel to spend uninterrupted time with their partner or family.
• And for 65%, travel is about de-stressing and recharging.

These findings line up closely with the bigger global picture. Hilton’s research shows that, worldwide, emotional connection and personal purpose are rapidly climbing travellers’ lists of priorities. But there are definitely some uniquely South African signatures. For us, adventure and excitement are major drivers too (63%), as is the thrill of exploring new cultures (61%), and the simple joy of indulging and treating ourselves (57%).

Where to go, depending on your ‘why’

1. Nature calls: Escaping into the outdoors

As mentioned, 67% of surveyed South African travellers named ‘experiencing nature’ as their number one reason to travel. There’s just something about fresh air and peace and quiet that can’t be matched.

Local favourites like Cape Town, George, and Mbombela deliver picture-perfect moments, but it doesn’t stop there. Further afield, consider Mauritius’s palm-fringed beaches or a Kiwi adventure in Auckland – places where natural beauty takes centre stage.

“South Africans are outdoorsy by default, so nature is often our go-to reset button, whether it’s a hike up Lion’s Head or chasing the Big Five,” comments Turner.

2. The family & friendship factor

Along with leading busy lifestyles where quality time is minimal, home, for many South Africans, is a moving target – one that might include three continents and more than a few family WhatsApp groups. It’s no wonder then, that 66% travel to spend time with partners and family.

London, Australia, and Harare remain firm favourites, not just because of the attractions, but because so many South Africans have someone they love waiting there. Locally, Johannesburg and Gqeberha are magnets for family gatherings and milestone celebrations.

3. Chasing calm & recharging

Travel offers one of the few legitimate chances to press pause, which is why, for 65% of us, unwinding and shaking off stress is a top motivator for getting away. Picture a Mauritian hammam or a Parisian sidewalk café, but don’t forget that tranquillity can be found closer to home, too, whether that’s a day of spa treatments in the Winelands or lounging poolside at Sun City with your phone (and brain) switched off.

“Sometimes the most pressing item on your itinerary should be… nothing. A proper recharge should never be underrated. For many, the “whycation” means returning home with far less baggage – the mental kind, that is,” Turner says.

When you know your rand has to stretch further, your choices become sharper and your trips more meaningful.

“At the end of the day, travel shouldn’t revolve around collecting stamps in your passport. Rather focus on what calls you to pack your bags in the first place. The ‘whycation’ just puts a name to something South Africans have always felt – when your journey has a purpose, it becomes effortlessly unforgettable.”

In 2026, it’s clearer than ever… wherever you go, go with intention.

Despite major shifts in how and where employees work, business travel remains essential for closing deals and strengthening client relationships. However, what employees expect from business travel today isn’t the same as it was five years ago – and research is very clear about where it’s heading. 

By 2030, 48% of Africa’s workforce will be under 30, according to PwC, and in South Africa, millennials and Gen Z already make up 75% of employees. These professionals prioritise flexibility, wellbeing, and purpose, making travel policies focused solely on price feel increasingly outdated.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 confirms that for younger employees, work-life balance factors higher than salary alone. Yet, while hybrid work models have evolved, business travel is still often approached with rigid, pre-pandemic thinking, with employees booked onto uncomfortable red-eye flights and expected to manage overloaded schedules, with little consideration for the way work has changed. 

According to Mummy Mafojane, incoming General Manager of FCM South Africa, this disconnect is a concern. “Employees are given flexibility in some areas, yet when it comes to work trips, it’s still about cost-cutting at the expense of productivity and well-being,” says Mafojane.  

For companies competing for top talent, it’s clear that corporate travel policies need to be reassessed. So, what exactly needs to change? 

Business travel needs to support wellbeing – not harm it 

As the Future of Jobs Report shows, employee wellbeing is now a core workplace expectation. It’s no longer a secondary concern, but something linked directly to job satisfaction and retention. 

Despite this, many employees still find themselves on late-night flights before major meetings, scrambling between airports with multiple layovers, or enduring exhausting itineraries designed to deliver on cost savings rather than outcomes, performance or wellbeing.  

Mafojane says forward-thinking companies are now replacing outdated travel policies with ones that factor in wellbeing. “Many businesses now take a ‘lowest logical fare’ approach rather than automatically picking the cheapest ticket. This means considering factors like direct flights, travel time, and recovery periods before meetings rather than just chasing the lowest price.” 

Instead of insisting on same-day return flights after long meetings, more companies are approving overnight stays to prevent burnout. Frequent flyers, particularly those handling major accounts or executive roles, are also seeing more approvals for premium economy seating on long-haul routes.

“When employees arrive exhausted, productivity suffers,” Mafojane explains. “If someone is flying to close a major deal, but they have no recovery time, their ability to perform is compromised. Balancing cost and wellbeing leads to better business outcomes.” 

The purpose of business travel is changing 

Pre-pandemic, executive travel often meant constant city-to-city movement, attending check-ins and meetings that could just as easily have happened remotely. But as hybrid work models become the norm, travel patterns are shifting. 

“Executives who were once on the road every week are no longer following that pattern,” says Mafojane. “Travel is becoming more strategic, meaning fewer trips that are better planned, and only when face-to-face engagement is necessary.” 

Rather than travelling for routine meetings, business trips are increasingly focused on high-impact engagements – negotiations, investor discussions, or hands-on team collaboration that can’t happen effectively over video calls.  

At the same time, organisations are restructuring business trips to be shorter and more focused. Employees are maximising their time on the ground, condensing meetings into shorter windows, rather than making frequent, drawn-out visits. 

Ultimately, organisations need to start asking the right questions, says Mafojane.  Are employees travelling because it’s necessary, or because it’s habit? Can meetings be streamlined into fewer but more effective in-person visits? The companies making these adjustments now are already seeing efficiency gains, improved employee satisfaction, and even cost savings.

Remote work is creating new tax and compliance risks

With borderless work increasing, PwC highlights a growing challenge: remote work and international travel are now overlapping in ways companies weren’t prepared for.  

Mafojane warns that businesses must establish clear policies regarding employees who work across borders, particularly those extending work trips into longer stays without realising they could trigger new tax or visa obligations. 

“Employees can create complex tax residency issues for their companies when they extend business trips or work remotely while travelling,” she says.

Global mobility tracking and updated remote work policies that align with travel guidelines are becoming essential for companies with internationally mobile teams.

Mafojane urges business leaders to place corporate mobility under the same strategic review as hybrid work and talent retention strategies. 

“Ask yourself: Does our travel policy align with our values? Does it reflect how our employees work today? Is it flexible enough to balance efficiency, wellbeing and compliance? If the answer is no, it’s time for change.”