Travel for disabled and physically challenged in South Africa: what to ask and where to go

Disabled and physically challenged tourists are well catered for in South Africa with easy wheelchair access to most public places and accommodation. Be sure to ask your South Africa holiday accommodation and take note of these travel hotspots including game reserves, touch farms and tea gardens, cultural and botanical gardens, boat cruises and game tours, craft markets and art galleries.

An establishment is suitable for wheelchairs when it has

• rooms on the ground floor or elevator to the corresponding floor;

• access ramps to the building;

• doorways and doorways that are the width of a wheelchair;

• access to dining rooms and other public areas;

• interior space that allows wheelchairs to move easily;

• bathrooms equipped with ample space, handles and bars;

• devices and installations at reachable heights.

Confirm with the establishment of your choice that all the above requirements are met, before you book!

South Africa has aimed to make this country a friendly destination for everyone and for the most part, all of its main attractions can be easily visited by any able-bodied person. Some of these unforgettable tourist attractions include (by province):

Limpopo from South Africa in a wheelchair

• Arend Dieperink Museum – Mokopane

• Daktari Wildlife Orphanage – Hoedspruit

• Mangela Animal Touch Farm and Tea Garden – Tzaneen

• Dairy goat farm Geluksfontein – Melkrivier

• Polokwane Game Reserve – Polokwane

South Africa Mpumalanga in a wheelchair

• Chimpanzee Eden – Nelspruit

• Perry’s Bridge Reptile Park – Hazyview

• Lowveld Botanical Garden – Nelspruit

Wheelchair North West South Africa

• Gambling in Sun City – Sun City

• Hartbeespoort Dam Aquarium – Hartbeespoort Dam

• Klerksdorp Museum – Klerksdorp

• Motseng Cultural Village – City of the Sun

Wheelchair Northern Cape South Africa

• McGregor Museum – in Kimberley

• Big Hole Mine and Kimberley Museum in Kimberley

• Colesberg-Kemper Museum – Colesberg

• Breakfast at Arabesque Coffee Shop – in Upington

wheelchair free state south africa

• Art workshops in Ficksburg

• Orchid greenhouse – Bloemfontein

• Free State Botanic Garden – Bloemfontein

• Oliewenhuis Teahouse and Art Museum – Bloemfontein

Wheelchair Western Cape South Africa

• ‘Behind the Scenes’ at SANCCOB – Bloubergrant

• Appreciate the Arts – Artscape Theatre, Foreshore

• Boat cruise from Simon’s Bay – Simons Town

• Blue train from Pretoria to Cape Town

• ‘Art Jamming’ – Gardens, Cape Town Eagle Encounters at Spier – Stellenbosch

• Green Point Market – Green Point

• Green Point Stadium Visitor Center – Green Point

• Fish in the port – Hout Bay Beach

• High Tea at The Mount Nelson – Gardens, Cape Town

• Iziko Planetarium – Cape Town Center

• Kalk Bay Fresh Market, etc. -Kalk Bay

• Kalk Bay Theater – Kalk Bay

• Old Biscuit Mill Market – in Woodstock, Cape Town

• Visit and beer tasting at Mitchells Brewer – Knysna

• Brewery tour at Birkenhead Brewery – Stanford

• Gambling at the Garden Route Casino – Mossel Bay

• Jukani Wildlife Ranch and Care Center – Mossel Bay

• Greyton Market – Greyton

Wheelchair Eastern Cape South Africa

• Addo Raptor Reptile Center – in Addo

• Jeffreys Bay African Dawn Wildlife Sanctuary

• Michaela’s – in Cintsa

• Yellow House Cocktail Bar – Grahamstown

• Daniell Cheetah Breeding Project – in Kirkwood

• Kwantu Game Reserve – Sidbury

• Jeffreys Bay Shell Museum – Jeffreys Bay

• Nelson Mandela Museum of Art – in Port Elizabeth

• No. 7 Castle Hill – on Central Hill, Port Elizabeth

• Port Elizabeth Museum at Bayworld – Humewood, Port Elizabeth

wheelchair garden route south africa

• Beer Tasting and Visit to Mitchells Brewery – Knysna

• Gambling at the Garden Route Casino, in Mossel Bay

• Jukani Wildlife Ranch and Care Center in Mossel Bay

• Picnic with the elephants – Little Brak

• Sedgefield Classic Cars – in Sedgefield

• Shopping at the Langeberg shopping center

• Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Center – in Plettenberg Bay

• Birds of Eden: in Plettenberg Bay

• Feather Gallery – in Knysna

KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa in a wheelchair

• Upscale Burger Bar – Glenwood, Burger

• Bierfassl Restaurant and Pub – Nottingham Road, Durban

• Butterflies for Africa – Pietermaritzburg

• Chatsworth Center – Chatsworth, Durban

• Cragsview Wildlife Care Center – Port Edward

• Fantasy Forest – Umhlanga, Durban

• Museum of Geological Education – Durban

• Crocodile Farm – Hluhluwe

• Kwa Muhle Museum – Durban

• Mitchell Park and Jameson Park – Morningside, Durban

Gauteng from South Africa in a wheelchair

• Johannesburg Zoo – Johannesburg

• Jozi Food Market – in Parktown North

• Hatfield Market – Pretoria

• Lions Park – Randburg

• Gold Reef City – Johannesburg

• Johannesburg Botanic Gardens – Johannesburg

• Everard Read Gallery – Rosebank, Sandton

• Afronova Art Gallery – Newtown

• Bensusan Museum of Photography – Johannesburg

• Blue train: from Pretoria to Cape Town

• Drive-in in Menlyn Park – in Pretoria

• Department of Historical Documents – Johannesburg

• Dinner Theater at The Performer – Menlo Park, Pretoria