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Four sun-kissed destinations to escape South Africa’s nippy winter season

As winter starts creeping in, days are slowly defined by colder temperatures and bare trees across the landscape.

For those who love chasing the sun, winter in South Africa still offers an opportunity to enjoy warm days in other parts of the world. Beaches, late sunsets and outdoor fun in the evening breeze are still within reach. The best part is that some of these destinations don’t require a visa.  

Here are four destinations where you can easily ditch the winter coats for shorts and shades.

  1. Antalya, Türkiye

Known as the gateway to Türkiye’s southern Mediterranean region, Antalya is both a rich, historic haven and a scenic destination. It can meet the expectations of every traveller, whether looking for adventure, learning the history of the city, discovering a comfortable luxury resort even teeing off on world renowned courses. Antalya offers blue beaches, crystal-clear Mediterranean waters and ample watersports opportunities. From yacht cruises to exploring ancient ruins, Antalya offers a unique experience where visitors can even swim alongside historic sites in destinations like Side and Phaselis.

With Turkish Airlines’ extensive global network via Istanbul, travellers can easily reach Antalya for a summer escape that blends Mediterranean beaches, history and luxury hospitality.

  1. Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, with its golden light, coastal charm and laid-back lifestyle, is one of Europe’s most inviting summer city escapes. From its historic streets and colourful tramways to nearby beach towns and ocean-view dining spots, the Portuguese capital blends culture, gastronomy and seaside energy effortlessly. Days in Lisbon are best spent exploring vibrant neighbourhoods, enjoying fresh seafood and watching the sunset over the Atlantic while soaking up one of Europe’s most stylish summer

  1. Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona offers the perfect mix of Mediterranean beaches, culture and vibrant city life for travellers chasing the European summer. From the architectural landmarks of Gaudí and the lively streets of the Gothic Quarter to sunset walks along Barceloneta Beach, the city blends history, gastronomy and coastal energy effortlessly. Visitors can spend their days exploring local markets, enjoying seaside dining and soaking up the relaxed atmosphere of one of Europe’s most iconic summer destinations.

  1.  Amalfi, Italy

With its dramatic coastline, colourful cliffside villages and crystal-clear Mediterranean waters, Amalfi offers the ultimate Italian summer escape. Travellers can explore picturesque seaside towns like Positano and Ravello, enjoy fresh seafood and Italian cuisine, relax on sun-soaked beaches and taking boat trips along the coast. Surrounded by lemon groves, scenic cliffside roads and breathtaking sea views, the Amalfi Coast combines romance, luxury hospitality and timeless Italian charm, making it one of Europe’s most iconic warm-weather destinations.

Bonus: Turn one trip into two, with Touristanbul

As all of these destinations can be reached via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, travellers can also take advantage of the complimentary Touristanbul programme during extended layovers. Offering free guided city tours, the experience allows visitors to discover Istanbul’s iconic landmarks, rich culture and world-famous cuisine before continuing on to their sunny destination turning one holiday into two.

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About us

Actually, Home Food and Travel offers a lot more than just reviews of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.  We also visit great destinations, receive advice from interior designers and stop to smell the roses and taste the coffee.

Our team of journalists are seasoned travels and love visiting the myriad of exciting places around South Africa.  Whether it is off the beaten track or in the heart of the top attractions of the country, we’ll be there,

Home Food and Travel advice on finding the right accommodation

So what is the right accommodation?  Well more often than not, it’s your travel budget that dictates the type of accommodation that you choose. 

Expensive is not always better.  Our team at Home Food and Travel will tell you that they have camped in areas with limited ablutions and had a wonderful holiday.  They have also spent a night in a five star hotel only to be disappointed because their expectations exceeded the experience.

The reason for your travels will also affect your choice.  A business trip requires different amenities to a beach holiday. 

Our articles, reviews and experiences can certainly help you make your decision.

Restaurants with a good mix of service, food and ambiance

To my mind a great restaurant offers three things – excellent service, great food and a wonderful ambiance.  Of these, service is the most important. 

No matter that the food is delicious and the setting delightful, poor service can ruin the occasion.  However, great service combined with mediocre meal and a plane jane restaurant can still be a pleasant night out.

We’ve eaten in restaurants that are really dirty but with incredible food and couldn’t help but give a rave review.  We’ve also hardly noticed what we ate because the setting was just amazing.

However, the best restaurants come with the best of service, food and ambiance.

Spas are the ultimate relaxation aid

How do you know when you have had a great spa experience?  The answer, of course, is when you doze off on the treatment table. 

Well that’s our theory anyway.  It also doesn’t take a grand location with enormous facilities for a spa to be really good

A small, personal spa that is owner run can result in the best massage you have ever experienced.  However, the grand spas in five star hotels offer unsurpassed facilities in an environment that just makes the stress in your shoulders and neck melt away before you even finish checking in.

Adventure!

You don’t have to be an adrenaline junky to enjoy an exciting experience.  In fact, what are commonly termed adventure activities usually have incredibly high safety standards and unblemished safety records.

Ziplining, bungy jumping and shark cage diving are all very safe.  It’s just that our mind tells us we are craaazzzzyyyy to be doing this.

On the road to great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities

If you’re driving, be safe and make use of all the wonderful farm stalls that populate South Africa’s open roads.

If you overhear somebody asking a lot of questions or see someone taking photos of empty bedrooms chances are it’s one of our Home Food and Travel team members.

We’re out looking or those great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.

See you on the road!

 

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