A leading tourist destination in South Africa, favoured for its warm sub-tropical climate and its long stretches of beautiful, golden beaches. With a big variety of things to do in the city and surrounding areas, Durban has opened itself up to a growing global tourism market, especially over the last two decades. Hosting major international events and world-class sport, the city has secured itself as a global destination that simply must be visited.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
In May 2015, Durban was voted as one of the New7Wonders Cities on the new7wonders.com website which is the self-proclaimed “World's first-ever global voting campaign”, so yeah, that is kind of a big deal!
Things to do in Durban:
The Magnificent Moses Mabhida Stadium
Image sources: Wikimedia Commons & Flickr
The new icon in Durban, the Moses Mabhida Stadium not only hosts word-class sporting and entertainment events, it also has a lot of fun activities available for everyone from fun-seeking families to adrenaline junkies. A trip up the SkyCar will show you a breath-taking view of the city from the highest point of the stadium. Not scared of breaking a sweat? Climb all the way to the top on the 550-step adventure walk. If you really have guts you can take the plunge off the 106 meter high arch on the famous “Big Swing” – a slight variation of bungee jumping.
Aliwal Shoal – Rated one of the top diving spots in the world!
Image sources: Wikimedia Commons 1, 2 & Pxhere
The marine life of the shoal is spectacular, it is an underwater wonderland. The reef is alive with colourful corals and many different species of fish. A few of the many legendary sea creatures to see here are turtles, whales, rays, moray eels & potato bass. It is also a mating area for the ragged tooth sharks, so they are regularly spotted here between the months of August and November. One of the world’s most amazing natural phenomena pass by here – the annual sardine run. Enormous shoals of sardines migrate up the coast every winter, followed by dolphins, sharks, whales, game fish and diving seabirds. It is an amazing sight to see.
The world class uShaka Marine World Theme Park
Image sources: uShaka Marine World Instagram Account
This place is packed with fun activities for the whole family. From a huge water-park filled with fun slides that caters for all ages, to an amazing, world-class aquarium filled with many different fish species and other sea creatures. Sharks, turtles, jellyfish, coral reefs packed with colourful sea life and much more. You can even do cage dives into the shark tanks here. There are adventure walks around the park, one of which is a rope climbing adventure that seems to span the entire park overhead. It is apparently the longest continuous belay system in Africa! There are dolphin shows, seal shows and penguin shows at various time slots during the day and there are even little pirate theatre shows for the little ones. This place is definitely not to be missed, you’ll need to spend an entire day here to experience it all.
The valley of 1000 Hills
Image sources: sa-venues.com 1, 2, 3, 4
As if Durban does not have enough variety to offer from its golden beaches, exquisite diving sites, modern metropolis and world-class entertainment centres, it also boasts amazing safari experiences on its doorstep. Here you can truly experience Africa in its wildest form. From game drives to hiking trails and even sites where you can explore the roots of the Zulu culture – the early settlers in this region. So many local Zulu people have maintained their traditional lifestyle in these valleys. The valley of a thousand hills is aptly named as this is a mountainous region of hills upon hills with beautiful rivers, waterfalls, dams and gorges. A landscape filled with fun, adventurous activities.
This is but the tip of the iceberg!
Please check back soon as I’ll take you through the many amazing things to do and places to see in my home city, Durban! I moved here in 2009 and it stole my heart right away.
I hope you enjoyed this article and please don’t hesitate to ask me anything in the comments section.
Sincerely, @BegToDiffer
very nice and informative!! looking forward to more.
nice I am adding you to my feed so i can catch the rest. also Adding you to my fan base at @steemauto so you will get a auto upvote for all your hard work.
Thanks @romanaround, followed you back :)
I HAVE to make a plan and get back to Durban at some point. While I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie, and have jumped/swung/dived and done most of the sites, Moses Mabhida is still one that eludes me.
Thanks for the cool post... Durban all too often gets overlooked in favour of PTA/JHB & Cape Town.
Hhhmm I'm not one for heights, but yeah it looks very cool! The city and surrounds just has so much to offer. It's a joy living here - always something to do! You must come visit and braai me some delicious meat! ;)
Unfortunately I haven't been booked for anything in KZN any time soon (I'll just have to make some sort of a holiday out of it :p)... however, if you're ever up in the JHB/PTA area, then you're more than welcome to pop in. I literally braai every day so, assuming I'm in town, any day is a good day ;-)
Hahaha I'll take you up on that offer, my brother-in-law lives in Jo'burg!
Nice to meet a fellow Durbanite @begtodiffer, nice post, you should really consider entering @aaronli's A city a story contest.
Thanks @lizelle I will do so in the near future :)
you lucky guy!
Thanks @highonthehog. Read a few of your posts, interesting stuff! Following you :)
Moved here in 1980, never looked back (except for the humidity in summer).
A lovely overall look at what is on offer within the city and short drives take you into the countryside with so much on offer @begtodiffer
Thanks @joanstewart :)
Awesome post. Durban is probably my favourite place in South Africa and my husband is originally from that side. I just love visiting in winter to escape the cold and miserable weather in Cape Town.
Haha yeah I hear the cape has miserable weather at times. I haven't been there much, would really love to go for an extended holiday sometime soon
I was raised in Durban. It will always hold a soft spot in my heart. We used to snorkel Vetchies Peer quite often. Boardshorts, snorkel, goggles and off you go! Here in Cape Town though, you need 5 wetsuits :p
Haha yeah that side of the coast is cold! I'm a Zululand boy from Richards Bay so I've pretty much been in this climate all my life. I feel like a fish out of water when I travel :D
Thanks for the share dude. I visited garden route side in South Africa in December. Let my next holiday be in Durban. It looks so beautifuy
That's cool, garden route is beautiful, I've only traveled there once myself, would love to go back sometime soon. Where are you from? You should definitely visit Durban, very cool city!
Beautiful post👌
Thanks mate!