Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

  The South African Mint

Visa, American Express, Diner’s Club and MasterCard are honoured by most restaurants, stores, hotels, car rental firms and other points of sale and service, but not at petrol stations.

Proof of identity may be requested in some instances, so it’s useful to carry a passport or some form of photo identification.

  South African Reserve Bank

  World Bank Group in South Africa

South Africa is one of the richest and economically most important countries on the African continent. But for decades, the apartheid system prevented South Africa from achieving its potential

A generally favourable exchange rate ensures that Europeans, North Americans and Australasians find South Africa a very affordable holiday destination. The purchase power of both the Euros or US Dollars particularly will be pleasantly surprising. South Africa has been among the world’s best-performing developing economies, so travellers have been getting progressively less for their dollars.

There are a number of rare South African coins which hold considerable value but which are not generally considered to be common currency. The best known example is the Kruger Rand. A gold coin which comes in varying sizes and can be exchanged for cash at virtually any bank in the world. The value of the Kruger Rand changes according to the current Gold Price and people all over the world invest in this form of currency.

Another example of a rare coin is the Mandela R5 proof coin. The first and only coin to feature a smiling statesman on it. The value of these coins is continually increasing as they are incredibly rare.

A number of other rare South African coins exist and, as their value is continually increasing, they are seen as a good financial investment by many.

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