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Spending Winter in South Africa: A Long-Stay Guide

By The Expat Club · Updated November 2026

A UK passport gets up to 90 days on arrival, which covers a long winter. Cape Town is warm and dry from November to March, while Durban is warmer and wetter. Going past 90 days needs an approved application, not an assumption, so plan a stay that fits inside the limit unless Home Affairs has told you yes to more.

When it is winter in Britain it is summer in South Africa, and the time difference is small: two hours ahead of the UK from late October to late March. This guide is for anyone planning a long winter away, retired or not.

Which months, and for how long

Cape Town is a November to March answer, with highs of 23C to 26C and 2 to 4 rain days a month.

The limit that shapes the plan is 90 days without a visa for a UK ordinary passport, per Home Affairs and GOV.UK, which Home Affairs says is subject to change. Count from the date on your entry stamp. Arrive on 1 December and you reach the limit around the end of February. Arrive on 15 December and it falls in mid-March. A December to February stay leaves little slack.

The Immigration Act lets a visitor's visa be renewed once, for up to three more months, on application. Six months is possible only if it is approved. The regulations ask for it at least 60 days before expiry, which on a 90-day stay means around day 30. Home Affairs targets 60 working days, about 12 weeks, for a visitor's visa applied for inside South Africa, which is a target, not a promise. Its 2026 concession for pending applicants excludes visitor extensions. Overstaying brings bans, set out in our guide to what happens if you overstay.

Where to base yourself

We compared monthly weather for 37 places that winter-sun readers tend to consider, using 15 years of daily data. It is a sample, not every town, and this table shows the South African ones.

Averages for 2011 to 2025 from ERA5 reanalysis, which is modelled on a grid and often reads a degree or more below an airport station. A rain day is 1 mm or more. Johannesburg averages 24.9C in January, so it shows as 25C.

Cape Town has around 15 rain days across November to March, the fewest in the table. Hermanus, about an hour and a half away, is similarly warm with 28. George, on the Garden Route, has 44, and our Garden Route guide notes rain there in every month.

Durban and the KwaZulu-Natal coast are warmer, at 26C to 27C from December to March, but that is the rainy season, with 62 rain days across the five months. Its June to August months are drier, with 5 to 6 rain days, which suits the southern winter. We set the two cities side by side in Cape Town vs Durban for expats.

Johannesburg is around 25C, but its 74 rain days from November to March reflect summer storms. For other warm places near UK time, see hot in January near UK time.

Finding a place for two or three months

Searches for Cape Town long-term rentals turn up furnished short lets and unfurnished long leases. Our cost guides say furnished short lets usually cost more than an unfurnished long lease, and most leases run 12 months. January is peak season, so book early. We have no figures for how far prices rise, and would rather say so than guess.

Landlords commonly ask for one to two months' rent as a deposit, and newcomers tend to be asked for the higher amount. Our renting guide covers how deposits must be held and returned. Do not send a deposit or a first month to a stranger until you have confirmed that the person owns or manages the place and the listing is real. Get the condition of the home in writing.

What it costs

We have no winter short-let prices. These are monthly rents on long leases from our cost of living guides, updated October 2026, and they are working ranges rather than quotes.

• Cape Town one-bedroom flat: R7,500–12,000 in the Southern Peninsula or Northern Suburbs, R16,000–28,000 in Camps Bay, Clifton or Bantry Bay.
• Durban one-bedroom flat: R6,000–9,500 in Glenwood, R9,000–14,000 in Umhlanga.

A furnished let for a few months will cost more. The Cape Town cost of living guide has more. London to Cape Town non-stop takes about 11.5 hours going south and about 12 back, mostly overnight, per our guide for UK movers (checked October 2026).

Health cover and insurance

Check that your travel insurance covers the full length of your stay, and read what it excludes. Our healthcare guide warns that travel insurance is designed for short trips and typically excludes ongoing or pre-existing care.

Safety

National crime figures are high. Police figures released on 22 May 2026 show 5,181 murders between January and March 2026, about 58 a day and 9.5% fewer than a year earlier. UK government advice says violent crime can happen anywhere, including tourist destinations, and that most of it occurs in townships, informal settlements and other high-density areas, as well as some city centres and isolated areas. Our safety guide has detail. Read the FCDO travel advice before you book.

Going home in between, and coming back

A short trip out of the country does not restart the 90 days. On re-admission you are admitted on the same visa, and if it has expired you may get a new one valid for no more than seven days, unless you arrive from your country of residence. The officer decides. To stay longer or return each year, read snowbirds in South Africa.

Tax, for repeat stays

One winter does not meet the physical-presence test, but repeat long stays can. The physical-presence test asks for more than 91 days in the current tax year and in each of the five before it, plus more than 915 over those five, which six months every winter reaches after several years. This is educational information only, and your home country has its own rules. Our tax guide explains the tests, and a qualified adviser can tell you where you stand.

The downsides

The flight is long. January prices rise. Cape Town turns cool and wetter if you stay on past March, and Durban is humid and wet through the summer.

Long winter checklist

• Passport valid for 30 days after you leave, with two blank pages.
• Check the entry stamp before you leave the airport.
• Diary the 90-day date, counted from your arrival.
• If you may need longer, diary the application date for about day 30.
• Insurance for the full stay.
• Accommodation checked before any deposit is paid.
• Read the FCDO advice for South Africa.

Frequently asked questions

Sources, checked 5 November 2026

• Exempt countries
• Entry requirements
• Immigration Act 2002 (Home Affairs copy, 2015): section 11(1)(a).
• Immigration Regulations (Home Affairs copy, 2018): regulations 9(8)(c) and 11(5).
• Turnaround times: Circular 08 of 2026.
• Directive 7 of 2026
• South Africa travel advice (FCDO).
• Crime figures: SAPS release of 22 May 2026, via our safety guide.
• Weather: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API, ERA5 reanalysis, CC BY 4.0. Download the CSV.

General information only, not immigration/tax/legal/financial advice: confirm current rules and consult a qualified professional.