From Wikitravel

Durban [1] is a city of about 3 million on South Africa's east coast in KwaZulu-Natal. It is no longer just a holiday/resort city, boasting industry and South Africa's busiest container port.

Contents 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By plane 2.2 By bus 2.3 By train 2.4 By boat 3 Get around 4 See 5 Do 5.1 Festivals 6 Buy 6.1 Crafts 6.2 Clothing 7 Eat 8 Drink 9 Sleep 10 Stay safe 11 Get out

Understand

Get in

By plane

Durban International Airport (formerly Louis Botha Airport) is the main airport serving the city of Durban and is 15km south of the city center. It serves mostly domestic destinations and the only international flights are to/from Mauritius (Air Mauritius) and Swaziland (Swazi Express Airways and South African Express)

See also Discount airlines in Africa.

By bus

All national carriers (e.g. Intercape, Greyhound) and the Baz Bus offer regular services to Durban. The city is also the gateway to Kwazulu-Natal province.

By train

Spoornet offers a regular train service to Johannesburg ( Although it is advised not to use the train service for your travel! )

By boat

Get around

There is a public bus system but as in any large city use common sense. Bus schedules are rarely followed, so allow extra travel time if taking the bus.

Registered taxis are common, generally safe and relatively inexpensive. There are also unlicensed taxis, referred to as "combi taxis", that are impossible to miss as they're brightly decorated and always have music pumping. They are mostly small vans and there is always someone hanging out of a window making the hand gestures that indicate whether there are seats available and where the combi is going. Combi taxis are very common and less expensive than registered taxis, but opinions differ as to their safety. There are many published reports of accidents involving combis, and you'll see that the drivers rarely have safety in mind. Strictly speaking, they are minibuses that take people to and from work, they stick to set routes and they are not suitable for tourists. Rather hire a car.

Rickshaw rides are offered to tourists along the beach front, for amusement rather than getting around.

See

• Natural Science Museum, First floor of City Hall, ☎ +27 (031) 3112256 (NSMinfo@crsu.durban.gov.za, fax: +27 (031) 311 2242).

• City Hall. Built in 1910. It is pretty much an exact copy of the city hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

• Bergtheil Local History Museum, 16 Queens Avenue (Westville), ☎ +27 (031) 203 7107.

• Attraction name, Address.

• Berea. This is a long ridge overlooking the harbour, city centre and beaches. Once covered with coastal forest, it is now completely built up.
• Umhlanga Rocks. A holiday resort that's now also home to many businesses that have relocated from Durban's central business district. Home to the Sharks Board, which is well worth a visit.
• Victoria Street Market. Mostly oriental souvenirs. Haggle hard, beware of pickpockets.
• Essenwood Craft Market

Do

Down on the beach strip:

• Swim, surf or canoe year round

• Take helicopter rides with NAC Helicopters Unlimited, Hangar No 4, Virginia Airport, Durban 4051, ph: +27 (0)31 564 0176 (fax: +27 (0)31 563 0037) [2]

• Gamble at the Suncoast Casino, Suncoast Boulevard, Marine Parade, Durban, ph: +27 (0)31 328 3000 (email: webmaster@tsogosun.com fax: +27 (0)31 328 3001)

• Visit Fitzsimons Snake Park, 240A Lower Marine Parade, North Beach, (next to Mini Town), Durban. ph: +27 (0)31 337 6456, cell: +27 (0)73 1569606 (fax: +27 (0)31 337 3125) [3] Open daily from 9am – 4:30pm

• Visit the uShaka Marine World, 1 Bell Street, Durban 4001 ph: +27 (0)31 328 8000 [4] to see the HUGE Aquarium or ride more than eight different rides in the Waterworld

• Do bungee jumping or some other extreme sport

• Watch the Durban A1 Grand Prix (800m from the Durban CBD and 300m from the North Beach coastline close to the Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World) Brickhill Road, Durban. [5] The only road race on the world circuit.

Elsewhere in the city:

• Watch the horse racing at the Greyville Race Course

• Surfing artificial waves at the Gateway Shopping Center

• Visit the Shark Institute

• Take historic tours to places such as the Ghandi settlement

Festivals

• Poetry Africa [6] - International Festival of Poetry. Held on 9th – 14th October 2006. Now in its 10th year, this year is a special edition with an outreach leg in Johanesberg on the 7th.

• Time of the Writer [7] - International Festival of Writing - preparing it's 10th edition for 2007.

• Durban International Film Festival [8] - International Festival of Film - preparing its 28th edition for 2007.

• Jomba! Contemporary Dance Festival [9] - International Festival of Contempary Dance - preparing its 10th edition for 2007.

• Awesome Africa [10] - World Music Festival - now in it's 8th year, held during September 2006.

Buy

Crafts

• Zulu beadwork
• Wirework
• grass crafts - from baskets and sustainable conference bags to fantastic lights and furniture

Clothing

• note the crafts are designer quality 'collectables' in the best shops - try the African Arts Centre at Tourist Junction on West Street, or the BAT Centre on the harbour front

Food to bring home (subject to import regulations)

• Spices - anyone dare 'mother-in-laws revenge' ? Fantastic!

Eat

As Durban has one of the largest Indian populations outside of India itself, a Durban curry is a popular dish and can range from mild to very hot. There is also the Bunny Chow which is unique to the city, a quarter loaf of bread hollowed out and filled with a curry of your choice.

Try the Roma Revolving Restaurant at the top of John Ross House on the esplainade for Italian food and the best view of Durban.

Wilson's Wharf: Durban's answer to Cape Towns waterfront. Eat at a fine selection of international restaurants and watch the busiest harbor in Africa's activity. Take in a show afterwards at the upstairs Catalina theatre.

Tyr Morningside restaurants, along Florida Road, for trendy cafe sidewalk eateries including one Italian style, Spiga d ' Oro , frequented so often by South Africa's notorious businessman, Schabir Shaik, that a dish is named in his honour 'Pasta a la Shaik'. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates tried the place. And nearby, be nearly guaranteed to rub shoulders with the up-and-coming in-crowd at the Bean Bag Bohemia, Essenwood Road, a restaurant that makes great dining an artistic event.

Drink

Zacs, located at Wilson's warf on Victoria's embankment is a popular place to get thirstquenching drinks and just relax and enjoy the view of the harbour. Another popular destination is Thirsty's, one of Durban's best known pubs located at the edge of the water's mouth so you can watch the vast boats coming and going through the entrance to the port.

Sleep

As one of the largest cities in South Africa, and a major tourist destination, Durban offers a broad range of accommodation. There are many budget guest houses, an abundance of mid-range hotels and several luxury hotels. For those who want to stay longer it is also possible to rent a fully furnished flat. You might also want to consider staying in one of the suburbs along the beach, where there are many good B&Bs such as Dolphin Sands B&B.

Many self catering holiday flats are available in Durban and along the rest of the South Coast. One such block of flats offering accommodation in some of the flats (not all owners are letting their flats) is Inyoni Rocks Cabanas situated right on the Amanzimtoti main beach. They're situated about 14 KMs to the South of the Durban international airport.

Stay safe

Durban is trying its best to shake its reputation for crime. The beach strip is frequently patrolled by policemen, there are CCTV cameras and there's ample lighting at night.

It is still a good idea to stick to the main streets and not go out at night unless you are very familiar with a particular area. Above all, use common sense, especially at night.

Get out

• Go to the Drakensberg Mountains
• Go south along the Sunshine and Wild Coast through Margate and to East London, Port Elizabeth and the Garden Route
• Go south along the Hisbiscus coast through Port Shepstone, visit the Oribi gorge and blue flag beaches.
• Go up the North Coast, visit the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park and the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park or drive further on to Swaziland.

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!