Travel vaccinations for South Africa
A popular combination of safari, wine country and coastal cities, with malaria risk concentrated in specific game reserve areas.
Do I need injections for South Africa?
For most UK travellers, yes. Typhoid is recommended for most travellers, particularly those visiting friends and relatives, and combined hepatitis A and B is widely recommended. Rabies is considered for rural safari travel or longer stays. Check your routine NHS vaccinations too, including a diphtheria, tetanus and polio booster if it has been over 10 years. Malaria depends on where you go. There is no risk in Cape Town, the Garden Route and most of the country, but antimalarial tablets are recommended for the low-altitude parts of Mpumalanga and Limpopo, including Kruger National Park, from September to May.
No yellow fever certificate is needed when arriving directly from the UK, but one is required if you arrive from a yellow fever risk country such as Kenya, or transit through one for more than 12 hours, so tell us your full route. Yellow fever vaccination is not given at this clinic. We can advise where to get it and provide everything else. Rabies has also been found in Cape fur seals along the Cape coast since 2024, so seek urgent advice after any seal bite.
Book 6 to 8 weeks before you fly if you can. The rabies course runs over at least a week and the combined hepatitis A and B course has an accelerated schedule that needs 3 to 4 weeks. Travelling sooner? Book anyway. Single-dose jabs still give useful protection.
South Africa is unusual among safari destinations in that many of its most popular areas - including Cape Town - carry very low or no malaria risk, while others like the Kruger region do.
Good general healthcare infrastructure in most cities means South Africa is often considered a lower-risk long-haul destination overall.
Assessed individually
Vaccines commonly discussed for South Africa
- TyphoidMost travellers. Recommended for most travellers, particularly those visiting friends and relativesFull course £50
- Hepatitis A and B combinedMost travellers. Widely recommendedFull course £195
- RabiesSome travellers. Considered for rural safari travel or longer stays. Rabies has also been established in Cape fur seals along the Cape coast since 2024, so seek urgent advice after any seal biteFull course £240
- Diphtheria, tetanus and polioEveryone - check you are up to date. Booster if it's been over 10 yearsFull course £50
No vaccine for this
Malaria in South Africa
Risk in the low-altitude areas of Mpumalanga and Limpopo, including Kruger National Park, where antimalarial tablets are recommended during the transmission season, September to May only. Low risk in far north-east KwaZulu-Natal. No risk in Cape Town, the Garden Route and the rest of the country.
Antimalarial tablets and pricesOnly if arriving via a risk country
Yellow fever
No yellow fever vaccination is needed when arriving directly from the UK. A certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from a yellow fever risk country such as Kenya, and for travellers who have transited for more than 12 hours through an airport in one.
Yellow fever certificates and exemptionsBeyond the jabs
Before you go
- Malaria tablets for Kruger and low-altitude Mpumalanga and Limpopo, during the September to May transmission season only
- Sun protection
- Food and water hygiene, generally lower risk in main cities and resorts
- Entry requirements
- UK passport holders can generally visit visa-free for short tourist stays; check current rules.
- When to go
- May to September (dry winter) is popular for Kruger safaris; year-round for Cape Town.
Common questions
Travelling to South Africa
Do I need malaria tablets for a Cape Town and Kruger trip?
Cape Town carries no malaria risk. The Kruger region does, and antimalarial tablets are recommended there during the transmission season, September to May. Outside those months bite avoidance is the advice. Your pharmacist will match this to your travel dates.
