Find cheap flights to South Africa from $799

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight departing on 22/2. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
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Latest South Africa Flight Deals

Best return prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours

MOST POPULARJohannesburg
1 stop from $1,255
Cape Town
2+ stops from $1,822
Durban
2+ stops from $1,900
Port Elizabeth
2+ stops from $2,050

Good to know

Low season

July

High season

December

Cheapest flight

$799
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 10% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly (34% more expensive on average)
Flight from Sydney to Johannesburg

FAQs - booking South Africa flights

  • Which is a convenient airport for Robben Island?

    Robben Island is a top attraction in South Africa. You may not find a direct flight from Australia to the destination, but flying to Cape Town International Airport is convenient. You can then take a car or ferry, which takes roughly 30min to reach the site.

  • Which airport is close to Soweto?

    O.R. Tambo International Airport is an ideal destination if you’re flying from Australia to South Africa to visit Soweto. You can then take a train or bus to the destination. Taking a shuttle would also be ideal, as it only takes roughly 33min to reach Soweto.

  • Which holidays affect flights to South Africa?

    South Africa celebrates various annual holidays that could impact your travel. Most of these holidays, such as Heritage Day, celebrate cultural diversity and the country’s history, attracting thousands of tourists. Fares often hike due to high demand, so be sure to book in advance or consider alternative dates.

  • Can I bring my pet when flying to South Africa?

    It’s important that you check your airline’s policies to choose what suits best when travelling with a pet. Qantas allows service animals in the passenger cabin while other pets travel in a dedicated area in the aircraft. Singapore Airlines allow emotional support pets on board, free of charge, and other pets as checked luggage.

  • What are the major airports in South Africa?

    There are several major international airports in South Africa, dotted across the country. The O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) and Lanseria International Airport (HLA) both serve Pretoria and Johannesburg, the King Shaka International Airport (DUR) is located near Duban, and the Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is about an hour out of Cape Town in Matroosfontein.

  • Where should I fly into to explore South Africa?

    South Africa is a large country and the most efficient way to explore everything the country has to offer is to fly between the main centres. South Africa’s biggest airport is the O.R. Tambo in Johannesburg. From here you will be able to connect to many domestic flights all over the country, as well as explore the sites of one of South Africa’s major cities. However, the most centrally placed large city in South Africa is Bloemfontein, serviced by the Bram Fischer International Airport (BFN)

  • Does South Africa have any local airlines?

    There is a wide range of airlines based in South Africa. South Africa’s major airline is South African Airways which also flies internationally. Due to the country’s historic ties with the UK, British Airways also has a strong presence in South Africa, particularly in Johannesburg. SA Express and SA Airlink also offer a range of flights throughout Southern Africa.

  • How do I travel around South Africa on a budget?

    The most popular budget airline in South Africa for locals and tourists alike is Kulula. Often fondly referred to as the green dragon, it flies to many of South Africa’s major ports. The bright orange Mango Airlines is another good alternative, as is FlySafair, the budget airline owned by Safair. To help you get around South Africa, you can combine your flights with the various regional bus services including Greyhound, Intercape, and Baz Bus.

  • How long is the flight to South Africa?

    An average direct flight from Australia to South Africa takes 31h 11m, covering a distance of 16746 km. The most popular route is Brisbane - Johannesburg with an average flight time of 20h 05m.

  • What is the cheapest flight to South Africa?

    The cheapest ticket to South Africa from Australia found in the last 72 hours was $961 one-way, and $1,294 round-trip. The most popular route is Brisbane to Johannesburg OR Tambo and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $1,568.

  • Which airlines fly to South Africa?

    EL AL & Qantas Airways fly the most frequently from Australia to South Africa.

  • What are the most popular destinations in South Africa?

    The next most popular destinations are Cape Town (28%) and Durban (10%). Searches for flights to Hoedspruit (0.5%), to Port Elizabeth (0.5%) and to Phalaborwa (0.2%) are also popular.

  • How does KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a given destination and date is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to South Africa

  • Looking for cheap airfare to South Africa? 25% of our users found tickets to South Africa for the following prices or less: From Sydney $1,105 one-way - $2,051 round-trip
  • Book at least 1 week before departure in order to get a below-average price.
  • High season is considered to be January, November and December. The cheapest month to fly from Australia is February.
  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest South Africa flight deals.
  • Qatar Airways, Virgin Australia, South African Airways and Etihad Airways operate flights on this route. Virgin Australia offers competitive prices and flexibility to popular destinations in South Africa. There are typically four classes available: Economy Classic, Economy Delight, Premium and Upper Class. You can also enjoy a comfortable and hospitable trip to South Africa with Etihad Airways.
  • It is wise to choose your arrival airport based on your final destination in South Africa and the price. If you want to stay or travel around Johannesburg, O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) will be a good bet because of its proximity to several destinations and accommodation options. Alternatively, Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is a good choice to access the South African business hub.
  • From Australia, the easiest locations in South Africa to fly to are Johannesburg and Cape Town. You can find flights to these cities from Melbourne, Brisbane, or Sydney with only one stopover.
  • There are many long-haul carriers that offer flights from Australia to South Africa such as Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Cathay Pacific. If you want to fly local, Qantas Airlines offers flights to Johannesburg.
  • Surfers and sea-lovers looking to enjoy the southern coast can either fly into Cape Town International Airport (CPT) or Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ). Between the major cities are plenty of coastline and many popular surfing locations. It takes approximately 8h to drive from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.
  • If you’re looking to enjoy the natural reserves and safari parks in South Africa, Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga is a good option. This area is served by the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP), or many travel from Johannesburg, which is a 3 to 4h drive to Nelspruit.
  • Australian passport holders will not need a visa to enter South Africa whether you’re travelling as a tourist or on business, provided your stay is only for up to 90 days. However, you will need to pay a tourism or visa fee on entry into South Africa.
See more tips

Top 5 airlines flying to South Africa

Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Australia to South Africa? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to KAYAK reviews.
8.6
Singapore AirlinesOverall score based on 3987 reviews
86entertainment
85comfort
83food
87overall
89crew
88boarding
Airline reviews

More Baggage limit Alternative of virtual check in at airport , prefer personal touch with “real person”check in counter for baggage drop

Read more about Singapore Airlines

More Baggage limit Alternative of virtual check in at airport , prefer personal touch with “real person”check in counter for baggage drop

Cleanliness Help for boarding and sitting Food should have been better

Cons: "Its sad to see that only the female flight attendants look after the restrooms, no male attendants were seen doing it on both flights. Disappointing in this day and age this still exists."
Pros: "One of the best seating I have ever had. Compared to Emirates the seat was spacious."
Cons: "Food was good but was not full compared to emirates."
Pros: "Always love the SIA business product on long haul."
Cons: "This trip had a lot of minor service and cleanliness misses. But they are quibbles in the scheme of the overall great product."
Pros: "The crew was terrific. Always smiling and helpful."
Cons: "If you need more space economy is a tight fit. It would be better to upgrade."
Pros: "one of the crew was rude. my spouse forgot to fold-up the cup holder, the hostess heat the holder so hard while walking. I don't know but it appeared as very very rude."
Cons: "Improve the process for boarding people were standing there for 45 minutes to 1 hour. People there needs training"
Pros: "Seat was very comfortable, crew was very nice,"
Cons: "food is average. TV screens are so bad that you cant watch a full movie. Seat is comfortable. Over all the plane was old and worn out"
Pros: "This was the most fabulous crew I have ever flown with on ANY flight in so many years of my travels! It was un-imaginable as to what they did, they left no stone unturned to make sure we were comfortable, fed us with awesome food every now and then. Were looked after like babies! Thank you SQ!"
Cons: "The A380 was probably SQ's oldest one, which that was a newer plane."
Pros: "More space then previous flights. Attendants very pleasant and helpful."
Cons: "Ran out of the food choices by the time they reached me. Had to make do with what was left."

Overall emirates continues to amaze me with their. Awesome service . I had shifted away from emirates , because I lost luggage and watch in emirates in 2019 that drifted me away from this airline , but I am willing to give it try

Pros: "Nothing 4 times flights cancels and layover increased from 1 hr to 8hrs and 35 mints i am not buying any more tickets from kayak budget air staff is to rude"
Pros: "Excellent crew. Got on just in time. Last one on the flight but they were very understanding. Loved the airbus A380."
Cons: "It was great but food could have been better. Process to get onto the flight at DXB was much longer and complicated than it needed to be. Huge airport and big distance between connecting flights."
Pros: "Food was excellent (Emirates rep helped choose Asian veg per my need description)"
Cons: "Not applicable"
Pros: "comfortable seats and entertainment system"
Cons: "the food wasn't so good and I expected more from an Emirates flight"
Pros: "-New business class products -Good food, especially dessert -Good food selection -Good service -Great selection of entertainment -Lots of storage space"
Cons: "-Seat adjustment was faulty -Crew gave wrong meal -Was unable to connect to in-flight Wi-Fi, system unintuitive and does not allow Skysurfers members to log-in"
Pros: "At least inform me that bag is left behind so i wont walk around around baggaage belt for hours at the destination it happend both sides thanks"
Cons: "Waiting inconvenience"
Pros: "Easy check in and comfortable flight. The crew are very helpful."
Cons: "Couldn't get my preferred isle seat or sit with my wife who was in a different row."
Pros: "Plane is good as usual"
Cons: "Food was not available “my choice “ Movies are the same for long time Comedy movies available are not comedy and old Crew were not responding in a professional way I was disappointed"
Pros: "Nothing specific"
Cons: "I was specifically asked for the vegetarian food n mentioned that I am highly allergic to the eggs....in spite of that no vegetarian food was served till I asked the staff about my food...i was told that there is no vegetarian food for me....n at last I was served with very basic food .....not at all good...i could not eat that n stayed hungry n could not even sleep due to headache n acidity This FOOD experience was extremely Disappointing"

I really did like the food and beverage and crew was really good!

Seat electronics kept failing (as in absolutely nothing worked) - crew re-set it multiple, but didn’t move me until finally three quarters of the way into the flight - abysmal. Entertainment options are plentiful, but a number of expected movies were missing (did an SQ flight 3 days later and expected titles were on SQ) - does Qatar sensor what they show?

Pros: "I understand why this airline is ranked very high. The food was very good, the seats have more legroom even in coach and the movie selection was good."
Cons: "The plane was about 1/4 full. Not that that's bad I just thought it should be mentioned."
Pros: "Crew was amazing and aircraft was clean and seats comfortable!"
Cons: "I would like to have more air fresheners during the flight as there are some people who eat special food and it smells so bad in aircraft"
Cons: "The boarding process was ridiculous. The staff delayed boarding of zone 2 passengers until ALL zone 1 passengers could be located and boarded which could easily have delayed takeoff. They went so far as to page missing zone 1 pax several times and asked people sitting on gate area which zone they"
Pros: "Excellent-18 hour flight but Qatar really looks after you. Crew amazing and food is pretty good."
Cons: "Seat comfort was not very good.. and food was bad"
Pros: "Crew was friendly and seating arrangement was great traveling with 2 small children. Food was great and very tasty."
Cons: "more leg room and headphones that worked."
Pros: "Everything was great ,On time , comfortable seeds, Crew were very nice , boarding was quick Thank you Qatar Airways"
Cons: "Nothing"
Pros: "The on flight entertainment is great. It’s very accommodating especially for long flights."
Cons: "Onboarding was ridiculous. They merged two gates together with no instructions to the large crowd of people boarding the plane. We were scheduled to start boarding at a certain time and we didn’t actually board until 45 minutes later. When we asked the attendants when we would begin boarding and did they have any instructions they were extremely rude, laughing with one another and taking selfies. When we we asked for the third time they brushed us off with a time frame. It was extremely disappointing."

MY travel plans were canceled and l tried thru KAYAK and Quantas to cancel this flight and was not able to confirm cancelation but still received flight boarding. l tried to get refunded thru Kayak and that has been horrible long unreasolved task now l am trying to go thru Credit card. with this Covid changing world, airlines and travel companies should be refundable especially since this is a Australian airlines. l am about to lose $1000.00.

Cons: "As an incoming traveller and a Platinum Qantas member, I was refused access to the Qantas Lounge on arrival in Townsville. All I wanted to do was spend fifteen minutes reviewing my diary and directions for the visits planned here. This is the Irish version of hospitality. God bless his departure."
Pros: "Great Business Class Lounge close to departure gate."
Cons: "Connecting from a domestic flight with Virgin Australia to the International Terminal carrying 5 large pieces of luggage was a bit stressful and complicated. Train or Bus ? Lots of Lifts up and down. Boarding security was excessive."
Pros: "seats - very comfy flat bed to use on overnight flight"
Cons: "too warm, hard to sleep"
Pros: "The food choices were lovely, plenty of bathrooms and touch screen entertainment (albeit with an outdated feeling and clunky interface.) The skycam was the best part of the entertainment interface options, giving you an outside view of the plane at all times from a camera at the top of the plane tail. Watching the plane during its descent and landing was very cool."
Cons: "I’ve flown in tight-spaced economy seats before, but the lack of space to even bend over to reach items on the floor was extreme on this plane and unacceptable for a 15+ hour flight. It truly felt like a straightjacket. Serious acrobatics were required to reach items on the floor. The tray table would also fly down on its own, the lever holding it would slide free while I was sleeping. There was no wifi at all, not even for using the qantas apps. My fiancé flew on Virgin the week before and was able to purchase wifi and stay in touch with me for $19 for the duration of the flight. Even my flight earlier this year with Qantas on the Dreamliner lacked usable wifi, but the experience of the Dreamliner plane itself was wonderful. In addition, the usb ports on the end of the armrests weren’t working. I feel it should be part of the safety briefing to point out where the usable power points are, given how vital charged phones are these days for boarding passes, reaching loved ones and entertainment when the wifi isn’t working. I didn’t realize there was a plug for laptops/ block plugs until I asked about the USB ports not working until the last 2 hours of the flight. The location of that was somewhere few would notice or look if not explicitly told. This will be the last time I ever book with Qantas when an a380 model is involved, unless great overhauls and updates are completed. Economy should not lack basic ergonomic comforts and while I’ve spent years touting my love for Qantas, having had wonderful experiences in the past, this one fell far below what I had come to expect from the Qantas name."
Pros: "Great service, very attentive with my 2.5yo toddler. Also the baby change rooms in the Business Lounge were some of the best I've ever used."
Pros: "I loved Qantas's attention to detail and their exceptionally friendly staff. Best airline I've used in recent years."
Pros: "Flight left on time, arrived 20 mins ahead of time. And great landing"
Pros: "Staff this direction was friendly and helpful."
Cons: "You can't check in online or at the kiosk. You must adhere strictly to the carry-on baggage size and weight. The airplanes are a bit worn."
Pros: "Qantas is a quality airline and provided us with better service than most USA airlines that we typically fly for about the same pricepoint. We were very impressed by the quality of service, the meal and entertainment offerings- it was a nice memory of how flying with USA airlines used to be in the good ol days. We flew economy so nothing special was added to our basic service."
Cons: "All was good, would fly them again should we need to travel their routes again. We flew 2 international flights and 4 domestic (within Australia) flights during our stay in Australia and had great experiences on all the flights."
Cons: "The cabin attendants attitude need to be warmer and friendly. The food was not good."
Pros: "I like that it’s a direct flight from Newark to Lomé I like that it’s cheaper than over airlines I like that it’s a late flight: it allows out of state passengers to catch the flight without having to stay overnight in NY"
Cons: "Some crew members are unfriendly The toilets are always smelly and dirty. The floor stick with pee. Pee all over the toilets seats. Unsanitary especially when you are traveling with a child or an elderly. The TVs touch screens do not work The volume of the crew is too high"
Pros: "The crew were fantastic! The one meal from Athens to Cairo was excellent, the other two meals weren’t too bad but not as good as the first one."
Cons: "The security in Cairo was really a joke."
Pros: "The arm rest was dismantled and had a sharp edge of metal which sliced my arm and thumb when I sat down. I was promised a new seat and never delivered. Horrendous."
Cons: "See above"
Pros: "The crew were very welcoming, helpful and charm, makes you feel easy"
Cons: "General interior cleanliness"
Pros: "Way more leg room than I expected. The crew was very nice, the announcements were made in 3 languages, which was nice for the non-Amharic speakers!"
Cons: "Boarding in Lomé took a long time, which I believe made us a little later at the airport. Not sure if that is something fixable or not"
Cons: "Language barriers are always hard, i sat next to someone who didn’t speak English well, one of the flight crew sounded irritated instead of understanding."
Pros: "Not much, actually."
Cons: "None of the air stewardess has a smile on their face when talking to or serving passengers. I’m not sure they know how to engage with passengers in a friendly way. My entertainment screen wasn’t working. After resetting, it took them an hour to inform me that I could move to another seat if I wanted to, as they couldn’t resolve the problem with the screen. The food lacked in flavour and the sausage served for breakfast was undercooked."
Pros: "Although we had abou an hour delay, we arrived only thirty minutes after the scheduled time. The flight crew was very nice and friendly."
Cons: "The touchscreen did not work very well; was only able I o see one movie but is was an overnight flight so it wasn’t too much at a hassle."
Pros: "Staff are friendly and pleasant. Seats are comfortable with more space than some airlines.Good choice of films."
Cons: "This was probably the worst boarding I have ever seen. They called the Paris flight while people were still boarding for Frankfurt. It was chaotic, with people struggling to find which line to be in. There was no visible guidance from Ethiopian ground crew. Eventually got in line. One guy checking boarding passes for both business and economy. Very slow with again no crowd control. Children were not given priority. Eventually many people went through business queue while others had been waiting in economy. Ground staff were standing around watching and not helping or communicating. Poor show from Ethiopian!"

Book Cheap South Africa Plane Tickets

Recent one-way flight deals

22/2Thu
1 stopSingapore Airlines
42h 00mSYD-JNB
$525
3/2Sat
3 stops
44h 40mPER-JNB
$561
29/2Thu
2 stops
54h 35mMEL-JNB
$571
20/1Sat
1 stopQatar Airways
22h 05mPER-JNB
$702
3/2Sat
1 stopQatar Airways
40h 55mPER-JNB
$703
22/2Thu
directQantas Airways
14h 00mSYD-JNB
$787
29/2Thu
1 stopQantas Airways
17h 35mAVV-JNB
$873
28/2Wed
2 stopsEmirates
40h 30mMEL-JNB
$1,026
23/2Fri
2 stopsEmirates
65h 15mMEL-CPT
$1,034
16/12Sat
1 stopVirgin Australia
26h 35mMEL-JNB
$1,496

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Recent return flight deals

10/3Sun
1 stopSingapore Airlines
20h 35mPER-JNB
27/3Wed
1 stopSingapore Airlines
34h 15mJNB-PER
$825
29/2Thu
1 stopSingapore Airlines
37h 35mMEL-JNB
10/3Sun
1 stopSingapore Airlines
37h 55mJNB-MEL
$851
28/2Wed
1 stopSingapore Airlines
23h 15mMEL-JNB
10/3Sun
1 stopSingapore Airlines
34h 40mJNB-MEL
$879
11/3Mon
directQantas Airways
14h 00mSYD-JNB
2/4Tue
directQantas Airways
11h 45mJNB-SYD
$1,212
7/2Wed
1 stopQatar Airways
28h 10mSYD-CPT
20/2Tue
1 stopQatar Airways
45h 15mCPT-SYD
$1,212
4/2Sun
1 stopQatar Airways
24h 10mPER-CPT
4/3Mon
1 stopQatar Airways
24h 10mCPT-PER
$1,214
13/5Mon
1 stopVirgin Australia
27h 10mSYD-JNB
23/5Thu
1 stopVirgin Australia
19h 10mJNB-SYD
$1,241
25/1Thu
1 stopEmirates
23h 50mSYD-JNB
1/2Thu
1 stopEmirates
35h 00mJNB-SYD
$1,261
16/5Thu
1 stopQantas Airways
17h 15mBNE-JNB
27/5Mon
1 stopQantas Airways
14h 50mJNB-BNE
$1,262
26/2Mon
1 stopEmirates
23h 35mMEL-JNB
31/3Sun
1 stopEmirates
23h 10mJNB-MEL
$1,266

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Last minute flights to South Africa

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

8/12Fri
multi-stop
36h 05mSYD-JNB
28/12Thu
multi-stop
35h 45mJNB-SYD
$1,506
8/12Fri
multi-stop
33h 55mSYD-JNB
28/12Thu
multi-stop
35h 45mJNB-SYD
$1,542
11/12Mon
multi-stopQatar Airways
33h 55mMEL-CPT
25/12Mon
multi-stopQatar Airways
25h 30mCPT-MEL
$1,843
8/12Fri
multi-stopEmirates
23h 50mSYD-JNB
28/12Thu
multi-stopEmirates
38h 30mJNB-SYD
$1,922
9/12Sat
multi-stopQatar Airways
22h 05mPER-JNB
24/12Sun
multi-stopQatar Airways
29h 15mJNB-PER
$1,924
10/12Sun
multi-stopEmirates
41h 15mMEL-CPT
25/12Mon
multi-stopEmirates
43h 55mCPT-MEL
$2,093
8/12Fri
directQantas Airways
14h 00mSYD-JNB
28/12Thu
directQantas Airways
11h 55mJNB-SYD
$2,214
9/12Sat
directQantas Airways
14h 00mSYD-JNB
29/12Fri
directQantas Airways
11h 55mJNB-SYD
$2,427
10/12Sun
multi-stopSingapore Airlines
33h 20mSYD-CPT
4/1Thu
multi-stopSingapore Airlines
39h 55mCPT-SYD
$2,495
10/12Sun
multi-stopSingapore Airlines
41h 50mMEL-CPT
25/12Mon
multi-stopSingapore Airlines
25h 45mCPT-MEL
$2,815

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Flights to South Africa

Return flight deals:

South Africa - Australia

Cabin classes:

First Class Flights to South Africa
Business Class Flights to South Africa
$3,509
$1,742

Browse origins:

$4,638
Flights from Darwin to South Africa
$3,115
Flights from Launceston to South Africa
$3,502
Flights from Maroochydore to South Africa
$1,294
Flights from Melbourne to South Africa
$4,431
Flights from Newcastle to South Africa
$1,460
Flights from Perth to South Africa
Flights from Queensland to South Africa
$1,369
Flights from Sydney to South Africa
Flights from Tasmania to South Africa
Flights from Victoria to South Africa
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Browse destinations:

$1,897
Flights to Kruger National Park, South Africa
$1,897
Flights to Phalaborwa, South Africa
$11,066
Flights to Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
$2,050
Flights to Port Elizabeth, South Africa
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