• DURBAN HOLIDAY REVIEWS

Durban
Renowned for its “Golden Mile” of Indian Ocean beaches, the city of Durban on South Africa’s east coast is the gateway to dozens of holiday resorts to the north and south. Durban, though, is a unique city in its own right, capital of the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, which embodies the historic pride of themore
I love the whole province of Kwa Zulu Natal and Durban especially - Peter Rose. Date of travel: Aug 2010
I'm a Londoner living in South Africa in a holiday resort just 15 km north of Durban, in a place called Umhlanga Rocks-yes yes I know its difficult to pronounce, but just add an "s" after the Um and its all much easier to pronounce. Anyhow, life here is very laid back and safe and there are miles of great beaches, great hotels, cheaper B&B's and hundreds of very good quality self catering apartments. So if anyone is planning a trip here visit the Umhlanga tourism website for all of the details www.umhlangatourism.co.za . Its a great place to base yourself and its within a three hour drive to all of the major game reserves in this province.
Interesting city with lots to do - Albert. Date of travel: Aug 2007
Botanic gardens on the Berea were beautiful and tranquil. The beaches are great with warm water. I enjoyed body surfing.
Pleasant stay - Patrick Joyce. Date of travel: Jun 2007
Durban is a nice and pleasant seaside town. The inner city is a bit run down though and is not safe to walk around after nightfall. Top sight: Ushaka Marine World. Best shopping: The Gateway Mall just north of town. Eating: The best fish is at the Café Fish and for good meat try the Royal Grill at the Royal Hotel.
Zinwakazi Beach, Hidden Heights Beach House - Rebecca Surendorff. Date of travel: Jun 2006
This property (25 Magai Drive) is not completely fenced, it has a broken security system with canceled service from CHUB. WE WERE VICTIMS OF ARMED ROBBERY OUR THIRD NIGHT THERE. Drift Wood Estates the company that rents it refused to even refund our money after the event and did not even repair the broken down door. They mentioned that it has happened before and they have never given a refund in the past. Obviously they know there are security problems there and they have not taken measures to protect human life. We are lucky to be alive and I am thankful that my children were too young to remember the events of that horrible night.
I loved Pennington - Karen Bartmann. Date of travel: Mar 2006
I loved Pennington
I loved staying in this house we got in Pennington, in Natal. It is about 40 minutes from Durban International Airport, on the South Coast. The house accommodated 8 of us quite comfortably. Fully equipped. We were only 150m from the beach or shops, which meant we never had to drive. The beach and the weather was beautiful. The house in which we stayed had a swimming pool in the complex, where we could just cool off and relax. There were also two golf courses close by, one of which overlooked the ocean. Beautiful. Tour Operator: word of mouth
Michel Foxton. Date of travel: Aug 2005
Arrived in Durban and checked into the hotel. 3 star (bottom of the range accommodation) Had planned to stay for 4 nights and only lasted one. The hotel website is very nice, and shows or says nothing about the real situation. The location is great at first sight. However, upon arrival, the first thing hotel employees tell you is not to venture out of the hotel, to catch cabs everywhere, and not to go out at night. The beachfront - Golden Mile is chocka full of Nigerian or other drug dealers, muggers and homeless people. Street kids abound and one cannot set foot out of the hotel without being accosted, sometimes aggressively. I never felt safe there once. After a near miss experience involving 4 youths following me along the lower parade along the sea front I checked out and headed for the Wild coast, where things were much better. My advice stay away from Durban, its not worth the money or the risk. Its also very dirty. The fishermen leave the most atrocious mess on the pier and they smoke marijuana and some other drug there quite openly. They are also quite aggresive purely at my presence amongst them. Tour Operator: Jet Travel
Jim Steere. Date of travel: Oct 2004
We only spent one night in Durban - it seems a fun city but one nights probably enough. We spent the rest of the week in Ballito - a beach resort half an hour to the north. Ballito is a popular get away from Durban, and is very built up, though comfortable if you're in a nice hotel - we stayed in Ballito Manor which was idyllic. We also went up to the Zulu/British battlefields, staying at Fugitives drift lodge - David Ratrays renowned guest house. The tours of Rourkes Drift and Isandlawana were fascinating and the 4 hour drive is very interesting - seeing a real bit of rural South Africa... very primitive. It's a must see - even my wife enjoyed it! Tour Operator: on our own
 
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Hotels in Durban User Rating
5-Star Hotels
Beverley Hills Sun | * * * * * |
Royal | * * * * * |
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4-Star Hotels
Holiday Inn Elangeni | * * * * * |
Balmoral | * * * * * |
Holiday Inn Durban Elangeni | * * * * * |
Protea Edward | * * * * * |
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3-Star Hotels
Blue Waters Hotel | * * * * * |
Pennington House | * * * * * |
Banana Backpackers | * * * * * |
La Bordello Hotel | * * * * * |
Antbear Guesthouse | * * * * * |
Beach | * * * * * |
City Lodge | * * * * * |
Hidden Heights Beach House (Zinkwazi) | * * * * * |
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