Self-catering

For self-catering in South Africa, I would choose by what the kitchen is for: a beachfront apartment in Durban or Umhlanga for a family week by a sea warm enough to swim, a golf-estate lodge near Stellenbosch for wine country, or an apartment in Pretoria's Menlyn Maine for a city stay on foot. We list 100 stays with a kitchen in 35 towns, rated 8.76 out of 10 on average over 42,344 reviews. Caledon and Durban lead with 10 each, then Johannesburg with 9 and Pretoria with 7. Durban's 10 carry by far the most reviews. Belaire Suites Hotel, rated 9.2 over 12,069 reviews, stands at 151 Snell Parade on North Beach, with a kitchenette in its rooms. In Umhlanga, Breakers Resort, at 88 Lagoon Drive, rents self-catering apartments from studios to two-bedroom units a short walk from the beach, with shared pools and secure underground parking; several of its units appear separately here. The Indian Ocean on this coast is warm enough to swim, which is why I would pick it for a family week with a kitchen. In the Winelands, Stellenbosch has 5 stays with a kitchen, rated 8.72 on average, and Franschhoek 3, rated 9.23. De Zalze Lodge, rated 8.4 over 949 reviews, is a set of self-catering lodges on the De Zalze Golf Estate along Strand Road, from one-bedroom apartments upwards, some with their own braai. A kitchen solves the classic Winelands problem: after a day of tastings, nobody should drive back from a restaurant over the passes, and cooking at the unit takes that question away. Cape Town's 5 average 9.4, the best of any town where we list five or more. Derwent House, rated 9.7, and Swanemeer Apartments, rated 9.6, are the two I would look at first, and South Beach Camps Bay Boutique Hotel adds a Camps Bay address. Along the coast, Hermanus has 4, rated 9.2 on average, among them Mosselberg on Grotto Beach, rated 9.4, at the beach where the roughly 12 km cliff path ends, a whale walk from about June to November. On the Garden Route, Knysna has 5, rated 9.06, including The Gallery, an apartment at the Knysna Waterfront rated 9.7, while George, Mossel Bay and Jeffreys Bay add 3 each. Caledon's 10 are a different thing: guesthouses, farm stays and the glamping huts at Caledon Grace, rated 8.48 on average, in a small Overberg town on the N2. I would use them as a quiet base between Hermanus and the town's hot springs, not as a holiday in themselves. In Pretoria, four of the 7 are apartments in Menlyn Maine, a 7 to 10 minute walk from Menlyn Park shopping centre. In Johannesburg, Hyatt House Johannesburg, Sandton, rated 8.1 over 1,239 reviews, and Marriott Executive Apartments Johannesburg, Melrose Arch, rated 9.3, are the two international brands among its 9. My view: self-catering suits families and longer stays, where a braai and a fridge save daily drives to restaurants. It does not suit a first safari in a private reserve, where lodges usually include meals and game drives. For a safari with your own kitchen, the classic answer is a SANParks rest camp in the Kruger: most of their bungalows have a kitchenette or share a communal kitchen, with braai areas, though the equipment varies by camp and by unit. These camps are not on our list. Here, the self-catering option near a reserve is Moruleng, beside the malaria-free Pilanesberg, where Elephant House and Rhino House are two- and three-bedroom houses.