What facilities are open on public holidays?
In the major cities most stores, cinemas and restaurants are open on most public
holidays. The exceptions are Christmas Day, 25 December and New Year's Day, 1
January.
The calendar of holidays for 2007 is:
- 1 January – New Year’s Day
- 21 March – Human Rights Day
- 6 April – Good Friday (the Friday before Easter Sunday)
- 9 April – Family Day (the Monday after Easter Sunday)
- 27 April – Freedom Day
- 1 May – Workers Day
- 16 June – Youth Day
- 9 August – Women's Day
- 24 September – Heritage Day
- 16 December – Day of Reconciliation
- 25 December – Christmas Day
- 26 December – Day of Goodwill
Where can I smoke?
The law prohibits smoking in most public spaces, including airports and railway
stations. Most
restaurants have designated smoking and non-smoking areas.
South African time
South Africa does not change its clocks during the year, and there are no regional variations within the country. South African Standard Time is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean (or Universal Standard) Time, one hour ahead of Central European Winter Time, and seven hours ahead of the USA's Eastern Standard Winter Time.
Tipping
Tipping is common practice in South Africa for a range of services. In restaurants
the accepted standard is around 10% of the bill, although sometimes a gratuity will
be included (often in the case of a large party). Barmen are tipped a similar
percentage.
Petrol stations are manned by attendants who will expect a tip of two or three rands for filling up with petrol, checking oil, water and tyre pressure and cleaning windscreens. Hotel porters should be tipped two to five rands. It is also appropriate to tip taxi drivers, tour guides and even hairdressers.
If you park a car in a populated area such as near a shopping centre, street security guards will usually ask whether they can watch over your car and in return should be paid a small fee - anything from two rands upwards.
The seasons
- Summer - mid-October to mid-February
- Autumn - February to April
- Winter - May to July
- Spring - August to October
