Enduro Tours and Holidays in South Africa

No operator here sells a tour it calls hard enduro. Most South African tours are technical trail riding or dual-sport touring. Check the format before you book.

In the operators' words:

• Alfie Cox Racing: "98% off-road", "focusing on technical skill over speed". "For every technical section, there is an alternative route available." €2,350.
• Dust Trails Africa: Honda CRF300L tours with a 4x4 backup, for "beginners to advanced".
• Ride With Locals: "the terrain is varied and technical", on KTM and Husqvarna two-strokes, graded Advanced. From €4,500.
• WildWood: KTM EXC 500 and Husqvarna FE 501, but of one tour it says "this is adventure and not enduro".

For real hard enduro, the race is next door in Lesotho. Alfie Cox Racing rents and services bikes for the Roof of Africa.

The Roof of Africa runs in Lesotho, not South Africa. Alfie Cox Racing says it has sold a rental and service package for the race for 20 years (Roof of Africa package). It says the 60th edition returns in 2027, with dates not yet confirmed.

• Package: "logistics, fuel containers, techs at the DSP, cooler boxes, and race-day advice". No price is published.
• Before the race: cottages at its Cato Ridge base, ZAR 1,400 per person per night with dinner and breakfast, and a shakedown ride of about 4 hours.
• Race week: the team stays at the Avani Lesotho Sun; you book your own room.
• Getting there: about 6 hours' drive from Cato Ridge to Maseru, via Clarens.

For the race, the terrain and the rules in Lesotho, read our Lesotho guide. WildWood, Dust Trails and Ride With Locals also sell tours that ride in Lesotho.

1. Licence. Ride With Locals requires "a valid driver's licence for a heavy motorcycle". Dust Trails says: "No license, means you will not be allowed to ride." WildWood requires "a valid international motorcycle operator's license" on its bikes. Alfie Cox Racing publishes no rule.
2. Insurance. Ride With Locals requires repatriation cover. Alfie Cox Racing's booking agent recommends it. Dust Trails requires travel and medical cover that includes motorcycle riding. Alfie Cox Racing excludes medical evacuation and doctor visits.
3. Bike damage. Ride With Locals charges up to a damage excess it doesn't publish, or €200 for extra cover. WildWood and Dust Trails take a damage deposit; neither states the amount.
4. Own bike or rental. Only WildWood prices tours on your own bike, from ZAR 17,000. That is ZAR 8,000 to ZAR 20,000 less than with a WildWood bike.
5. Where you'll ride. South Africa limits vehicle use in the coastal area, and riding off public roads needs the landowner's permission. Read where riding is legal in South Africa. No operator names a permit. Ask them in writing.
6. Group size. Ride With Locals runs 3 to 6 riders. Dust Trails runs from 1 to 5. WildWood sets a minimum of 4 on its tours. Alfie Cox Racing's booking agent takes 4 to 7 riders, on request.
7. Airport. Ride With Locals starts and ends at King Shaka, Durban. Alfie Cox Racing's riders fly into Mthatha and out of Durban. Dust Trails' Rhodes tour starts at Pietermaritzburg. WildWood's Cederberg / Tankwa tour starts and ends in Cape Town.

The Wild Coast. The Eastern Cape's tourism body calls it "a rugged coast of untouched shorelines, shipwrecks and traditional Xhosa Culture" (Visit Eastern Cape). Alfie Cox Racing rides from Coffee Bay. Hole in the Wall is a village south of Coffee Bay; its Xhosa name, esiKhaleni, means "the place of sound". The sardine run is in June and July (Hole in the Wall).

The Valley of a Thousand Hills. Ride With Locals ends its tour here. The valley is "just a half an hour's drive from the centre of Durban", with Phezulu Safari Park and mountain biking at Giba Gorge (Valley of a Thousand Hills).

Game reserves. Hluhluwe-iMfolozi was established in 1895. It is "the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in South Africa" and has the Big Five (Home of the rhino). The iSimangaliso World Heritage Site runs from Kosi Bay to Cape St Lucia (KwaZulu-Natal's top attractions). Ride With Locals includes both a game drive and a St Lucia cruise.

Sani Pass and the Drakensberg. South African Tourism says Sani Pass "can also be accessed with off-road motorbikes and combined with motorcycle tours of the southern Drakensberg or Lesotho". It tops out at 2,876 m. The border post is before the summit, so take your passport (Sani Pass). The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg is a World Heritage Site. Over the top is Lesotho; see our Lesotho guide.

The Cederberg and the Tankwa Karoo. The Cederberg is "a very popular area for mountain bikers and hikers" (mountain ranges). Tankwa Karoo National Park is remote, south of Calvinia and west of Sutherland (Tankwa Karoo). WildWood rides the area.

The Swartberg and Baviaanskloof. The Swartberg Pass is "considered one of the finest mountain passes in the world" (Cango route). Baviaanskloof is a 200 km valley from Patensie to Willowmore, on a road Thomas Bain built in 1880–1890. "The entire 200km journey takes at least six hours" (Baviaanskloof). WildWood's Garden Route tour rides both.

Namaqualand flowers. The wildflowers bloom from early August to the end of September. The Hantam National Botanical Garden is at Nieuwoudtville (wildflower route).

Airports Company South Africa runs O.R. Tambo (Johannesburg), Cape Town, King Shaka (Durban), King Phalo (East London), Chief Dawid Stuurman (Gqeberha), George, Kimberley, Bram Fischer and Upington (ACSA). Mthatha and Pietermaritzburg are not ACSA airports.

Durban (DUR). KwaZulu-Natal's tourism body says most visitors arrive at King Shaka (Zulu Kingdom). Ride With Locals starts and ends there and includes the transfers. Alfie Cox Racing's base is 70 km away, and its tour riders fly home from Durban.

Mthatha. Alfie Cox Racing routes riders from Johannesburg on SA Airlink, "a 1-hour flight", and collects them.

East London. Between 20 and 30 flights land at King Phalo each day (King Phalo). WildWood runs a shuttle on request to its Highest Passes tour, about 250 km away. Hole in the Wall is just over 200 km from East London; South African Tourism says to "set aside four hours for the drive".

Cape Town. WildWood's Cederberg / Tankwa tour starts and ends in Cape Town.

Pietermaritzburg. Dust Trails' Rhodes tour starts at Pietermaritzburg Airport. Dust Trails offers airport pickup.

The Western Cape gets most of its rain in winter; the rest of the country gets summer rain. Summer highs average 28°C. Winter runs from about 1°C at night to around 18°C by day (South Africa's climate).

Regional notes from South African Tourism:

• Sani Pass: best "between September and April". "Winter usually brings snow and ice."
• Baviaanskloof: spring, September to November, is most pleasant. December to March is near 30°C.
• The Little Karoo: "The summer months (November to March) are very hot."
• Namaqualand: flowers from early August to the end of September.

Operator seasons: Dust Trails' dates run October to April. Alfie Cox Racing's booking agent gives March to November, on request. Ride With Locals and WildWood state no season. Alfie Cox Racing says KwaZulu-Natal summers reach around 33°C, and tells riders: "No heavy enduro gear for summer tours."

• Enduro in South Africa: coastal vehicle rules, private land, Sani Pass and the national hard enduro scene.
• Enduro in Lesotho: the Roof of Africa, the terrain and the rider conduct rules.
• Roof of Africa: the race, its format and past winners.
• South African riders: Alfie Cox and Wade Young, nine Roof of Africa wins each.