Durban, South Africa

Durban, South Africa
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Durban_skyline.jpg
Author: PhilippN


Durban is the third biggest city in South Africa. Located in the eThekwini metropolitan municipality, it is the largest city in the KwaZulu-Natal province and the busiest seaport of South Africa. Durban covers 2,292 sq km (885 sq mi) and has a population of 3.5 million people.

According to archaeological excavations, the area around Durban has been inhabited by hunter-gatherer communities as far as as 100,000 BC. Nothing much is known about the area until the arrival of the Portuguese under Vasco da Gama, who sailed along the coast during Christmastide and decided to name it Natal, meaning Christmas in Portuguese.

The city of Durban was founded when the British arrival on the northern shore of the Bay of Natal. They were headed by Lieutenant F.G. Farewell. Joining them was adventurer Henry Francis Fynn, who helped the Zulu King Shaka recover from a stab wound. In gratitude, King Shaka gave the land to the British. The settlement was then name Durban, after governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Benjamin d'Urban.

Durban experiences a mild subtropical climate. The summers here are warm and wet while the winters moderately dry and cool. Warmest months are January to March, when the average high temperature reaches 28°C (82°F). Coldest months are July and August, when the average low temperature drops to 3°C (37°F). January receives the most rain, at 134 mm (5.28 in).

Downtown Durban
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Durban-downtown.jpg
Author: Henry Trotter

Visiting Durban

The new King Shaka International Airport is the gateway to Durban. It is located 40 km to the north of downtown. Arriving visitors can take the taxi to the city center. Fare is estimated around R400. Alternative to taxis are the airport shuttle buses, which cost only R80.

Anstey Beach, Durban
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Durban_anstey.jpg
Author: PhilippN

Places of Interest in Durban

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.