South Africans are pretty spoilt for choice when it comes to travelling. Sure, we aren’t able to book flights at ridiculously cheap prices to visit neighbouring countries, but we’re also lucky enough to be surrounded by eight different biomes that treat us to various landscapes, flora and fauna on whim.

And, according to SafariNow, a leading travel booking and e-commerce company, that’s just what South Africans like to do: Take short 2-3 day trips with little to no advance planning. As explained by the company’s COO, Tom Williams:

The local market clearly prefers self-driving holidays, as it allows people to be spontaneous and flexible, and it also enables travelers to discover new corners of their own country (at affordable prices).

People from Gauteng are the most active travelers across all provinces, making up 80% of the visitors to KwaZulu-Natal alone. People from the Western Cape come in at a distant second, and tend to stay closer to home – favouring Hermanus, Langebaan and Wilderness.

Basically, people are looking to keep costs down so are opting for more affordable and family-friendly destinations. And it’s even more prevalent this December – 18 out of the top 20 most popular towns are on the coast, with the only non-coastal towns being Bela Bela in Limpopo and Hazyview in Mpumalanga.

On the top of the list is Margate on the South coast, followed by Ballito and Umhlanga on the North coast.

Only proving that costs are a deciding factor, Margate is by far the cheapest option, with an average price per person/per night of R357.

Ballito and Umhlanga are more expensive options with an average per person/per night price of R720 and R790 respectively.

Unsurprisingly, Margate and Ballito are five times more popular than Camps Bay – which has an average per person/per night price topping R1000.

Local travelers also love to visit Knysna, Mossel Bay, Blouberg and Plettenberg Bay – underscoring the fact that the Western Cape is a true traveler’s haven and one of the country’s most beautiful regions.

Looking beyond our borders, Ponta do Ouro in Mozambique and Swakopmund in Namibia are popular self-driving destinations for adventure-hungry South Africans.

While our research highlights that most South Africans are willing to pile into their cars and explore the countryside over December, I believe that, on the whole, we are still quite cautious (and perhaps lazy) during the rest of the year. Despite the fact that most people openly state they would like to travel more frequently, they pass up on opportunities to discover new towns and cities over weekends and public holidays.

As most South Africans are just a few hours away from diverse and breathtaking landscapes, why not take advantage and satisfy that wanderlust more often? Hop over to SafariNow to check their December rates. You won’t lose.