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Find cheap flights to South Africa from $426

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from the United States to South Africa departing on 4/26. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
0 bags
Wed 4/17
Wed 4/24

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Best South Africa Flight Deals

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours

Johannesburg
Johannesburg1 stop$661
Cape Town
Cape Town1 stop$879
Port Elizabeth
Port Elizabeth2 stops$1,218
Hoedspruit
Hoedspruit2 stops$1,579
George
George2 stops$1,241
East London
East London2 stops$1,480
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg2 stops$1,378
Polokwane
Polokwane2 stops$1,607

Good to know

Low season

April

High season

December

Cheapest flight

$426
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 1% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 24% increase in price.
Flight from New York John F Kennedy Airport to OR Tambo Airport, Johannesburg

FAQs - booking South Africa flights

  • What transport options do I have from Oliver Tambo International Airport?

    JNB connects to a train link system that offers transit to and from the airport. You could take a train to the city center when visiting South Africa and land at Tambo Airport. The train link runs at 12-minute intervals and operates between 5:15 a.m. and 10 p.m. You can also hire a metered taxi at the ground transportation area. You can use hotel shuttles serving the airport if you check into one of the hotels.

  • Do South African airports offer accessible services to passengers with special needs?

    Passengers with reduced mobility can request wheelchairs from the airlines. You can request pre-boarding, boarding, and aisle chair assistance at any of the airports. The airports have wheelchair-accessible facilities to allow for independent access by passengers with limited mobility. To acquire the accessibility services, ensure you make a reservation at least two days before your travel date. The airports also have facilities suited for hard-of-hearing passengers and the visually impaired.

  • Can I rent a car at South Africa's airports?

    Yes, South Africa's airports offer car rental services for convenient movement around the country. The airports' car rental agencies include Avis, Capital, Europcar, Select, Thrifty, and Woodford car rental. To rent a vehicle, you must be at least 18 years old, a valid driver's license holder for at least a year, and an International Driver's Permit holder. The renting process is easy as you can drive out of the airport with your rental car upon landing.

  • What are the most common layover cities when flying to South Africa?

    You can opt for direct flights from the U.S. to different parts of South Africa. However, if a flight with layovers fits you, there are several options. The layover destination you choose depends on the origin city and the destination city in SA. If you are flying into SA Johannesburg from Chicago's ORD, you can have your layover in Paris (CGD) or Istanbul (IST). From ATL, you can stop in Amsterdam (AMS). You can also have your layover at Amsterdam or Frankfurt (FRA) when flying to SA from New York JFK.

  • Are there nonstop flights to South Africa?

    Although there are flights from the United States available to over a dozen different small and large cities throughout South Africa, the only nonstop flights from the US to South Africa arrive in Johannesburg. Some of the nonstop flights to Johannesburg are available from Atlanta and Washington, DC.

  • Do I need a visa to enter South Africa?

    To visit South Africa for a duration of up to 90 days, United States nationals are not required to acquire a visa in advance. Instead, a visitor’s visa can be obtained at the port of entry on arrival. Official visa rules can be found on South Africa’s government immigration website and are subject to change without notice.

  • Where should I fly to if I want to visit Kruger National Park?

    If you’re one of the many tourists heading to South Africa to visit the Kruger National Park, it can be handy to fly into Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP). Although there are no direct routes, this airport gives direct access to the southern section of Kruger National Park. One of the most common layovers is in Johannesburg and you can find that more than one airline operates the route. Some of the companies are South Africa and jetBlue.

  • I want to visit Table Mountain in South Africa, which city should I fly to?

    Table Mountain is another extremely popular tourist destination in South Africa, and it lies just outside of the city of Cape Town. To get there, you can fly into Cape Town then take one of the many available buses or taxis to the base of Table Mountain, where you can either hike or take a cable car the rest of the way.

  • How long is the flight to South Africa?

    An average nonstop flight from the United States to South Africa takes 25h 26m, covering a distance of 8827 miles. The most popular route is New York - Johannesburg with an average flight time of 19h 50m.

  • What is the cheapest flight to South Africa?

    The cheapest ticket to South Africa from the United States found in the last 72 hours was $866 one-way, and $661 round-trip. The most popular route is New York John F Kennedy Intl to Johannesburg OR Tambo and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $661.

  • Which airlines fly to South Africa?

    United Airlines & Delta fly the most frequently from the United States to South Africa.

  • What are the most popular destinations in South Africa?

    The next most popular destinations are Cape Town (34%) and Sun City Resort (18%). Searches for flights to Durban (2%), to Port Elizabeth (0.5%) and to Hoedspruit (0.3%) are also popular.

  • How does KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a given destination and date is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to South Africa

  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest South Africa flight deals.
  • South Africa has three main international airports spread through its three major cities — Johannesburg's Oliver Tambo Airport (JNB), Cape Town's Airport (CPT), and Durban's King Shaka Airport (DUR). CPT is the metropolitan area's main gateway, JNB has good accessibility and connectivity, and DUR is the best regional airport in South Africa.
  • Oliver Tambo Airport in Johannesburg is South Africa's primary hub, the busiest in the continent and the center for South African Airways. If you are flying into South Africa from the U.S., consider landing in JNB, as it serves six continents globally.
  • Johannesburg is South Africa's gateway and an entry point for direct flights from the U.S. All direct flights from the U.S. land in Johannesburg from Atlanta (ATL), New York (JFK), and Washington, D.C. (IAD). The destination airport is JNB.
  • If you are flying to Oliver Tambo Airport, the airport is easy to maneuver. JNB consists of two terminals, A and B, with a central terminal building handling luggage and check-in connecting the two terminals. You can walk to either of the terminals.
  • If you are visiting the metropolitan area of South Africa, fly into Cape Town Airport, which offers a hassle-free travel experience. The airport is the only one in the metro area offering scheduled passenger services.
  • Getting to South Africa will almost certainly involve a layover, which commonly also includes a change in airline. One of the most common (and most affordable) routes to South Africa from the United States is from New York City (JFK Airport) to Johannesburg. This route is nonstop and is operated by South Africa Airways.
  • When booking your flight to South Africa, you’ll have no shortage of airports to choose from. There are more than 15 international airports in South Africa that you can fly to from the United States, with the airports in Johannesburg and Cape Town seeing the most international air traffic.
  • Heading to the Valley of 1,000 hills? This popular attraction is located in the Durban area. To get there, you’ll have to fly into Durban King Shaka International Airport (DUR). Located in the city of La Mercy, the airport is reachable via a layover in Johannesburg.
  • If you’re one of the many tourists heading to South Africa to hike up to Lion’s Head, you’ll have to fly into Cape Town for convenient access. Common layovers between the US and Cape Town include Madrid and Johannesburg.
  • To reach Ballito (nicknamed the Dolphin Coast), your best option is to fly into Durban King Shaka International Airport. Direct flights to this airport aren’t available from the US, with most involving a layover in Johannesburg.
See more tips

Top 5 airlines flying to South Africa

Need help choosing which airline to fly with from the United States to South Africa? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to KAYAK reviews.
8.0
DeltaOverall score based on 11551 reviews
82boarding
86crew
81overall
81entertainment
79comfort
75food
Airline reviews

Uncomfortable seats on 14 hour flight. Mediocre food. On time and great crew.

Read more about Delta

Uncomfortable seats on 14 hour flight. Mediocre food. On time and great crew.

Please see my lengthy description on MSP to Atlanta survey. Tailbone is killing me from old hard seats. Seat would not recline and were not near exit row. Entertainment did not work properly and couldn’t use. No audio and touch screen failed. 3 plus hours of discomfort in narrower seats than previous flight not in comfort plus. Very dissatisfied and deserve comfort plus charges refunds, at the very least, for both my wife and I. The plane needs to be retired. Please feel free to contact me directly for further details.

MSP to Atlanta was much better than Atlanta to St. Kitts. Paid $180 each for myself and wife for Delta comfort from Atlanta to St. Kitts. Seats were more narrow and obviously old and worn out. Tailbone is killing me. Seat would not recline. Seats behind reclined and we were not an exit row or in front of an exit row. Entertainment did not work in that the movie jumped forward and back and there was no audio. The plug in the arm rest was loose. Flight attendant tried “resetting” the video for my seat but no good. She never checked back. Someone else near me had the same issue. Touch screen was unresponsive. No where near as comfortable as MSP to Atlanta flight. 3 plus hrs. flight time without the basic amenities and not even remotely close to comfortable but paid for Comfort plus. I will be very disappointed if I have the same on my return “Comfort Plus” flight St. Kitts to Atlanta. At the very least my wife and I should be refunded for round trip “Comfort Plus” charges. Please feel free to contact me directly for more details.

public website still broken for years randomly blocking browsers with privacy options active after loading a page maybe once. check-in on laptop was almost impossible but eventually randomly worked. had to print pass at airport since couldn't get back in to load digital pass on mobile firefox or chrome. red eye flight so smooth onboarding, plenty of room to spread out, easy offboarding. onboard wifi instructions mention vpn can cause problems connecting but fails to also mention private dns. no printed or built in menu list, seems weird to require personal device to point at qr code link for menu which does not even allow direct ordering. people with health condition risk related dietary restrictions trying to avoid for example cholesterol and sugar are left guessing what they can order either way without nutritional info highlights (cranberry juice was minute maid cocktail with as much suger as typical can of soda). tap to pay wasn't working and always seems sketchy to manually enter card info. good movie variety, so limited tv was okay.

It wasn't really their fault it was the horrible winds and we just got unlucky.

Great experience overall. Check in at Austin was congested as they only have about 6 check in kiosks, one was broken, and there was a lot of Spring Break travelers.

The main person that was coordinating everything was a short white/light skin Spanish man and he was very rude. It honestly made me feel like it was everyone’s First day at work. His announcements were very not reasonable and they did not make sense. The stewardess on the flight that made the announcements she didn’t even know what she was talking about she sounded inebriated. There were no snacks or drinks on our flight there wasn’t even much turbulence. This flight was not enjoyable nor was it what a Delta flight should be and just this past week I flew with Delta 3 times.

The landing was bad and the hostess came two times and i was sleeping but when she served the person that nexts to me I woke up and she didn’t even asked me if I need any drink or snacks two times!!!!

The helpful attitude of the staff, and being a wheelchair passenger everyone was helpful and understanding. The trip was made comfortable by the upgraded seat which was given without my request, that was a great surprise. Thank you Delta.

I had a great travel experience as there weren't any delays and I was able to get to Mexico City on time for conference.

Quality of service on board was very inconsistent. FA service primarily seemed robotic and they barely engaged with passengers

I’m unclear why I had to pay extra for assigned seats as Turkish airlines did not honor the seating. We were placed across the aisle from each other on TK 34, and were seated behind one another on TK 694. Because my name was misspelled on e-ticket (Klawiter, instead of Klawitter) I could not log onto website to get the connection gate number in Istanbul. The monitors in the airport were a jumbled mess 1/2 Arabic and 1/2 English.

On line check in needs a lot of improvement. I tried and gave up.

Food not good, flight attendants not the best, not accommodating very ruff

the female flight attendant was racist towards me. I could tell she treated the two other passengers next to me with more softness.

Oh my god! For an13 hour flight they serve you food just one time. Also don’t be thirsty they give you a little small cup of soda to drink. They seem like their goal is to feed you one so they don’t have to be bothered with you. It quite surprise for such a long flight there are several times to eat at least three and the food was well lackluster. The food and lack of offering drinks which were always hot no ice provided.

We were traveling first class. Checkin counter lady and her manager, both were in bad mood and did not treat us well about checking in the handbag. The gate agent took care of it right away. I travel Turkish twice a year in first class. No one has ever refused to check in the hand bag. Not sure, why this agent and her manager refused. Everything else was excellent.

The 787 economy was a disaster for long haul. The space was too little compared to 777 or 747. Also the extremely low tray table behind the seat made any dining effort a nightmare. However, the movies were up to date, and the food taste was good, despite of terrible serving process caused by small space.

A little bit more comfort. It’s tight space around the seats. But all else is great and a smooth flight!

0ur assigned seats were given to other individuals when we boarded the plane. We were given new boarding passes with new seats all the way at the back of the plane. The reason given to us was that there were issues with the seats. We found out that there were no issues, and someone else's were seated on those.

737 Max was leaking water into the cabin through the windows. Overhead bins opened on landing. Bad bad plane.

I was not able to buy food in the flight. They refer to include your Credit card in the APP, and if you are not from USA (i have a credit card form Canada) it is not possible

Very bad , airplain had problem with engines , had to evacuate, had a delay on my trip for almost 4 hours , lost my rental car in london..

The plane boarded and deplaned twice before the crew timed out. Flight was 7 hours late departing. Horrible experience!

Aircraft has better leg room than any of United's larger planes. We had requested mobility assistance for this and related flights. United's response to all was superb.

No snacks served! Seating in the kast row in uncomfortable.

Over two hours wait to get wheelchair assistance from arrival to the departure gate for LA was unreasonable even though there appreared to be heavy demand.

Everything was very good. Boarding and takeoff were on time and organized. Had a good flight

Wouldn’t let me check in said couldn’t find a ticket had to wait very long Time

Awful…flight was delayed more than 12hrs, missed all connections to Fort Wayne, IN, had to get flight to another city 2 hours from my destination, flight was again delayed by 40 mins because they did not have enough fuel, again missed a connection, finally arrived in Indiana at 11pm…but before my 2 hour drive home, ay, no Five That Our Luggage Never Made On The plane and Still In Chicago

The 2 hour delay was frustrating but our crew did a great job getting us out quickly and keeping communication especially with the people who had connecting flights

Got a much appreciated surprise upgrade to an exit row and the crew was very friendly and helpful.

The only problem experienced was a ground stop in Chicago due to weather. But the crew handled everything professionally. They prioritized rebooking those passengers who had connecting flights and then deplaning the other passengers. When the hold was lifted, they efficiently re-boarded all the passengers so that we could depart before our departure limit expired.

The staff was unprofessional and didn’t communicate very well. The boarding process was very disheveled, potentially due to a power outage the previous day but there was no contingency plan to properly get passengers boarded the following day. Once boarded the aircraft stayed on the tarmac for over 45 minutes due to high winds. The communication was sporadic but an announcement was finally made an additional 30 minutes later that the flight was cancelled but we couldn’t get off the plane. Prior to deplaning one of the gate agents came on the plane and made an announcement for everyone to pickup their checked bags and take a card to rebook a new reservation because they didn’t have adequate staff. Flights were missed, passengers went to different airports and there was little to no assistance from AA.

Boarding time was easy & quick. Crew was excellent. In-flight entertainment was great/easy. Seats are too small and not enough room between rows: felt like a sardine/very cramped.

Absolutely filthy flight and not equipped for a trans US

Everything was on time; the flight attendants and the gate personnel were very pleasant and helpful.

I had trouble finding a boarding pass because I had an hour between Flights and American did not see my flight I believe because I was ticketed through KAYAK. I did not have enough time to go to the desk before boarding so I went to the desk and told them while I was boarding and they had a boarding pass for me within three minutes. Nice. I paid extra to have more legroom and it is definitely worth it for a six hour flight. I would’ve paid for a decent dinner, but they didn’t offer anything but a snack box —not good for six hours.

I have not found it to be easy to set up on Wi-Fi with American Airlines. I don’t know if it is me or poor instructions.

You cancelled my flight by email then made it very difficult to get in contact with you. Then put me in a flight with a long layover in Mexico returning to the wrong airport in uk. Mind blowing my stressful. I missed see my grand dad because of you.

The crew on this flight were attentive, efficient and friendly. It really made for an enjoyable flight.

The crew on this flight were excellent. They were friendly and attentive. It really made the flight more enjoyable.

They canceled my flight , they put me on a different flight that was delayed and the connection was lost . They lost my luggage. And now I’m stuck with any of my belongings.

British Airways canceled our plane and gave us a new flight scheduled to leave in only three hours, so we had to drop everything and rush to the airport. The new itinerary only left us a one hour layover in Madrid, which was too short because the plane landed late and so we missed our connecting flight. We were then booked onto a flight scheduled to take off 8 hours later, and were not given any compensation or remedial measures.

Seat layout, flight/club attendant service, food variety and quality could have been better. Business class Standard is visibly low compared with 6 other airlines that we have traveled for the past two years.

Despite many attempts to work out a change, neither British Airways nor Kayak nor Chatdeal would allow us to cancel or change this flight so we lost all of the payments when we were not able to fly. Absolutely terrible customer service. We will never use either of the services again.

It said that there was wifi. During the flight there was no wifi and while waiting at the gate the phone services already got cut off so I wasn’t able to say I am taxiing from the gate to my husband. This left me with an uncomfortable feeling. So I was waiting on the WiFi connection during flight and that never happened.

Asked for a wheelchair multiple times. Got denied the wheelchair in London layover.

They sell 1h /1h30min connection ticket that are impossible to make

Suite door was jammed but seat itself was very comfortable.

Book Cheap South Africa Plane Tickets

Recent round-trip flight deals

4/26Fri
1 stopSAUDIA
27h 05mJFK-JNB
5/11Sat
1 stopSAUDIA
41h 20mJNB-JFK
$661
4/28Sun
1 stopSAUDIA
27h 05mJFK-JNB
5/13Mon
1 stopSAUDIA
41h 20mJNB-JFK
$734
4/16Tue
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
40h 00mIAD-JNB
4/23Tue
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
32h 54mJNB-IAD
$953
4/16Tue
1 stopAmerican Airlines
28h 40mIAD-JNB
4/23Tue
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
32h 54mJNB-IAD
$994
4/16Tue
1 stopUnited Airlines
18h 16mIAD-JNB
4/23Tue
1 stopUnited Airlines
21h 05mJNB-IAD
$1,051
5/13Mon
1 stopBritish Airways
28h 40mIAD-JNB
5/24Fri
1 stopBritish Airways
31h 10mJNB-IAD
$1,100
5/13Mon
1 stopUnited Airlines
18h 16mIAD-JNB
5/17Fri
1 stopUnited Airlines
21h 05mJNB-IAD
$1,109
5/13Mon
1 stopBritish Airways
28h 40mIAD-JNB
5/22Wed
1 stopBritish Airways
31h 10mJNB-IAD
$1,210
9/3Tue
2 stopsDelta
24h 20mLGA-JNB
9/16Mon
2 stopsDelta
25h 17mJNB-LGA
$1,393
4/13Sat
1 stopDelta
19h 00mLGA-JNB
4/24Wed
2 stopsDelta
28h 34mJNB-LGA
$1,454

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Recent one-way flight deals

4/26Fri
1 stopSAUDIA
27h 05mJFK-JNB
$426
4/26Fri
1 stopSAUDIA
27h 05mJFK-JNB
$433
3/23Sat
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
52h 49mIAD-JNB
$680
3/23Sat
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
39h 49mIAD-JNB
$726
5/13Mon
1 stopBritish Airways
31h 45mEWR-CPT
$967
3/25Mon
1 stopBritish Airways
21h 05mEWR-CPT
$989
3/31Sun
1 stopDelta
25h 00mLGA-JNB
$1,122
8/25Sun
nonstopUnited Airlines
15h 00mEWR-JNB
$1,174
4/24Wed
nonstopUnited Airlines
14h 30mEWR-CPT
$1,178
4/1Mon
1 stopDelta
20h 50mLGA-CPT
$1,182

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Last minute flights to South Africa

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

3/23Sat
multi-stopEthiopian Air
33h 50mJFK-CPT
5/14Tue
multi-stopEthiopian Air
34h 40mCPT-JFK
$896
3/23Sat
multi-stopEthiopian Air
33h 50mJFK-CPT
5/18Sat
multi-stopEthiopian Air
34h 40mCPT-JFK
$946
3/19Tue
multi-stopDelta
22h 53mIAD-JNB
4/2Tue
multi-stopDelta
27h 47mJNB-IAD
$1,282
3/23Sat
multi-stopDelta
24h 05mLGA-JNB
4/1Mon
multi-stopDelta
26h 15mJNB-LGA
$1,560
3/20Wed
multi-stopBritish Airways
31h 15mEWR-CPT
5/22Wed
multi-stopBritish Airways
25h 15mCPT-EWR
$1,760
3/20Wed
multi-stopBritish Airways
21h 05mEWR-CPT
5/15Wed
multi-stopBritish Airways
29h 55mCPT-EWR
$1,767
3/23Sat
multi-stopUnited Airlines
26h 05mLGA-CPT
4/9Tue
multi-stopUnited Airlines
19h 37mCPT-LGA
$1,826
3/20Wed
nonstopUnited Airlines
14h 25mEWR-CPT
3/26Tue
multi-stopUnited Airlines
28h 30mCPT-EWR
$1,849
3/20Wed
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
26h 31mJFK-JNB
3/28Thu
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
30h 50mJNB-JFK
$2,006
3/20Wed
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
26h 31mJFK-JNB
3/28Thu
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
29h 44mJNB-JFK
$2,016

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Flights to South Africa

Return flight deals:

South Africa - United States

Cabin classes:

$6,363
$1,891
$1,310

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