R7 836 Find Cheap Flights from the United States to South Africa

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KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to South Africa

Get data-powered insights and trends for flights to South Africa to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest flight to South Africa?

These are the best return prices found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.

The cheapest ticket to South Africa from the United States found in the last 72 hours was to Cape Town, at R1 584 return. The most popular route is Atlanta (ATL) to Johannesburg OR Tambo Airport (JNB) and the cheapest return airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was R1 615.

What is the cheapest month to fly from the United States to South Africa?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights from the United States to South Africa, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from the United States to South Africa is March, when tickets cost R24 422 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and July, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is R35 270 and R34 517 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from the United States to South Africa?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights to South Africa, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below-average price on the flight from the United States to South Africa, you should book around 2 weeks before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 14 weeks before departure.

Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in South Africa?

Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in South Africa is Cape Town Intl Airport (CPT), with an average flight price of R14 410.


Good to know

Low seasonJuly
High seasonDecember
Cheapest flightR7 836
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 18% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly (30% more expensive on average)
Flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg

FAQs for booking flights from the United States to South Africa

  • 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 does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from the United States to South Africa?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from the United States to South Africa.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from the United States to South Africa?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from the United States to South Africa is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from the United States to South Africa?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional return ticket. You could then fly from the United States to South Africa with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from the United States to South Africa?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying from the United States to South Africa up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to South Africa?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to South Africa is Wednesday when return tickets can be as cheap as R25 682. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Thursday, when return prices are R28 472 on average.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to South Africa?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to South Africa is generally at night, when round-trip flights cost R1 303 on average. Morning departures are around 26% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to South Africa is generally in the afternoon, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is R1 955.

Top tips for finding a cheap flight out of the United States

  • 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.

Top 5 airlines serving from the United States 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 verified KAYAK customer reviews.
7,4
Qatar AirwaysOverall score based on 3585 reviews
7,4Entertainment
7,9Crew
7,3Food
7,5Boarding
7,4Comfort
Airline reviews

This trip was the most comfortable one I have ever experienced, the team was excellent and very helpful. I am so glad I picked Qatar Airways.

10,0 ExcellentItimad, Mar 2025BOS - DOH
Read more Qatar Airways reviews

This trip was the most comfortable one I have ever experienced, the team was excellent and very helpful. I am so glad I picked Qatar Airways.

All the crew members were too slow and rude. Most of the times the registers were empty, while hundreds of customers were waiting in line, and it was impossible to get a supervisor. Despite being in line on time, I missed my freight, plus a some customers who were ahead and behind me.

Well organized boarding, efficient and on time. Nice crew on the plane. Thank you!

The Qatar Airways staff pre-boarding and also on the flight from Dallas to Doha were incredibly mediocre and arrogant. Consider retraining these individuals Other flights were ok.

My experience with Qatar airway was very unsatisfactory. They lost my child’s stroller and I was told they found it and will send it to the hotel which was a lie. I had to go back to the airport baggage claim and pick up myself after trying to contact them many times!. There was a lack professional and communication. I am very disappointed in Qatar airway and will not be recommending them to friends and family nor will I be flying with them in the future.

Worst air experience in whole life . Boarding and checking was hassle as they did 3 times. Crew team was clueless about passengers need. Despite of passengers raising hand , they were resetting the program

The food is not good and also if you ask crew to bring something they say ok I will bring but you will never get it. Please they should listen good to passengers

No difference between US airline and Qatar. Both cramp as many people. The airline seems to change planes without notice choice is seating when making reservations online doesn’t match the plane a passenger is on. Especially paying extra. Nothing special No different than US carriers.

Did not like anything. Seats were crammed, leg space was minimal and food was terrible. This was the first time traveling overseas in American Airlines and was the worst experience ever. Have learned a lesson to never travel in American Airlines.

Delayed my flights and no communication. We end up spending 6 hrs in Doha. No food or any concern from the airline. Terrible

Gate agent did not hold flight for connection, provided no assistance to get new flight

Evidently, my seat had the only broken TV. I couldn’t plug it in, get it to come on, or watch anything, and of course, no one could fix it while we were on the plane. The service was good and the boarding was quick

United airlines, mediocre at best. No issues , nothing great . Worked for me

Boarding experience was smooth. Flight attendants were friendly and helpful. Entertainment system on the Houston-Edmonton flight did not function for passengers on the left side of the aisle. On the bird's eye flight from Quito to Houston, they should not serve a meal. No one needs to eat after midnight and it is disturbing for those passengers trying to sleep.

it was so bad. I tried to board my flight from vancouver to saskatoon. And to my surprise they did not board me cause the flight was changed and no email was send to me. and on my boarding pass which i got from seattle says different flight. I did not knew anyone from Vancouver, air canada crew was rude, i asked for today flight but they were rude and i had early morning dental appointment in saskatoon. I was so much in pain and my whole day is wasted today. and i suffered alot. They did provide me hotel but they did not provide me any food. I am really really disappointed first time had so bad experience with air canada. I may think twice to book it again. If i can get any reply or any composition that would be great. Thanks

It was fine, definitely older planes with no charging or anything. There’s no entertainment set up on board, but it is nice that they allow you to access the in flight entertainment from your phone without having to pay for the Wi-Fi and they do offer free texting.

Terrible. Out flight was delayed for 21 (twenty one) hours. United is a joke.

Boarding was mayhem. Late boarding by 15 minutes because of lack of staff (missing 1 flight attendant. We had to wait for an arrival of another plane before we could board). Flight was a little rough, but cannot blame on airlines.

Impressed with the service despite turbulence because of the weather. Both flights arrived before their scheduled times.

Very comfortable (upgraded to business class). The audio on my screen didn’t work, but I managed to play the audio through my phone while watching the screen.

Bad experience; they are not good anymore. They charge too much for luggage seat are so uncomfortable, Flight delays which may miss your next flight, they don’t care if you miss the flight or not. Zero customer services for front desk representatives Istanbul's airport I’m not using this airline any more.

I’ve been traveling for 20 years. I tried Turkish airline for the first time horrible horrible service and it would be my last time even if I get offer for a free ticket, I will not accept it. They have races and the worst Flight attendant

It wasn't good. I didn’t understand. They changed 320 dollars for 2 luggage. My ticket was regular and I paid almost 1200.00 dollars. Why they did charge? I want my money back.. thanks Yılmaz polat

Very punctual, the onboard staff was friendly and correct, the flight was fortunately very calm, the toilets were clean, in short, an excellent experience Thanks

Ordered Vegan meal - it was ok, but not exceptional. Seat ok row 39 middle section aisle. Nearly full flight - crew was busy but they did the best they could. There was a USB A port at the seat. I listened to my own music and only looked at flight information. One nice thing was the connection information was made available in the screen.

Very nice and friendly crew. Boarding system can be improved.

The Etickets had been changed (Why?) without notice ; Hence, that caused troubles when checking in. Not until I contacted my ticket agent and was given correct Etickets could I then check in.

Make sure to request a vegetarian meal in advance. They printed out menus for all passengers with the options but by the time they were halfway through (for breakfast and dinner), the vegetarian options were already all taken.

Cleanliness of seats, trays, storage pockets need more attention, but everything else was good.

A great airline, no complaints at all. My experience with Cheap Tickets was very disappointing however. Two hours after purchasing the flight they called to tell me that the ticket price had gone up. I’ve never heard of such a thing. That is called false advertising; I will never use this ticketing service again and will warn all friends to never use it.

Im if Ethiopian can allow customers to use their mileage for in flight connexion it will be great.

United was best airlines I have seen since I got there choose united airlines

It was wonderful best Air lines covert and all very happy with their service they have been very helpful and friendly

Flight was delayed an hour. Also, I bought an extra legroom seat online; but the actually plane was a different configuration so I didn't get what I paid for . This happened on the Addis to Lusaka leg of my trip.

Needs improvement because some of the tvs and charging ports weren’t working

My experience was great. The flight attendants were very helpful and nice, and the food was very good.

Very bad experience flight was over 5 hours delayed 😑 not a chance to be put on another flight we had to stay at the hotel we lost 2 days on our vacation. Never again I will fligh with Ethiopian airlines.

Terrible customer service I lost my bag luggage and I still haven’t received any information

The flight delayef for over 2 hours so my route was changed leading to arriving to my destination without my luggage

The ailine departed and arrived late foe every leg of the trip, causing myself and my travel companions to miss every connecting flight. It was very unorganized given theat there was a lot of miscommunication. The flights offered are unrealistic and when you call they assure you that the plane waits for you. I missed an. entire day of my vacation and any entire day of rest back home because of the airline. I do not plan to support the airline again. Thank you

This was the second time on BA, food terrible, bathrooms gross,( granted, that was mostly due to the disgusting children urinating all over it)boarding was late and disorganized. No gate issued until last minute st Heathrow, bad system, caused undue stress. Seats were painful, that's what you get for traveling like a poor in economy, right BA? Should have been able to afford business or first class if you want to actually be able to walk upright without back pain after a trip.

This was the second time on BA, food terrible, bathrooms gross, boarding late and disorganized. No gate issued until last minute st Heathrow, bad system, caused undue stress.

The flight was delayed twice and because of that, we missed our connecting flight. British Airways then attempted to put us on the last flight to Milan from London which would have kept us in the airport for 12 hours. We had to speak to several levels of bureaucracy until BA management let us fly on a flight that only kept us in the airport for two hours. If there was an earlier flight, why weren’t we put on that flight from the start? Unacceptable behavior from what was once my favorite carrier.

The payment system was not working so was unable to connect wifi the entire flight

everything to do with KAYAK was terrible. Your customer facing departments are utterly useless, timewasting and unhelpful.

I ordered short ribs for main course. It tasted sweet, really sweet. Horrible.

Our luggage didn’t arrive with us, that puts a damper on the whole trip.

The screen didn’t work and I didn’t get the seat upgrade I paid $300 for. They were no help with that,

Paid $180 for seat selection, and selection essnt honored. Have to call for a refund.

Was 3 hrs delayed and my poor friend I met in Barcelona was waiting at airport for 3 hrs. Dallas airport was awful

Book cheap flights from the United States to South Africa

Recent return flight deals

2/11Sun
1 stopTurkish Airlines
32h 10mJFK-JNB
6/11Thu
1 stopTurkish Airlines
22h 55mJNB-JFK
R14 685
26/8Tue
1 stopTurkish Airlines
30h 55mIAD-JNB
12/9Fri
1 stopTurkish Airlines
31h 50mJNB-IAD
R14 703
24/9Wed
1 stopEthiopian Air
20h 10mIAD-JNB
30/9Tue
2 stopsEthiopian Air
24h 25mJNB-IAD
R16 693
20/10Mon
1 stopEthiopian Air
20h 10mIAD-JNB
28/10Tue
2 stopsEthiopian Air
27h 15mJNB-IAD
R16 783
16/11Sun
2 stopsQatar Airways
33h 00mJFK-JNB
30/11Sun
1 stopQatar Airways
33h 05mJNB-JFK
R16 962
15/9Mon
1 stopQatar Airways
30h 35mIAD-JNB
22/9Mon
2 stopsQatar Airways
35h 30mJNB-IAD
R16 980
26/6Thu
1 stopUnited Airlines
18h 30mIAD-JNB
9/7Wed
1 stopUnited Airlines
20h 16mJNB-IAD
R19 419
26/6Thu
1 stopUnited Airlines
18h 30mIAD-JNB
10/7Thu
2 stopsUnited Airlines
32h 02mJNB-IAD
R19 509
14/8Thu
1 stopBritish Airways
29h 50mJFK-CPT
23/8Sat
1 stopBritish Airways
25h 30mCPT-JFK
R20 064
15/11Sat
1 stopBritish Airways
29h 45mEWR-JNB
29/11Sat
1 stopBritish Airways
22h 55mJNB-EWR
R20 118

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Recent one-way flight deals

11/8Mon
1 stopTurkish Airlines
30h 50mATL-JNB
R7 836
11/8Mon
1 stopTurkish Airlines
30h 50mATL-JNB
R8 158
18/8Mon
1 stopQatar Airways
23h 10mIAD-JNB
R9 539
27/8Wed
1 stopQatar Airways
31h 50mIAD-CPT
R10 866
23/11Sun
2 stopsEthiopian Air
23h 40mEWR-JNB
R12 856
10/8Sun
2 stopsEthiopian Air
24h 10mEWR-JNB
R12 910
10/9Wed
directUnited Airlines
14h 55mEWR-JNB
R20 208
19/9Fri
directUnited Airlines
14h 45mEWR-CPT
R20 226
29/6Sun
2 stopsBritish Airways
35h 30mLGA-CPT
R83 073
23/10Thu
1 stopBritish Airways
26h 35mATL-JNB
R109 449

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Last minute flights to South Africa

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

17/6Tue
multi-stopKLM
29h 30mIAD-JNB
10/7Thu
multi-stopKLM
22h 20mJNB-IAD
R18 773
21/6Sat
multi-stopDelta
30h 20mIAD-JNB
15/7Tue
multi-stopDelta
27h 53mJNB-IAD
R19 114
20/6Fri
multi-stopUnited Airlines
18h 13mIAD-JNB
29/6Sun
multi-stopUnited Airlines
48h 49mJNB-IAD
R19 616
21/6Sat
multi-stopUnited Airlines
18h 25mIAD-JNB
9/7Wed
multi-stopUnited Airlines
20h 16mJNB-IAD
R20 315
17/6Tue
multi-stopEthiopian Air
20h 10mIAD-JNB
10/7Thu
multi-stopEthiopian Air
24h 25mJNB-IAD
R20 477
18/6Wed
multi-stopEthiopian Air
20h 10mIAD-JNB
20/6Fri
multi-stopEthiopian Air
24h 25mJNB-IAD
R21 284
21/6Sat
multi-stopBritish Airways
32h 55mJFK-CPT
17/7Thu
multi-stopBritish Airways
32h 05mCPT-JFK
R25 695
21/6Sat
multi-stopBritish Airways
33h 30mJFK-CPT
22/7Tue
multi-stopBritish Airways
27h 15mCPT-JFK
R26 770
21/6Sat
multi-stopTurkish Airlines
29h 15mJFK-CPT
1/7Tue
multi-stopTurkish Airlines
24h 20mCPT-JFK
R33 889
17/6Tue
multi-stopTurkish Airlines
23h 05mJFK-CPT
22/6Sun
multi-stopTurkish Airlines
24h 20mCPT-JFK
R34 086

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Everything you need to know for your flight to South Africa

Cabin class types available on flights to South Africa

Cabin classes available on flights to South Africa. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability is not guaranteed.

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