Any Experience for Inter Racial couples in South Africa?

We visited West & East Africa years ago, on a long & wonderful trip, but did not include South Africa because this was in the time of apartheid & we are an inter racial couple. We have long wanted to back back & see South Africa,with the change in That country's laws, and now we are planning that trip (combining cruise & land visit). Yet we still wonder if we are likely to encounter problems, animosity, actual discrimination...in any significant way. So this is to ask if any CC members have had any experience with such travel in recent years. Reports would be appreciated.

We are not an inter racial couple but originally from SA and go back every few years andI am sure you will have no problem as we see so many white SA have now inter married and it is the norm and perfectly accepted as it should be ,It is such a beautiful country -Cape Town is a must and I hope you have a wonderful time.

Thanks Loerie...Capetown is on our itinerary.

So this is to ask if any CC members have had any experience with such travel in recent years. Reports would be appreciated.

Until you posted this thread, it hadn't even occurred to me to see myself in terms of being half of a mixed race couple, let alone wonder whether any issues might arise as a result when we are in South Africa.

So I would advise not even giving this a second thought.

I have been in SA for three weeks now (currently in Cape Town). While I certainly would not say there are no racial issues here, I have not noticed any such problem for interracial couples, though I have seen very few. As a tourist, doubt you will notice much of a reaction.

I was there last year with my husband, who is Caucasian, and I am Asian. Although it is still very different from the integrated city we live in (Toronto) where pretty much most couples are mixed in some way, we did not feel any discrimination nor felt we stood out. We did notice that despite apartheid ending, there were still a lot of remnants of racial division in terms of residences, jobs, restaurants and shopping venues. Cape Town and the wine regions were the most integrated while the east was not as much.

I am half of an inter racial couple and we were there 6 years ago. Stayed with family in Johannesberg and Cape Town. No issues at all. We also took a hotel in Cape Town for a couple of nights and did a 4-night Gold Coast tour with another white couple from Europe. No issues at all. Go with the attitude that there is no issue, and there should be , no issue! Have a great vacation. I loved South Africa!

On a related note, a sign of how far South Africa has come lies in one of the election results last week. A white farmer named Athol Trollip is now the mayor-elect of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality (which includes the city of Port Elizabeth). He is a fluent Xhosa speaker, and could not have been elected without huge support from black voters. (His white predecessor was an ANC appointee, not elected.) See this Reuters article for more background: ANC shaken to core as South African voters look beyond race. There is much more distance yet to be travelled, but it may be an interesting illustrative nugget for anyone who hasn't had much experience of South Africa since the days of apartheid.