70 awesome places South Africans can visit without a visa in 2020

Between the paperwork and the application fee, getting a visa can be nearly as painful as getting a jab at the travel clinic. So why not avoid the whole laborious process if you can? 

Although the power of the South African passport has slipped in recent years, there are still an array of exciting destinations we can visit visa-free. A whopping 70 in fact, according to the 2020 Henley Passport Index.

This index ranks the world's passports from strongest to weakest based on data from the International Air Transport Association and research by Henley.

The Henley Passport Index's interactive website is updated in real time, as and when visa policy changes come into effect, making it a handy resource to use when planning your next overseas holiday. It not only shows which destinations South African passport holders do and don't need visas to visit, but also those where visas can be obtained on arrival.

Here are the 70 destinations it currently states we can travel to visa-free:

AFRICA

Angola

Benin

Botswana

Eswatini (Swaziland)

Gabon

Kenya

Lesotho

Malawi

Mauritius

Mozambique

Namibia

Reunion

Senegal

Tanzania

Tunisia

Zambia

Zimbabwe

AMERICAS

Argentina

Belize

Brazil

Chile

Costa Rica

Ecuador

El Salvador

Falkland Islands

Guatemala

Guyana

Honduras

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Uruguay

Venezuela

ASIA

Hong Kong

Indonesia

Macao

Malaysia

Philippines

Singapore

South Korea

Thailand

CARIBBEAN

Antigua and Barbuda

Bahamas

Barbados

British Virgin Islands

Cayman Islands

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Grenada

Haiti

Jamaica

Montserrat

Kitts and Nevis

Lucia

Vincent and the Grenadines

Trinidad and Tobago

Turks and Caicos Islands

EUROPE

Ireland

Kosovo

Russian Federation

MIDDLE EAST

Georgia

Israel

Palestinian Territory

Qatar

OCEANIA

Cook Islands

Fiji

Micronesia

Niue

Vanuatu

DISCLAIMER: Always check visa requirements with your airline and travel agent well before your departure date.