Cape Town - South Africa is a holiday paradise for families with children - who can ride elephants, pet cheetahs and splash in the Indian Ocean - to name just a few activities. It is also an ideal gateway to exotic Africa for families who do not want to do without European standards.

"An increasing number of tour operators offer trips tailor-made for kids," noted Stephan Gotta, who works for South African Tourism in Frankfurt, Germany.

"Hotels and restaurateurs have reacted to rising demand and geared accommodation and prices to families with children." Demand has grown steadily since 2007, he said.

The region around Cape Town is particularly suited for an exciting and relaxing stay in Africa.

Autumn in South Africa, from February to April, is pleasantly warm. And the current weakness of the rand, South Africa's currency, makes a holiday there relatively inexpensive.

South Africa is naturally child-friendly. Almost all hotels and restaurants welcome children - children's beds and highchairs are standard equipment. Self-catering holiday homes are common, and most places have playgrounds. Many lodges and hotels provide a baby-sitting service so that parents can go out to eat without their brood.

To help ensure that a South African holiday with children is a success, parents would do well to heed a few tips. Malaria zones should definitely be avoided. One of them, unfortunately, is the famous Kruger National Park. But there are many malaria-free places offering safaris for children, so steering clear of Kruger is easily bearable.

In view of children's urge for physical activity, parents should try to fly the approximately 11 hours to South Africa - and also back again - at night. Depending on the airline, this can be rather expensive, but the extra cost is worth it. The children can sleep on the plane and arrived rested.

It is also advisable to keep the itinerary short, which is not easy considering South Africa's many attractions. A compromise for parents and children is the densely vegetated Garden Route along the coast of the Indian Ocean between Port Elizabeth and Mossel Bay. Long, sandy beaches near Knysna and Hermanus are good spots for the little ones to dig in the sand and splash in the surf.

Private game resorts along the route - with animals including rhinos, buffaloes, giraffes and lions - offer safaris for children. Ostrich farms around Oudtshoorn have tours for children, who are even allowed to stand on the big birds' eggs. In the vicinity of Addo Elephant National Park, near Port Elizabeth, the kids can not only pet and feed the pachyderms but ride them as well.

There is no shortage of activities for the offspring, and the beauty and diversity of the landscape compensates parents for the inadvisability of extending their daily programme past nightfall. As some cities are considered unsafe, tourists are warned against after-dark pub crawls. Instead, an eventful day can be capped off with a glass of wine on the veranda under South Africa's starry skies.

INFO BOX: South Africa's Garden Route

ARRIVAL: Carriers with service to Cape Town include Lufthansa, British Airways, KLM, Air Berlin and South African Airways. There is often a stopover in Johannesburg.

CLIMATE: Autumn in South Africa (February to April) is pleasantly warm and dry along the Garden Route. Precipitation can be expected year-round.

Internet: www. southafrica. net. (dpa)