R10 057 Find cheap flights to California

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from South Africa to California departing on 25/11. 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

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These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to California
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to California
In the last 7 days, travellers have searched 47 946 175 times on KAYAK, and here's why:

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Best California Flight Deals

Cheapest return prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours

Los Angeles
Los Angeles1 stopR16 576
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stopR16 847
San Diego
San Diego1 stopR16 702
Sacramento
Sacramento2 stopsR65 382
San Jose
San Jose2 stopsR31 834

Good to know

Low season

February

High season

December

Cheapest flight

R10 057
Best time to beat the crowds (15% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 5% lower on average.
Flight from Johannesburg to San Francisco

FAQs - booking California flights

  • How long is the flight to California?

    An average direct flight from South Africa to California takes 32h 12m, covering a distance of 26549 km. The most popular route is Johannesburg - Los Angeles with an average flight time of 25h 55m.

  • What is the cheapest flight to California?

    The cheapest ticket to California from South Africa found in the last 72 hours was R16 576. The most popular route is Johannesburg OR Tambo to Los Angeles and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was R16 576.

  • What are the most popular destinations in California?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is San Francisco (18% of total searches to California). The next most popular destinations are San Diego (17%) and Los Angeles (16%). Searches for flights to San Jose (13%), to Las Vegas (11%) and to Ontario (9%) 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 travellers know whether to wait or book now.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to California

  • Book at least 1 week before departure in order to get a below-average price.
  • High season is considered to be July, August and September. The cheapest month to fly from South Africa is February.
  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest California flight deals.

Top 5 airlines flying to California

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying to California. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline from South Africa to California. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from South Africa to California? 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.
8,1
EmiratesOverall score based on 3487 reviews
8,1Boarding
8,0Comfort
8,3Crew
7,9Food
8,2Entertainment
Airline reviews

The entire crew was amazing. They went out of their way to make us enjoy a great travel experience.

10,0 ExcellentAnonymous, Nov 2024BOG - MIA
Read more Emirates reviews

The entire crew was amazing. They went out of their way to make us enjoy a great travel experience.

Loved everything! This flight had premium economy and I didn't see an option to upgraded to premium economy OR buy premium economy tickets. How come?

Some Crew were distinguishably fake in their interactions with passengers.

We was missed the flight They doesn’t lest us fly next flight without payment They charge me 606 hundred dollars What is very unacceptable,our first fight ticket was almost 2000 dollars, again paid 700 it’s hurt … airlines need to do something please

They were very pleasant and helpful. My husband and I were sitted apart. We asked if we could be seated together were told flight ws fuly booked but would try. After a while they were able to make it work we got seats together. Their food is good and attendents are very friendly/helpful.

The crew were friendly, dressed professionally and helpful when needed. The food was good to very good. The seats were comfortable and entertainment selections were excellent.   For that long of a flight Athens to Newark Economy is a little tight and the space became uncomfortable about mid-way. Next time I would try and get a Premium Economy seat. Especially for the return flight when one can be less enthused and tired. On the way to a vacation enthusiasm can outweigh discomfort.

The staff were very friendly and helpful. The seats were very comfortable and spacious. The entertainment was amazing, and so was the food!

Excellent staff! Flights were delayed due to technical issues after everyone was boarded and we sat in the flight for almost 2 hours before taking off. Not enough vegetarian food was available despite pre-ordering. The staff did an exceptional job dealing with both the problems neither of their making.

Better entertainment; the lack of it made the very long flight even longer

POOR CREW BEHAVIOR. RESTRICTIONS ON FOOD. FEELS LIKE ECONOMY CLASS.

This flight was 16 hours and they made it very tolerable. Seats were comfortable and the staff very accommodating. I had plenty of inflight entertainment. Food was very good.

They made 22 hours aboard aircraft very enjoyable. I was very impressed with the attention to detail and level of service. Singapore airline will be my preferred choice going forward.

Service excellent would chose Singapore airlines as my first choice

The staff were amazing and very kind. The seats recline a little too far back and are up close when sitting behind.

My groups frequent flyer star allianceUnited airline miles was not accepted. The Singapore premium economy bag had to be requested, it was very lacking- no toothbrush. I paid more than double than economy but could only use the bathrooms sharing with economy which was hardly available and had to wait in line. Is the 2X $ worth it just for a larger seat???? It is questionable. Seats were not that comfortable. My husband’s seat had white stains on it- had to wipe it down. Our headphones did not have covers on it. Food- way too much.

Fantastic patience when one of the passengers behind me was an absolute horrible, horrible person and the girls just kept smiling and doing their job with patience and kindness. Well, done to the crew.

Excellent- a lot of food Disappointed with the premium economy pouch- did not have toothbrush and tooth paste or socks. Other airlines provide them

My daughter and I had a pleasant trip to Singapore. Reliable and on time.

A 16 hour flight from Singapore to Los Angeles had only 2 meals. Please make it 3 meals.

Overall good experience, convenient Changi Airport, even the layover was long.

bad… no veg food was provided eventhough i pre ordered special meal

no veg food was provided eventhough i pre ordered special meal

Excellent service provided the flight crew. Food and drinks were very good.

Meal options for vegetarians can be provided… Nothing was offered for me for dinner.. crew just said no vegetarian option available and did even bother to provide any alternatives or something to eat.

Cathay has a great reputation, though it's baseline economy seating is nothing to write home about (and SE Asia flight passengers sometime lack 'routine stateside' etiquette). On the other hand, food was great, flight attendants were nice, and price was very good~

It would be nice if they could have a choice of both gluten AND dairy free menu. Lots of people have problems with BOTH. I also could not get on their website to check. Phone verification issues etc( not all of us have our phones on roaming. I tried over an hour!

Cathay was not the problem. The problem was the customer service from Kayak/Underprice. Will never book through Kayak again.

The crews were smiling all the time with soft tunes when they spoke; the food was excellent. Thank you!

They charged me $900 to board my flight I already paid for just because I missed my previous flight. I do not recommend this airline by any means.

As a solo traveller, I always prefer to have an aisle seat, but the flight was so full, there weren’t any available. I understand that the seatbelt sign sometimes has to go on if turbulence is anticipated but after the second food service, it was on continuously for about an hour and a half and there didn’t seem to be any turbulence at all! With seats reclined, my fellow passenger in the aisle seat asleep and the seatbelt sign on I felt very trapped, extremely uncomfortable and in desperate need of the bathroom. The positives were that the staff were very friendly, the entertainment was great and we actually took off on time and arrived in HKG earlier than expected.

Do not overbook flights and kick out confirmed ticketed passengers :-(

Wasn’t allowed to continue with the purchased tickets because I hadn’t been able to go on the first scheduled leg.

Do I need to repeat my complaints about my lost carry on bag?

Noice cancelling headphones would be better since it’s a crowded plane And kids behaviors are unavoidable

More facilities to transport to the gates......felt too much walking distance

Just happy I flew Qatar Airways awesome no wonder they are #1 in the world right now! The food was just delicious, very courteous, professional crew.

It was good no problems made it on time for the next flight overseas!

It was a really long flight from Doha to Philadelphia and it was overall a good one. The one area that I would comment on is that there is a lot of single-use plastic and disposables in the meal service for American Airlines. It would be great to see more circular options in the meal service to reduce the amount of waste.

Suddenly Flight has been change by Qatar and there’s no information is there of us from Bom to Doha and counter person is behaving like Qatar owner next I will not buy Qatar and I will not suggest anyone to fly in Qatar

The crew was fantastic and the over flight was perfect as well.

Plane was late with no information or announcement … had to walk up n downstairs.., had not communicated this … and ppl had suitcase to carry .

Like: Plane made it to the destination. Dislike: Food is terrible, no entertainment, very dirty airplane.

Flight was delayed resulting in a series of unfortunate events. I ran the airport as people were yelling my flight anyone who can’t run wouldn’t have made it! Then the luggage is missing. Good company, execution needs fine tuning.

The boarding area was too small with only one agent checking passengers into their standing bus

My experience was with Ethiopian airlines was pathetic. I would not recommend anyone to travel with Ethiopian air. Customer Service was very poor, rude stuff and flight attendants. Unwilling to offer help when asked either not able to articulate English properly or adamantly rude. Bole airport is dirty and unpleasant. Many passengers going through the airport but inadequate staff to offer service. Passengers in the flight very unkempt. Noisy flight. flight attendants unable to make order during flight. Passengers with kids unable to control their kids. The kids kept screaming, and shouting during the flight making everyone uncomfortable. Overall the flight was not comfortable.

It’s good alternative flight out from Mogadishu, especially for the timing

My suitcase 🧳 got missing we still looking for it This not good for them 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾🤦🏽‍♀️

Movie channels was great. Air hostess could be a little more caring

Customer service and the food was great. If the announcements in English could be said slower for the customer to understand what is being said. Due to ascent, it is difficult to understand. repaeting would help.

Again, entertainment system didn't work. 50% of aircraft don't seem to have a functional entertainment system and the crew is absolutely uninterested in fixing. They just say Addis needs to fix it. Well, Addis had better get off it's butt and fix their aircraft.

Book Cheap California Plane Tickets

Recent return flight deals

 
These are the cheapest return flights to California found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.
4/3Tue
1 stopTurkish Airlines
25h 55mJNB-LAX
10/3Mon
1 stopTurkish Airlines
35h 45mLAX-JNB
R16 576
31/1Fri
1 stopUnited Airlines
34h 02mCPT-SAN
2/3Sun
2 stopsUnited Airlines
31h 45mSAN-CPT
R16 702
22/4Tue
2 stopsSingapore Airlines
32h 00mCPT-SFO
13/5Tue
2 stopsSingapore Airlines
36h 55mSFO-CPT
R20 729
12/4Sat
1 stopSingapore Airlines
28h 55mJNB-SFO
30/4Wed
1 stopSingapore Airlines
46h 05mSFO-JNB
R21 505
1/3Sat
1 stopEmirates
33h 10mCPT-SFO
14/3Fri
1 stopEmirates
33h 55mSFO-CPT
R22 878
22/1Wed
3 stopsEthiopian Air
35h 07mCPT-SFO
26/2Wed
2 stopsEthiopian Air
28h 50mSFO-CPT
R25 640
11/12Wed
3 stopsEthiopian Air
36h 27mJNB-SFO
29/1Wed
2 stopsEthiopian Air
28h 25mSFO-JNB
R26 687
4/3Tue
2 stopsQatar Airways
41h 32mJNB-BUR
10/3Mon
2 stopsQatar Airways
35h 55mBUR-JNB
R30 606
4/3Tue
2 stopsQatar Airways
42h 42mJNB-ONT
10/3Mon
2 stopsQatar Airways
42h 45mONT-JNB
R30 606
29/11Fri
1 stopEmirates
33h 20mJNB-LAX
15/12Sun
1 stopEmirates
43h 15mLAX-JNB
R30 895

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Recent one-way flight deals

 
Only flying one-way? Below are some of the best deals for one-way flights to California found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.
25/11Mon
2 stops
39h 14mJNB-SFO
R10 057
25/3Tue
1 stopTurkish Airlines
27h 50mCPT-SFO
R11 556
26/3Wed
2 stopsSingapore Airlines
31h 10mCPT-SFO
R12 983
17/4Thu
2 stopsSingapore Airlines
32h 00mCPT-SFO
R13 488
25/11Mon
1 stopQatar Airways
33h 50mJNB-SFO
R14 860
25/11Mon
1 stopQatar Airways
33h 50mJNB-SFO
R14 951
25/11Mon
3 stopsEthiopian Air
35h 07mJNB-SFO
R17 172
9/1Thu
3 stopsEthiopian Air
34h 59mJNB-LAX
R17 497
8/1Wed
1 stopEmirates
33h 25mJNB-SFO
R23 979
6/1Mon
1 stopEmirates
27h 55mJNB-LAX
R24 882

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Last minute flights to California

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

 
These last-minute flight deals are the cheapest flights found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours for flights to California that are departing in the next 10 days.
21/11Thu
multi-stopUnited Airlines
25h 36mJNB-SFO
4/12Wed
multi-stopUnited Airlines
24h 05mSFO-JNB
R16 648
20/11Wed
multi-stopDelta
30h 36mJNB-BUR
26/11Tue
multi-stopDelta
40h 00mBUR-JNB
R17 731
21/11Thu
multi-stopBritish Airways
31h 55mCPT-SFO
25/11Mon
multi-stopBritish Airways
32h 40mSFO-CPT
R19 952
21/11Thu
multi-stopBritish Airways
35h 31mJNB-LAS
25/11Mon
multi-stopBritish Airways
28h 30mLAS-JNB
R20 277
20/11Wed
multi-stopQatar Airways
34h 00mCPT-SFO
23/12Mon
multi-stopQatar Airways
33h 45mSFO-CPT
R26 706
21/11Thu
multi-stopEthiopian Air
35h 52mCPT-SFO
25/11Mon
multi-stopEthiopian Air
28h 25mSFO-CPT
R28 024
20/11Wed
multi-stopQatar Airways
40h 52mCPT-SFO
23/12Mon
multi-stopQatar Airways
33h 45mSFO-CPT
R28 258
23/11Sat
multi-stopEmirates
27h 55mJNB-LAX
14/12Sat
multi-stopEmirates
43h 15mLAX-JNB
R30 172
23/11Sat
multi-stopEmirates
27h 55mJNB-LAX
14/12Sat
multi-stopEmirates
43h 15mLAX-JNB
R34 795
23/11Sat
multi-stopEthiopian Air
50h 35mJNB-LAX
14/12Sat
multi-stopEthiopian Air
27h 52mLAX-JNB
R39 941

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Everything you need to know for your flight to California

Cabin class types available on flights to California

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

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