South Africa money

[Doggyness]

Whats the best way to take money to South Africa?

We don't want to take it all in cash in case we get robbed/lose it, but hear that withdrawing money on a card incurs charges. Apparently travellers cheques aren't used.

Is there an alternative? A money card we can preload?

Hi.
I got a preloaded currency card from Sainsbury's bank.
You can use it like a credit card and also withdraw cash from machines.
If I remember correctly, because it is loaded in South African currency then there are no charges for withdrawing cash or for using it in restaurants etc.
You need some photo ID to open a card, then you upload some money onto it. You can add extra money online whenever you want.

Thank you! That's exactly what I need

Depending on when you're going, it might be worth looking at a Revolut card. You can load it with money in any currency you like, and convert it to any currency. It uses the exchange rate at the time you convert it. So if you were going some time next year, and were worried that the exchange rate was going to get worse, you could put Rand on it now (at today's rate) and then they're just waiting for you when you go.
The card works just like a credit card and you can top it up any time through the app. It's really easy to use.

It's also worth looking at a credit card with no foreign exchange fees - we have a Tandem card, which also gives you 0.5% cashback, so we use that for all our holiday spending. Again, really easy to keep track of spending etc through the app.

If you use an ATM machine in South Africa go into a bank with an armed guard. I totally ignored this advice in Cape Town. Two men approached me offering to "help". I walked away thankfully nothing happened.