Pietermaritzburg is the capital of KwaZulu-Natal and the legislative capital of the province (the Provincial Legislature sits here, while most provincial executive offices have moved to Durban). It is a heritage city — a strong cluster of red-brick Victorian architecture in the city centre — and the home of the University of KwaZulu-Natal's main campus. The conference profile is government-sector, academic, and judicial, with notable spillover from the annual Comrades Marathon (the world's largest ultra-marathon, run between PMB and Durban every June).

Where conferences happen

Premier Hotel Pietermaritzburg, Protea Hotel Imperial, City Royal Hotel, Garden Court PMB, the Royal Show Conference Centre (host of the annual Royal Show, SA's largest agricultural exhibition), the UKZN PMB Campus conference facilities, and several heritage and country-style venues toward Hilton handle most local conferencing.

When to pick Pietermaritzburg

Provincial-government events, KZN-specific industry conferences, agricultural-sector events (Royal Show), university-sector events, judicial and legal conferences, and any programme that benefits from a heritage city setting. Pricing is meaningfully below Durban or Umhlanga.

Getting there

King Shaka International is 1 hour east via the N3 (or 50 minutes off-peak). Durban CBD is 50 minutes east; Hilton (just outside PMB) is the main upmarket spillover area.

Climate and seasonality

Inland KZN climate — hotter summers than Durban (high humidity from the Umsindusi River valley), cooler winters with occasional frost. The PMB area is meaningfully drier than the coast.