Johannesburg Travel Forum

hi folks, im going to some matches at world cup in june 2010, my games are in soccer city ground. was looking to find best area to stay in Johannesburg, things to do, places to see.any help would be great. im in my 40s and will be with wife.

I stayed at a reasonable suburban hotel near a mall and a generally safe area - Don Rosebank I hotel. The room was big and with kitchen and I had no problems while over there.

I made a tip on this hotel: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/11001b/21eac9/3/

Hope this helps, Norman :)

There is a link a bit higher up on this page, in the middle just above your question: "Johannesburg Travel Guide"

thanks norman,thats sort of thing i need some1 whos stayed there ty

Mate, my advice would be to book WAY ahead of time. There's a lot of unhappy campers touring with the British Lions at the moment. Hotels in Durban were fully booked weeks ahead of the first test, with many spporters forced to reside two hours outside of the city.
One guesthouse reported being fully booked a year ahead of the tour!
Good luck, buddy.

Yes - Norman is right- Rosebank is closer to Soccer city than Sandton or Bryanston. Choose Rosebank before Johannesburg City, the city is not very safe.

yes johan ive been trying to book, but most hotels only let u book 50 weeks ahead so a few more weeks to wait.some good advice comming on board now thanks to every1 any tip bits r most welcome.

Hi.

I live in Joburg, so hopefully can help. Rosebank is a good area to stay - not too far from Soccer City, in an old, affluent part of time (lots of trees, safer) and with tourist attractions around. Rosebank Mall itself is probably the nicest Mall in Joburg - large variety of shops, restaurants and a permanent craft market (with a really big 'rooftop market' on Sundays.

However I believe all the large hotels around Rosebank / Joburg will have already sold all their rooms for the World Cup. Your best chance will be to find a smaller guesthouse in the suburbs in the area (search in areas such as Parktown, Parkhurst, Parkview, Melrose Estate, Illovo) . Several of my friends are setting these up now in advance of next year, so perhaps I can help.

In terms of attractions, there's probably too much to cover here. Really depends what you're interested in. I recommend The Apartheid Museum, De Widt Cheetah Reserve (just north of town), Maropeng / The Cradle of Humankind (where some of oldest human skeletons in world found). However during the World Cup these could be pretty booked up as well. On the other hand I'm sure they'll be a lot of other activities going on.

If you're into a nice, relaxed evening out with some interesting restaurants (and not in a mall, like most Joburg restaurants are) - try Parkhurst. Very close to Rosebank and a really nice atmosphere. Plus the Jolly Roger Pub is the best in SA!!!!

Happy to help more if you have further questions...

I agree with Norman.. Have fun Eric!

thanks rob some good starting points, many thanks for all the help folks