South Africa Travel Forum

Is there any way you can confirm that Andrew Coxon owns this chain of hotels in South Africa. I hope to travel there soon, and would like to look him up.

Hi there

im looking for a contact number of carouse bar and i will be very appreciative of anyone that can help me out with this...its very important...

hope i hear back from anyone...please text me at 072 606 5461

chris

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.

Hi people,
I will be in CT from 16-19 Aug. Can someone advise me about Shark cage diving/ Breaching locations- I am confused about 'Dyer island' & 'Seal Island'. Operators taking you to D-island claim both are similar, those taking you to S-island claim the other is commercial and hence justify their higher price for a trip to S-island. Can one spot whales on this trip or does one have to take a seperate tour for whale watching. Do whales come close to the boats or as someone suggested that one can very easily see them from the shore? Apart from hermanus which is the best place to see them from- closer to Cape town?
Is a trip to Robben Island worth it considering we are in CT for 3 days only.
We are hiring a car. Is it worth taking an organised tour to Cape Peninsula or can one find a guide once we get there? Or is a guide even necessary?
Anyone done deep sea/off-shore fishing? Is it fun/exciting? We are quite excited about it. What chances of the trip getting cancelled due to bad weather?
Thx

I'm thinking about going to South Africa - not too sure when, but judging by my trip to South America - maybe around March would be good - is this true?

- "the safety" question. I will be a woman traveling alone. Plans are to go to Cape Town and use the little tours offered by the major hotels. I usually don't use tours, but in this case I think I'll be more comfortable.

- Next I'd like to go to Kruger National Park. Have looked at a couple of places to stay - again, how safe is it to be there? Any issues with malaria?

- What is the best option flying round trip from Cape Town to Kruger?

This is just the first pass. Any other notes you'd like to ask welcome!

Hello,

can anyone Please refer me to hotels in Johannesburg in the 30-60$ range (single), with airport pickup, near shopping and entertainment?
This is a bit last minute as I am arriving on 4 july (for 3 nights).

Your assistance would be much appreciated as I cant find nothing and I am getting a bit worried, so close to departure date!

My 54 year old husband and myself 50 are planning a trip to south africa next year. Can anyone tell us what is the best time of year to travel and we have about 4 weeks up our sleeve so can anyone suggest wot to see and do? Obviously Cape Town Victoria Falls Kruger and the garden route. Are we best to book tours from here or over there and is there anywhere else that we should see. Maybe someone could suggest an itinary?

cheers
jasmine

We are still working on our South African trip itinerary. It looks like we will have 4 days to get from Johannesburg to Cape Town in late July. A couple of questions that we are wrestling with:

1. It seems like almost everyone recommends doing the Garden Route section of the coast. Is it still nice to see at that time of year? Are there any towns along the way that people strongly recommend that we stay in or visit?

2. What route should we drive from Johannesburg to the coast? Are there any interesting sights to see along the way? Or, should we fly from Johannesburg to Durban or Port Elizabeth, and therefore shorten our drive to focus on the Garden Route and/or free up some extra time to spend in and around Cape Town.

3. From a safety standpoint, should we be careful what type of car that we rent? Is a trunk/boot important to have (to keep things out of sight from the bad guys)? Is 4-wheel drive important to have? It seems like the roads are good, but we don't know if not having 4WD limits our ability to see certain areas or sights along the way. Finally, is a larger car a crime magnet? We will be driving for a few weeks during our trip, so we would prefer to get a car with some extra room rather than be cramped.

Sorry for the long-winded, multi-part question. However, we would definitely appreciate any help that you can provide us.

Have any Virtual Tourists been to Sodwana Bay recently?? I have eight spare days in Africa from the 5th of August. I would like to dive, kite-surf and fish. Are all these possible at Sodwana?? Is it an OK time of the year?? How would I get there from J'burg?? Any recommendations on where to stay??
Thank you in anticipation,
Happy traveling,
Bruce

We are planning a 3 week holiday in Pennington in January/Feb 2010. Have heard that it is very wet and humid at this time of year, is this true and could we still have a good holiday?

Hi there, I will be arriving in somerset west with a mate on 21dt june and staying for 4 weeks as we will be doing a medical placement in a local hospital. We are staying with the family of one of the workers at the hospital for the entire 4 weeks. I am just wondering what there is to do in the area and also any advice that anyone has would be appreciated!!

Cheers

Hi i ll be moving to pretoria next month being a student and all and a foreigner i am very concerned about the crime rate and the public tranportation. Couls someone please advise me on the places to avoid? I will be staying and a girls christian hostel in arcadia the lady ensured me it is safe but i am still skeptical please help for my stomach is churning in knots! Thanks

Hi there, I plan a trip to Lesotho and Swaziland ex Johannesburg in October.

Do you think it is possible to move between these countries by public transport?

Planing to do the loop in a period of 10 - 12 days for the main sights, perhaps with backtracking to JNB if necessary.

thanks
Nikos

We are trying to decide whether to stay at Londolozi Rounders or Ivory Lodge.

Founders is the only camp Londolozi camp available when we will be there.

Our debate is do we stay in the more luxurious Ivory Lodge but potentially don't have as good of game viewing experience or stay at Founders where it won't be as luxurious but likely better game viewing. Please help!!!

I'll stay in South Africa next year and I'll visit Kruger national park and will use Nelspruit-airport. Due to its neighborhood to Swaziland I'm tempted to visit the country too. Do you think visiting the Swaziland is a good idea? Which sight would you recommend to visit?

Because i'm already visitng Kruger, I'd prefer anything else than another national park, so I'm thinking about Swazi cultural village in Mantenga.
Is it possible to visit the village within only one day arriving from Nelspruit and going back to Nelspruit again? How far is the distance and how are the streets?

http://www.sntc.org.sz/cultural/mantvill.html offers a program for the village. Are there also othe possibilities (which do not last a whole day?).

Hi

Me and my husband (aged 26) arrive in Cape Town on the 31st December and was wondering if anybody had any good suggestions on the best places to see the new year in especially around the V&A area?

Thanks

Hi

We are travelling to Cape town on 30th December to watch England in the third test. I have never been to SA before and spoken to various people about the safety aspects. Some people have told us is as safe as London and others have advised us not to get into any taxis etc. We are statying at the protea hotel sea point which i think is about 3km from the Victoria and Albert waterfront which is where all the main bars and restuarents are. I was just wondering if anybody had any advice about getting taxis etc back from here to the hotel?

Thanks

Hello

I will have 10 days in Durban while my husband is at a conference.I would like to accompany him but was wondering if there was enough to do for me (female). I am interested in organised daytrips. This could be an overnight if appropriate.

Thank you

Hello, I am a humanitarian living in eastern Congo, originally from Canada, going for 2 weeks holiday in SA, alone, this coming July.

I wish to fly to Cape Town and make it my base for day or week trips.

Is it possible to go on horse riding safari from Cape Town? I mean, what are the options around there? Will I be able to see the big 5 ?
Other than safari, I just want to relax, eat well, and go shopping.
Please advise.

(Congo has the big 5 but there are too many militiamen fighting in the parks to visit them safely :-(

Greetings:

Attempting to book rooms for next summer and the games.....I would greatly appreciate any comments on these two hotels that have room for us:

Vineyard Hotel and Spa and the Victoria and Alfred.......both Cape Town...Any other suggestions also appreciated...its a long way!!!

Thanks greatly,

visiting Kruger park in June and staying at kruger park lodge--any opinionson the lodge and also what kind of clothes to pack?? should we take anti-malaria medicine before reaching or can we avoid it as what I hear June is a safer month?? I m travelling with kids

I am seeking a safe, clean and well appointed and reasonably priced guest house in Melville. Any suggestions? I leave soon.

Hi Friends,

I will be travelling to Cape Town in September and would like to run in the mornings and wondering if this is safe?

thanku

Hi I will be in southern africa from 23rd june to 26th august. I am wondering if anyone knows of any music festivals or other big events that will be going on anywhere around southern africa?? I came across something called 'oppikoppi'... not really sure what it is, anyone have an idea??

Cheers

Hi there!
I'm trying to choose a budget trip in southern and east africa through an operator, to avoid some hassle and loss of time on the ground. Searching in the web I finally tend to like:
Dragoman, Intrepid, Absolute Africa, Oasis, African Trails.
It would be great if you could send your opinion, recomendation, regarding these companies (in quality / cost terms).
I don't include Nomad because of past bad experiences in Southern Africa (their guide ripped us off with 40% comision on zimb dollars, their administartion never answered etc).
many thanks
Nikos

G'day
We are looking at the possibility of driving from Pretoria to Windhoek in Jan 2010. Looking at maps and travel sites the recommended route and the shortest, is through Botswana. We are a family of 5 - Parents, 20, 18, 10. How safe is the Botswana portion and what are the roads like? I know it will be hot but can't be worst than the aussie outback. Any suggestions on places to overnight and accommodation?
Thanks
JJ

Our family doctor has said that it will not be necessary to take Malarial tablets as we will be travelling in June/July and therefore the chance of being bitten is reduced and to instead cover up, and apply repellent.

We will be travelling into Swazailand, Mozambique, Kruger and Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park (sic), which from what I have read are all malarial areas.

Could you please advise as to whether we should disregard this Doctor's advice and take Malarial tablets or whether we will be fine, if wearing adequate clothing and protection.

Actually I start planning my trip to South Africa in 2010. My main destinations will be Cape town and Kruger, so I need information about the Cape as well as about safaris... So I wonder which travel guide is the best.

Usually I made good experiences with Lonely Planet, but at www.amazon.de the South Africa guide of LP is rated very bad. Especially it is rated worse than the Rough Guide... So I wonder, wether I should give the Rough guide a chance...

Alternatively there is mentioned, that there is a German translation of the Rough guide (Stefan Loose Travel Handbücher), but this is based on a prior edition of the Rogh guide. So does anybody of the German speaking community knows, wether Stefan Loose's book is outdated?

Thanx in advance...

Great news with the ticket application, I got 3 x tickets for 5 different matches in Durban. Myself and two friends will be staying in Durban for approx 2 weeks and I have a few questions.

1. I assume the city centre is a place to avoid, what suburbs or nearby places are safe? (for example, I've heard Umhlanga Rocks is the place to go??)

2. Is Durban getting any special activities etc to help entertain the 1000's of extra visitors?

3. Any pictures of the new stadium?

Thanks for your help. looking forward to it already.

Hello,
My name is Luke ages 20 and I am looking at South Africa. At the moment I am looking for someone to tell me how much time I would need to spend in South Africa to literally see it all (Yes I know that's almost impossible) but when I travel I like to do it properly and see it all. Also I am planning to camp / live in hostels but I do want to go cage-diving, sky-diving, micro-light flying, bunjee jumping as well as go out to museums and out to dinner / experience nightlife. Nowehere really sais Right if you want to travel south africa properly then you need approximately a month, 3months or 6 months etc Is there anyone who's experienced in South Africa who could help me out?
Many thanks