South Africa Travel Forum

My 20 yr old son and I will be visiting South Africa for the World Cup next June. We will be staying in Johannesburg and have at least 8 free days (two sets of four) to explore the country. There are some excellent posts already on VT and we have an idea of some of the things to do. We won't be there long but love to explore and want to see as much as we can. This includes everything from game parks to museums and local culture. There is always a danger of trying to do too much and sacrificing quality for quantity so some insider advice will be very much appreciated. Anyone willing / able to help me put an itinery together ?

Thanks very much.

Chris

Help please, does anyone know or stayed here ,it looks very good but there is very little info on the net about it so any info would be welcome.

The price for transfers from the airport to Rustenberg seem very expensive, has anyone any other option please?

My friend and I are flying in and out of Cape Town for a week at the beginning of November. We're both in our early thirties, been working hard and are looking for a really relaxing trip, although we don't want to miss out on what SA has to offer. Just wondering if you could give any recommendations as to:
- A week's itinerary
- What the weather will really be like (I keep getting conflicting reports)
- Top accommodation recommendations (we're not after 5* accommodation, nor planning to slum it...somewhere in between, preferably with a nice pool for some relaxation time)
- Recommended transportation from the airport and around our itinerary

Big thanks in advance!

Hello,

I am planning a trip to South Africa during the last two weeks of December '09. I can't find anyone to go with me, so I am going to travel solo. I come from Southern California, so I am not paranoid, but is it fairly safe traveling alone? Can I use the same common sense as I would in Los Angeles and be okay?

My initial destination will be Cape Town, where I will hire a car and hit the road. Are accomodations/fuel/food/etc. difficult to find during the Christmas holidays?

Thank you,

Phil

Hello,

I'd appreciate any recommendations for traveling between Cape town and Johannesburg? Car, train, plane?

Thanks!

I'm planning a trip with my husband, my parents, and my 3 small kids (8 yrs and under) - we're taking the Shozoloza Meyl train to Cape Town in early December and staying 3 nights there, before driving back to Bloemfontein and onward (with a rental car). I'd like to find a self-catering unit in the CT area, but it doesn't have to be downtown. We're planning to hit the beach, see the penquins, Robben Island, an afternoon downtown, and just hang out and enjoy the area. Someone had recommended staying in Fish Hoek, with easy access to the train and to the beach, but the recommended site (Blue Yonder) is already booked for our dates. I'm a little overwhelmed with all the self-catering options my search turned up since I don't know the larger region at all. Can someone recommend a place or two to try? We'd like to be in the mid-range price (hopefully less than R5,000 total for the 3 nights for 7 people) or lower.

And if you have any recommendations for sites to see en route to Bloemfontein (we'll take 3 days to drive it, I think), those are welcome, too!

I planing a trip to my friend for hes 50 th birthday ti cape town in south Africa and I really worry about the safety and places to stay, can any one give me some information about the real live and not about the media info, Thank you, I live in Canada and original from cuba/Thank you very much for your time.

Hello!
I am travelling in a group of three, one is a 13 year old. We arrive in Johannesburg airport and we plan to first visit LION PARK ( near Jo'berg) and spend a night in the "semi-luxury"? tents and see some animals!! and try a BRAAI, - we will slowly make our journey to Wild Coast to Tshana to Mdumbi Backpackers- but we want to break the trip and stay somewhere nice 6 HOURS OUTSIDE OF JOHANNESBURG and the next morning-ish continue by bus to Umtata ( to arrive at a reasonable hour to be collected by backpackers transport!)

Is Maseru in Lesotho around 6 hours from Johannesburg? ( by something like greyhound bus??) Is Durban area ( Kwazulu) ( maybe the ZULU BEER route????) around 6 hours from Jo'berg and then after overnight somewhere in one of those locations heading to Wild Coast? I feel a bit baffled and the South Africa tourist website doesn't give me clear information how location distances are....

I will be happy for some GOOD advice please! ( we are going to be travelling by one of those "greyhound" type of buses for the whole trip )

THANKS!!!!!

Hi,

we are a group of 7-8 people driving from East London to the Wild Coast on 24th Oct and plan to spend the weekend of 24th and 25th Oct somewhere in the Wild Coast. We have not yet planned the trip. Can anyone help me with the following?
1. What is a good destination to target in Wild Coast?
2. Are there any must do things on the way from East London to Wild Coast?
3. If we have to stay the night of 24th Oct, what is a good place to stay and possibly a good back packer?
4. What are the place to see in and around wild coast?

I have heard Wild Coast is breathtaking and cant wait to experience it. Any suggestions on planning the itenary will be really appreciated.

Thanks upfront!
Priya

Hi,

we are a group of 14 driving to Port Elizabeth from East London on 16th Oct and we plan to spend the weekend of 17th and 18th Oct in Port Elizabeth and we are already booked for Addo Elephant Park safari on 18th morning.
My questions are-
1. Are there any interesting things to do along the way from East London to PE?
2. When in PE, what are the must do things? the most done things in PE but also more importantly, any off the beaten path things we must do?

Thanks upfront!
Priya

Hi, I'm thinking of booking a room at the Holiday Inn Express which is on 101 St. Georges Mall in Cape Town - does anyone know what the area around there is like? We're looking for something central so that we can just walk out of the hotel and have a lot of shops, restaurants and sites nearby. Is this hotel a good choice for that sort of thing? Is it a relatively safe area - no worse than ordinary?

Thank you.

Hello All! My daughter and I will be arriving in PE late 11/14. The naext day we will be meeting up with my youngest daughter who has been interning at university. Things we really want to do that may require preplanning is a 2 night stay at a reserve, a night at a vineyard, a night or two at Plettenberg Bay and a night or two or more in CP. The rest of the time we will be exploring the Garden Route as wll as other spots. We have a car available. Lodging prices looking at 100-150$ or less range for the 3 of us.That being said:
1. We would like to spend time at both Addos and Schotia(guided tours).Any suggestions for accomodations? I see some conflicting advice if to stay on reserve or not. I would think it makes sense to stay at the reserve?? Is it too late to book this? I have been checking out lodges and the Elephant house look nice. Any other ideas? How far from PE to Addos by car?
2. Can you recommend a place to visit and stay at/or around a vineyard on the Garden Route?
3. Recommendations to stay at Plettenberg Bay as well as CP? We like the night life!
4. How much do you tip?..ie. taxi arranged by the hotel is picking us up at the airport as we come in very late.
My daughter has already been traveling about quite a bit and has some ideas for further sites to see. I know you have probably heard all these questions before...thanks for your patience
I am sure I will have many more questions. I want to get some of these things taken care of as I'm sure the times in between will be guided by my kid's plans.. and I'll be along for the amazing ride :).....
Thanks
Terri

While in Graskop I purchased a purse made out of recycled license plates and would love to purchase some to give as gifts. I'm wondering if anyone recalls the name of the store where they are sold.
Thanks,
Julie

Hello!
In March three of us ( one is a 13 year old who is TRAVELLING ABROAD for the FIRST time) are going to South Africa's Wild Coast area, Mdumbi.
We are planning to stay at Mdumbi Backpackers and possibly other places nearby.
Has anyone stayed at Mdumbi backpackers? How is the feeling of that place? the area? I am very interested in really immersing myself in the local culture ( even trying very "exotic food" ,ie. dog foetus?? and other very indigenous delicacies) and local alcohol. We plan to arrive from Johannesburg to Umtata-
any good suggestions on transport? ( Baz bus?) we also want to stay in the rondalettes ( round houses)
Keeping in mind our 13 year old,and my interest in cultural immersion, I am looking forward hearing any GOOD advice which would assist our adventure to be more comfortable. Thank you in advance!

HI I have been looking all over the net and I can not find the cost on how much it would be to go on a fairy and I was wonding if you could get it all tell me were I could look to find it. thankyou so much for reading this and if you could get back to me that would be great on my e-mail address and that is
(sami-b2@hotmail.com) and can you get back to me as soon as you can thankyou.

I would like to do a Safari with my sister and she lives in Lesotho it seems that there isn't a direct fligth from there to Kruger. Is there another alternative. Does anyone know of a Safari that would pick us up from there?

thanks Cynthia

What's the best way to travel around South Africa? I'll be starting in Cape Town and then moving up towards Johanesbourg. In the middle I'll be spending a few days in Durban and Port Elizabeth and some other town. What's the train system like there? Or is it better (or safer) to do it by coach?

Thanks!

We are taking a day trip to Addo. The park offers 3 elephant back safaris each day, but we likely wouldn't get there in time for the first, at 8:00. Does anyone have any experience / input on the pros and cons of the 11:00 vs. the 15:30 times?

Thanks!

Hi there! I'm looking for safaris in spanish, but they should be at least 4 days long. It doesn't matter whether they leave from.

Any ideas?

We'll arrive in the morning at 10:00 am and will leave Jo'burg international airport in the evening at 9:45 p.m. Which sights in or around Jo'burg should absolutely not being missed during a South Africa-trip?

Thank you to everyone who gave me advise, it was most useful! Gerald, hope you and your family have a great day and the weather stays fine
Abbsy.

Hi,
Anyone who knows good self catering accoomodation for four adults (March 2010). Not The Hoekie, i am sure they are nice...they should be for the price they charge.
We prefer something rustic if possible.

Best regards

Sampie

Hi,
I'll be coming to Cape Town 21st September and will be staying there for 5 days. Can anyone advise me the places of interest to visit, I have already been up Table Mountain on a previous holiday to SA, so new ideas would be grateful. From there we are travelling along the Garden Route stopping off at various locations. What is the weather like at the moment/or does anyone have a crystal ball for when we will be there? Will I need to bring some warm clothing for during the day/evening? If it is warm and sunny what is the temperature...will I need to bring with me sun protection? Also, what is the voltage in SA? Oh and finally would it be best to convert our currency (Sterling) over here in the UK or in SA?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Abbsy.

Please help, I am looking for a trip for my family and myself to Knysna from Port Elizabeth in december. I am unable to find anything with the tourist coach through spoornet because the site is not usre friendly, please advise.

thanks
marty

Hello
We recently got married and are heading to Kruger as part of our honeymoon. I am looking for good quality, reasonably priced places to stay in/near the park. I understand there are camp bases, and while the bungalows would normally be fine, we are looking for something a little better for our honeymoon.

I have looked into Elephant Plains but this is booked solid when we are going (early Jan 2010).

Does anyone have any recommendations of places to stay that wouldnt break the bank (ie under $400 USD) for a couple per night? Anything more than that to me just seems ridiculous.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

In February we're intending to visit folks in Johannesburg following which we'd like to make our way to the Battlefields and do a safari. Would be glad of any help/suggestions of best way of doing this i.e. should we fly out to Jo'burg but return from Durban? Would the tourist train from J to D be a sensible option as not really keen to drive such a distance? We could take up to 10 days for this trip so should have time to take in another 'port of call' i.e. Durban or the mountains or anywhere else we should see while in this part of the world. Would car hire and booking own accommodation be a sensible option from Durban?
Many thanks.

Thank you for all your replys to our questions with regards to our trip to Cape Town in November. We have found all the information very helpfull and feel alot more prepared for our trip.

hi
I know i am crazy, but is camping doable in june?/ The hotels are getting too expensive ( everyone hiking their prices 300% to 700% )
Also where would be a good camping ground, Not to far from Soccer City and Ellis Park.
I think i can handle the cold being coming from Canada!
thanks

We are limited to the amount a currency we are able to take into the country. Do most places accept credit cards or should we take sterling cash or travellers cheques?