South Africa

[tarapoa]

Anyone ever been?

Heading there for the first time in Oct/Nov this year for the best part of 3 weeks.

Last 10 days are booked down at Western Cape/ Stellenbosch/ Cape Town areas - but still need to sort the first part of our trip.  Flying into Johannesburg with BA.

Keen to do a safari - but all the online ones I've searched seem to be ludicrously expensive.  Surely a bloke in the know driving you around in a jeep for a few hours shouldn't cost upwards of £700-a-ahead when accom and a meal are factored in.  The wife probably won't camp, so anything that involves clean functional accom is doable.

Any tips helpful - including how best to tick a few days off in the north of the country, without venturing into no-go areas.  A jaunt to Victoria Falls (Zambia) and Sun City seem like other standard touristy options.

 

[John Lambies Doos]

Be careful. Very dangerous country, bout to get worse with collapsing economy.

Stick to the tourist routes and if u and the wife are into the old threesomes (each to their own; i dont judge) protection is paramount

 

Achhhh, u'll have a blast

 

 

[doulikefish]

On 15/08/2017 at 12:53, tarapoa said:

Anyone ever been?

Heading there for the first time in Oct/Nov this year for the best part of 3 weeks.

Last 10 days are booked down at Western Cape/ Stellenbosch/ Cape Town areas - but still need to sort the first part of our trip.  Flying into Johannesburg with BA.

Keen to do a safari - but all the online ones I've searched seem to be ludicrously expensive.  Surely a bloke in the know driving you around in a jeep for a few hours shouldn't cost upwards of £700-a-ahead when accom and a meal are factored in.  The wife probably won't camp, so anything that involves clean functional accom is doable.

Any tips helpful - including how best to tick a few days off in the north of the country, without venturing into no-go areas.  A jaunt to Victoria Falls (Zambia) and Sun City seem like other standard touristy options.

 

I went in feb this year,same kind of trip by the sounds of it

For a safari i went to sun city and went on a safari from my hotel, its really good midweek ie not to busy and it wasnt too expensive booked locally,think it was about 50 quid.Joburg is just a big city but we went on the soweto tour which was really good and did the open top bus tour but apart from that there wasnt much there

Cape town is superb,try and take in a Cape town city game,ticket was a fiver, its a really good laugh and the staduim is close to the Victoria and Albert docks which has loads of bars etc

A wine tour is a must and they were pretty good with the freebies and even better if you buy a bottle.Also you can do a tour to the cape of good hope which takes in penguins in a wee town which was really cool and the restaurant at the Cape is a pretty cool spot to have lunch.To go up cable mountain pick a sunny day obviously,but take a sweater or top as it gets cold quickly up at the top and theres a few walking routes at the top.

Great country but as you can imagine dont wander into any unlit areas at night,we had no problem but its only around the corner sort of thing

[wee_bairn]

On ‎15‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 12:53, tarapoa said:

Anyone ever been?

Heading there for the first time in Oct/Nov this year for the best part of 3 weeks.

Last 10 days are booked down at Western Cape/ Stellenbosch/ Cape Town areas - but still need to sort the first part of our trip.  Flying into Johannesburg with BA.

Keen to do a safari - but all the online ones I've searched seem to be ludicrously expensive.  Surely a bloke in the know driving you around in a jeep for a few hours shouldn't cost upwards of £700-a-ahead when accom and a meal are factored in.  The wife probably won't camp, so anything that involves clean functional accom is doable.

Any tips helpful - including how best to tick a few days off in the north of the country, without venturing into no-go areas.  A jaunt to Victoria Falls (Zambia) and Sun City seem like other standard touristy options.

 

Did you get sorted?

I'm going on a week today and my current itinerary is as follows:-

Cape town for 3 nights. Doing a great white shark dive and then table mountain/cape of good hope. I'm staying in the Sea Point area of Cape Town. I'll need to check up on a football game as doulikefish suggested. Never even thought of that.

I'm then hitting Victoria Falls / Kruger Park then Jo'burg. @doulikefish Did you travel to Vic. Falls? I'm flying from CT to VF and unsure of how to transfer from airport to the area. Tripadvisor forums suggest arranging your hotel to pick you up but the one I've booked haven't as yet got back in touch with me.

[doulikefish]

Did you get sorted?
I'm going on a week today and my current itinerary is as follows:-
Cape town for 3 nights. Doing a great white shark dive and then table mountain/cape of good hope. I'm staying in the Sea Point area of Cape Town. I'll need to check up on a football game as doulikefish suggested. Never even thought of that.
I'm then hitting Victoria Falls / Kruger Park then Jo'burg. [mention=3493]doulikefish[/mention] Did you travel to Vic. Falls? I'm flying from CT to VF and unsure of how to transfer from airport to the area. Tripadvisor forums suggest arranging your hotel to pick you up but the one I've booked haven't as yet got back in touch with me.

Not on that trip but on a previous jaunt down there and yes my transfer was through my hotel

[tarapoa]

Just back - fantastic country - just a variety of everything you could want from a holiday.

Very educational as well, and still a long way from an equal society.

[welshbairn]

7 minutes ago, tarapoa said:

Just back - fantastic country - just a variety of everything you could want from a holiday.

Very educational as well, and still a long way from an equal society.

I'd be grateful for some basic details eventually, not in any hurry. Glad you had a good trip.  

[Ross.]

Went 4 or 5 years ago, a few weeks after Nelson Mandela died, whichever year that was.

Cape Town was tremendous, so much to see and do in the city itself and moreso the surrounding areas. Food and drink was top class all over and the atmosphere was excellent wherever we went. A bit of common sense is perhaps required(Don't walk about Bo Kaap in the dark with your camera around your neck while counting your money in the open kind of thing), but we walked about most of the city and encountered no problems, though admittedly we used taxis as soon as evening kicked in. Would definitely recommend doing one of the wine tours and visiting the parks, taking the Table Mountain cable car(Particularly if your other half is scared of things like that, the wee bit just before the top where it moves almost vertical is outstanding as a form of torturing them) and get round to Camps Bay at least once. Never made it to Robben Island, Mandela dying saw the day trips there sell out for months, so can't comment there.

Done a few stops on the Garden Route. If you can drive, then drive, if not then look up Baz Bus which is cheap as f**k and stops pretty much everywhere worth stopping. A bit cramped and was full of gap year wanks slumming it but if you can handle it, it is good value for money and will get you to most of the tourist spots along the way.

Also done a Safari in Kruger Park, though the company we used has since gone out of business and stiffed a f**k load of people by the looks of the most recent trip advisor reviews. With regards to cost there, it can be expensive but if you want to see as much as possible then a good guide is invaluable. Someone who can rattle a 4x4 down a mud track at 40mph, avoid crashing it while at the same time spot a leopard sitting on a tree a hundred meters away to your side is deserving of the money. Just take good binoculars.

[welshbairn]

Been looking at flights, more expensive than I thought. I'll wait till someone starts a budget route I think.

[harlowspider]

Lived there from 82 to 84. I hear it's changed somewhat.

[Hedgecutter]

A wine tour is a must and they were pretty good with the freebies and even better if you buy a bottle.Also you can do a tour to the cape of good hope which takes in penguins in a wee town which was really cool and the restaurant at the Cape is a pretty cool spot to have lunch.To go up cable mountain pick a sunny day obviously,but take a sweater or top as it gets cold quickly up at the top and theres a few walking routes at the top.
Great country but as you can imagine dont wander into any unlit areas at night,we had no problem but its only around the corner sort of thing

Any suggestions for a particular tour, or are they very samey (as a distillery tour would be in Scotland)? I'm in Namibia just now and flying to Cape Town in four days time, staying in Camps Bay.

Also unsure on whether to hire a car to head down to Cape of Good Hope / Boulders Bay or just take the hit and pay £120 for two on a half day tour.

[doulikefish]

26 minutes ago, Hedgecutter said:

 

Any suggestions for a particular tour, or are they very samey (as a distillery tour would be in Scotland)? I'm in Namibia just now and flying to Cape Town in four days time, staying in Camps Bay.

Also unsure on whether to hire a car to head down to Cape of Good Hope / Boulders Bay or just take the hit and pay £120 for two on a half day tour.

It was booked through Viator https://www.winetourscapetown.com/wine-tours/daily-wine-tours-from-cape-town

There was loads of other options in the tourist office on long street when we got there so my missus was a a wee bit miffed she had pre booked.

[Richey Edwards]

My friend Callum came back from South Africa with a bullet in his chest.

Enjoy.

[quickoverayard]

When i was a lad i won the golden ticket thing in the Cadbury bars and it was a month holiday to south africa. Had 2 weeks in sun city and 2 in cape town.

Was the best holiday i have ever been on, managed to dive with sharks, go on safari and visit a crocodile farm. Hotel in sun city was called the palace and was out of this world. Water park ( valley of the waves ) was sensational. I would recommend sun city to everyone, been back twice since. Getting there and accommodation is expensive but its dirt cheap after that

[Highland Capital]

I-I-I ain’t go to buy a chocolate bar to go to Sun City!

[spud131]

Planning to visit South Africa in November/December for our honeymoon. Going to do a few days in Cape Town, safari and the wine region. Anyone got any recommendations for some places near Cape Town (within an hour or two) to visit and spend a few days?

[tarapoa]

21 hours ago, spud131 said:

Planning to visit South Africa in November/December for our honeymoon. Going to do a few days in Cape Town, safari and the wine region. Anyone got any recommendations for some places near Cape Town (within an hour or two) to visit and spend a few days?

We stayed three nights in a place called Hermanus which is nice, and a couple of hours east of Cape Town.

Spectacular coastal drive , as an alternative to the duller motorway option - and a nice town with plenty accom, bars and restaurants, and lots of whales to watch in the bay .  It's around 25 miles from Gansbaai where you can do the great-white shark cage dives.

[Adamski]

We’re currently looking into a trip to South Africa for later in the year. It would most likely involve the eastern side of the country between Jo’burg and Durban, and the more I’ve looked into it the more I’m liking the idea of visiting one or both of Lesotho and Swaziland, which both look to be in striking distance.

Any tips? Bonus points for wildlife, culture, nice beaches that haven’t hit mass tourism, and generally interesting things that aren’t too expensive.

[Barry Ferguson's Hat]

South Africa is dangerous. 

If you go there you will die. 

[tarapoa]

On 2/11/2019 at 23:15, Adamski said:

We’re currently looking into a trip to South Africa for later in the year. It would most likely involve the eastern side of the country between Jo’burg and Durban, and the more I’ve looked into it the more I’m liking the idea of visiting one or both of Lesotho and Swaziland, which both look to be in striking distance.

It has now changed its name to the less colonial sounding Eswatini.