Posts Tagged ‘South Africa’

South Africa A Popular Tourist Destination

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

The story of South Africa begins when the Portuguese arrived. This was the time when written records started to be written. People from all across Europe migrated to South Africa. This proves the variety of culture in the country. There are many people from different ethnic backgrounds throughout South Africa. The country is situated in the south of Africa. It has a very large coast. There are great landscapes and marvellous experiences for anyone coming to travel the country.

Throughout the country, visitors will find numerous attractions and a long list of places to travel. In Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, one will find the hub of industry as well as opportunities for tourists. One popular destination is The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa. Other well-traveled cities include Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Sun City; if you want a resort experience, try Durban or Port Elizabeth.

The shores of Cape Town are greatly famous indeed. Cape town has Table Mountain which is one of the most beautiful places in South Africa. It gives magnificent views over the city and all its beaches. Forests, lake, lagoons, channels and rivers of Garden Route are a natural theme park and an exceptionally lovely place. The Cape Wine lands with cheese and wine experiences would make the voyages extra luscious. A few of the best wines in the world are produced here in Cape Town.

The city in South Africa which is most popular throughout the world is Johannesburg. The city serves as a stopping point for many flights. There are many places of historical importance. Durban is another important city and is filled with number of attractions. There are natural reserves in the city. The beaches are filled with people enjoying their favorite sport. There are beaches and a busy night life in Port Elizabeth. It has also got reserves and parks. Sowete is a city of historical importance.

There is a tourist attraction in South Africa is which should be on the topmost priority of any individual. The city is Sun City. It has a marvellous entertainment of the visitors. People can relax in the city and have a good time. There are many attractions in the city. There are various activities held in the city which the tourist can enjoy. There are various national parks like the Pilanesberg national park. One can experience traditional safari in the balloon, riding on the elephant and quad biking.

If you are really into the safari experience, South Africa offers one of the top three nature reserves on the continent at Kruger National Park. You’ll want to bring your binoculars for bird watching, and you’ll see tons of native animals in their natural habitats, including the five species that everyone comes to Africa for: lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceroses, and buffalo. Other great locations for viewing nature are Hermanus, where you can go whale watching from the shore, and the Dragon Mountains which are always filled with photographers.

You’ll find a diverse set of experiences in South Africa – game reserves, sites rich with local history, beautiful landscapes, first-class accommodations, and exciting night life. Your visit to Africa will be as relaxing or as adventurous as you make it. The variety of destinations and cultures, not to mention famous wines, should put South Africa at the top of your travel destination list.

Tips For Booking A Cheap Flight To South Africa

Monday, May 10th, 2010

The internet makes easy work of finding cheap flights to South Africa, delivering travel packages, deals, discounts, coupons, and other savings right to your web browser. It’s also a convenient way to research your trip and get a feel for the area of South Africa you’ll travel to, as images are right at your fingertips, giving you a good visual of where you want to go and isn’t it nice to be able to see it before you get there?  South Africa is becoming a major travel destination, and most airlines are making it easier than ever to visit.

Africa offers many fine hotels today and the country has many different types of areas to travel, both natural and man-made. Cape Town, one of the larger cities, offers breathtaking scenery and Johannesburg, another large city, also features many things that a tourist would enjoy. There are many local airports located around South Africa making many areas accessible. There are airports in East London, Bloemfontein, Uprington, Nelspruit, Port Elizabeth and Kimberly as well as many others making it a simple matter to travel from place to place.

Cape Town’s beaches are very popular. Cape Town’s Table Mountain is among the best places to see in South Africa. It provides breathtaking views over the city and its beaches. Forests, lakes, lagoons, waterways and rivers of Garden Route are like a natural theme park and a uniquely scenic place. The Cape Wine lands with cheese and wine tasting travel tours will make the trips more delicious. In this place, some of the best wines in the world are produced.

Using the internet to search will help you quickly and easily find cheap flights to South Africa. Shopping online saves money over booking through a travel agent, as you’re able to locate deals on your own, without having to pay someone to do it for you.  Keep an eye out for low service fees, and be mindful to avoid hidden costs.  Search and compare as many rates as you can to find the best deal possible.

Also remember that when looking for cheap flights to South Africa, you should look into some of the guidelines to saving money online.  Remember that the most important thing is to stay flexible.

If you can be flexible with your plans, you stand to get a better deal because most airlines offer less expensive tickets during mid-week from Monday to Thursday. If you can travel on these days, you will be able to save a lot of money.

Since the holidays are considered off-peak time by most airlines, this is a good time for you to plan your travel. It is best to book your flight ahead of time. Last-minute deals are getting harder to find and you run the chance of the flight that you want being booked. For the best choices and the best prices, you should book at least 7 days in advance of your planned departure date.

The Beautiful South Africa

Saturday, May 8th, 2010

South African written history goes all the way back to the time when Portuguese landed there for the first time. As South Africa is comprised of immigrants from European Countries during the early times, it has not a specific culture but a mixed culture of people from different countries, leading to an ethnic diversity. This fact makes South Africa even more beautiful place to travel to, to see world’s one of the most culturally diversified country. The location of this country at the southernmost region of Africa and its long coastline make it a picturesque region.

In all parts of South Africa, there are attractions and travel destinations for travelers to visit. Pretoria, the capital of the country is also an important industrial center. National Zoological Gardens of South Africa is the national zoo in South Africa and is located in the city of Pretoria. Travel among the other major cities, there are Durban and Cape Town, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth and Bloomington.

A destination in its own right, the Table Top Mountain overlooking Cape Town,  offers a scenic view of the city and its popular beaches. Out of the city, you have the one and only Garden Route, a natural theme park with its wonderful mix of forests, lakes, lagoons waterways and rivers. Famous for its wines, the Cape Wine Land offers unique wine and cheese tasting travel, contributing to a truly delectable experience.

Johannesburg is the leading city in terms of tourists visiting the country. It is a  major transit points for various international flights. The historically  important places, museums, libraries make this city a center point for the tourists. Bruma Lake, Planetarium,  Johannesburg Fort, Johannesburg Zoo are a few attractions of the city, however the list is endless. The sandy beaches, beautiful vineyards, parks and a rocking night life add to the flavor of the city.

Sun City is a city famous for its guest’s entertainment packages, relaxation activities. Go on elephant-back safaris, visit Predator World to please yourself. Valley of Waves is a theme park which is a place worth visiting again and again. Balloon Safaris are also available in this city.

South Africa is the most popular nature reserve and the Kruger National Park. Given the diversity of habitats and many species of animals, and protected natural park. Africa is one of the top three safari destinations. It offers travelers a taste of African safari experience. It is also South Africa’s best bird watching site. Here you have the opportunity to meet with the Big Five (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino and buffalo)

Hermanus is famous for being the world’s highest land-based whale watching destination. It hosts the popular Whale Festival. The Drakensberg (Dragon Mountain) is the perfect place for nature photography.

Johannesburg tourism

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Johannesburg

Johannesburg is the wealthiest city in South Africa, which is considered to be a famous tourist place. This city acts as a main center for flights from many destinations. Many passengers who board these flights must stay overnight, or some hours to catch their next flight. Many visitors to the city of Johannesburg are facing the same situation.

There are so many wonderful attractions for visitors in Johannesburg, including its various museums dedicated to art and history. One of its most famous is the Apartheid Museum, which tells the story of South Africa in the 20th century with its police of “Separation” (Apartheid), which was in effect from 1948 – 1994 and eventually caused a revolution.

The Hector Pierson Museum is also a good place to visit and it possesses the qualities of a museum. The main attraction of the museum are the events that sparked the Anti-Afrikaan Soweto uprising. The museum is situated in Orlando West, Soweto, South Africa and it is near to the place where Hector Pierson was assassinated.

Johannesburg has a number of museums entirely devoted to art. One among these is the Johannesburg Art Gallery. The architecture and design of this wonderful monument committed to art was conceptualized by the architect Sir Edwin who was brought to South Africa in the year 1910. The art gallery was in fact opened in the same year, even before the museum could be designed. The displays were then exhibited in Witwatersrand University while the construction of the Johannesburg Art Gallery continued. Today, the museum houses relics from as early as the 17th century up to the 20th century with works from sources as diverse as the Dutch, British, Europeans as well as local creations in its fifteen halls.

Museum Africa is also one of the familiar museums and highest dedication in the history of Johannesburg. This African museum was timely established in 1933 and it is a package of traditional books on the history, culture and so many aspects of Johannesburg. Additionally, this museum also consisted with a wide range of different collections that were discovered all around the world. As a matter of fact, in 1994, after the decline of the Apartheid, the museum was again renovated, remodeled and renamed as “Museum Africa”.

Established by a group of progressive artists in 1974, the Market Theatre sits across the street from the Museum Africa. It was one of a handful of places that was not segregated, allowing people of all skin color to mingle. The theatre was first opened to the public in 1996 and offers a variety of entertainment including music, dance and theater.

Johannesburg tourism is more than just museums; there are more tourist activities that show how beautiful the area is, like Gold Reef city; a big amusement park built over an ancient gold mine. This park is created to look like the architecture and clothing styles of the 1880s.

The Gold Reef City Park is well known for its gold-mining theme of the late 1800s. Employees wear outfits reminiscent of the era. There is also a museum addressing all aspects of gold, from mining to processing, etc. The park has several rides, including the internationally known Anaconda, the only inverted roller coaster in the world. The Anaconda holds the additional titles of world’s fastest and world’s highest roller coaster.

Find the best deals on Johannesburg car hire by visiting Avis car rental

Charter Flight Tips For Beginners

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

For a very long time, if you want to take a trip to another country or state, you would need to make the bookings way ahead of time in order to make sure that you are not only able to get the best deals for your flight reservations.  You would also need to make the necessary arrangements for your hotel accommodations and car rentals as well.  Many people who are planning to travel on a budget tend to book vacation packages instead since they are able to make such accommodations while spending the least amount of money.

If you are planning to book a charter flight for your next vacation with your family, you can now do this through the assistance of a travel agent or by making your own reservations over the Internet.  Whatever way you choose to book your charter flight package, here are a few tips to help get the most out of it.

But while booking a charter flights you have to keep in mind that cancellation of tickets for such flights are difficult. And the money may be non-refundable. But to ease out this situation there are airlines that take some steps. As for example airlines on the condition of some penalty can give you the chance to entrust some other person with the tickets.

One of the most helpful tips when booking your first charter flight is to choose the right charter flight company.  While there are a number to choose from, it is important to make sure that the company is stable enough that it remains afloat until you return from your trip.  Charter flight reservations are completely non-refundable so when a cancellation takes place either on your part or on the part of the company, the chances of you getting your money back is slim to none.  On top of that, having your trip cancelled altogether by the company can be extremely frustrating and disappointing especially if you have been looking forward to this trip for a very long time.

Another helpful tip when making charter flight reservations is to make the bookings as close to your travel date as you can.  This can be quite shocking, especially for avid travelers who are used to the golden rule of making your reservations way ahead of your scheduled departure to get the best deal.  Charter flights often get cancelled if the number of seats that are needed to be filled are not done by the departure date.  In order to ensure that this does not happen, charter flight companies would offer the best deals for charter flight bookings the closer the departure date approaches to make sure that all the seats are filled and the trip can push through.

Whether you booked the charter flight reservation through a travel agent or on your own through the use of the Internet, it is extremely helpful for you to check your charter flight package on a regular basis.  This is to make sure that you are certain that the flight will be pushing through.  There are some instances that charter flight reservations may be cancelled for one reason or another by the company providing the charter flight package days before the trip.  After all, nothing can be more frustrating than to arrive on the day of your trip only to find out that your charter flight has been cancelled.

Flights Going From The USA To Amsterdam

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Are you planning a travel to Amsterdam from US but confused about flight tariffs? It is good news that budget flights are available to Amsterdam from the USA as airfare almost makes up to half the cost of all international journeys. The expense you spend as airfare is one of the most important expenses as you can’t reach your favorite destination of Amsterdam without spending it.

With everything being done through the internet now-a-days, you don’t have to worry about getting tickets at all. Just do an online booking and you booking process is complete in a couple of minutes. There are many sites that let you do flight comparison between low cost airline rates and if you are lucky you can get great promotional offers, which though are obtained only occasionally. In addition to doing this for your flight from the US to Amsterdam, you should also book at early as possible, as this is a sure way of getting reduced rates.

All flights coming to Amsterdam land at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) and you can find many low-cost airlines operating from here. Most popular are European destinations and you can see flight such as KLM, Martiniar, Transavia, skyEurope, easyJet, and bmibaby flying from here to other European cities. However, it may be difficult to find a low-cost carrier from here to long-haul international routes as such routes cover a considerable distance and their travel rates will be high.

Not only this, you can even reach the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport or AMS as it is commonly known as, the main Amsterdam airport, to find the best travel options available. One of the lowest airports in the World, Schipol is an important entry point from Europe from a number of overseas countries. You can find many popular airlines such as KLM, Martiniar, Transavia, skyEurope, easyJet, and bmibaby make regular flights to and from Schilpol. However, it is difficult to find low budget airlines at this big airport of International repute, as their fees is normally very high.

It is a not a big problem to book ticket to Amsterdam from U.S. You just need to fill the required information in the particular website and you can reserve your ticket online directly. There are so many comparison sites that may fruitful for your purpose and make your job an easy one. Apart from booking your flight tickets there are options for other things like rent a car, book your hotel, and more. Everything is possible with few clicks and the journey today is as simple as that.

There are many online travel agencies in the market who may provide the best online deals to customers. As they carry on their business on a worldwide basis they can negotiate with flight companies and pass the price benefit to the ultimate customers. They usually approach you with some interesting packages including details of local holidays, wide lists of interesting places, and the flight arrival and departure schedules.

Now that almost all airlines offer online booking facility, the concept of e-ticket is everywhere and this saves you the trouble of losing your ticket. You just need the confirmation number sent through email or SMS to get going. No more carrying those paper ticket bundles.

Your travel schedule can also help you look for cheaper air travel options. If its not compulsory for you to travel on a particular date or time of the year, with the off-season discounts offered by many airlines travelling during off-seasons can help you save a lot of money.  For example, purchasing a ticket on Wednesday than on a weekend can help you make greater savings.

Tips On Booking Charter Flights

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Nowadays, more and more people are opting to book charter flights for their travel plans as opposed to booking regular flights with their travel agents.  This is primarily because of the numerous benefits that they get with a charter flight package.  One main benefit travelers are able to receive is that charter flights not only provide them with their flight arrangements.  Charter flight packages also provide them what they would need for their trip such as a place to stay.  These packages are comparatively more affordable as opposed to purchase vacation packages commonly offered by travel agencies.

If you are planning to book a charter flight for your next vacation with your family, you can now do this through the assistance of a travel agent or by making your own reservations over the Internet.  Whatever way you choose to book your charter flight package, here are a few tips to help get the most out of it.

To help you get the most out of your charter flight package, here are some tips on how to book charter flights.

One of the many advantages of booking charter flights as opposed to regular airfares is that you are not only getting an airfare for the price that you are paying.  You are also to get a vehicle rental, hotel accommodation and the like.  While these may be extremely attractive, it is extremely important to make sure that you read the fine print of the terms and conditions before purchasing your charter flight bookings.  Charter flight bookings are non-refundable.  While many regular airfares are the same, some charter flights do not provide the option for you to use the amount that you paid for a future flight with the corresponding fees and charges.  The only time that these terms and conditions can be waived is in the event that the cancellation is done by the company providing the charter flight and not the traveler.  For this reason, make sure that you fully understand the terms and conditions of the charter flight that you are interested in taking prior to making the purchase.

In booking regular airfare tickets, the golden rule is to make the reservations way ahead of time in order to get the lowest rates and the best deals from the airline carrier.  This rule does not apply in booking charter flights.  In fact, it is quite the opposite.  The best time to make your bookings is a few days right before your planned travel date.  This is because charter flight companies have a specific number of people to accommodate in order for the trip to push through.  As the date grows closer, charter flight companies lower the rates for the charter flights in order to fill all the remaining empty seats.  Booking charter flights on the last minute would also minimize your chances of canceling the trip altogether, slimming down the chances for you to make any cancellations on your part.

Charter flights do not follow a regular travel schedule not like regular airlines.  As such, it is important to make sure that you keep an eye on the charter flight bookings you have purchased to make sure that everything is going on schedule.  It is not unusual that some charter flights would cancel the flight as early as 10 days before your travel date for one reason or another.

Cape Town, South Africa – Where Two Oceans Meet

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

It comes as no surprise that Cape Town in South Africa has become one of the world’s prime tourist destinations during the past decade. First there is the climate: when people in the Northern hemisphere are trembling from the cold in their fierce winters, Capetonians are soaking in the African sun. But that’s not all – the city also boasts a list of tourist destinations long enough to make most other cities turn green with jealousy.

A large percentage of tourists of course visit the city because of its pristine beaches. When their family and friends in the other half of the globe are turning on the central heating, they are tanning on one of the numerous sandy beaches.

Cape Town is a great travel destination for a family. Even with a baby in your family there’s still no reason for not having a holiday filled with sun, sand and sea. When flying in, you can rent a car at the airport. For the baby’s sake try and get one that is equipped with a Graco car seat. Then find a guest house that’s baby-friendly and start having fun!

Just to illustrate the level of sophistication of many guest houses in Cape Town: our family recently stayed in a guest house which even provided us with a Spa Baby so we could bath the new family member in the natural, upright position. Not all guest houses will have one of these – enquire before you arrive.

The second biggest attraction of Cape Town (if not actually the biggest), is Table Mountain. This legendary mountain overlooks the city of Cape Town like a guardian angel. There is a cable car to the top and from there you have a 360 degree view that can in no other way we described as breathtaking.

The V&A Waterfront is another of Cape Town’s tourist hotspots. Here you can eat world class seafood in one of the numerous restaurants, visit the luxurious shopping mall or simply stroll along the quay and watch fishing boats come and go. About 30km from the city you will find the first of many wine farms in the region. Here you can not only taste some of South Africa’s top wines, but also dine while looking across vineyards stretching into the distance against a backdrop of blue mountains. At Cape Point you can view the meeting point of two of the world’s giant oceans, the Indian and the Atlantic.

It’s unlikely that you will have the opportunity to read a lot in Cape Town, but by all means pack your digital book reader. When everyone else in the family has fallen asleep, you can finish reading your favorite detective story while listening to the gentle sound of waves breaking on the rocks.

The Garden Route Of The South African Southern Cape Area – A Wonderland Of Beaches And Forests.

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

If you are ever lucky enough to be able to bring a visit to the Garden Route in South Africa, you are in for a real treat. Kilometers of white sandy beaches on one side, flanked by mountains and rain forests on the other side make for a holiday paradise. The route starts in the west at Mossel Bay and ends at the Tsitsikamma rain forest near Plettenberg Bay in the east.

Arriving from Cape Town, you will first encounter Mossel Bay. This historical old town with its many finely preserved colonial buildings has an atmosphere and charm all of its own. It lagged behind the other Garden Route towns in development for many years, but nowadays it bursts at the seams with luxury hotels and guest houses. Standards are high: We could not help to notice that our hotel even had baby bath tubs available for those who travel with a baby.

A few kilometers to the east lies the resort towns of Klein Brak River and Groot Brak River. Both have been popular holiday spots for South Africans for decades. When it’s winter in the Northern hemisphere, it’s of course summer in South Africa. This makes the country the ideal winter holiday location for people from the North.

George is the major town of the region. Here you will find all modern conveniences like shopping malls, movies and loads of good restaurants. To the east of George lies the renowned coastal resort town of Wilderness. Once again wide open white sandy beaches and many restaurants. Over weekends you will also find live music at many of these restaurants. I prefer to make my own music though: my Martin acoustic electric guitar, has been a source of great pleasure for many an evening.

Leaving Wilderness, the road criss-crosses through a series of lush green hills and valleys where you will catch a periodic glimpse of the Indian Ocean to your right. A few km further to the east the road passes through Sedgefield. This is a timber-producing area with many lovely lakes. Despite asking around, we couldn’t find the fine costume jewelry wholesale distributor mentioned in our guide book.

About sixty kilometers from George the road enters the historical town of Knysna. Situated on the shores of a lagoon, it boasts a charming waterfront area with numerous restaurants and curio shops. Thirty years ago Knysna only came alive during summer, but nowadays the town is swarming with tourists throughout the year.

The last town that forms part of the Garden Route is the upmarket beach resort town of Plettenberg Bay. Numerous upscale hotels and guest houses, as well as lots of huge holiday homes, contribute to the perception that this is a hangout venue for the rich. Near Plettenberg Bay you can also bring a visit to the Tsitsikamma Forest – a stunning area of rain forests where there’s still a couple of wild elephants roaming around!

Family safari holiday’s to Tanzania

Friday, December 18th, 2009

When nature meets us - our experience with Elephants while on safari in Africa

We could not resist the temptation to visit our many friends in Africa My wife and I both love Africa. Juliette was nearly two years old when we travelled from South Africa to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania both the mainland and Zanzibar.

Finding food for our daughter or cots in hotels wasn’t a problem we found which made our trip amazing. In fact the whole trip was just perfect. We were very careful to use mosquito nets, to cover her with a strong mosquito repellent and in fact she was not bitten once in the whole trip.

So if you are thinking of travelling to Africa with your family but are worried whether your children will enjoy the safari and whether they will be safe, we hope you will be encouraged with our personal experiences. Our daughter Juliette has enjoyed safaris from the very earliest age and have friends who have raised their children so the easy answer is yes children do adapt well to the wild but with some conditions.

Children tend to love the wildlife and a safari is usually a wonderful experience for children of all ages. It can get a bit long and hot for children so we have some suggestions for you;

  • take with you some animal spotting safari games
  • learn the Swahili names for the animals which will help the children build a relationship with your driver and should provide fun.
  • Keep the kids busy with downloadable “safari games” free from the web.  We have a FREE children’s activity pack which you can view or download and print free of charge and includes a safari animal check list with Swahili animal names, plus some other fun stuff.

An amazing experience that we had and would like to mention because it might be useful for other parents travelling with young children while on safari…
We went on a night drive in Zambia in an open vehicle with other guests from the lodge.As it turned out, it was one of the most fantastic we have ever done. We discovered a young leopard where we later found ourselves right in the core of a herd of buffalo that was suddenly being ambushed by four hungry female lions. The lions lost their prey. In all the commotion our daughter started crying, suddenly the lions who typically judge vehicles as part of the landscape had begun to think the vehicle as a probable prey, like a small animal in distress. It was fortunate that our driver spotted the change and drove away at full speed with a pack of lions following us.

Children’s food in a safari lodge is no problem as the meals are usually flexible so that isn’t a problem for you either. There should be no problems keeping children interested in this new and stimulating world where they will face a different way of life and maybe poverty for the first time, but I think the lifestyle of Africa can play an essential part in the education of our sometimes pampered children.

Each safari and lodge have guide lines that must be adhered to – if not then danger, trouble could follow. As these are set there to keep you and your family safe it is wise that you and your children abide by them. Surely the first thing for you to do is sit down with your children before the trip and explain that Africa is a different world from the environment they know, where there is danger around. There is no need to inflate but camp rules must be obeyed, because if they are not, the consequences can be very serious. For very young children I would suggest you select your camp carefully and check with your travel advisor which are most suitable for children. We can guide you on this from first hand experience as we have been on many safaris with our children. We also have a lot of information for going on safari & travelling in Africa

It is recommended that young children should not be vaccinated and are excused in most countries for yellow fever but truthfully I don’t feel this should be of concern. This is a rare disease which you should not come across in a safari lodge. The main illness concern is malaria as this is a problem through all tropical areas. The local population catch it repeatedly and it is generally deemed no worse than a bout of flu. Although dangerous depending on the strain, the answer is prevention. Young children cannot take malaria tablets but please get advice from your doctor. Make sure that you apply mosquito repellent abundantly, covering up arms & legs before the sun goes down and make sure that the children sleep under mosquito nets. These safety measures will help you to reduce the risk of malaria to just about zero.

Don’t be scared about taking your children to Africa,  it is a wonderful experience for them and we have been back with Juliette many times, but do cover them up well and no safaris in open vehicles for very small children

Note: The above information is advice given on the basis of the author’s experience at the time of writing and the author cannot take responsibility for any traveller choosing to take the advise above. Travellers should speak to their GP and take advice from the relevant authorities before travelling.