I'm taking a variety.... Cash - a few hundred quid for spendos when you don't want to trust a card to someone. £50 or so easily accessible to give to a mugger. Cards - Visa card that is due to expire in September for regular purchases - use wherever possible and keep all receipts. Amex card for more expensive purchases where taken (BA miles!). Maestro card to take more cash out of ATM when needed. Have a couple of expired cards to give to a mugger if needed .
before you get into a panic. i've lived in south africa for 19 years. never been robbed, hijacked, mugged, attacked, nothings ever been stolen from me, i've actually never encountered any crime. so if you come here for 3 weeks and experience first hand crime, in my opinion, you were negligent/careless.
Funnily enough, I already feel that I have been robbed, hijacked, mugged, attacked, and had a lot stolen from me, and I haven't ever set foot in SA yet! FIFA, MATCH, the airlines and the hotel industry have a lot to answer for!
fifa and match are the most unorganised organised criminals, and have nothing to do with south africa. the airlines, most not even south african, have increased prices, but its not so dramatic as people would let you believe, there are many modes of transport within south africa besides air. there is an abundance of cheap accommodation, you just need to know where to look/what to look for. of course 4/5 star hotels are going to increase their prices, because there will always be a demand. if someone from the uk comes here for a month, the net effect of their expenses wont be much at all. one can easily spend around r50/r60 on food a day. obviously if you want to eat at restaurants it will be more, but still much less than most foreign countries. besides all this, fifa, match, the airline and hotel industry, arent going to come up to you in the street asking you for your wallet, and i believe thats what we were previously talking about.
Mate, there's nothing left in my wallet! The net effect of my expenses, before I get to buying any food is around 65,000 ZAR currently, with no 4 or 5 star hotels in sight, and no bookings made through MATCH. As a point of information FIFA reached agreement with the South African government, and MATCH agreed a deal 3 years ago with the South African hospitality industry. It may have little to do with the average man in the street, but it has everything to do with South Africa as a country.
For 1 person or 2? If it is 2 I would say that is ok, considering that your flight here is probably the most expensive thing (should be anyway). An average European holiday (without Football tickets, mind you) is about R30 000 per person if you stay in 3 star hotels or B & B's so this price is on par. If it is for 1 person - they saw you coming If you get hungry I will give you food to make up for the capitalist, greedy bla bla S Africans who have robbed you blind.
Is there any info on matchday transport yet? For years there have been rumours of "soccer trains" and fleets of buses and so on, has any of this actually been sorted out? I'm staying in Pretoria and I've got tickets to games there and in Joberg and Rustenburg. I could possibly slot in one or two more games, tickets are available, but I don't actually know yet whether I'll be able to get back to Pretoria after the game. I'm finding this all a bit surreal to be honest.
Have yet to see any official report on WHERE to access these buses - will probably be part of Tourist handouts closer to the time. From an official gov site: 2010 World Cup transport projects are funded through the Public Transport Infrastructure and System Grant, with an allocation of R11,7 billion. Government is using the World Cup to spur a major revolution in South African’s transport system through investments in: • public transport and road infrastructure • rail upgrades • internodal facilities • Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems • inner-city mobility systems • call-centre systems • airport-city links • freight services • passenger safety • intelligent transport systems. The Department of Transport is preparing to provide a fleet of 2 035 luxury and standard buses, 60 train sets and 1 000 bus coaches. Some 1 400 luxury coaches are being procured. Once the event is over, these vehicles will be used for communities. Government has committed that by 2010 there will be a train available every five minutes in peak times and train services 14 – 16 hours a day. Johannesburg: • the Gautrain Rapid Rail link • the Rea Vaya (we are going) project with 325 km of special public transport lanes and intersections, and 40 transport interchange nodes where commuters can switch from one form of transport to another. Tshwane - Pretoria: • the Tshwane BRT System, developing 472 km of bus ways and 113 km of mixed traffic lanes • better access roads into the city, to airports and the stadium • a new municipal bus fleet.
Gronum, cheers, yes that's exactly the stuff I meant. Lots of investment in "internodal facilities" and "intelligent transport systems", but no investment at all in telling fans whether they'll actually be able to get from A to B.
We have a hire car, and will be based in JoBurg, but for getting to games in Rustenberg, Polkwane etc, ideally we would like to get a bus so we are all able to have a few drinks. I was under the impression there would be cheap shuttles from JoBurg to Rusternberg etc, but having seen an article about a new bus company starting up with return fares between the two locations of 250ZAR - that pretty steep? Is this what we should be expecting to pay?
Dunno - bargain on that - anything less is a bonus!! I actually think R250 return is not too bad at all. Currently a shuttle from the airport to Jhb central can cost R300 - R400.
Gronum I like you and you are really helpful. ;-) Do you honestly believe that an average European holiday costs us R60,000? Thats about 5000 quid. For this I would get at least a 4 star Hotel ALL INCLUSIVE. In a top quality resort. And probably a couple of grand change. I really think you people over there have completely the wrong impression of us over in Europe.
No, it costs US R30 000 to tour there - so that is why I think it is fair if it costs you that much to get here. Went to Italy and France last year - stayed in 3 star pigeon holes - food was bloody expensive and had to eat off the Tourist menus (ooh bad grammer here but you know what I mean). Paid R60 for a 2 scoop Ice cream - luckily my conversion maths was crap at the time else I would never have paid that. The distance is the big killer - no hopping on a chunnel train or Ryan air to get here. And some of you were ripped off big time by your accommodation hosts - that is a pity. After the WC I would like to know what you thought of your trip - was it value for money?What were the rooms like compared to ones in Europe? And the food and hospitality?
Ah I get you now m8. Although I would never consider France for a holiday personally. But I suppose coming from so far you are looking to see as much as you can. Mainland Europe is VERY expensive for us Brits now. Hence why I mentioned All Inclusive. With regard to accommodation prices there was an article in t..hold on I'll get a link. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-st...-fans-but-we-ve-had-suite-fa-115875-22231835/ Seems it was bad advice and many are suffering loss because of it..
Start considering France, it is an excellent country, especially the south. I've stayed there in homestay and it was excellent
Hi Gronum, My reading is that you work for Avis & as such may be able to help me. I have just booked thru Driveaway Holidays .com.au an AVIS vehicle for 24th June to 2nd July which I drop off at PE Airport 7 30 pm at "desk at terminal" .. where do I actually park the car? And on a side note does anyone know if local transport to/from game is included in the tickets? This is usual here in Australia And does AVIS supply any road/city maps?
When nearing the airport you will see signs saying CAR RENTAL RETURNS - follow these and eventually you will see Avis, Budget etc etc - someone will usher you in and show you where to park. The desk will be close to the parking. Basic maps of the city are supplied. Local transport should be supplied but we are waiting with bated breath for the actual procedures - pick up, drop off, price if any.
60,000 per person!! yes they saw us coming (but they probably won't see us coming again!) Your offer of food is very kind.......do you deliver??
Thanks ! "Basic maps of the city are supplied." where you say the city do you just mean PE? I am travelling DUR-PIET-NEWC-NELS and so on to PE. How many maps might be supplied on pick up in Durban (Downtown) ? ps also my deal says return the car full ..is there a petrol station near the drop off point?