3 wks south africa...recommendations???

dugx

my boyfriend and i are travelling to south africa for 3 wks at end of october...at the moment all we have only booked flights....we fly into joburg and out of cape town. we plan to pack alot into the 3 wks...hopefully doing few days safari up north then on to drakensburg for a few days hiking then take bout 10 days to travel down to cape town for our last few days.

we were thinking of imfolozi game park for safari...has anybody been or has anybody different recommendations for safari(not too pushed about kruger)

looking for a few nice places to stop on the way to cape town need to be very selective so would appreciate any advice.

want to stay somewhere pretty special in cape town a little bit of luxury at the end of trip..so any advice would be gr8
cheers
dug

comefly

hi dugx,
did SA last year for a week which was rediculously short but it was work and my itinary was set out for me. coincidently i stayed in imfolozi! drackensburg is amazing and I went to swaziland which was the most amazing cultural experience of my life, went to mountains to see how the people live, still live in mud huts, women walking round with bowls on their heads! I started in Kruger and made my way up to durban through swaziland.

spent years travelling with work and without a doubt SA was the most memorable, seriously jealous of you heading off! happy to give you any other advice on specifics, just ask.

Africa

I was brought up in SA, so maybe i can shed some light...

Sun City, and possibly a trip going down the Wild Coast (including Wilderness, Hermanus(sp?), Knysna and the forests around there.)
Also i would go take a look at the vineyards around Stellenbosch. Amazing wine there...

Sun City is amazing, everyone has an amazing time. All the hotels there are fine, but i recommend the Cascades or if your really looking Luxury, the Palace. Sun City itself is like a little Vegas, and youll love it. Really cant stress how amazing the place is.

Also, there is the pilansberg game reserve next to it, literally next to it, and it was the best one i was in there. Ive been to most of the reserves out there (and the Kruger like 20 times or more...) and this is the most populated one I was ever at. Never saw so much elephant in one day as here. And we saw Rhino, which to say are elusive. Some lovely lodges as well. We also saw a Lion kill a Buffalo there. Maybe it holds a little special place in the heart cause of it, but its the best one IMO. Its up near Rustenburg/Pietermaritzberg

Be careful in Joburg though, it is fairly dodgy. You should be fine but be careful and be smart!

sleepyescapade

I went to Cape Town for 3 weeks last summer with my ex and his family who are originally from there.

We went to Aquila Safari Park - http://www.aquilasafari.com/ . It was really good, maybe another place for you to consider.

If you like theme parks go to Ratanga Junction in Century City - http://www.ratanga.co.za/venues/ It was really fun and they have some excellent rides. There is also a huge shopping mall nearby.

Another shopping mall to visit would be Tyger Valley near Bellville. http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionswc/tyger-valley.htm

Table Mountain Tourist Centre is great and has amazing views of the city.

Spurs restaurant is great, has branches all over the place in Cape Town. Their ribs are amazing!

I can't think of any more at the moment, I'll try add stuff later. Hope this helps.

Africa

megcork wrote: »

Spurs restaurant is great, has branches all over the place in Cape Town. Their ribs are amazing!

Ah. Yes they are. Spur are amazing and located all around SA. They have a branch over here in Liffy Valley and they have done quite well. However, the ones in SA are better and cheaper. Can definetly recommend this.

Also have yourself a BBQ (its called a Braai out there, just in case) and get some food from the butchers. I got a 40, yes, 40 ounce steak ou there and cooked ourselves. Cost? less than a 4 quid.

Table Mountain is another great choice as well

macca1983

I can't believe people have not mentioned Cape of Good Point. If you are into landscape/scenery then this is a must. I have just returned from a RTW trip and i did not see anything that could beat that.

Robben Island is certainly worth going to in Cape Town (where Mandela was imprisoned).

Doing a wine tour in the Western Cape region is a great way to spend a day.

Camps Bay (a beach) is a must do in Cape Town (just incredible).

For a good night out in Cape Town go to Longstreet or else hit the famous spot La Meade over by Camps Bay.

Jo'burg is without doubt the scariest place alive. However i highly recommend you do the National Apartheid Museum and do the Soweto Township Tour (largest township in SA and has the only road in the world where two nobe peace prize winners were born and raised there).

Basically SA is all about Cape Town and the surrounding Cape region. Port Elizabeth is not worth seeing and to be honest Durban is pretty average too.

Enjoy - SA is the best country i've ever being too.

shanagarry

Is there a particular reason that you don't want to go to Kruger? IMO it is the best of the safari parks by far, especially if you want to see the big 5. It doesn't have to be expensive if you self drive and use the national park accommodation. Go to this site for bookings: http://www.sanparks.org/tourism/bookings/. Note that accommodation books up quite early. Also, depending on how early the rains come, you might hit the start of the rainy season there, so be prepared for that.

Pilanesberg is nice too, but Sun City is tacky beyond belief. Plus going there will drag you a bit out of your way. Aquila is a private game reserve, wouldn't recommend it if you can visit the proper wild reserves.

You could come from Kruger down through the Drakensburg. You could consider visiting Lesotho, but where you can go will depend on what you are driving - you will need a 4x4 for many of the routes. Then you could head towards the coast - all along the Wild Coast will give you the rural african experience that you won't get anywhere else. Then on to the Garden Route - Storms River, Plettenberg Bay, Knysna are all worth visiting. You could visit Addo Elephant Park too, another national park near Port Elizabeth. Heading from Knysna on towards Cape Town you could go through Oodshourn and Route 62 through the winelands, detour to Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, and finally to Cape Town to see all the sights there.

What sort of budget do you have for Cape Town accommodation? At the high end, you have the top, very expensive hotels, such as the Cape Grace, One & Only, Table Bay, Mount Nelson, Westin Grand. What you also have are some beautiful boutique hotels/guesthouses. Tripadvisor has lots of reviews, so that's probably a good place for some ideas.

I'm currently living in Cape Town so please ask if you have any specific questions.

Oh, and don't get too excited about the Spur - it's a mediocre cheap chain. There are much better places to eat in SA

Qprmeath

Stay in Franschoek as your luxury accommadation at the end. Near Cape Town and a truly breathtaking place. Cant think of name of where we stayed but Ill let u know if I think of it.