South Africa - Travel Deals

Not long ago, we published a series of articles here packed with information about getting you to the World Cup in South Africa this year for as little money as possible. But most of that information was aimed at people who might be traveling from the North America to South Africa – and as we all know, soccer football is really more popular in other parts of the world.

So this week, we published a similar series of articles aimed at travelers from across the pond, as they say – and we put them on our UK-based site. We didn’t want you to miss them, though, if you’re not in the US and you’ll be going to South Africa for the World Cup this summer, so here are the links you’ll need to get to all the posts about getting to South Africa from Europe:

• World Cup Travel Deals from Europe
• How to Find Cheap World Cup Airfare to South Africa from Europe
• What UK Airports to Use for South Africa Flights
• What Airlines Fly from London to South Africa
• Should You Buy World Cup Travel Packages?

>> And, just in case you missed them, here’s the link to all the World Cup travel deals articles we published on this site a couple weeks ago.

So, you’re planning a trip to the World Cup in South Africa? You lucky, lucky person… I won’t pretend I’m not completely envious (especially since two of my coworkers are among the people going to the tournament), but I’ll also be really excited for you and the astoundingly cool experiences you’ll no doubt have there.

Not only that, I’ll help you save money on your travels to South Africa for the tournament. How’s that for service?

We’ve published a series of articles on this site that will help you make your World Cup trip a success, and to help you make sure it fits your budget, too. Consider this article your “table of contents” to all of those articles.

>> Need some last minute planning help? Here’s the place to go for last minute World Cup travel and ticket packages.

>> And if you’re looking for news and analysis of the tournament itself, then look no further than this World Cup blog. There’s a blog for every country who’s playing!

You don’t have to be a hard-core soccer fan (or football fan, depending on where you’re from) to be interested in attending a World Cup. It’s the most-watched sports event in the world, and in addition to being a great way to see a country at its celebratory best it’s also an ideal situation if you like mingling with people from all over the world in one place.

The upcoming 2010 World Cup in South Africa is also an excellent excuse to visit a country with lots to do and see even if you’re not a sports nut.

But as is the case with any trips you’re planning, there’s some travel planning you’re going to want to do – and it’s even more important in this case when the country is going to be hosting (by some estimates) more than a million extra people during the tournament. So here are a few quick South Africa travel tips for the World Cup, and some links to find more handy travel information.

There are travel enthusiasts, and there are sports fans. Both can be evangelical about their passion, so you can probably imagine what happens when you combine the two. All it takes is a major sporting event to bring out the best (or worst, depending on your point of view) of these crowds – but the good news is that you don’t have to be both. A huge soccer fan or a travel junkie can appreciate the idea of going to South Africa for the World Cup in 2010, and the trip might make each group appreciate the other group as well!

One stumbling block on the road to South Africa, however, is that airfare to any of the World Cup cities isn’t cheap – and the prices are only going up between now and the tournament. Along with these other suggestions for how to find cheap airfare to South Africa for the World Cup, I wanted to talk about the idea of flying into alternate airports in a bit more detail – since there are nine host cities, there are more options to cover.

Often times when you’re flying into a major city, it’s a good idea to look at airports other than the main airport for that city in case one of the smaller area airports has cheaper flights. This isn’t always the case, but it’s almost always worth looking.

In South Africa, there are nine cities where World Cup games will be held, but not all of them present mutliple-airport options. In this article I’ll talk about the airports in some of the World Cup cities – which will be handy whether you’re looking for alternate airports to fly into or if you’re flying between cities in South Africa to attend games in multiple cities.

The world outside your window may look like a winter wonderland right now, but if you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of people (some projections are for more than a million to show up!) planning to go to South Africa for the World Cup in the summer of 2010 and you haven’t already booked your trip – what are you waiting for?

Seriously, we know that summer 2010 may feel like it’s really far away right now, but it’s not as far away as you think. And when an event of this magnitude only happens every four years, you can bet that people in the travel industry – including the airlines – have been planning for it for a lot longer than you have. What’s more, they’ve been jacking up their prices on flights to South Africa, since they know so many people will be going.

Now, if you’re one of the lucky people who got tickets to World Cup games in the lottery, then you’re going to be buying airline tickets to South Africa no matter what. But wouldn’t it be great not to pay a king’s ransom for them? Yes. Yes, it would.

Here are our tips for finding cheap airfare to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

If you travel to South Africa today and spend any time in one of its major cities you are likely to come across more than a few construction spots. The country is on the move as it builds its way towards the 2010 World Cup. The world’s most watched sporting event will focus the world’s attention on South Africa and the country is investing considerable capital to improve its infrastructure.

What does this mean for you, the traveler? It means that there might be some delays and some pain in the near term, but in the end South Africa will be even easier to travel through. Undoubtedly the crowds will start building up before the games kick off in 2010 and they likely will continue to be large well after the final whistle. Unless you are a soccer fan, it might behoove you to travel to South Africa now while you can have the place practically to yourself.

You can do you searching for cheap tickets to South Africa. You can also learn about where to go, what to see, and how to do it from an insider living in the country on the one and only South Africa Logue.

Find Low Fares to South Africa Orbitz!

Orbitz has picked their top five places to watch in the world and Cape Town, South Africa is in it.

Cape Town is growing rapidly as a favorite tourist destination in Africa. For travelers seeking the most popular sites in the city, be sure to explore the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and Table Mountain. The waterfront has more than 45 restaurants and 400 stores featuring everything from ethnic treasures, handmade art and gemstones to shark’s teeth and jewelry. To get a closer look at the natural beauty of South Africa, visit Table Mountain, one of the city’s most famous landmarks because of its unique feature, a flat summit measuring around 3 kilometers.

For great views of Cape Town and the surrounding area, visitors can ride a cable car to the mountain’s summit. Travelers looking to explore sites just outside the city should consider visiting the Winelands region. In just a short drive from Cape Town, travelers can visit this world-famous wine tasting location with both small wine boutiques and larger wine estates.

For more on South Africa, check out SouthAfricaLogue, updated 4-8 times daily.

Find Low Fares to South Africa Orbitz!