There Is Still Time To Book A Vacation in South Africa
With only two weeks to go until the 2010 World Cup kicks off in South Africa, there’s still time to book your vacation. Sure, it will probably burn bigger wholes in the pockets, unless you find some excellent last minute deals.
There are plenty of World Cup travel tips we can give you, but just remember some of the most important ones:
- cheap airfare can be found if you are flexible, plan to fly when it’s cheapest and check out all the airport options
- accommodation can still be found but you’ll definitely pay a premium for booking so late; and although it’s technically the low season, the big football event helps the rates to get to high season level
- safaris are excellent ways to enjoy South Africa in between the matches
And speaking of the things to do between the football matches…there are many festivals in South Africa which will keep you busy. Between a wine tasting festival, an arts festival, a music festival and plenty of events dedicated to food, you’ll definitely need to carry your planner around.
What should you expect in terms of money? Assuming you’ll be flying out of New York and into Johannesburg just in time for the opening ceremony (June 10) and fly back home right after the last game from the groups (June 26), you’ll have to rack up over USD$3,200 for the round trip flight. If you leave from London, round flights start at little over USD$2,100. That’s unless you have some miles saved or found a last minute deal.
As for the accommodation, you can still find hotel rooms during the World Cup at rates starting from $100 per night (4-stars). In Cape Town, rooms seem to be more expensive, with rates starting at $123 per night (3-stars).
You also need to add to the budget the transportation between the cities and the activities you plan to indulge in.