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| South Africa Transportation |
| Getting around SA Buses & minibuses If you're not used to driving long distances, a bus may be a better idea than a rental car. Check out Intercape or Greyhound.You can book bus tickets on Computicket. The Baz Bus offers a hop-on, hop-off door to door service between backpackers hostels. Minibuses serve the more unusual routes but do think carefully before you consider one. As a rule, they are fast and efficient and it is actually quite a lot of fun. You get to meet the local people and see a side of South Africa not often seen by the average tourist. There is one down side, however. Many minibuses are not properly maintained, and some are severely overloaded, which does present a significant accident risk. Driving in SA Our road infrastructure is excellent, so driving is a viable option but South Africa is a huge country, which is not easily traversed in a day, so plan your journeys carefully. If you're not used to driving long distances, rather break the journey, as fatigue is a major contributing factor in motor vehicle accidents. We drive on the left-hand side of the road, and rental cars are right-hand drive. All distances and speed limits are given in kilometres. The speed limit is 120km/h on the open road, 100km/h on smaller roads and 80 or 60km/h in urban areas. Be aware that the roads in some rural areas are not fenced so you could find dogs, chickens, sheep and even horses or cows on the road, so it may be dangerous to drive at night. All the major car rental agencies have offices at the airports and in the cities. Trains Spoornet is the quasi-statal railway, which covers the routes between the major cities. It's by no means luxurious or fast, but it's reasonably comfortable, clean and safe. For real luxury, though, you have to try the Blue Train, which runs a number of routes within South Africa, and some further afield. Another great option is Rovos Rail, which operates beautifully restored, spacious, Edwardian-era carriages, which are drawn by steam locomotives for part of the trip. But for the real railway enthusiast, there is no better choice than the Union Steam Ltd. These beautifully restored carriages are the original Blue Train - but in those days, there was only one bathroom per carriage. Although there are small concessions to modern taste, such as gas cooking instead of coal, everything - down to the uniforms and cutlery - is as it would have been 50 years ago. And they do have a few not-so-traditional en-suite compartments for those willing to pay extra. For short scenic trips, you could try the Banana Express on the KZN South Coast, the Apple Express out of Port Elizabeth, or the usually steam-driven Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe. Cape Town is probably the only city where you would consider taking the commuter train, and then only really to enjoy the view between Muizenberg and Simonstown as the railway hugs the rocky shoreline. Another excellent option is the Spier Train, which chuffs its way between its own private station in Cape Town and Spier Estate in Stellenbosch, or Evita se Perron in Darling for theatre performances and picnics. Getting to and from SA Cruise liners Now this would be a rather relaxing way to get here. Most of the world’s largest cruise liners are stopping off in Cape Town and (to a lesser extent, Port Elizabeth and Durban) so it’s a breeze to hop on to a ship. For something a tad more unusual, try the RMS St Helena. Running from Southampton to Cape Town via St Helena, it's one of the last real old mail ships. As well as St Helena, it sometimes stops at Ascension and Tristan da Cunha – both of which are pretty difficult to visit otherwise. Driving overland This is a fun and adventurous option. Obviously, you’ll need lots of time – and patience and ingenuity and an enormous sense of humour, with a few extra senses of humour in reserve. But it will be the adventure of a lifetime. Go on – buy that four-wheel drive. Kit it out. Start driving. If you take it easy, driving to Cape Town from London could take you – oh, six months, a year, perhaps two years. It all depends on who you meet on the way, what you see, and what you decide to do. The easier way of doing this is to join an overland tour. Flying to South Africa South Africa is served by more than 70 international airlines and our national carrier, South African Airways, flies to many destinations in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Most intercontinental flights are overnight and are a dinner-bed-and-breakfast away. Flying from the US Flight time from New York to Johannesburg is about 14.5 hours. But make sure you get on a direct flight. There are daily flights from Atlanta, which are a bit longer as they stop over in Sal. Flying from Australia Flying time to Johannesburg from Sydney is about 14 hours but it’s only just over 10 from Perth, and the return trip is even shorter. Flying from the Middle East Flights from Dubai to Johannesburg take under 9 hours, and the flying time from Tel Aviv is 7 hours. Flying from the Far East The flying time from Bangkok is about 11 hours, about 13 hours from Hong Kong, and only 9 from Mumbai. Flying from South America Flying time from Sao Paulo is a mere 9 hours. Flying from Continental Europe Flying time from Europe to Johannesburg is between 10 and 11 hours. Flying from the UK There are daily direct flights between London and Johannesburg, which take about 11 hours, and the direct flights to Cape Town are only a few minutes longer. Getting from airport to hotel If you arrange ahead, you will be met at the airport by your hotel or backpackers hostel. Otherwise, there are shuttle buses and metered taxis at the airport. Of course you could always organize a chauffeur or a limo service, as well. Organised tours If you have some sort of special interest, or you just don’t like travelling alone, you could join an organised tour, where everything will be taken care of. Once you’re met at your home airport, you need only follow on and you’ll be taken to a whole range of fantastic destinations without having to get involved in any of the hassle. Public transport overland Now this is pretty adventurous but definitely possible. You can travel down most of Africa overland on buses and such but it’s probably a good idea to fly over the Sahara area to Kenya or Tanzania – unless you’re really adventurous. SA's international airports Johannesburg International Airport is South Africa's major gateway offering both domestic, African regional and international connections. The separate domestic and international terminals are close together and it's a breeze walking from one to the other. Fortunately, it's a well-designed airport with all the shops, restaurants, banks, post offices and other facilities you'd expect from a major airport, as you have to be there two hours before take-off if you're travelling economy on an intercontinental flight. Cape Town and Durban are the two other
main airports, but there are very few international flights directly
to and from Cape Town, and most intercontinental flights from Durban
go via Cape Town or Johannesburg. |
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