South Africa travel advice

[BrightSpot]

Hi all,

I'm planning a trip to South Africa next month & would love to get some travel advice from anyone who has been there (or knows someone who has.) My DH, my best friend & I will be going to Cape Town for about a week & my DH & I are considering extending the trip a bit to enjoy some couple time together.

Any suggestions about places to stay, fun things to do or yummy places to eat would be most welcomed. Also, I'd love to hear about any health precautions you took before you went (vaccinations, malaria medicine, etc) & important things to pack for the trip.

Here's a rough outline of activities I've seen online that sound appealing to me, but please chime in with additional suggestions:

Wine country
Penguins at Boulders Beach
Whale watching
Victoria Falls
Beach
Safari (Kruger National Park or other)
Horseback riding
Scuba diving

We also found a horseback riding safari that sounded interesting.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[JGator]

Hi Bright,

I think if you have time, you should do a safari while you are there. I went to SA with one of my best friends in July 2006. We flew to Johannesburg then rented a car and drove to Elephant Plains Game Lodge (close to Kruger) and from there we stayed in Kruger National Park at Olifants. Then we drove back to Johannesburg then drove to Madikwe and stayed at Buffalo Ridge. After that we drove to Johannesburg, and flew to Cape Town for a few nights. From Cape Town, we saw the penguins, saw the Cape of Good Hope, went to the top of Table Mountain, and went to some wineries not far from Cape Town. It was an amazing trip.

We saw all the game you could imagine except for wild dogs and cheetahs. Kruger is a national park - you can rent cabins in the park which are much less expensive than private game lodges. In Kruger at Olifants we had a cabin with a porch with a view of a river where we could see hippos. It was amazing! They also offer activities like guided game drives, bike rides, etc in Kruger. We also were able to drive through the park on our own and saw lots of animals that way too. It is nice to have a guide though.

The lodges are more luxurious and expensive. Food is amazing, and they provide things like hot water bottles on the sunrise/sunset game drives.

I don't think we took malaria medicine on that trip. I did get the recommended shots though. I have taken the malaria meds before though for trips to India - if you have to take it, get the one you take daily vs. weekly as I heard there are less side effects. I had no issues with the daily malaria medicine on several trips to India.

I would be afraid to do a horse back riding safari. We were very close to animals including about 6 feet away from lions and I felt safe in the open air jeep/safari vehicle.

I can look in my quicken to see the names of restaurants and any other places of interest. I was there in 06 so it was a while ago. But, it definitely is my favorite vacation ever.

 

[aviastar]

I haven't been to South Africa, but did travel elsewhere in Africa this year. I did have to anti-malaria meds; if you have to take them I had great success with Malarone. They don't prescribe it very often cause it's pretty expensive (was about $200 for 30 day supply) and insurance doesn't usually cover travel meds. But you start it only 2-3 days before you leave, take it daily, and there were no side effects for us. I am allergic to Doxy and my husband hallucinates if he takes Larium ( ), so Malarone was our only option, but it worked out really well!

Can you get your visa (do you need one?) in the airport when you get there? We found that to be easiest; Kenya wants you to send your passport to the embassy when if you apply stateside and they will mail it back to you with your visa, several weeks later. I didn't feel comfortable with that, and we could get them in the airport in Kenya, so we just did it that way.

Sounds like an amazing trip!

 

[TaylaBrewer]

There are definitely a few vaccines you'll want to get before leaving, go to a travel clinic and they'll usually have a world map that explains which shots you need before going to which country. As for anti-malaria medications, I'm not sure; I've been to SA once for a day-long layover and didn't use any, but that may have been dangerous on my part because I honestly didn't consider it. I'd consult with a doctor first.

Anyways - bon voyage !

 

[stlc]

Awww no! I'm so sorry to only have caught this now!
I am South African and my Hometown is Cape Town, so I could've helped you with all your questions. Dang it.

In any case, Hope you had a magical time! Cape Town certainly brings that bit of magic to your life, sea, sun, cocktails, good food, good wine, beautiful people, humour, mountains, forests, wildlife a hop skip and a jump away.

 

[April20]

I'm sorry I missed this too! We lived in SA for six months in 2011.

FYI for anyone else that may travel there, if you're American, you don't need any vaccinations. Other countries will require a yellow fever vaccination sticker in your passport, but not the US. If you take a trip to Victoria Falls, you would need it though because you have to have one for Zimbabwe. Additionally, SA is not really a malarial region. There's some risk up near Kruger, but for the most part there is not risk and you don't need the tablets. We spent four days in Kruger and didn't bother with them.