South Africa - A World of its own

Advantages: It is beautiful, lots of things to do and see, good tourist facilities for both families and travellers, this place is amazing all round!
Disadvantages: Some areas can be very dangerous - but then most countries do

...As the title suggests, South Africa is a place you probably never want to forget. In fact you won?t be able to forget it if you go there!!!! If any of you readers are from South Africa or have been there and see something I have written wrongly or I have missed something out on this opinion, please tell me and I will gladly change it. There are many things you should know before visiting this place, for your own safety and to get the best enjoyment out of the place. GENERAL SAFETY RULES - Don?t go out alone at night in certain places in South Africa, unless you are in a place that you have been told that it is a safe place to be by a trustworthy person - In certain cities there are these taxis that you shouldn?t get into. They are usually Toyota Hi-aces (like minibus things) and if you jump into one of those you are...

Sweetiesarahjane 22.08.2001 (05.08.2002) · Read review
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Review of General: South Africa

South Africa. The Ultimate Holiday Option

Advantages: Spectacular scenery, friendly people always willing to help, great value for money!
Disadvantages: Ongoing worries about crime, other than that perhaps sunburn.

...Being South African born and bred, and having travelled through much of Europe this year, I now feel compelled to convince the whole of Ciao to visit good old South Africa. I recently went back for a short visit, and was once again convinced that I will eventually end up back there. Wide open spaces, wonderful sunshine for at least 9 months a year and some of the most beautiful scenery you are ever likely to find. All this made me realise that the Tourism Board’s slogan of “A World in One Country” has never been more true. A short history: South Africa’s ethnic population has been around for many hundreds of years. There is still today a rich mixture of tribes and different cultures, but sadly they are becoming more westernised. South Africa was first colonised by the Dutch in roughly 1651, to be used...

riaan 23.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of General: South Africa

Indispensible for outing yourself as a tourist in Southern Africa

Advantages: Comprehensive, up-to-date, well researched
Disadvantages: cumbersome to carry

...For my recent trip to Southern Africa, I ideally wanted a guidebook for Namibia, Lesotho and South Africa in one. Unfortunately Lonely Planet do not have such a guide but their South Africa guide also included Lesotho (and Swaziland) which meant that rather than take two books for these two countries I was able to take them in a single volume. The one problem I find with some Lonely Planets is that they become very bulky for a large country like South Africa - and unless you are really travelling throughout a country, it is almost worth only taking the pages that you need. As being white shows you up as being a tourist in a lot of places - there is little by way of domestic tourism for poorer non-white South Africans - brandishing a Lonely Planet just draws further, unwanted attention to yourself - the book is therefore not something...

Morgenhund 25.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of South Africa Lesotho and Swaziland - James Bainbridge

Premier Inn Blackpool - value for money

Advantages: Clear, bright, comfortable, efficient
Disadvantages: Not the most attractive of locations, need ID if you pay cash

...The Blackpool Central Premier Inn is situated in Yeadon Way, pretty much half-way between Bloomfield Road (the home of Blackpool Football Club) and the Pleasure Beach (home of the Big One rollercoaster). Premier Inns are part of the Whitbread group and were recently voted among the best 20 big companies to work for, as attested to by the certificate proudly on display in reception. It claims to be the largest hotel chain in the UK, with over 490 hotels nationwide. This Premier Inn is an unprepossessing, modern brick building, just off a dual carriageway, near a petrol station. Quaint the location is not, but reflects the functional rather than flashy character of the hotel. = BOOKING PROCESS = The website (www.premierinn.com) is cheerfully laid out in the company colours of purple and white. It helpfully has an express...

lobourse 04.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Premier Travel Inn Blackpool - South, Blackpool

South Africa, Cape Town and Johannesburg

Advantages: Great Scenic views on the tour
Disadvantages: Can be hot, humid and sticky...

..., arts and crafts bargains. Day Fifteen to Sixteen: Visit “Gold Reef City” theme park, for the all-new five minutes breath taking “RAGING RIVER RAPIDS” South Africa’s longest River ride with waterfalls, rapids, whirlpools and White water rafting experiences. The hanging “ANOCONDA” Roller coaster with loops, is a must for a thrilling adventure ride. There is also “Tower of Terror”, ride with a drop of 180ft, guaranteed to take your breath away. The “Globe Theatre” opened in early 1890, has the current show, world premier “African Footprint” by Richard Loring, giving musical lovers joy and entertainment in contemporary jazz, tap, Kwela-jive, traditional gumboot and Hip-Hop Pantsula. Experience the view of Johannesburg on a giant 55m high “Big Wheel”...

Lifestyle1 14.06.2004 · Read review
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Review of Cape Town (South Africa)

South Africa Wins The Cup?

Advantages: Worlds greatest tournament
Disadvantages: Are you crazy?

...South Africa recently hosted their English counterparts in a friendly game in Johannesburg to launch their 2010 World Cup bid campaign. Though they lost 1-2 to England, they achieved their aim of successfully launching their bid in a professional manner unlike Nigeria whom I will come back to. They made sure that a clause was inserted in their contract with England, which guaranteed that the most famous footballer in the world – David Beckham – was part of the trip. Even the Great Nelson Mandela arranged to meet Beckham and some of his team mates, although some of them chose not to attend. But for those who attended including David Beckham it was an experience of a lifetime. Back to South Africa’s World Cup bid, David Beckham openly endorsed their bid by going on worldwide television stating that he would support...

whitedevil 30.07.2003 (31.07.2003) · Read review
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Review of South Africa World Cup Bid

Wanna go to South Africa for the weekend

Advantages: Lots to see and do for a short stay, Overnight flight, time zone - BST+1.
Disadvantages: Helluva long way, safety off the beaten path.

...Every now and then, you need to do something totally extravagant. So, when we were looking to celebrate a special occasion a couple of years ago, we were thrilled to find a discounted weekend break to Cape Town. Now you might think it is crazy to go all that way for a long weekend, but the beauty is the overnight flights - you get on, watch movie, sleep and hey presto you wake up in South Africa. There is only 1 hour time difference in the summer so jet lag is not an issue. We boarded our South African Airways flight at Heathrow 9pm Friday night. In-flight service was excellent, and the flight was not that full so we had two seats each and managed to get 5 hours kip en route to Cape Town. We were woken by the cabin crew at about 6am with the best in-flight breakfast I have ever had. Sort of Full English plus croissants, yoghurt...

averagepunter 25.10.2002 · Read review
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Review of Cape Town (South Africa)

Premier Inn Oxford (Didcot) (updated since baby)

Advantages: cheap and cheerful, Freeview tv,
Disadvantages: none at all

...This Premier Travel Inn is at Milton Heights Business Park, situated on the A4130 just off the A34 Milton Interchange between Oxford and Newbury. It is 12 miles from Oxford city centre. My husband originates from Wallingford near Oxford so we travel up that way several times a year to see old friends and family. It is very difficult to find a reasonably priced B&B in that area, so the last few times that we have been up, we have stayed at the Premier Travel Inn. It is close to Wallingford and also it is close to Didcot, which has a Tesco, an open air Sunday market and a train station. It is also next door to The Apple Cart. This used to be a Brewers Fayre, but is now known as Table Table. BOOKING ++++++++ I always book our rooms online. This is really easy to do. You find the hotel that you want, then check availability...

kismet 12.02.2007 (26.08.2008) · Read review
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Review of Premier Travel Inn Oxford South (Didcot)

South Africa - Our best ever holiday.

Advantages: Excellent value for money, wonderful food and wines, friendly people, marvellous weather. Lots of good hotels and guesthouses.
Disadvantages: Long flight from UK (11 hours). Some areas to be avoided because of high crime rates.

...two days, which were quite inexpensive for the relatively short journeys we made. The car hire firm (AVIS) also had a special deal which included a free mobile phone (known as cell-phones in S.A.) the only charges were for calls (about 25p per minute) and a small fee (about £5) for insurance against loss. This was well worth having as some of the journeys we made were trough some quite sparsely populated areas so it was nice to have the reassurance of a phone in case anything went wrong (nothing did). Where did we stay? The first 5 days in Cape Town were spent at the President Hotel in Bantry Bay. This was one of the premiere hotels of the Protea Hotel Group that has a range of mid-priced hotels throughout South Africa. We were very impressed with everything about this hotel. The rooms were very spacious, comfortable...

Barbarian 29.11.2001 · Read review
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Review of General: South Africa

Riviera of the South

Advantages: Beatiful unspoilt beaches, whale watching, walks
Disadvantages: Busy during summer school holidays (Dec and early Jan)

...you can see them clearly from land (the whales, not the sharks!). Hermanus even has a whale crier, who sounds his bamboo horn to direct people to the latest sighting of whales. Hermanus has a beautiful golf club for the golf enthusiasts, and many restaurants to fit any taste. The Old Harbour museum in the middle of the town is worth a visit, as is the open-air pub situated on the waterside near the harbour. There are many footpaths along the coastline, as well as in Fernkloof, a nature reserve. Apart from the beautiful beaches, there is a lagoon, which flows into the sea near Grotto Beach. Although not a very big town, it has everything you might need, supermarkets, banks and even the Wine Village, which sells the biggest range of wines in South Africa (www.wine-village.co.za - they deliver world wide, I have ordered from them...

Brakkenjan 01.07.2001 (14.07.2001) · Read review
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Review of Hermanus (South Africa)