South Africa - scared!

paulfarrugia

You should go! As a professional travel blogger, I can confirm that the world is a lot safer than traditional media portrays.

I even wrote a post about safe travels. As a new user I can put links but if you would like me to send you, just give me a shout.

Paul

slopemaster

Mrs_Soup wrote: »

I've had a few holidays in SA and I love the place but have avoided JoBurg entirely other than passing through the airport because I would be too scared to hang around there. Do you absolutely have to go there or could you go somewhere else.

We wouldn't be spending any time there, just flying in.
Now considering flying on to Nelspruit, which is between Kruger NP and the other place we want to visit, Waterval-Boven. The car hire is more expensive there, but it means we could avoid Jo'burg altogether except the inside of the airport!

callum9999

There's absolutely no need to avoid flying into Joburg for safety reasons. If you have money spare though you may still prefer to fly to Nelspruit anyway as it will drastically cut down an otherwise long drive.

Especially if you've just come off a 12hr flight in economy. I certainly wouldn't want to drive after that, and if you end up staying the night in a hotel the drive probably wouldn't save you much money either.

mgdavid

all the nonstop ex-LON flights are overnight so as long as you can kip on a plane you can arrive in JNB pretty fresh at breakfast time, jump in a car and off you go.

callum9999

I slept a bit on the plane but there's no way in hell I'd have been happy driving 6hrs in an unfamiliar country after that.

If you can arrive feeling fresh after 13hrs in an economy seat I seriously envy you!

sandsy

slopemaster wrote: »

We wouldn't be spending any time there, just flying in.
Now considering flying on to Nelspruit, which is between Kruger NP and the other place we want to visit, Waterval-Boven. The car hire is more expensive there, but it means we could avoid Jo'burg altogether except the inside of the airport!

If it helps, it normally takes 60-75 mins from the wheels touching down to clearing emigration and customs. It's less than a 10min walk through the airport building to the domestic check-in. I'd recommend leaving a minimum of around 2 and 3/4 hours between your landing time and your departure time for the domestic flight. We have exactly that for our next trip so let's hope our flight from London isn't delayed!

Voyager2002

pendragon_arther wrote: »

Yeah, but in the US the police don't go round shooting innocent people indiscriminately...

Oh:eek:

Has Ferguson moved to South Africa then?

littlereddevil

LOL Voyager. I go to Texas every year and I do worry about it, with the
freedom they have to carry guns.

slopemaster

mgdavid wrote: »

all the nonstop ex-LON flights are overnight so as long as you can kip on a plane you can arrive in JNB pretty fresh at breakfast time, jump in a car and off you go.

:rotfl:at pretty fresh!
I can't sleep at all on planes, and usually roll off feeling like a zombie and go straight to a hotel.
The days of getting off a plane and jumping in a hire car ended about a decade ago when we did that in Melbourne and nearly killed ourselves on the drive!

mgdavid

slopemaster wrote: »

:rotfl:at pretty fresh!
I can't sleep at all on planes, and usually roll off feeling like a zombie and go straight to a hotel.
The days of getting off a plane and jumping in a hire car ended about a decade ago when we did that in Melbourne and nearly killed ourselves on the drive!

Fair enough, you know yourself best, and need to plan accordingly.
I do sleep well, even in economy; I've developed coping strategies - most of it's an attitude of mind, plus a bit of hot food and just the right amount and type of alcohol to help me on my way to the land of nod :-)

On our first SA visit (almost 20 years ago!) we landed in Durban in the morning, headed off towards Lesotho, got detained by the police for a couple of hours for speeding, and still got to our hotel 150 miles away in time for afternoon tea. Happy days...