Who has been to South Africa?

UptheToon

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I have booked for south africa in April next year. May I know if rav4 or fortuner is better? And usually is it free parking anywhere by the road side in cities?

Any tips and suggestions?
 

invisible999

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You can go with Topdeck and you won't have to see any PRC tourists for sure

The problem with group travel is that if couple goes, each of them are charged per day for accommodation by tour organizers, even if the place charges for double occupancy.

While their list for South Africa looks nice, they charge $110 per person per day and put people in tents. But if you book that tents on your own you will pay less for accommodation and it will be for double occupancy.

So, being cheap I'd rather book my own travel.
 

invisible999

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I have booked for south africa in April next year. May I know if rav4 or fortuner is better? And usually is it free parking anywhere by the road side in cities?

Any tips and suggestions?

You did not say where are you going, what are you going to see and for how long.

Try to start reading from here
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowForum-g293740-i9186-South_Africa.html
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/South_Africa

Once you read enough, you can ask specific question if you still don't have your answer.
 

Furrys

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This thread brings back so many fond memories. SA (and Lesotho) ranks up there as one of my best travel experiences ever :)
 

Furrys

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Thanks for the tips.

Malaria pills a must for kruger?

Seems like its not necessary for cape town.

Lastly, where is a good place to change rand? I went to my neighbourhood money changer and he tells me that he doesn't have haha.

Places like Mustafa can change, but the spread is like 10%. Totally not worth it. In the end I changed SGD to USD and changed the USD to Rand in SA itself, about 4-5% spread in total.
 

invisible999

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Places like Mustafa can change, but the spread is like 10%. Totally not worth it. In the end I changed SGD to USD and changed the USD to Rand in SA itself, about 4-5% spread in total.

At the Arcade at this moment I see minimum spread around 4% between buying and selling ZARs and usually it is 5-9% across different money changers.

Agree, does not worth it. One might get better deal if you open CIMB account and then use ATM in VISA network to withdraw cash - CIMB does not add fees on the top of the exchange rate and does not charge fee for foreign atm withdrawal.

Plus, max cash I needed for three weeks in SA was about $100 - mostly spent on parking/entrance fees around Panorama Route.
 

chubby06

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I have around 16,000 RAND leftover from my SA trip. The rate will be R9.5 to SGD1 which is the rate i changed in mid-Sep. PM me if you are interested.
 
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1renatan

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Anyone to advise on when is the best time to go SA. Planning to go Cape Town next year.
 

1renatan

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Hi invisible999,

Thanks for your advise. Unfortunately it's too soon for us to travel in Jan-Feb. Have dead line to meet for work. Is May a good time.
 
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invisible999

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Hi invisible999,

Thanks for your advise. Unfortunately it's too soon for us to travel in Jan-Feb. Have dead line to meet for work. Is May a good time.

Take a look at average weather for that time period and it will give you an idea.
 

WadsUpDoc

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I've 3130 Rand left from my previous trip, willing to let off at a better rate than SG money changer. PM me if keen! :)
 

unknown_

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Hi Guys,

I'll be going to South Africa for volunteering program, however i have pretty much concern on the entire trip, probably it's because this is my solo trip and i'll be away from Singapore for about 2 months.

Can you guys advise if any of you did vaccination before going to South Africa?
And whether it will affect us from going to any other country?
 

jarvis

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if you're concerned about vaccinations, why don't you contact like the TTSH Travel Clinic. they would be able to advise you properly on vaccinations (better than most private GPs because they deal with these travel vaccination questions on a daily basis). And being a government hospital, it is cheaper than private clinics and probably carry fresher stock of vaccinations because of the higher turnaround.

I think the other gov hospitals also have travel clinics - you can google.
 

le_munchkin

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I took vaccines (Hep A, Typhoid, Tetanus) including prescription for malaria pills at THVC (TTS travel clinic). It's best you visit travel clinics so they can make recommendations based on which areas you'll be visiting in SA
 
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WadsUpDoc

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Hi Guys,

I'll be going to South Africa for volunteering program, however i have pretty much concern on the entire trip, probably it's because this is my solo trip and i'll be away from Singapore for about 2 months.

Can you guys advise if any of you did vaccination before going to South Africa?
And whether it will affect us from going to any other country?

When I went, I didnt get vaccination. If its a volunteering program, they should be the best person to ask for advise regarding the area you're going to. Some places don't really have issues with diseases, while others might require greater prevention. Ultimately, find out the "risk factors" for the volunteers! Esp malaria, cause only some areas in South Africa are malaria zones, while some are malaria-free and so wont make sense to get malaria vaccination.
 

dilphinus

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Am planning a trip to Johannesburg and Cape Town in Oct. My friend in Johannesburg will host me. He said I should be good without the vaccinations if I'm going to these 2 places.

I have read thru this thread but have yet to do any proper research.

Should I fly or take the bus between Johannesburg and Cape Town? Is there any difference in doing either destination first? I'll be flying SQ. I'm thinking of Johannesburg first cos I can bring/pass my friend the stuff (I'm bringing from Sg as a nice gesture) instead of lugging them to CT first before Johannesburg. Other than that, I have no other concerns about doing which city first.

I'm not into wineries and/or safaris. My friend has suggested the elephant sanctuary though. Not into shopping either. I'm more of a scenery, trekking/hiking, history and culture person.

I've been told that Uber is safe in SA by my SA friend and friends who have been to SA. I'll probably rely on Uber in CT.

Any recommended number of days in each city? Won't mind stopping by the cities
(any recommendations?) between Johannesburg and Cape Town if I don't fly between these 2 cities.
 
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