Health
Firstly and most importantly, ensure you have a full travel insurance policy to cover you for medical treatment and repatriation to the UK. Ensure you are up to date with any necessary vaccinations - tetanus is a must, these can vary dependent on the area of the country you are visiting so check with your doctor well before leaving the UK and book in for all injections and malaria. Be careful drinking water unless it is from a bottled source. South Africa has an unfortunate claim to fame as the HIV capital of the world, so do not have unprotected sex in any form.
Money
There is a widespread banking system similar to our own, so accessing money is no problem. However as with all travel, buy your currency on line before leaving the UK to get the best rates and opt for a sterling pre paid cash card for hole in the wall transactions, ensuring you pick a card that allows free withdrawls. If you plan to use your own debit and credit cards in South Africa read our guide to the best options at moneysupermarket.com
Safety
Great strides have been made to improve conditions and reduce crime, however South Africa has a high murder rate in comparison to the UK and international travellers are likely to be targeted however hard the police clamp down. Leave your bling at home, do not carry large amounts of money or goods on you, use your hotel safe at all times and travel light. Be aware of what the locals advise, especially when travelling independently and use your common sense. If you feel in danger, get away to somewhere safe.
Tickets
Touts, touts and more touts. There will as ever be plenty of tickets available on the black market. We cannot endorse anyone buying a match ticket in this way, so take extreme care when handing over cash for something that may not be genuine. Use official sources wherever you can. If you are unable to get tickets for a match, many of the host cities will have fan parks with giant screens to watch the matches.
Passports and documentation
UK passport holders do not need a visa for visiting South Africa for the duration of the World Cup. Ensure you take photocopies of all documents such as travel insurance, passport, airline and hotel reservations and keep them separate from the originals. Leave copies at home with friends or relatives, just in case. If you need a replacement passport for instance this can speed things up dramatically. Also keep a note of your insurance policy and emergency number on hand at all times in case of emergencies. This can again help to speed up you treatment if anything untoward should happen.
Mobile Phones
Check your supplier will support your calls and messages when in South Africa and shop around for a good value deal for international calls and texts.
What else does South Africa offer?
Where do we start with this one? South Africa has so much to offer, here are some highlights;
The Cape - centred on Cape Town, the Western Cape is known for Table Mountain, Lion's Head, Cape Point (the most southerly point of the continent), penguins at Boulders beach, Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held and the extensive wine areas east of the city. It is also the start point for many driving the Garden route either through the mountains or along the coast via Knysna, George and Hermanus to Port Elizabeth. You can even go Great White shark diving on the south coast if you are very adventurous, although whale watching season does not really get going until the autumn. The Eastern Cape is great for surfing and water sports as well as malaria free game reserves such as Addo. This is the area with South Africa's only ski resort at Tiffindell - well you are going to be there in winter after all!
The Northern Cape takes you to the Kalahari Desert bordering Namibia. Great for hiking, 4x4 adventures and the great outdoors as well as wine production.
Durban is the capital of the east of the country and allows access to the Drakensburg Mountains, Zulu country in Kwazulu Natal and the battlefields of the Boer wars as well as the extensive coastline of sandy beaches running up to the Mozambique border.
Sun City is like an African Las Vegas with resort hotels, casinos and theme park style game parks. North of Johannesburg it offers an opportunity to live it up whilst in the country.
For real game parks, head to the world Famous Kruger National Park. Here you will see real lions (not just the three lions on your England shirt) as well as a range of the other big five game plus countless antelopes and other animals. There are also a large number of national parks around South Africa all offering their own unique wildlife experience of flora and fauna.
