Whilst many people will remember this year’s World Cup for the upsets and drama on the pitch, it is also fair to say that the warmth, enthusiasm, and hospitality of the hosts has won many new fans from around the world. South Africa has shown that it can organise one of the greatest sporting events on the planet, and do so with a style and passion that is all African. 

Many thanks to all the hotels, guesthouse, and safari lodges that made the hundreds of fans that we had in South Africa during the tournament so welcome - everyone we have heard back from to date has said that they had a fantastic time…well the England fans were clearly a bit disappointed with the football, but they loved the country and the hospitality!

Whilst the carnival prepares to move on after this weekend’s final, and fans from around the world return home, South Africa remains a truly amazing destination for first time visitors and those who choose to return again and again.

Travel Butlers help thousands of people plan and book their trip to South Africa and the neighbouring countries each year, and all of our consultants are experts with at least 7 years experience of the region.

Because this is our speciality, we know the routes and safari lodges, beaches and top places that will make your trip the holiday of a lifetime…and because we know that everyone is different, we tailor every trip to each client’s specific requirements rather than work on a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

So if you fancy sipping cocktails on Table Mountain, eating out under the stars after a day on safari or trying any one of the thousands of other amazing experiences on offer,  then why not ask us to help you plan and book your trip to Southern Africa?

For anyone planning a quick hop up to Victoria Falls during their stay in South Africa for the World Cup, Zambia have just announced that entry visas will only cost $25, as opposed to the normal $50, in a bid to encourage visitors.

Only a short 2 hour flight from Johannesburg, a trip to Victoria Falls is certainly memorable. One of the 7 Wonders of the World, the Falls are situated between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and with a width of 1.7 km and a volume of 9 million litres per second pouring down a vertical drop of just over 100m they are certainly one of the largest waterfalls in the world.

The sheer noise of the Falls as they cascade over the edge into the deep gorge is deafening, and the misty clouds of spray, occasionally broken by rainbows, are visible from over 30 km away - hence it’s local name, Mosi-oa-Tunya, “The smoke that thunders”.

The reduced fee will apply to those entering the country with a valid ticket for any of the World Cup matches.

The reduced visa fee will only be in force until July 31.

For anyone who ever doubted that this World Cup in South Africa was not going to be a success … I think that this picture will prove that everyone is behind the tournament …. and the noise at the matches is going to be DEAFENING !!

At last ! Breaking news is that the Gautrain is FINALLY ready to rock and roll (not literally otherwise that would be a bit dangerous).

The much-awaited service between OR Tambo and Sandton wil be operational today, just in time for the World Cup … talk about running it to the wire !

But lets not complain !

Four stations - OR Tambo, Rhodesfield in Kempton Park, Marlboro and Sandton are now operational.

Over the World Cup, it is anticipated thousands of fans will be using service, but once the World Cup is over and forgotten, this new service will be invaluable to anyone wanting to get easily and quickly from the airport into Sandton, without battling against the ever-present heavy traffic.

The World Cup TV Planner can let you plan your entire world cup viewing and can automatically add fixtures to your Outlook (or similar) calendar to ensure you never miss a vital game!

This FaceBook application translates the South African kick-off times for every game into different time zones, and for the UK, it even has details of which TV channel the matches will be on!

All the matches are searchable by team, group, match date, and more, and if you set your preferences-up the planner will default to your team and time zone next time you use it. You can even look-up when any two teams are scheduled to meet in the competition’s knock-out stages!

On FaceBook? Try the FaceBook Application

Not on FaceBook? Visit the World Cup TV Planner Web Site

A new single entry visa is being piloted, in preparation for visitors coming over to South Africa for the World Cup.

This will mean that people wanting to travel to not just South Africa, but the neighbouring countries too (Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland) will only need one visa to cover all countries.

Mozambique is the first country who intend introducing the single visa, known as Univisa. The visa is primarily aimed at tourists from Europe and the United States.

We stayed at Gomo Gomo, in the Klaserie Reserve which forms part of the Greater Kruger Park, in February, for just one night.

What a great place !

For me, the main word that sums it up is unpretentious. The atmosphere is totally relaxed – the rangers are extremely friendly, and banter easily between themselves and with the guests, so you really get the feeling that you are part of one big, happy family.

The room are pleasant – not particularly traditionally African, I will admit, as they are very ‘chalet’ like – square brick built structures – but they are plenty large enough and comfortable, and the family rooms are ideal if you are 2 adults and 2 children travelling together, as they consist of a double bedroom, a shared bathroom, and a twin bedroom. All the chalets also have their own wooden deck.

The lodge is built on a dam, with its own resident hippo who happily will regularly throw himself out of the water for a bit of a show.

The food was extremely good – nothing too fancy, but well prepared, well presented and very tasty.

Game viewing was excellent – Gomo Gomo share their traversing rights with one other lodge, Africa on Foot – so you are not fighting for space at sightings. We sat with a large pride of lions for nearly an hour as a result … who can complain at that ?

Pricewise, it is one of the least expensive lodges in this area … from 1st May until the end of July (yes … there is NO price increase over the World Cup period too !!!), the rate if you enquire with Travel Butlers is just R1,450 per person per night; from 1st August until the end of 2010 our rate is R1,590 per person per night. This includes morning and afternoon / evening game drives, bush walks, breakfast, lunch, dinner, teas and coffees. Children aged up to and including 2 years are FOC; children aged between 3 years and up to and including 12 years are 50% of normal adult rate. So really … quite a bargain !!

To summarise, anyone who goes here will come away feeling that they have had FUN on their safari, as well as having seen some wonderful wildlife.

When people think of the famous London skyline now, they invariably picture the London Eye too. Since it opened in 1999, the London Eye has become one of THE most visited tourist attractions in our capital.

Many other cities across the world now have their own version of the wheel, and Cape Town are about to join this group.

Their wheel is due to be open in June, in readiness for the onslaught of tourists over the World Cup.

The wheel is 50m in diameter, and will be erected at the V&A Waterfront. There will be 36 enclosed air-conditioned capsules which will each hold 8 people.

The wheel will run daily from 10 am until 10 pm, and at night will be lit up with 2 million LED lights.

Each ride will last about 15-20 minutes, and will cost about R70 per person. There will also be various deals for families or for taking a private capsule.

“Do I need a Visa if I am going to the World Cup in South Africa” is likely to be a frequently asked question from now on … well, hopefully Travel Butlers can answer this for you now.

Overseas visitors who have tickets for the World Cup will be able to obtain a free visitor visa when they enter South Africa. The visa can only be used for the World Cup and will only be valid for 90 days. A valid travel document/ passport, proof of return air ticket, a match ticket booking voucher and two identity photographs in colour will be required to obtain the visa.

Eligible countries are:

Andorra
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Botswana
Brazil
Canada
Chile
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Paraguay
Portugal
San Marino
Singapore
Spain
St Vincent & the Grenadines
Sweden
Switzerland
UK
Uruguay
Venezuela
USA

There will be dedicated lanes at airports to ensure fast processing.

Lezard Bleu is a lovely guest house, situated in the exclusive suburb of Oranjezicht in Cape Town, and Travel Butlers have practically taken over this guest house during the period around England’s first game in Cape Town.

The owners, Chris and Nikola, are certainly looking forward to hosting our customers, and having looked around the guest house last week AND spent a very pleasant few hours one evening in Chris’s and Nikola’s company, I am 100% sure that our customers will just love their stay here !

The rooms are great - spacious, comfortable and a bit quirky, especially the Tree House. There is a large pool, though in June I am not quite sure how much swimming or sunbathing will be done !

The main guest area consists of one large, family style table, around which sumptious breakfasts can be enjoyed, and of course there will be a communal TV so that everyone can watch all the other World Cup games being played inbetween sightseeing.

Nikola runs a small curio ‘corner’ too, and all items are locally sourced and made, so sales will benefit local artists and communities.

The family dogs are always around too, there were 4 at the last count !

We walked to the stadium from here on the Saturday afternoon, and it took about an hour - Chris has already mapped out a route that he is going to recommend to everyone, including where to stop for lunch on the way down (’Fork’ in Long Street … apparently THE best tapas in Cape Town - unfortunately we didn’t quite have time to stop here en-route !!).

After the game, to walk from the stadium back to the Waterfront will take about 5-10 minutes, but we would strongly advise everyone to then take a taxi back to the guest house - please do NOT walk back late at night.

We are absolutely convinced that everyone staying here will have a great time … and we are very envious that we can’t join you … unless someone has a spare ticket ??!!