Soccer Fever in South Africa – Getting the Most Out of your Stay
The FNB Soccer City awaits the millions of expected visitors that will ascend on Johannesburg to attend the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa.
Table Mountain in Cape Town
Come June 11th, visitors from all over the world will be ready to watch the kick-off as history is made. If you are hoping to be part of that history, you will want to find out more about where you can stay in Johannesburg as well as what you can do to make the most of your time there.
Johannesburg is the City of Gold, or Egoli, and this means that is alive with the culture and vibrancy that you can expect from a large city. Arriving at OR Tambo Airport, you will be able to catch a private taxi or hire a car through Avis or Budget Car Hire to your hotel or B&B accommodation, from where you can sight see and get to the stadium to watch the opening ceremony and opening match between South Africa and Mexico. On the same day you can also be in beautiful Cape Town ready to attend the Group A match between Uruguay and France at Green Point Stadium.
Both Johannesburg (Joburg) and Cape Town (the Mother City) have some of the best Soccer World Cup accommodation options and sight-seeing opportunities to offer tourists. With Johannesburg being a typical big city, you can expect to find the best and most affordable accommodation closer to the suburbs.
Even schools are being transformed into backpacking accommodation for the duration of the World Cup, as schools are going to be on a 4 week break. Stylish accommodation for your family can be found in up market Sandton, Fourways, and Randburg among other suburbs.
One of the top accommodation choices, not yet fully booked, is the Ellis Park Amani Apartments. These are stunning apartments in The Splice Riviera, a pretty leafy area in close proximity to Killarney, Sandton, and Rosebank. Here you can visit any of the main shopping malls including prestigious Sandton City, Hyde Park, Illovo, and Killarney Mall. The newly finished Gautrain will provide quick and easy transport to all the best tourist attractions and to the stadiums, with Ellis Park Stadium being only 10 minutes away. You can book a Soweto Tour, visit the Nelson Mandela Museum, as well as the Hector Pietersen Memorial. You can also visit the famous Gold Reef City Amusement park and go down into the actual gold mines. Some of the best places to eat at in Johannesburg include Mimmos, The Melville Grill, Moyo, and The Loft among others.
In Cape Town, accommodation options range from prestigious hotels on the Atlantic Seaboard, to self catering units in the South Peninsula. Plenty of affordable options still exist and one of the best places to look for World Cup accommodation is Cape Sky Realtors, as they offer budget and luxury accommodation all over the Cape. Another idea is to book into the Table Bay Hotel, or one of the many other City Bowl accommodation options. In Cape Town, you cannot simply come for the soccer. You also have to make time to go on tours to the various wine regions of South Africa including Stellenbosch, Constantia, Paarl, and Franschhoek. You can also go up Table Mountain, wander through the V&A Waterfront, go on a ferry to Robben Island, and visit Cape Point Nature Reserve.
In Cape Town, there are plenty of exciting restaurants that you should try including the Sushi Bar in Green Point near the stadium called Go Mama Go, as well as places like News Café, Green Dolphin, Quay Four, and Long Street Café. A little further South in the eclectic village of Kalk Bay, you can experience interesting dining and stunning cocktails at Cape to Cuba, Polana, or the busy Brass Bell. The most popular restaurants that you can find just about anywhere in Jo’burg and Cape Town are the Ocean Basket, and Spur, which is a great place for the kids.
The best thing to do when you get to your destination is to ask your hotel or B&B for a list of all the possible attraction, shopping and dining options nearby, and ask them to make reservations for you if you have some specific places in mind. Otherwise, great websites to use are Restaurants.co.za and Booking.com.
