Good deals? bad timing!

Its December, in fact its mid-December – and lots of people have planned their great Christmas holiday, but have not booked anything. This is a critical error. Flight are expensive, hotel rooms are few, and booking a hire vehicle is going to be more difficult than you thought. My suggestion is that you make a plan, and make it quick. You have to decide whether your holiday is going to cost you more than you budgeted, or if you are going to drop the level of your holiday package.

With flights, there is not much you can do – little competition means that you will have to find the airline that has seats, and make the booking. My suggestion is that you make the biggest sacrifice in terms of accommodation. Instead of looking at the expensive hotels, search for a simple bed and breakfast, or get a double room in a backpackers. This would be your best option, and trust me, backpackers are often the best places to stay as you will meet the most amazing people. As for a car hire, you dont have to get that merc, go for a simple B group car with air-con and power-steering.

Dont make this difficult for yourself, book things immediately and online if possible. There are no more special deals going at this time, or if you do find a genuine one, grab it

The Garden Route write-up

Our blog for Port Elizabeth to Cape Town (or Cape Town to Port Elizabeth) has been extremely popular, and we have decided to do an “activities and accommodation along the garden-route” called “The Garden Route write-up”.  If your business is affiliated with tourists and the Garden Route, let us have a full description and we will add your business in. 

So far we have:
Car Hire South Africa
Car Rental Cape Town
South Africa web portal

From Port Elizabeth to Cape Town… or Cape Town to Port Elizabeth?

From Port Elizabeth to Cape Town… or CPT to PE?

Possibly one of the best routes in South Africa, if not in the world, is called the Garden Route. This is from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. The only thing that I have to decide when I want a great week long holiday, is – will I be driving from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, or Port Elizabeth to Cape Town! I have done it many times, and although it sounds strange, you have a different experience from where you start. At first I thought it was different because it was a different trip, but after doing the trip a few times, I noticed that in fact there was a big difference in where I was to start.

Usually I rent a vehicle with unlimited mileage – one with air-con and power-steering. Leaving Cape Town via the N2. You can use the N1 or N2, but I enjoy stopping off at some of the wine farms to pick up a bottle for the evening. If you are happy to buy a bottle of red from the local store, and want a more scenic route, take the N1 – its really stunning. The first day I travel quite a bit so that I get to George or Knysna by nightfall. Staying in the backpackers or the B&B accommodation is my personal choice.

The second and third days are really lazy – breakfast at the Knysna waterfront, and a walk to the Knysna Heads. If the water is nice, the John Benn always makes for a fun trip on the ocean. To be honest, the rest of the day is usually spent on the beach or going to see the monkeys and the bird sanctuary. The bird sanctuary in Plett is absolutely amazing, and you can spend hours marvelling.

Fourth day we move slightly up the coast to stay near the Tsitsikamma National Park. This is a bit more active, because there are hikes around the area that you cannot believe – and for the brave (not me), there is one of the highest bungee jumps in the world off the Stormsrivier bridge. There are also the world famous tree-top tours. We stay here until day six.

Day six and we are into the Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape. We let the park show us around on the game drives. Day seven and we hop on over to Port Elizabeth.

In PE, the people are really friendly – at first you think it’s a put on, but then you get into the hang of it, and they are just genuinely happy people. There is lots to do in PE including all the watersports, casino, night light and just a good time to have all round.

A quick flight back to the Table Mountain in Cape Town, and that my friends, is one of the greatest trips you will ever do.