Caribbean Travel Dreams Blog

Well, here in NJ we've got the air conditioner cranked up this week ... temps in the 90's ... in sunny South Africa , it's winter ... my friends in SA tell me it's been sunny and just a bit of a chilly winter, but that doesn't matter at all ... it's a great time to visit ... can't wait till I go back again.

Something new!  There's a new luxury train which travels from Johannesburg to Hoedspruit (Hoedspruit is ideally situated very close to the central Kruger National Park ). This is great ... now visitors that arrive in Johannesberg later in the day don't have to stay a night in Johannesberg before heading out to Kruger the next day ...  just hop on the luxury train and by midday the next day you're in Hoedspruit and only about 45 minutes from some stunning private game lodges in the area.  Very cool.

Another great development for the Kruger area is that beginning August 17th, SA Airlink will be flying directly from Nelspruit (the closest airport to the southern section of the Kruger Park) directly to Livingstone (Zambia) so guests can enjoy a game drive and breakfast at a private lodge in the Kruger area in the morning ... and by that afternoon visit Victoria Falls and go on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River!   Extra cool ...

Pattie Mitchell, ACC
Travel Dreams
www.traveldreams.us
E-mail: traveldreams10@yahoo.com

Has South Africa been one of those places you've put on your "bucket list"?  This fascinating country, at the top of so many "must-see" lists, is more affordable than you realize, offering value for your money while enjoying an unforgettable place ... exotic, full of culture and one-of-a-kind experiences.  The exchange rate for the South African Rand (ZAR) to the US Dollar is a plus, too.

When you mention South Africa, most people immediately think of Cape Town or Johannesburg ... oh, there is so much more!  South Africa is located on the southern tip of the continent of Africa, consisting of 9 provinces and bordered by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.  With mountains, valleys, oceans, scenic coastlines, semi-deserts, bushveld, wide open spaces, bustling cities full of heritage and culture ... and even a little of of "Vegas in Africa" with the Sun City complex in the North West province ... South Africa is truly "diverse with everything for everyone".  Twelve official languages are spoken in South Africa.

All parts of South Africa offer natural and cultural attractions. In Gauteng province, the home of Johannesburg, there's the township of Soweto, the Apartheid Museum, and the ancient fossils at the Cradle of Humankind. The Western Cape boasts Cape Town, Table Mountain National Park, and the renowned wine routes of Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. In KwaZulu-Natal, visitors experience diverse wildlife at Isimangaliso (St. Lucia) Wetlands and the distinctive Drakensberg Mountains. The Namaqualand flowers bloom in the Northern Cape, while visitors to the Eastern Cape can tour the birthplace of Nelson Mandela and the beautiful Garden Route. And, of course, for the quintessential safari experience, there's Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, the largest game reserve in South Africa.  Other popular activities during a South Africa vacation include surfing and swimming, whale-watching and golfing on championship courses.

Outstanding accommodations are available throughout the country, from world-class hotels and luxurious game lodges to guest houses and B&Bs. South Africans, who speak English, are known for their warm hospitality. The country is also easily accessible, with direct and non-stop flights from the U.S. available on South African Airways and Delta Air Lines, and many connecting flights via Europe.

Don't let your travel dreams pass you by ...

Pattie Mitchell, ACC
South African Fundi Specialist
Travel Dreams
E-mail: traveldreams10@yahoo.com
www.traveldreams.us

Have you ever been ripped off or scammed on holiday? The London Times highlights some of the most popular ways.

  * The phone rings and an electronic voice tells you to hit the number 9 to claim your prize, a holiday to the Sunshine State of Florida – at which point a salesperson comes on the line and explains that you have, in fact, won only most of a holiday. To seal the deal, you are typically told it will cost between £500 and £700 for a supposed £2,000 luxury trip, usually to Orlando and the Bahamas. If you try to get the money back, the delays begin, with calls going unanswered, packages not arriving, and staff often verbally abusing customers. And your credit-card company doesn’t have to refund you – because you read out those numbers.

* This internet scam, known as “card milling”, is on the increase. Greedy travelers are told that by spending up to £260 on a travel-agent ID card, they will become eligible for industry-insider rates, meaning huge discounts on flights, hotels and, most commonly, cruises. You cough up the credit-card details, your ID card arrives – and the first time you slap it down on a reception desk, you’re laughed out of the lobby.

* The most costly scam in the UK is the oldest one in the book – companies taking travelers’ cash, and then shutting down their businesses without delivering what they promised.

* Secreting away a traveler’s credit-card information is also quite popular. Common tricks include capturing all the details when you hand the card over for a meal or some petrol – but one ingenious new tactic, first reported in Shanghai, has been to call hotel rooms late at night, pretending to be from reception.

* There will always be occasions when you need to change cash but there’s no bank about, so more informal converters come into play. Most are perfectly legitimate, but signs that all is not well include: the teller shuffling and counting out bills in absurdly small denominations, which makes keeping score a chore; a disturbance or argument that conveniently flares up just as you’re trying to count your cash; and anything involving opaque envelopes, which will probably turn out to contain newspaper clippings.

* Many of us have been caught in the “nice” version of this scam – a friendly stranger takes you drinking in a foreign land, pays a fraction of what it’s costing you for the same round of drinks, then takes a backhander from the bar-owner at closing time for hauling your well-fleeced backsides into the establishment.

* You’re tired, there’s a queue at the taxi stand, so you accept the cheery offer of an unofficial taxi. From this point on, a good outcome is that you’ll be overcharged, or forced to stop off at the driver’s brother’s souvenir shop on the way to your hotel.

* You put your belongings on the conveyor belt at the airport, but a man bustles past you in a desperate hurry. He then gets himself held up at the detector, emptying his pockets of innumerable coins, keys and collectables. While you wait patiently, the guy who was in the queue in front of you – Mr. Metal’s accomplice – waits for your bag, then nicks

Never hurts to be on your toes!

Pattie Mitchell, ACC
Travel Dreams
www.traveldreams.us
E-mail: traveldreams10@yahoo.com
Facebook Group: Travel Dreams ... selling travel, making dreams