Accommodation in South Africa for 2010 soccer world cup by Abacus

Tour Info

Tours and Day Trips

ABACUS offers you the freedom of choice irrespective of the size of your group. Tell us what kind of tour you have in mind and of which you would like to receive more information - ABACUS will make all necessary arrangements on your behalf be it whale watching, game viewing, river rafting, golfing, hunting or what ever you have in mind. Put us to the test.

Booking Procedure

Go to our booking page and indicate your choice. ABACUS will confirm availability and related pricing structures.

Once selections have been made and the required deposits received, confirmations will be sent by both ABACUS and the host/tour operator.

Preliminary bookings for 2010

Upon making a preliminary booking with ABACUS the following procedure will apply:

ABACUS will treat all bookings on a first come first served basis. Bookings will only be accepted depending on the availability of beds.
Once your booking is confirmed by ABACUS a deposit of €800.00 will be required to ensure your accommodation. A ten percent administration fee will be deducted and the balance will remain in our account until the final draw on December 4, 2009. Thereafter beds will be allocated depending on the Host City allocated to your team of choice.
Within days of the Final Draw, you will receive confirmation of the accommodation allocation in the city hosting your team. The outstanding amount will be required within 48 hours of you receiving notification.

Within 48 hours after receiving the outstanding amount ABACUS will supply you with the following:

Contact details of your place of accommodation
Directions to your destination after touchdown.
The ABACUS HOTLINE number that will be in operation for the duration of the tournament to assist in all your needs.
Details regarding the process that will be in place to ensure your accommodation after the first round of matches.

Free Guides

Upon confirmation of your booking each client will receive the following free guides via e-mail:

Guide to Safety and Security in South Africa. A must have for any tourist anxious to avoid becoming a victim of South Africa's notorious criminals. Compiled by an expert in this field this manual provides tips on how to ensure that you do not unwittingly donate any or all of your valuables to some opportunistic criminal.
Guide to Traveling in South Africa. Due to the non-existence of a proper and efficient public transport system, visitors will depend on car rentals and specially arranged transport. This guide will tell you all you need to know about safe traveling on South African roads.
Guide to Eating and Drinking in South Africa. This guide is filled with information on what and where to eat and drink and what to avoid.
Guide to Medical Facilities. Listing private medical facilities in the major metropolitan areas this guide will ensure that you avoid our notorious government hospitals whenever in need of medical treatment.

ABACUS Offers

A wide range of accommodation catering for every need.
A wide range of Day Trips, Tours, Safaris and other excursions to keep you occupied during your stay.
Countrywide coverage.
Free guides on various important topics.
A 24-hour HOTLINE for the duration of the 2010 tournament for your support.
Permanent ABACUS representatives in Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, the USA and Switzerland.

General Info on South Africa

Contrary to what certain people think there are no lions or elephants roaming the streets of our cities. In fact, most game species are limited to National Parks, privately owned Game Ranches and Game Farms.

Host Cities

Weather and what to do (when not watching the soccer)

The 2010 tournament is being held in the middle of the southern hemisphere winter, so expect evening temperatures to drop to and sometimes below zero in the interior although day temperatures may reach the low twenties depending on the severeness of the prevailing cold front. Due to the huge geographic differences in the location of the host cities, each is detailed separately:

DURBAN – Coastal weather with smaller differences between day and night temperatures. Expect maximums between 17 and 25º C and minimums between 8 and 14º C. Weather-wise it is the best place to be during South Africa's winter.

Day trips visiting places of interest and interesting places.
Deep sea fishing
Photographic/hunting safaris
Game watching safaris
Golf
Casino
Theatre

JOHANNESBURG and SOWETO – The largest city in SA, located elephant at high altitude (1830m above sea level) and can be quite cold at times with maximums between 12 and 22º C and minimums between -2 and 10ºC.

Day trips visiting places of interest and interesting places.
Fresh water fishing
Photographic/hunting safaris
Game watching safaris
Golf
Casino
Theatre

CAPE TOWN and PORT ELIZABETH – Both coastal cities that can experience very windy weather at times. Expect maximum temperatures between 12 and 23º C and minimums between 2 and 14º C.

Day trips visiting places of interest and interesting places.
Deep sea fishing
Whale watching safaris
Photographic/hunting safaris
Game watching safaris
Golf
Casino
Theatre

BLOEMFONTEIN – ( Also a high altitude city) Temperature-wise probably the most severe place to be. Nights can be quite cold although day temperatures will be mild if no fierce cold front prevails.

Day trips visiting places of interest and interesting places.
Fresh water fishing
Photographic/hunting safaris
Game watching safaris
Golf
Casino
Theatre

PRETORIA – Situated close to Johannesburg although in general 1-2º C warmer.

Day trips visiting places of interest and interesting places.
Fresh water fishing
Photographic/hunting safaris
Game watching safaris
Golf
Casino
Theatre

RUSTENBURG – Similar temperatures to Pretoria, generally 1-2º C warmer. This is a medium sized town situated to the west of Pretoria.

Day trips visiting places of interest and interesting places.
Photographic/hunting safaris
Game watching safaris
Golf
Casino

POLOKWANE - Similar temperatures t0 Pretoria, generally 1-2º C warmer. This is a medium sized town situated in the northern part of the country ± 320 km north of Johannesburg.

Day trips visiting places of interest and interesting places.
Fresh water fishing
Photographic/hunting safaris
Game watching safaris
Golf
Casino

NELSPRUIT – Second to Durban, the best place to be weather-wise. Expect mild to warm temperatures and enjoy the scenic surroundings. This is a medium-sized town situated ± 350 km east of Johannesburg in what is called the Eastern Lowveld and probably the most scenic part of the country.

Day trips visiting places of interest and interesting places
Fresh water fishing
Photographic/hunting safaris
Game watching safaris
Golf
Casino
Visit to the Kruger National Park

Language

Visitors may experience difficulty when communicating with indigenous peoples if you cannot speak a little bit of English. Dutch and Flemish may help as these are similar to Afrikaans but only when spoken slowly and articulated. Nothing else will go except if you know any of the indigenous African languages, which compares to nothing else on earth.

Currency

Local currency is rand and cent. One rand = 100 cent. Click here to see your currency values.

Public transport

Public transport in South Africa is very elementary, catering mostly for less affluent citizens and bears no comparison with other world cup host countries. It is expected that the FIFA organising committee will make special arrangements transport wise, although visitors should be aware that it would be unlikely to cater for all places of accommodation.

They will most probably arrange transport from certain locations to the stadiums and back. The Southern African public transport system is designed to fill the needs of half of the daily commuters. The other half is serviced by mini-bus taxis which can be a nuisance on the road and quite unsafe. Suburban trains are unsafe and should be avoided. Rustenburg, Polokwane and Nelspruit do not have public transport systems.

The stadium at Polokwane is within 30 minutes walking distance from the Central Business District, while at Rustenburg it is ± 20 km from the town center. We will make special transport arrangements for all our customers who cannot be served by the FIFA arrangements to and from venues on match days.

These arrangements will be made available on our blog, click on “Updates” to access it. Visitors will be able to access the ABACUS HOTLINE that will be in operation for the duration of the tournament.

The HOTLINE number will be made available to clients upon confirmation of your booking. As this is a major issue, clients should not hesitate to make contact with ABACUS for confirmation of transport arrangements. Clients interested in renting a vehicle should refer to the free guide on Traveling in South Africa that will be communicated once bookings with ABACUS are confirmed.

Smoking

There are strict laws against smoking in public places. Alalthough cigarettes are cheap, it is illegal to smoke in most public places . Restaurants generally make special provision for smokers. Most establishments offering accommodation do not allow smoking in their rooms. Smokers mostly find themselves having to stand on sidewalks, etc. Any breach of the regulations could result in arrest.

Healthcare

Ensure proper travel insurance for the unexpected. If you are in need of any medical care, please avoid our government hospitals. It is preferable to make use of the 24-hour emergency facilities that are available at almost all of the many private hospitals. Upon booking with ABACUS, clients will receive a list of the major private hospitals and 24-hour medical service centers in the different host cities.

Banking

South Africa has one of the most advanced banking systems in the world. Foreign exchange facilities are not available everywhere, although special arrangements will be made in host cities. Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) are on almost every street corner and those persons having international debit or credit card facilities will not experience any problems.

Do take the time to study the ABACUS Information Guide on Safety and Security regarding withdrawal of cash. These notes will only be made available to clients once bookings are confirmed through ABACUS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SOUTH AFRICA YOU CAN VISIT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SITES:

www.safrica.info
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South Africa
wikitravel.org/en/South Africa