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Extended wait time at JNB airport
We will have a morning arrival post safari travels into JNB airport and wont take off until the evening.
Does anyone have recommendations on how best to use all that free time? We will be travelling with two children 11 and 12yrs. The agency suggested an arranged tour of the Apartheid Museum..... I wondered even if there was a nice airport hotel that we could take a room or hang out in, so we could rest or swim and have a meal before the long haul home? Thanks - |
Hi kthompson360!
It certainly depends upon how many hours you have to kill but you have options available to you. You could book a room at either the City Lodge OR Tambo (accessible from the airport without requiring a cab at all!). They have an outdoor pool if that's of interest. Another nearby hotel with an outdoor pool is the Premier Hotel OR Tambo which does have a shuttle service free of charge to the airport. There are many hotels available to you (some only have indoor pools) but I would highly recommend that you stay close to the airport no matter what you choose to do. You could do a Soweto Tour of Jo'burg. There's Museum Africa, the Hector Pieterson Memorial & Museum (great multimedia there!), and you could do a township tour if that's of interest. There are actually a number of cultural/historical tours or spots to see on a day tour. I would recommend that you pre-arrange such a tour with a licensed private guide. There are certainly many ways you could spend the time but I would take into account how you think your family is going to feel on the tail end of the trip. Do you think they'd be interested in spending the time in a more cultural/historical way OR do you think they'll just want to relax and unwind at a pool? Food for thought, for sure... Enjoy your family trip! There's nothing as magical as seeing the bush through the eyes of children! It will be amazing! Best Dianne Africa Direct USA, Owner |
You might not have as much time as you think. If you are flying out after the morning game drive, you won't arrive until almost noon and with the three hour check in requirement, that might not leave as much time as you think. You'll have to ask around for a hotel that will do day rates - City Lodge and The Intercontinental are both in walking distance and couldn't be more different.
The Cradle of Humankind is fun with kids. If you are there on a Sunday and your kids are into horses, the Lippizaner Horses have a really good weekly show (my favorite!). The Apartheid Museum is a good bookend, especially if you do Robben Island in Cape Town (I can't imagine missing it). You can also use the airline lounges if you have the right credit card and pay the fee. For a long layover, it's nice to have access to TV, wifi and computers. I saw your other question about malarone and insurance. Since you are going in November, if you are going to the Kruger area or most other wildlife areas, you probably should take anti-malarials. We don't, but we are adults, travel in the winter and use lots of bug spray if needed. There are other options besides malarone - talk to a travel clinic dr or someone at cdc for options. My husband can't take malarone due to the digestive issues and I can't due to the seizure problems. Know the side effects and take as directed to minimize any problems of any of them. Medical/evac should be mandatory. We can all afford to lose the cost of a trip (otherwise we wouldn't be going at all), but an accident or illness could rack up a huge bill - if you need to be evacuated to the U.S., without insurance (that is very inexpensive if you don't insure the trip) would be impossible. I use insuremytrip.com and plug in $0 for trip cost and it spits out lots of options. Just get it - it's a small cost compared to your great vacation. If none of you have a pre-exiting condition, without insuring the travel, you should be able to get a $100,000/$1,000,000 medical/evac policy for less than $200 total. Check the fine print to ensure they will evac to your home airport, or to any city of your choosing (the right hospital might not be near your home). Have fun planning!! |
You don't require a 'full' entire night's stay, just a 'dayroom' that gives you sufficient time from return to JNB from completion of safari or last locale and then till the 2.5/hrs prior departure for homebound flight. Many of the nearby hotels provide these, some with indoor or outdoor pools. If while here you decide to sightsee somewhere, do so... otherwise just relax till its checkin time.
If working with a tour operator they can recommend and/or book your dayroom. |
diannelovestravel: You provide good info -- but including your company name in every post borders on (prohibited) advertising.
How about ditching the >>Best Dianne Africa Direct USA, Owner<< every time and just post w/o the promotion?? |
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