Diamantina

As I know that airports can vary greatly, could anyone please tell me about the Johannesburg airport? I will be arriving on Air France and then am planning to catch South African Airways Express to Nelspruit (Kruger) Airport. Is it far from international arrivals to domestic departures? I might have to pass a few hours here; are there interesting shops (book stores, art galleries, souvenir shops, wine stores, etc.), ATMs and foreign exchange, restaurants? Are there comfortable places to just sit and wait? Is the airport secure?
Thanks.

jasher

Hello,

For an international airport, JNB is mid-size and pretty well laid out. The walk between the two terminals is about five minutes, maybe ten if you have a lot of luggage -- you'll exit the international terminal, turn left, and walk up a ramp to the domestic terminal.

There are plenty of shopping and eating options in both terminals, though most of the ones in the domestic terminal are before security. It's been a year or so since I passed through the domestic terminal, but I recall there being one or two bookstores, a chemist, a number of souvenir shops, and various food options. No art galleries that I recall though there should be a few places selling SA wine.

There are definitely ATMs in both terminals -- if you want to buy food you'll most likely need some rand.

Here's a link to the airport website with maps and a list of shops and other facilities:

http://www.airports.co.za/home.asp?pid=2735

The airport is pretty secure -- the only annoyance is taxi/hotel touts who pounce on you as you come out of international arrivals. If you tell them you're just connecting to another flight they should bugger off. If you want to use a porter, make sure he or she is a uniformed official porter.

Cheers,
Julian

atravelynn

There are comfortable places to sit and the seating even allows you to lie down. To me that's one of the biggest airport amenities there is--to be able lie horizontally and catch up on sleep that may have been missed on overnight flights.

Dana70

While on the subject of airports does anyone have an opinion of this itinerary --given to me for our return via nelspruit to Jo'berg connecting to our international flight leaving at 5:55pm....we are to leave nelspruit at 2:15pm; arrive Joburg at 3:30....not knowing the layout of domestic vs. international terminals, will we have enough time (if we are on time!) to retrieve luggage, change terminals, go through customs, etc. to board our flight? It seems to me to be tight as usual most small flights are very late; and the three hour rule of check in is defintely not in use here. Should I be objecting to this or is it typical in South Africa to wing it?
Also on another topic while leaving SA...the VAT taxes I am told can be refunded at the airport; this whole thing confuses me: the taxes I have paid to South African Air, which in US dollars was over $600 - is that refundable? Are the taxes on the lodgings VAT refundable? Or is it just purchases, like gifts, etc. If someone could clear this up for me I could check one more thing off my anxiety list and concentrate on having a blast. Thx. D.

jasher

Hello Dana,

Assuming your flight from Nelspruit lands on time, you should make it. Personally I'd prefer a bit more time between the flights, but it will almost certainly be all right. If there's an earlier flight out of Nelspruit I'd see if you could get on it, particularly if you want to do the VAT refund.

Given the time frame, I don't know if you'll have enough time to do the VAT refund as it can be a bit of a hassle. VAT is only refundable on goods, not services, so you'll be able to claim it back on any souvenirs you buy but not on lodging, airfare, transfers, or restaurant expenses -- if you're not a big shopper it may not be worth the hassle of getting the refund.

If you do the VAt refund, note that you need to have all the goods with you for customs inspection (and yes, they will usually select some random item from your bunch of receipts and ask you to show it to them). So you'll either need to do it before you check in (if you plan to put your souvenirs in a checked bag) or you'll need to put them in your carry-on luggage. (On my last trip, one of the 'souvenirs' was actually a bag which was getting checked, so I had to do it before I checked in).

The customs people will inspect your receipts and stamp them if they are satisfied with them. Once you're past security, there is a VAT refund desk where you need to submit the receipts and forms to get a refund. There is often a very long queue at this desk, which is why I think you may need to give it a miss.

I'm afraid I can't recall off the top of my head what your itinerary is, but if you will be in Cape Town or Joburg before your safari and will have already done most of your shopping, you can get your receipts 'pre-inspected' at the V&A Waterfront or the Sandton City mall, which can save some time at the airport.

Cheers,
Julian

sandi

We did just as Julian indicates. Had our VAT docs handled in CPT where we did most of our shopping. So, once checked in at JNB, it was simple enough to get the cash refund without having to show any of our purchases.

As to the flight from Nelspruit - while we didn't fly from NLP, rather MPL (Mpumulanga) it was also a 5pm departure, arriving JNB 6pm where we had to connect for our homebound flight departing 8pm. Our luggage from this short flight came off quickly... there are very few passengers, and waited a few minutes for our tour operator to arrive/meet us with the gifts we had them hold for us. Then with everything on a cart, walked over to the Int'l terminal (10-min at most) and checked-in.

Admittedly, it did seem somewhat confusing when we first looked at the long queues, but it moved quickly, bags weighed, inspected, checked-in receiving boarding pass, through Immigration and into the departure terminal. This is where I stopped at the VAT desk for refund and leisurely made way to the gate.

It's at this gate, that they do the serious security pat down, men and women in separate queues, search of carry-on bags. This too moved quickly and quite efficient.

ShayTay

When you depart JNB on your return home, perhaps you'll have a few minutes to wander through the shops in the departures area of the international terminal. There are some great shops there, including the large "Out of Africa" store. If you like music, there is a CD shop, as well, with music from all over Africa.

On your way in, leave yourself plenty of time to check in for the flight to Nelspruit. We cut it a bit close and were faced with REALLY LONG check-in lines. A SA guide spotted us and directed us to a little-used check-in line (for a small fee, of course!) That saved us from missing our flight.

tuckeg

I suppose everything is relative, but for a major city, JNB is a fairly small airport. That makes it quite easy to get around, however it is not well signed so ask if you are not sure where you are going. Several years ago my wife and I took an elevator and the sign seemed to indicate that we were going to departures but we wound up on a floor with only restrooms. We felt stupid for about 30 seconds until the elevator arrived and more people got out who had made the same mistake. This continued for a couple of minutes (to increasing amusement) till someone realized the sign was for the next floor up and we all set off. Something similar happened on arrival last year when most of our flight went to the wrong immigration stations.