South Africa

Posted on: January 30, 2011 at 8:39AM

First, South Africa is a cheap country. It;s Africa, right? The prices are at least twice less then in Western or Southern Europe. A 4 star B&B costs around 30 euros for two. Gas is 1/3 cheaper than in Europe. For all our food, dinning out, beverages, tourist attractions, gifts and etc. we spent around 600 euros for three weeks of intense travelling. And we did not save the money. For car rental and housing we spent smth like another 600 euros for the whole period. So, it's really not an expensive country. Your biggest investment probably will be your plane ticket. However if you still wanna save...buy your groceries and stay at self catering apartments. They all have braii (african for barbecue) facilities, so you can make yourself a cheap nice dinner. (a nice big steak at chic restaurant in Garden Route or Cape Town would cost you smth like 20 $, so if you make it at home, should be around 10 $ per person with all the sides). Always ask fo student discounts, if you are one, as they never post such discounts even if they have them. Travel in the group of 4 people - not only for safety reasons, but also for bringing your gas, car rental and housing costs down a lot. Read the menus before going into the restaurant - see the prices. Buy souvenirs in more poor regions - all traditional handmade souvenirs are the same across the country (government is sponsoring the tribes for making their handcrafts according to the exact patterns) - so for example if you buy an elephant statue near waterfalls in Panorama Route, Mpumalanga it is going to be up to 5 times cheaper than buying the same one in craft small in Cape Town waterfront. In most places you can bargain for prices. Don't use your credit cards - take cash from atm a couple of times in big amounts as the banks will charge you on ridiculous rates for transactions on your cards. report a problem