A hand-picked portfolio of exciting and unusual places to stay in some of the world's most beautiful and fascinating locations - put together by a small team of passionate travellers, and backed up by an award-winning online booking service…
read more >Choose from over 1,000 boutique hotels, stylish villas, city apartments, eco-retreats, safari lodges and tailormade tours. We visit them all and pick only our favourites.
For its incredible natural beauty: South Africa is a large country
of massively varied and spectacular terrain - from the picturesque
winelands to the awesome Drakensberg mountains and the unspoilt
wilderness of the bush.
There's loads to do - nature lovers and adventure seekers will not
be disappointed. Its wealth of plantlife is outstanding and there
are few better places to see Africa's wildlife. And for those just
wanting to relax, there's mile upon mile of glorious sandy beaches
- some of the best and least crowded in the world.
There's excellent
accommodation to suit all budgets, ranging from treehouses
and luxury tents to chic guesthouses, characterful country inns and
Africa's most stylish safari lodges. Eating out is still quite
cheap, and great infrastructure makes it perfect for touring.
There's plenty of sunshine and the seasons are reversed, so it's
ideal for escaping the European winter. For Europeans, it's
long-haul without the jetlag - the time difference is just 1-2
hours.
Apartheid may be dead, but the inequality of wealth and racial
tensions still pervade. The segregation of society is still extreme
with most blacks living in townships like Soweto or in basic
housing in the rural areas. Visitors to the Western Cape will find
the atmosphere more American or European than African.
Crime is a major problem in South Africa's cities and main towns,
but despite this most travellers to South Africa experience a
hassle-free visit. Downtown Johannesburg is one of the worst
affected areas; Cape Town is generally much safer. Use common sense
and be cautious but don't get paranoid.
South Africa is huge so unless you have several weeks, it would be
unwise to attempt a tour of the whole country. Better to
concentrate on either the east or west.
In Cape Town:
Many questions are already answered in our FAQs, otherwise, e-mail us at: help@i-escape.com
Copyright ©2010 i-escape.com All rights reserved.
