When even Canada is too expensive — not to mention London and Paris — where do US travelers head for when looking for an oversea destination?
One answer is South Africa.
That country retains a very favorable exchange rate of approximately 8.17 Rands per US Dollar as of the middle of this month.
“That’s up from about 7.1 Rand per US dollar just six months ago, and compared with the slide against myriad other currencies, quite a bargain, indeed,†says a news release.
US travelers find South Africa offers a variety of luxurious vacation options, including hotel and game lodge accommodations, restaurants and recreation comparable to the finest offerings from Europe.
Wine-lovers also find the country’s wine regions are known around the world, and there’s a 1,790 mile coast.
Tourism officials say TripAdvisor.com search found a four-star hotel room in Paris could run between $750-800 USD per night for a standard room. Current rates at The Westcliff, a world-renowned four-star hotel in Johannesburg, start at $459 USD with the current exchange rate.
In keeping with the theme of saving American travelers money on their South African vacation, many tour operators are offering affordable, air-inclusive packages.
One such example is from South African Airways Vacations, the official vacations package division of South African Airways in North America, which is offering their “South Africa In Style†package for $1,999 USD. This package includes roundtrip economy airfare from New York or Washington; 4 nights accommodations at a choice of five-star hotels, and 2 nights at Jackalberry Lodge, a luxury game lodge in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve.
The package also includes six breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, game drives at Jackalberry Lodge, ground transfers, and domestic flights within South Africa.
Report by David Wilkening
