what does everyone reckon..

[patchamalbion]

on travelling by greyhound bus in South Africa during the World cup. Flights are now either sold out or disgustingly expensive so looking at other options. Has anyone travelled by bus or coach whilst travelling in SA? and what you reckon safety issues will be like during the tourne?

reckon im being a wimp or do you think il get my head sliced off?

 

[Slough Seagull]

maybe you could hire an to protect you...

 

[Nottseagull]

maybe you could hire an to protect you...

Not good enough, his right gun isn't firing.

Your luggage would be vulnerable at every stop where the boot is opened for a start.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

As Mother used to say ....."N" ......... "O" .........."spells ..... NO"

 

[newhaven seagull 85]

i'll ask a colleague at work who is south african and post a response later today

 

[newhaven seagull 85]

i've asked my colleague who says no problem on greyhound but it will take approx 10-15 hours from Cape Town to Natal, he also advised keeping clear of Joburg.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

What about trains?

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

What about trains?

Why is the blue line yellow?

 

[KZNSeagull]

on travelling by greyhound bus in South Africa during the World cup. Flights are now either sold out or disgustingly expensive so looking at other options. Has anyone travelled by bus or coach whilst travelling in SA? and what you reckon safety issues will be like during the tourne?

reckon im being a wimp or do you think il get my head sliced off?

I know several people who have travelled on Greyhound coaches (or equivalent) and never had a problem. Ask them what security they are providing - they may have a guard riding with them, or have security at each stop. How are you going to get from the coach stops to your final destinations? It is very important that you work that out before you travel - private taxis are few and far between and I would avoid using normal buses and taxis.

As LB says, check out the trains as they may be laying specials on, but I would avoid normal "commuter" trains - hotbeds of crime. If they are laying specials on, make sure they have security, but I would not rely on them - the train network here is very run down.

Where are you flying to and going on to? As has already been said, this is an enormous country and public transport is crap. Have you thought about hiring a car? That is how the vast majority of people will travel for the World Cup. If you do, check out your route beforehand and hire a cell phone for emergencies and make sure you know who to call if you break down/crash. Most petrol stations here do NOT accept credit/debit cards, so make sure you have enough cash. I could go on, but I wont (boring) - let me know if you need to know anything else.

I cannot guarantee that you will not get your head sliced off, but as long as you are sensible and streetwise, you will be fine (just like any other foreign country).

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

I know several people who have travelled on Greyhound coaches (or equivalent) and never had a problem. Ask them what security they are providing - they may have a guard riding with them, or have security at each stop. How are you going to get from the coach stops to your final destinations? It is very important that you work that out before you travel - private taxis are few and far between and I would avoid using normal buses and taxis.

As LB says, check out the trains as they may be laying specials on, but I would avoid normal "commuter" trains - hotbeds of crime. If they are laying specials on, make sure they have security, but I would not rely on them - the train network here is very run down.

Where are you flying to and going on to? As has already been said, this is an enormous country and public transport is crap. Have you thought about hiring a car? That is how the vast majority of people will travel for the World Cup. If you do, check out your route beforehand and hire a cell phone for emergencies and make sure you know who to call if you break down/crash. Most petrol stations here do NOT accept credit/debit cards, so make sure you have enough cash. I could go on, but I wont (boring) - let me know if you need to know anything else.

I cannot guarantee that you will not get your head sliced off, but as long as you are sensible and streetwise, you will be fine (just like any other foreign country).

What a marvellous picture you paint fella.

There will be thousands of muppets wandering the Veldt just waiting to get turned over.

 

[saafend_seagull]

spoken to SA guy at work. he said he wouldnt go without a native SA, and also theres no way u shud consider going to joho. Said cape town will be alrite.

 

[Springal]

some absolute rubbish here!!

You can still fly in-direct for <£850 return, you just need to look around! Personally I'm going to do a 2-3 game trip with a tour operator, pay more, but at least I'll have travel sorted internally which is the real worry

 

[KZNSeagull]

What a marvellous picture you paint fella.

There will be thousands of muppets wandering the Veldt just waiting to get turned over.

Sorry, did that sound too depressing? It isn't really. You just cannot depend upon public transport or hailing a taxi or whatever. You have to have a plan!

I just need him to know that he cannot just hop on a bus/train without thinking about it and think he will be alright. Also, this is not the UK where there is a petrol station every 2 miles - if you drive from Cape Town to Gauteng, there is a small town every 100kms or so with nothing in between, for example. So if you run out of petrol, you will have a long walk!!

 

[imissworthing2]

on travelling by greyhound bus in South Africa during the World cup. Flights are now either sold out or disgustingly expensive so looking at other options. Has anyone travelled by bus or coach whilst travelling in SA? and what you reckon safety issues will be like during the tourne?

reckon im being a wimp or do you think il get my head sliced off?

I might be considerably behind the times but have you been able to get tickets yet?

 

[patchamalbion]

cheers for some of the responses.Yes i have three tickets for Cape Town games but can only get flights to Jo-Burg so i will be the city. I do realise Jo-Burg has an awful reputation and have heard many people say avoid it if possible but with the sheer amount of football fans and security in the city during the WC i would imagine it will be safer than usual. anyway we not fly now so a short time in Jo-Burg will happen now and my gf's sister and a few friends have travelled through the city and survived so shuould be ok if not stupid.

i have looked at trains, the Premierclasse and the one below which look decent. seems travelling on trains is another myth an apart from the cheap surburban trains they are all generally pretty safe.Only problem is Premierclasses trains can only be booked 90 days in advance and i think could be as much as a flight during WC and the other leaves at 12.30pm. i land in Jo0Burg at 8.50 and i hear that mornings in immigration are a nightmare and the airport is 24 KMs out of the city.

so we are looking at buses. Takes 19 hours to cape town i think,looked at the stops and most are agricultural rural villages wer they basically stop for petrol so not sure it will be to dodgy. its £90 return each on greyhound bus so not bad.What comforts me a little is my mate rang one coach company and on the day we wish to travel to cape town they have 40 coaches and they're all sold out so people must be travelling in this way. iv never been to a world cup so dont know if im worrying too much,the sheer numbers of football fans moving around the country may mean it is safer

any more help is appreciated

 

[Springal]

cheers for some of the responses.Yes i have three tickets for Cape Town games but can only get flights to Jo-Burg so i will be the city. I do realise Jo-Burg has an awful reputation and have heard many people say avoid it if possible but with the sheer amount of football fans and security in the city during the WC i would imagine it will be safer than usual. anyway we not fly now so a short time in Jo-Burg will happen now and my gf's sister and a few friends have travelled through the city and survived so shuould be ok if not stupid.

i have looked at trains, the Premierclasse and the one below which look decent. seems travelling on trains is another myth an apart from the cheap surburban trains they are all generally pretty safe.Only problem is Premierclasses trains can only be booked 90 days in advance and i think could be as much as a flight during WC and the other leaves at 12.30pm. i land in Jo0Burg at 8.50 and i hear that mornings in immigration are a nightmare and the airport is 24 KMs out of the city.

so we are looking at buses. Takes 19 hours to cape town i think,looked at the stops and most are agricultural rural villages wer they basically stop for petrol so not sure it will be to dodgy. its £90 return each on greyhound bus so not bad.What comforts me a little is my mate rang one coach company and on the day we wish to travel to cape town they have 40 coaches and they're all sold out so people must be travelling in this way. iv never been to a world cup so dont know if im worrying too much,the sheer numbers of football fans moving around the country may mean it is safer

any more help is appreciated

Most of the popular hotels, coaches, airlines have been pre block booked by travel agents doing packages

 

[patchamalbion]

Most of the popular hotels, coaches, airlines have been pre block booked by travel agents doing packages

yeah tell me about it,thats probably why iv encountered problems. But still thats a lot of coaches going from one end of the county to the other in one day. Anyone have any ideads or guess's how many England fans will travel to SA? I havent got TST tickets so if i get an England game i will jizz in my pants

 

[Springal]

yeah tell me about it,thats probably why iv encountered problems. But still thats a lot of coaches going from one end of the county to the other in one day. Anyone have any ideads or guess's how many England fans will travel to SA? I havent got TST tickets so if i get an England game i will jizz in my pants

I'm banking on The FA / EF+ or touts when out there. I think it'll be 6k-10k england fans, tops

 

[patchamalbion]

I'm banking on The FA / EF+ or touts when out there. I think it'll be 6k-10k england fans, tops

really? havent we sold 4,000 TST tickets though? i was thinking around 10-15,000 but as i said its my first world cup so not sure really. All i know is getting flights out there was tough and internal flights have caused nothing but misery.

 

[KZNSeagull]

cheers for some of the responses.Yes i have three tickets for Cape Town games but can only get flights to Jo-Burg so i will be the city. I do realise Jo-Burg has an awful reputation and have heard many people say avoid it if possible but with the sheer amount of football fans and security in the city during the WC i would imagine it will be safer than usual. anyway we not fly now so a short time in Jo-Burg will happen now and my gf's sister and a few friends have travelled through the city and survived so shuould be ok if not stupid.

i have looked at trains, the Premierclasse and the one below which look decent. seems travelling on trains is another myth an apart from the cheap surburban trains they are all generally pretty safe.Only problem is Premierclasses trains can only be booked 90 days in advance and i think could be as much as a flight during WC and the other leaves at 12.30pm. i land in Jo0Burg at 8.50 and i hear that mornings in immigration are a nightmare and the airport is 24 KMs out of the city.

so we are looking at buses. Takes 19 hours to cape town i think,looked at the stops and most are agricultural rural villages wer they basically stop for petrol so not sure it will be to dodgy. its £90 return each on greyhound bus so not bad.What comforts me a little is my mate rang one coach company and on the day we wish to travel to cape town they have 40 coaches and they're all sold out so people must be travelling in this way. iv never been to a world cup so dont know if im worrying too much,the sheer numbers of football fans moving around the country may mean it is safer

any more help is appreciated

We are told that during the World Cup, there will be thousands more police around than normal - they are certainly recruiting heavily. As long as you stay where other World Cuppers are staying, I'm pretty sure security will be fine. It will probably be residents who have an increase in crime, if there is an increase! You sound worried about Jo'burg and yes, it aint a very nice place, so stay outside Jo'burg if you can.

The 19 hour trip to Cape Town sounds about right - be aware that you will be driving on one of the most boring roads in the World, so dont expect to see a lot except rocks and red dust!!

From what Springal says, its sounds like a package deal with a travel agent would be your safest bet if you are worried.