Hotel Review: InterContinental Johannesburg O.R Tambo Airport

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Tara

Odds are that either arriving or departing, you will need an overnight stay near JNB airport. Fortunately for the miles & points savvy travelers, the best option by far is the InterContinental Johannesburg O.R Tambo Airport…………….and it is readily available on IHG points! Whether you use IHG points or a Chase Free night as we did, you will be getting a huge bargain as this hotel generally goes for over $300 a night!

We got there pretty late at night, probably around 9pm as I am always very thorough about returning a car. I want to watch them check it in and make sure they don’t have any problems with it and preferably get a written document that all is well. The nice thing is that this hotel is right next to the garage where you return your car and right across the street from the airport. You can’t get anymore convenient than that!

The rooms are beautifully furnished. I am not sure if we were upgraded, I was too tired to bother asking. We just wanted a shower and to get some sleep! I did spend some time on the wifi which was pretty good. I tried the complimentary wine but didn’t like it, it was too sweet.

Airport view out the window.

In the morning while checking out, I could appreciate the beautiful waterfall decor. This really is a nice hotel, I was sorry we didn’t have more time here to check out the facilities………….but Mauritius beckoned and we had an early flight!

A Few Cautions About Driving From Kruger To JNB

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Tara

If you Google-map it, Kruger to Jo-burg doesn’t look like that big a drive, about 5 hours.

What Google doesn’t tell you is just how slow the traffic can be! We were lucky we left by 2pm and I was expecting to hit JNB by 7pm driving at a good speed.

We left through Malelane Gate and took advantage of the clean restrooms. There is also a map here if you are just arriving and want to know where the latest sightings have been.

The main highway passes through some pretty countryside, we even saw some birds but we were going too fast to stop.

This is where it got fun (not). The traffic was backed up over an hour with trucks coming from Mozambique heading to Jo-burg. It may look benign for those people headed to Kruger but no such luck. After we got past a small town, it was backed up even worse! Remember, you have to be at your restcamp before curfew which varies around 6pm-6:30-ish so make allowances for bad traffic. The jam was so bad I was wondering if some people would get there in time. The yellow highlighting is where the traffic was backed up.

The blazing sunset was awesome but knowing we would have to drive much of the road in the dark not so awesome.

Expect to have to overtake lots of trucks any time of day or night. It’s a good paved highway but usually one lane in each direction and trucks will NOT pull over and let you by. You generally have to cross into the opposite lane to overtake and hope nothing comes out of a side road. It was pretty nerve-wracking! Petrol stations can be few and far between so fill up at the first one you see after leaving Kruger. Some of them don’t take credit cards so be prepared to pay cash.

There are a few toll gates and you will need cash for the ones in the rural areas but once you get to the general Jo-burg/Pretoria area they will be electronic toll gates. Your rental car will have a transponder and you should hear a beep as you go under them. Don’t worry, they will be charged at cost a couple days after you return the car and most car hire companies don’t add an administrative fee. Avis didn’t at least!

Bargain Flights Around Southern Africa With Avios

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Tara

If you are heading to South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia or Mauritius, Avios are your best friend! British Airway’s subsidiary, Comair has a good network in the region.

Use GC Mapper to find out the mileage on each route.

Use the Avios Award Chart to see how many Avios for each segment. In the example above, you can see that Jo-burg to Durban, Port Elizabeth, Victoria Falls and Harare are in the 1st zone and cost 4500 Avios. Jo-burg to Windhoek or Cape Town cost 7500 Avios and Mauritius costs 10,000 Avios. All flights are easily booked online.

Slow Lounge JNB Transit & Comair Flight: Johannesburg – Port Elizabeth

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Tara

One more flight would end the epic journey from Brisbane to Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Theoretically, I should have been able to tag a domestic JNB-PLZ segment onto our award ticket but there was no availability in either Y or J the day we needed it. Thankfully since I can easily get British Airways Avios via my Chase Ultimate Rewards, this wasn’t a huge problem.

Even with the Avios, we would have been fine in economy as it was only a short hop but this wasn’t available so we booked business. This entitled us to visit the Slow Lounge in the domestic terminal which was pretty nice and had a wide variety of food. Not that we were that hungry after the breakfast on South African Airways!

We left the lounge after a quick bite and checking my emails and wandered through the airport to the gate.

Unfortunately the seats were Euro-style business class – economy seats with a blocked middle seat but they did serve us a good lunch and it was less than 2 hours. Economy would have been fine for this segment if it had been available.

Finally Port Elizabeth came into view and our epic air journey was over! All we needed now was a 3 hour drive to King William’s Town and we could finally see the Cape Parrots!

I only snapped this pic because I liked the bird on the tail fin!

South African Airways: Beijing – Johannesburg, Business Class

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Tara

Since I have already written a guide on how to get to South Africa using frequent flyer miles, I will jump right into the review of the flight. Business class awards are becoming an endangered species and it can be pretty tricky trying to get one on South African Airways since they are one of the best airlines serving JNB, the major gateway airport to this amazing country. This trip was originally going to happen in 2015 but was brought forward to 2014 as I was getting worried about the availability of amazing awards like this and couldn’t afford another devaluation by United.

First look at the plane from the gate in PEK.

Comfortable seats that lie flat!

Seat controls

The seat backs were already loaded with magazines, headphones and a nice amenity kit.

I was REALLY glad we weren’t going to do a 14 hour flight in economy!

The flight attendant took our orders for both dinner and breakfast. It was late and all I really wanted to do was sleep so I asked for a nice liqueur. She recommended Amarula which was absolutely divine and became my addiction for the rest of the trip (when I didn’t have a rental car to worry about).

With seat in the bed position, I slept like a log and was astonished to be woken a couple hours out of JNB with breakfast. Maybe the two layover excursions in Taipei & Beijing helped as I was totally exhausted. Best sleep I ever had on a plane!

These fruit crepes were delicious!

We landed right on time at JNB. The camera showed the plane’s position, it was pretty cool.

Business class got our own bus to immigration which was a breeze. You don’t even have to fill in arrival cards! Why can’t all countries be this smart & efficient?

To say the least, I loved South African Airways! Great service, punctual, comfortable, what more could you want? We still weren’t at our final destination: King William’s Town. One more short flight on British Airways/Comair and we would be there!

Johannesburg – Gateway To South Africa

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Tara

Johannesburg’s (abbreviated to Jo’burg) reputation precedes it. Luckily for eco-tourists, there is no need to linger unless you have business there or plan to visit friends in the area. It’s a good idea to plan your flight so you arrive in the morning, can pick up a rental car and drive straight to the game park of your choice. The southern part of Kruger National Park is about a 4 hour drive. But sometimes you will have to spend a night there because your flight arrives too late and you shouldn’t drive around there at night for safety reasons.

GETTING THERE

Jo’burg is the main international gateway to South Africa and has a good variety of airlines. More details can be found in my Getting to South Africa post.

AIRPORT HOTELS

If you arrive at night or have an early flight out, I recommend you stay at one of the airport hotels, preferably one with an airport shuttle. The only option on hotel points is the INTERCONTINENTAL JOHANNESBURG O.R.TAMBO AIRPORT HOTEL for 30,000 IHG Rewards points. It’s literally a walk across the street and normally goes for $300-400 so it’s a great use of points or Chase Visa annual voucher. Trip Advisor reviews

Other hotels that you will have to pay cash (OK, credit card) for include the following. I will link to their reviews on Trip Advisor but you should try to book them on PointsHound to earn frequent flyer miles for them. For just an overnight stay, you want a hotel with their own airport shuttle (pref free) and onsite catering so you don’t have to venture out at night.