Accomodation in South Africa

Tent City – The most expensive tent in the world

If you, like me, have been dreamed about attending the World Cup, already have the flight and match tickets, probably you are with the headache trying to plan your accomodation in South Africa.

Hotels, Bed & Breakfast and Youth (Backpackers) hostel has rised their prices up to 500% for the June-July tournament. If you check at HostelBookers.com a Hostel in Johannesburg that might cost you in January $17 (seventeen dollars), probably you will receive a quote for $60 the day your team will play there.

Having this great business in mind (half a million people captive in South African winter), the City of Johannesburg has created Tent City, to be erected  at Waverley Park.

The Jobur website says: “The Tent City will provide affordable accommodation for visitors and also alleviate the accommodation problems that we expect during the World Cup“. A nice idea having in mind the amount of visitors the city will receive and the crazy prices we are seeing around, but the organizers are expecting to charge 50 EUROS (!) for a mattreses in a shared tent with 80 people.

Personally I hope when we all arrive to South Africa we don’t meet with a crowd of vampires trying to take our money in the first day. World Cup is the chance for the country to be in the center of the world, receive hundred of thousands of people that will spread their voice about the country, perhaps decrease the rumors about violence and crime for tourist, and increase the number of visitors that will visit the forgotten continent in the future. But I suspect we will find a scenario not far from that, with a short time vision, who will fill their packets during one month and continue as always.

If you look for pictures of Tent City in Johannesburg, you will have to wait until you get there. But you can have an idea with this “artist drawings” taken from the official website. You can visit tentcity.co.za if you want to book. I will continue looking for alternatives

Tent City, the “budget” choice for people trying to enjoy this beautiful tournament in this incredible country, will cost you as much as a nice room in a Sheraton Hotel in your home country.

Bring your credit card with you.

Tags: tent city

How much will cost South Africa during World Cup?

If you are thinking about going to South Africa, you better start planning ahead. Accomodation and Transport will be probably be chaotic.

South African soccer and tourism officials on Thursday warned hotels, airlines and restaurants not to scare off future tourists by hiking prices during next year’s World Cup.

It’s expected to see 500,000 new tourists to descend upon South Africa in mid-2010 and spend an estimated $850 million during the monthlong tournament. But tourim officials are worried that visitors will not return anymore after price rises in hotels and guest lodges.

World Cup Price Rise

Media reports have said that some hotels are planning to charge as much as $250 for a basic room that normally would be $100 to $150.

Other reports point to homes along Cape Town’s exclusive Atlantic seaboard renting for $1,000 to $35,000 a day — with one house reportedly renting for a whopping $1 million for the duration of the tournament.

Are you planning to go to South Africa. Join us on our World Cup Forum and start planning your trip to the World Cup

How to Watch the World Cup in South Africa

So, you finally decided you didn’t want to watch the World Cup from your small ‘20 TV, but rather go to South Africa and enjoy the world party that only happens about 20 times in a lifetime (Let´s hope you live 80 years!), well, it’s not too late. Maybe a little, but there is always hope.

We created World Cup Watcher as a gathering place for people who wants to watch the World Cup, be it at home, in the stadium or in the streets. People who waited 4 years since the final whistle in Germany 2006, to finally watch your team again playing in the most incredible tournament in the world.

This year, the 2010 World Cup will take place in South Africa. Not an easy place to travel around as Germany. That´s why we created this space. A space where people going to South Africa could use to help each other to find the flight tickets, acommodation, transport, ideas and whatever might be useful to people who will be in South Africa in June/July 2010.

Of course, 99% of World Cup Watchers will stay at home with the crowd. So, we want also to open this space to talk and discuss about the world cup.

For now, we are opening this blog and also the World Cup Watcher Forum. A place for people to talk, discuss and find informationa about the world cup.

OK, the world is watching. Let’s get ready.