5 Top Attractions for an Exciting Durban Holiday

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If you are after an enchanting and memorable respite in South Africa, then a Durban holiday definitely offers the sights and sounds that go with your mood. This multicultural Kwa Zulu Natal city combines its mix of cultures with awesome attractions that leaves many travelers looking for more. Some of the best attractions include various water slides, botanical gardens, open air markets and some of the best places to dine and wine in KZN. If you are looking for the perfect Durban holiday experience, the following five attractions will definitely give you the fun and exotic side to the city.

Ushaka Marine World

Built in a shipwreck theme and kitted with such amenities as a giant aquarium, an expansive dining complex and a water park, the Ushaka Marine World is a definite must see on a Durban holiday and frequently tops every visitor’s list of priorities. The park has dark alleyways where visitors can walk through and see the massive sharks. The park also has contains lots of cute dolphins. The dolphin shows are a definite must see.

Durban Botanical Gardens

The Durban Botanical Gardens are considered the oldest in Africa and offer a relaxing atmosphere rich in fauna. They are perfect for educational tours, giving you an opportunity to explore and learn about the various plants and herbs from Africa and the rest of the world during your Durban holiday. If you are looking for pure relaxation, the tea garden inside these botanical gardens provides an impressive atmosphere to unwind and marvel, while surrounded by a rich biodiversity.

Umhlanga Rocks

Located on the Kwa Zulu Natal coast, Umhlanga Rocks is a fully kitted and quiet coastal village where you can have a quiet Durban holiday away from the hustle bustle of the city. This upmarket village has several amenities for the holiday makers including holiday flats, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, a skate park and other amenities that will make your holiday just worth it. Apart from the peaceful and quiet atmosphere, you might also enjoy attractions like watching the sea from the pier or the Umhlanga Lighthouse, an impressive monument built to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS. The village is located just 15km from Durban and is thus quite accessible.

Natal Shark Board

If you thought that only Cape Town offers a great shark spectacle with its famous sharks and seals, then think again. The Natal Shark Board was created to protect the public from shark attacks while also teaching them the value of conservation of the marine ecosystem. Guided educational tours and shows are available during your Durban holiday where you can learn more about the “sea monster”, the Great White Shark amongst other shark species. If you are lucky, you can witness the impressive spectacle of a shark being dissected. Lots of smaller sharks can also be seen here during educational tours.

The Victoria Street Market

The Victoria Street Market is one of the historic landmarks of Durban and an important part of the city’s cultural history. Established in 1910 by indentured laborers from India, the century old market gives you a glimpse into the city’s Indian flavor with assorted merchandise ranging from Indian spices to jewelry. This is the perfect place to interact with the local population or pick a souvenir during your Durban holiday.

To check out and book your preferred Durban holiday, visit www.where2stay-southafrica.com

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Online Booking for Flights in Africa

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Is online travel booking the next big thing in Africa?  Africa is fast becoming a major global travel destination as the continent offers lots of holiday and business prospects. While African airlines accounted for a mere 2% of global air traffic due to a market that is still regarded as underdeveloped, the continent is now on a good trajectory due to multiple factors. There is for example a fast growing African middle class together with the need to travel more within the continent as more African nations trade with each other. The last three years have also seen some tremendous investments in broadband infrastructure. This mean Africans are traveling more while at the same time they are logged on to their devices. This has as a result created a huge demand for online travel service on the continent.

Online Booking in Africa

Currently, online booking is still dominated by many airlines through their websites. Almost all of the major Africa carriers now offer travelers online booking service through the corporate website. These normally offer discounted flights to get customers off the queues and away from the travel agents in order to embrace the convenience of internet booking.  Additionally, there is an emerging trend of online travel agents that are now establishing operations in Africa. The most successful online travel agency so far in establishing Pan African operations is Travelstart that currently offers African travelers localized online travel booking platforms in the key markets of Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

Which markets dominate online booking?

Currently, South Africa offers the most vibrant online travel market in Africa with several players jostling for the millions of travelers who visit from abroad or travel within the country. Other major online travel market are Kenya, Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria. However, these countries do not have serious competition in the online travel niche.

Local versus global online travel agencies

As more local online travel solutions emerge, Africans will be faced with the choice on whether to book flights with local online travel agencies like Travelstart or opt for the old players like Expedia and Priceline. Local definitely has significant advantages in terms of excellent local customer support, flexible modes of payment and good and firsthand knowledge of the local market. It will be interesting watching how the competition unfolds as more Africans log on to the internet to catch the next flights or book hotel rooms.

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Tourist Finance for Hassle Free Holidays

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Travel is fun but it also costs money. Many families have seen their best laid holiday plans being shelved aside due to lack of adequate funding. But there are savvy travelers with average income who can afford to travel and see the world. How do they afford it? The secret is in tourist finance. Many financial institutions continue to design financial products to meet ever changing needs.

 One of those needs that was in the past largely ignored was tourist finance. Many holidays are often funded from savings.  Families with inadequate savings are forced to shelve aside holiday plans or look for cheaper travel destinations. If you are planning to visit Table Mountains in Cape Town or Victoria Falls, inadequate funding might force you to reconsider that option and settle for more affordable tourist spots. Tourist finance however enables you to apply for a loan for touring the world and at very attractive rates.

Getting Tourist Finance Is Easy
It is often fairly easy to qualify for tourist finance loans. Borrowers have to meet some minimum eligibility requirements and that’s just about it. Once these are met, you can get your loan application approved quite fast and you will be off to your idyllic sunny holidays.

As with every product and service offered online, shopping around for the best tourist finance service providers is crucial. Many of them provide additional frills and advice to differentiate themselves from competition, including offering travelers tips on cheap flights, affordable holiday destinations and accommodation, best times to traveler and more. A tourist financier is simply a lender that has specialized in offering travelers financing and one advantage that you will have is the first hand knowledge you get from them regarding your travel and money management during your holidays. It is also important to evaluate interest rates across multiple lenders when looking for tourist finance as these tend to vary based on the service provider that you are dealing with.

A good travel financing partner will allow you to enjoy your holiday without worrying about your dwindling finances or whether your interest rate will shoot over the roof!

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Travelstart Launched in Nigeria

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Online travel agency Travelstart has expanded its African footprint further by launching Travelstart Nigeria. Travelstart was founded in Sweden in 1999 but has since expanded its global operations to include the key travel and internet markets of Africa. Today, the Travel portal includes a South African outfit, Travelstart South Africa and a Kenyan outfit Travelstart Kenya that was launched early this year. Travelstart has launched its Nigerian operations in partnership with GHI Assets Limited, a Nigeria local player and one of the most successful travel agents in that country.

The launch of Travelstart Nigeria not only marks its entry into one of Africa’s key internet markets but also Africa’s largest travelling population. With the African travel market growing at very high rate due to a high economic growth, intra-African business and trade and a growing a middle class, there has also been a significant growth in Africa’s internet population with over 120 million Africans now logged in. The growth of the internet population has coincided with the continent’s massive investments in its data infrastructure.

The growth of travel and the internet can only mean one thing-the growth of online travel market in Africa. In this Travelstart has been trailblazer, pioneering the concept in some of the African markets. Other emerging markets like Brazil, India, China and Russia do have giant local online travel players and Travelstart will be well poised to be Africa’s “local” player like India’s MakeMyTrip, China’s CTrip, Brazil’s Despegar, and Russia’s Ostrovok.

Email us at contact@flight-africa.com if you want your travel website reviewed on this blog.

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Booking Cheap Flights to Nigeria: Options Available

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Nigeria is a major African business and trade hub with billions of dollars invested in the nation’s oil, banking and telecommunications sector. Most travelers fly to Nigeria mainly for business although other sectors have seen some growth in the recent years. However the aviation sector has seen some problems and the country’s national airline Nigeria Airways collapsed a few years back. While some private carriers like Arik have emerged and are quickly building route networks, your flight to Nigeria is most likely to involve flying international carriers like Ethiopian Airlines, Delta, British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa , Kenya  Airways, South African Airways amongst other international airlines.  Cheap flights within Nigeria can be booked with local travel agencies but it is important to make multiple calls in order to arrive at the best deals. When looking for cheap flights to Nigeria, the following factors ought to be considered to ensure you get the best deals on your flights.

Look for direct flights to your destination city
Whether you are flying to Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcout or Kano, it is possible to find direct flights to some of these cities which allow for ease of travel instead of connecting domestic flights to your destination. Nigeria is not particularly a huge country in terms of size but travelling by road might not necessarily fit your schedule.

Bargain hunting
It is important to evaluate fares offers from the various airlines. It is likely that many of your flights might involve stopovers in third countries. For intra African travel, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines will offer you the best option though they might not necessarily be cheap. Travel to Asia is great with Emirates and Qatar Airways which normally have stopovers in Dubai and Doha respectively. There also exist lots of options for your travel in Europe including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, KLM, Arik Air amongst other carriers.

Book Early
Plan your itinerary and book your flight early on to enjoy the best fare offers. Booking your flight 21, 14 or even 7 days in advance will allow you to make some healthy savings when booking cheap flights to Nigeria.

Looking for a review on your travel website? Drop us an email at contact@flight-africa.com

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Finding the Cheapest Flights to South Africa

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Cheap flights always add value to your destination allowing you to lock in the savings and spend the extra savings on a richer travel experience. The first thing that we are likely to put into consideration after deciding on our travel destination is whether we can afford flights to those destinations. South Africa is one of the most popular travel destinations in Africa thanks to its varied attractions and securing cheap travel to this African paradise can be difficult if you are not familiar with the intricacies of online travel.

The era of travel agencies is definitely coming to an end although a good number still offer a time tested quality service with a deep understanding of the travel markets and the details of airline travel. The majority flights are now booked online with online travel agencies(OTAs). But like the travel agencies of the years gone by, online travel booking may not necessarily offer you certainty of fares due to many factors that regulate the airline fares. If you are looking for cheapest flights to South Africa, this can be a problem with many airlines now serving the major cities in the country. The fare offer on Emirates, Qatar Airways, South African Airways or Air France may not necessarily be the cheapest. What we hate most is leaving a deal on the table. For example paying $1000 for your flight if you could have paid $750 for the same flight in the same cabin on the same date is definitely not funny! So how do you ensure that you score the cheapest flights to South Africa and make adequate savings to enjoy the rest of the attractions of the Rainbow Nation?

Book Early
Unknown to many, this is the easiest way to secure the cheapest flights to virtually anywhere. Airlines usually update their fares after every few weeks but booking your flight one month, two months or three months before your flight will score you dirt cheap fares.  As the travel date approaches, the fares normally rise very fast and the last minute fare offers are usually the most expensive. Booking early for the low fares however come with price and you might not have a few privileges.

Book very late just before your departure date
This might sound contradictory but the fares are normally most expensive in between: between early and late. Very late is a game of chance but allows you to score last minute cheap flight deals and pay low fares. The disadvantage with last minute flights is that a lot of factors are not in your control for example you must travel at the scheduled time and date, you may not be lucky enough to secure multiple tickets if you are travelling with a companion or family amongst other inconveniences.

Contact your travel agency
Instead of going it alone to secure the lowest air fares to South Africa, you can get in touch with your travel agent to help you secure the best deals. The business of a travel agent is travel and they will offer you not just the lowest fares but a couple of fare recommendations and travel times from various airlines to suit your schedule. Visit Fly.co.za for inquiries on the cheapest flights to South Africa.

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Book Cheap Flights to South Africa with fly.co.za

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Book Cheap Flights to South Africa

South Africa is a land of many possibilities with lots to see and experience. From the wineries of the Stellenbosch to the seal Island in Cape Town, South Africa offers the perfect holiday for the traveler. Whether you are planning to travel within South Africa itself, to South Africa or from South Africa to the rest of the world, finding cheap flights can be a tough affair.

With so many options for travel in South Africa, consumers might not be sure which airlines offer the best travel deals. There are numerous airlines servicing domestic, regional and international routes that travelers can choose from including FlyMango, Kulula , South Africa Airways amongst others. The dynamics of air fare variations mean that you cannot be sure what to expect from an airline and at what time. The cheapest flights today might not necessarily be the cheapest ones in the following week. Hunting for travel bargains is always a time consuming affair requiring a traveler to search through multiple websites. But the smartest travelers always pay the cheapest fares. One website that can help you make some sense out of all these chaos is fly.co.za which will allow you to determine and book the lowest fares in a relatively short time.

Fly.co.za is a South African online portal that aggregates fares from various airlines and presents to travelers on a single page, allowing you to find the cheapest fares in a matter of seconds and book in a matter of minutes.  Travelers looking for cheap flights can simple enter their departure and destination airports and they will be able to make quick comparison on the options that offer them the best value.

Fly.co.za: Local Knowledge Combined with Cheap Flights!
Travel is very much integrated into the internet age. It has been for the last decade or so with the launch of the giants like  Expedia and Opodo. But if you are looking for cheap flights to South Africa, it might make sense to book with an online agency with a local knowledge of the market that will offer you cheap flights with best local customer care service to enable you get the best option each time you fly.

Book your cheap flights to South Africa today with fly.co.za and enjoy the best in air fares to South Africa!

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Book Cheap Flights and accommodation in Kenya with Fly.co.ke

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Cheapest Flights from Kenya

As a major commercial, services and tourist hub in East Africa, Kenya has been a traveler’s favorite, attracting both leisure travelers and business travelers. The country has some diverse tourist destinations where travelers can visit and have a great time. But the hard part in travel often involves planning your travel in order to ensure everything will go smoothly as possible. From the cheapest flights to the best hotels and reliable car hire. The last things you want are some sad memories of your trip.

One online travel agency that is offering you both the option to book cheap flights to Nairobi and other Kenyan cities and towns including Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Malindi and Lamu and tips on Kenyan travel is Fly.co.ke. The Kenyan online travel agency also offers support services for travelers looking for cheap travel options and information regarding travel to Kenya, and from Kenya to other global destinations.

Travelling to a new country is exciting but at times fraught with difficulties especially for a first time traveler.  There are things that travel journals won’t just tell you. Things like which Taxi to take from the airport, the reasonable rates to pay for your taxi, how to get broadband connection with ease and many other nitty gritty when it comes to travel. This is where Fly.co.ke comes in to fill the gaps in your travel. By relying on local knowledge of the Kenya travel market, Fly.co.ke offers travelers not just the opportunity to book the cheapest flights to any destination within Kenya and from Kenya to other global destinations but also timely travel tips such as the best honeymoon locations in Nairobi.

Cheap Air Fares in Nairobi in a Flash
Whether you are looking for the cheapest flights from Nairobi to Dubai or the cheapest air fares from Nairobi to Entebbe, you can rely on Fly.co.ke’s ultra fast metasearch to deliver the lowest fares and fare recommendations in a matter of seconds or in fewer than 2 minutes even in places where there is poor bandwidth. One thing that you will like about this online travel website for Kenya is that all the cheapest fares to/from Nairobi on any particular day are displayed for you on a single page allowing you to save much time in booking your flights without leaving the page or browsing through layers and layers of links. The average online travel typically goes through four websites or more hunting for cheapest flights. When you are booking your Kenyan flights, you just need to visit a single page on the Fly.co.ke online travel agency to access all your flights, hotel and car hire bookings.

Flexibility in the booking of your flights
This online travel agency affords you the privilege of booking your cheap flights to Kenya with ease from the comfort of your laptop or iPad and choosing varied payment methods that include credit card, debit card, cash deposit and even MPESA mobile payments.

Excellent Customer service
Need help with your online booking for cheapest flights to Kenya or out of Kenya? Fly.co.ke provides you with prompt information on the various airlines and the fare options available for your travel. If you are travelling to Kenya for the first time, you can rely on the online portal’s extensive knowledge of the industry to deliver the best information to you and point you to the best resources for your travel needs.
Travelling is unpredictable and fraught with many risks but with a travel partner that caters to your individual travel needs and with great care and consideration, your travel can be more enjoyable. Visit Fly.co.ke website and make your travel inquiries or book the cheapest flights from Nairobi to just about anywhere!

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