Cape Town Top of the World

Cape Town came out tops in this year’s Travellers Choice Destinations Awards by TripAdvisor. With a huge jump from 25th last year, Cape Town finally takes its rightful place as the favourite destination in the world as chosen by millions of travellers. Congrats to the “Mother City”!

Cape Town #1 on TripAdvisor
Travellers’ Choice 2011 Best Destinations in the World Continued

Tswalu named one of the world’s most romantic hotels by Travel + Leisure magazine 2011

Tswalu Kalahari, South Africa’s largest privately owned game reserve, has been voted one of the World’s 50 Most Romantic Hotels by Travel + Leisure magazine. According to Travel + Leisure, one of the most prestigious and highly regarded travel magazines in the world, “.. there are as many ways to define romance as there are humans, but this list of the world’s most romantic hotels has something for (almost) everyone.” Continued

Condé Nast Travellers vote Pezula Spa one of the best in the World

Pezula Spa

Pezula Spa at Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa, Knysna, was named one of the top spas in the world in the Condé Nast Traveller’s annual Readers’ Spa Awards 2011, held in London last week.

The awards highlight the finest spas around the globe including the best hotel spas, spa retreats, day spas and thermal spas, based on readers’ votes on criteria including spa facilities, individual approach, ambience/design, body and facial treatments, amenities and products, exercise programmes, cuisine, as well as quality of service and staff. Continued

Tswalu guides excel

The team of five guides at Tswalu Kalahari Private Game Reserve have written and passed their FGASA Level 3 exams, says Managing Director Russel Binks. This means that the guides are qualified to “point out and explain in terms of scientific theory and cultural belief, the features of the natural environment in which s/he is operating, and put it into broader ecological context”.

According to The Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA), which provides educational opportunities to promote the conservation and rehabilitation of the cultural and natural heritage of Southern Africa, the knowledge and insight expected at Level 3 is unlikely to be obtained without at least two years of active guiding in the field.  “A general distinction between the competence at this level as opposed to lower levels is the ability to explain phenomena by means of valid and well-motivated scientific theories and the concomitant use of appropriate scientific terminology.” Continued

The SA-Venues.com Blog is a SA Blog Awards Finalist!

SA-Venues Blog in Top 10

If you appreciate our blog, we would really appreciate your Vote! To vote for us to win the Best SA Blog Award in the TRAVEL category … PLEASE Click here to VOTE for us! Please! (Once you click on that link you will need to scroll down and enter your e-mail address so that they can confirm your vote). And if you REALLY like us, you can even vote for us more than once! (You can vote once every 24 hours)!

We are incredibly proud and excited that the SA-Venues.com Blog has made it into the finalists of the Top 10 Travel Blogs in South Africa. Having looked at the other 9 Top 10 Finalists, we are humbled to have made it into the top 10 as all the blogs in this category are all of a very high standard … Continued

South Africa still a Favourite with Travelers according to TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor Awards

TripAdvisor has just released its Travelers’ Choice lists for 2010 and Cape Town is still a favourite with travelers.

Ranked #25 in the Top 25 Destinations in the WORLD, though Europeans ranked our fair city #6. The “Mother City” also featured on a number of other lists:

• #1 in the Top 25 Destinations in Africa
• #2 in the Top 10 Culture & Sightseeing Destinations in Africa
• #4 in the Top 10 Outdoor & Adventure Destinations in Africa
• #6 in the Top 10 Beach & Sun Destinations in Africa Continued

Cape Town on Forbes.com “World’s most beautiful Cities” list

Cape Town

Forbes.com has just published their annual “World’s most beautiful Cities” list and this year Cape Town joins Paris, Vancouver, Sydney, Florence, Venice, London as one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

Forbes.com on Cape Town …
Open space makes Cape Town special, says Levitt. Renowned English sea navigator Sir Francis Drake once referred to Cape Town as the fairest cape in the world. The city houses the Kirstenbosch botanical garden, and the top of Table Mountain offers a breathtaking view of the city from roughly 3,500 feet above sea level. Levitt, an environmental engineer, praises the city’s minimal ecological footprint, a result of its “manageable size.” Continued

4 Oscar Nominations for District 9, 2 for Invictus

Oscar Nominations

The Sci-Fi box office hit “District 9″ scores 4 Oscar Nominations for Best Film; Visual Effects; Film Editing and Writing (Adapted Screenplay) and “Invictus” scores 2 Oscar nominations including the coveted Actor in a Leading Role for Morgan Freeman and Actor in a Supporting Role for Matt Damon … Continued

Cape Town a World Top 10 Party City

Lonely Planet has created a new guide, the “1000 Ultimate Experiences” and South Africa can feel proud as Cape Town has been awarded a place of honour in the world’s top 10 party cities. Other countries in the top 10 are Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Montreal, Canada and Thessaloniki, Greece.

But what makes Cape Town such a unique place and especially fabulous for a party? Well, Lonely Planet only hints at the possibilities when they suggest one could “luxuriate on some of the world’s best beaches by day and kick back under the moonlight at suave cocktail bars by night”.

Whilst on holiday in Cape Town or if you are lucky enough to reside here, as I am, we are fortunate enough to have a myriad of fantastic places to visit and things to do during the day. Spend a lazy day on one of our beautiful beaches, take a walk through Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens or indulge in a decadent lunch and some wine at one of the many wine estates in the area … Continued

29 Blue Flag Beaches in South Africa

The new season of Blue Flag South Africa was launched at Muizenberg beach in Cape Town yesterday where it was announced that 29 of South Africa’s beaches have achieved Blue Flag status – an increase from 19 to 29 this year … Continued

Table Mountain Tops Everest

Table Mountain

Table Mountain is one step closer to being named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. South Africa’s iconic mountain, and its only official nominee, has been voted as one of the top 77 sites selected from over 261 participants from around the globe, it was announced yesterday by the New7Wonders foundation, Thursday July 9, 2009.

The much-loved landmark beat fellow category contenders Mount Everest, K2 and Mount Fiji in round two of the international competition that relied solely on votes from the public. Table Mountain needed to be ranked in the top 11 of its category – mountains and volcanoes. Other categories include seascapes, lakes, islands, ice formations, waterfalls and forests. “We are thrilled at the enormous level of support and votes from the citizens of South Africa as well as from fans around the globe,” said Sabine Lehmann, CEO of Table Mountain Cableway, who formed an official supporting committee to promote Table Mountain as a nominee. Continued

Oscar Win for South African Film

Tsotsi

Tsotsi, the South African film about a Johannesburg Shantytown thug won the Oscar for best foreign language film on Sunday, making it the first film from the country to win the award.

The film which was directed and written by South African Gavin Hood features a searing performance by Presley Chweneyagae a gun-toting grown up AIDS orphan, who becomes an emotionally dead gangster until he learns the value of human life when he is forced to care for a baby he has mistakenly kidnapped.

“We may have foreign language films, but our stories are the same as your stories. They are about the human heart and emotion,” said the film director Gavin Hood. Continued

Condé Nast Travellers’ Choice Awards

At the 18th annual Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards held in New York last week, Cape Town was voted ‘Best City in Africa and the Middle East’. Nearly 28,000 travellers voted this year making it the the highest response rate from travellers ever. The survey asked readers to rate cities such as Sydney, New York and Rome and to score them on a number of criteria including ambience, friendliness, culture, attractions, restaurants, accommodation and shopping.

The Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Nomaindia Mfeketo, said that the people of Cape Town were the driving force behind this recognition: “Congratulations and thank you to all in the tourism industry for this achievement. This prestigious accolade is a testimony to the city’s welcoming and hospitable character, and a manifestation of how the City works for its people.” Continued

South Africa Shines at Travel Awards

Travelers once again ranked South Africa among the top tourist destinations in the world.

At The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph’s annual Travel Awards, South Africa once again dominated, leading in both the destinations and hospitality categories.

Cape Town took top honours as the best foreign city in the world beating Sydney, Venice, Florence and San Francisco and other major cities for the top spot.

South Africa was voted the third best holiday destination in the world beating Italy, Australia and other top destinations. The Cape Grace Hotel, situated at Cape Town’s popular V&A Waterfront, was rated the fifth best hotel in the world. Continued