It’s possible to plan a week-long, all-inclusive dream holiday for R10, 000 or less and Travelstart is here to show you how. These four incredible destinations are budget-friendly and make it easy to plan an amazing holiday while keeping control of your finances. We’re here to bring you the best tips on how to get the most for the least coin.
Essential tools when planning a budget-friendly trip
- Book at least 4 months in advance. It’s sometimes possible to find great last minute deals but ideally 6 months to 4 months in advance will yield the cheapest return flights.
- Choose visa-free destinations (3 of the below destinations require zero visa-admin).
- Pick a destination with a favourable exchange rate (see three of our destinations below).
- Airbnb is your friend! Find clean, central and safe accommodation for next to nothing. If you’re willing to compromise on an ocean-view (and often you can get that too) you can find great accommodation for around R200-R250 per person sharing per day!
- Don’t skimp on the travel insurance (this may be included in your medical aid plan already, it’s worth checking out).
- Eat and drink at the local spots or stay somewhere with a kitchen so you can swop in some home-cooked meals with restaurant meals.
If DIY isn’t for you, find Travelstart’s amazing package deals (return flights, full breakfast daily and 7 nights’ accommodation) for less than R10 000 here or speak to our Travelbar team about designing your dream holiday.
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Image courtesy of @princess_hodo via Instagram
All-inclusive (7 nights’ accommodation, return flights from Joburg and all meals plus drinks, and travel insurance) came to just R9305.
Return flights to Zanzibar from Johannesburg from R5809:
Zanzibar has it all from labrynthine Stone Town with its exquisite architecture and ornate gardens to beach restaurants with passing dhows. Visit the famous Rock restaurant on a tiny island and go wind-surfing or chill out on the pristine east coast.
There are a range of accommodation options on the island, a quick search on Airbnb today yielded a higher-end seaside option for R2128,50 per person sharing for a week, and a clean, safe and central option in Stone Town with a balcony for just R1226,50 per person sharing for a week.
Image courtesy of Airbnb
Image courtesy of Airbnb
Image courtesy of Airbnb
An average local meal costs R43, and a local beer costs R15. I budgeted 3 meals a day for a week plus 7 beers which came to just R1008.
Book amazing flights to Zanzibar here.
Image courtesy of @destinationzanzibar via Instagram
Image courtesy of @beaalbero via Instagram
Magical Mauritius
All-inclusive (7 nights’ accommodation, return flights from Joburg and all meals plus drinks, and travel insurance) came to just R9963.
Return flights to Mauritius from Johannesburg from R5479:
Mauritius has all the ingredients for a stress-free dream holiday on the sea.
I found return flights at the end of November for just R5479 return from Johannesburg, and wonderful ocean-view accommodation on Airbnb for just R2374 per person sharing for a week.
Image courtesy of Airbnb
Image courtesy of Airbnb
Image courtesy of Airbnb
I budgeted R75 per meal, and R25 per local beer.
This all added up to just R9963.
Image courtesy of Airbnb
Book amazing flights to Mauritius here.
Phuket, Thailand
Tropical Phuket offers ocean-views, palm-trees and safe, stress-free holidaying.
All-inclusive (7 nights’ accommodation, return flights from Joburg and all meals plus drinks, and travel insurance) came to just R9530,50.
Return flights from Johannesburg to Phuket from R6519:
I found safe, well-reviewed, central accommodation for just R782.50 per person sharing for a week on Airbnb, and lovely rooms with a sea-view for just R2049 per person sharing for a week on Airbnb.
I budgeted R80 a meal, and R27 a local beer. 3 meals a day plus 7 drinks came to a food and drinks budget of R1869.
Thailand is visa-free for 30 days, so no visa-admin concerns.
Everything considered including R360 travel insurance came to R10,797 with the ocean-view accommodation and R9530,50 with the central, simpler accommodation.
Book fantastic flights to tropical Phuket here.
Image courtesy of Airbnb
Image courtesy of Airbnb
Image courtesy of Airbnb
Lisbon Portugal
Gorgeous Lisbon is 4 centuries older than Rome. It is set on seven hills by the sea and its pastel-coloured buildings and funiculars will enchant you. This is the budget-savvy travellers dream destination: a European vacation for the price of a trip to South East Asia.
All-inclusive (7 nights’ accommodation, visa fees, return flights from Joburg and all meals plus drinks, and travel insurance) came to R12054. This was more than our goal of R10 000 or less, but fairly affordable given that the Euro isn’t the Rand’s best friend at the moment.
Return flights from Johannesburg to Lisbon from R6529:
This budget was all-inclusive and took in to account the R869 visa fee to apply for a Schengen visa, plus R360 Travel insurance and 3 meals a day for 7 days at R90 each plus 7 local beers/drinks at R21 each.
I found a lovely, well-reviewed central airbnb apartment for just R2259 per person sharing for a week.
Book amazing flights to Lisbon here.
Image courtesy of Airbnb
A list of the relevant exchange rates on June 22 2017:
The above budgets are meant as a guide, as prices fluctuate with the exchange rate.
