05 October 2016

In celebration of Tourism Month in September, blogger Anje Rautenbach of Going Somewhere Slowly put together a list of "tips and tricks" to help you save when travelling in South Africa.

Witten for HeraldLIVE, she encourages locals to "explore and rediscover why South Africa was voted as one of the most beautiful destinations on earth". Her list of affordable ways to do this echoes this year's Tourism Month theme – "Tourism for All".

According to the Department of Tourism's website, the theme "promotes tourism to all South Africans irrespective of financial status, gender and race".

And Anje's list of eight money-saving travel tips is a great place to start. It includes making use of:

1. Wild Cards – a Wild Card gives you free entry to South Africa's national parks, as well as discounts at several top attractions, including the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway
2. Pass cards – Nelson Mandela Bay and The Official City Pass for Cape Town both offer pass cards. These give you free access to a number of tourist destinations and activities, as well as discounts at restaurants
3. City Sightseeing South Africa – hop on a red bus in Cape Town or Joburg. One ticket allows you to experience multiple attractions at the lowest prices
4. VoiceMap – VoiceMap's walking tour application allows you to explore at your own pace. Simply download it to your mobile device and select a tour title, city, description or location.
5. Free walking tours – Cape Town and Johannesburg each offer free walking tours by professional tour guides who operate on a tip-only basis
6. Couchsurfing – save on accommodation costs and couch-surf. Couchsurfing  is an international platform on which you sign up to sleep on someone's couch for free
7. Transport tips – explore a city on foot or by bicycle for an on-the-ground experience. Alternatively, take an Uber and split the cost among friends, or try public transport
8. Online deals – sign up for newsletters relating to travel, from airlines to hotels and Groupon – you'll be the first to know of any special deals

To read the full article, which appeared on HeraldLIVE on Friday 16 September 2016, click here.