Johannesburg, South Africa is a great place to spend a week or even a long weekend exploring. This fascinating city offers a great sense of history and beautiful landscapes. Traveling via international first class tickets to Johannesburg offers travelers great comfort and relaxation. You can unwind and get into “vacation mode” on the flight there or you can finish a work project and catch up on some much-needed sleep prior to your arrival. Traveling first class to Johannesburg is more expensive than coach or economy travel, but there are cheap and inexpensive tickets available using travel websites. Explore the options that these websites provide and even last minute travelers can find great deals on luxury travel.
Is First Class Worth the Extra Money?
Whether or not you decide to purchase tickets for a First Class Flight to Johannesburg is your choice. But before you decide, let’s look at what First Class travel means in today’s economy. If you are busy (and who isn’t?) First class tickets will get you through the airport more quickly. You wait in the first class lines at check-in and security. These shorter lines are well staffed and keep you moving. You can bring extra luggage without incurring an extra fee, so if you are an “over-packer,” no worries, pack away because the luggage weight limits are higher for first class passengers.
Use the Club Lounges:
Using these lounges is a great escape from the noise and chaos of the airport, but they are also super practical if you plan accordingly. Make sure you allow time to unwind here. Take a seat at the bar and order a cocktail, enjoy a really good hot meal and have dessert! Everything is free and the lounges are relaxing, clean, and elegant. You will check in with an attendant who will also help you track your flight and can alert you if there is a gate change or delay too. The lounges are a great perk of first-class travel.
Pre-Board:
This seems like a minor thing, but it is so nice to settle into your seat and put your belongings away without other passengers rushing you. Your seat will recline to a bed and you will have added privacy in first class. Depending on the type of aircraft you are traveling on you may have a common bar area for first class passengers, a small desk near your seat, and a partition. Either way, you will be able to completely relax and sleep during your flight.
In flight, you will enjoy a great meal, complimentary alcohol, champagne, movies, snacks, hot towels, and sometimes even warm blankets. First class travel accommodates all of your requests and sees to your every request.
How to Travel to Johannesburg, South Africa:
Tambo International Airport (JNB) is the best airport to fly into Johannesburg. All major carriers fly here, so you can fly almost any airlines to Johannesburg.
Here are some things to do in Johannesburg:
- Constitution Hill- The area that surrounds the hilltop in central Johannesburg once contained the prison that held Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. After the end of apartheid, the jail was transformed into the highest court in the land. The cells were transformed into a museum. The ramparts became a walkway overlooking the skyline of Johannesburg. Outside the chambers of the Constitutional Court, art from the history of South Africa line the walls of the corridors including South Africa’s Bill of Rights.
- Mandela’s House- Mandela lived here with his first wife in 1946 and later with his second wife Winnie and their two daughters. However, Mandela had to leave his home and family in order to evade the government who were trying to arrest him for being the leader of the anti-apartheid movement. As a result, Madiba would not return to his home until 1990 when he was released from prison following his arrest in 1962. But after a mere 11 days in the home, Mandela permanently left this Soweto property in favor of a larger, more secure home in Jozi’s Houghton neighborhood, where he resided until his death in 2013. The house is now a museum to celebrate his life.
- Lion Park- This conservation area is known as Lion Park is dedicated to the protection of Transvaal lions and compromises over 500 acres of land in the Gauteng province. The park is home to almost 100 lions including some of the rare white lions. There are many more wild carnivores such as cheetahs, spotted hyenas, black-backed jackals, Cape Wild dogs and a wide range of antelopes.
- Liliesleaf Farm- In 1963, during the height of the liberation movement, the police raided Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia on the outskirts of Johannesburg and arrested leaders of the liberation movement. These arrests led to the Rivonia Trial where Nelson Mandela who had been arrested earlier was sentenced to life in prison. Rivonia has been transformed like many suburbs but the farm reopened as a museum in 2008 to show what life was like in the underground liberation movement.
- Market Street Theatre- At the height of the struggle against apartheid this theater was founded in 1976. The theatre management team found a loophole in the apartheid’s government rules and found a way to hire mixed-race casts. The theater quickly became known as the “theater of the Struggle.”
- Nelson Mandela Square- Formerly known as Sandton Square, it was renamed in 2004 in honor of the former President of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist, the late Nelson Mandela. A statue of Nelson Mandela was erected in the square which sees thousands of visitors every year. Many people line up to take a picture with the statue. The square also has a water feature which kids often run through on a hot weekend day.
- Maboneng Precinct- This neighborhood started when a weekend market opened in an old liquor warehouse. It was surrounded by car repair shops, derelict buildings, and plumbing supply stores. But this market started a massive urban renewal project that transformed the neighborhood into chic restaurants, art houses, fashion shops, and cafes. The neighborhoods name, Maboneng, means “place of light.”
- Johannesburg Zoo- The zoo sits on a 140-acre parcel of land and is home to over 2,000 animals of 320 different species. The zoo has been around since the early 1900’s. The zoo has been upgraded over the past few years and is definitely worth a visit. Here, you’ll be able to see pygmy hippos, primates, reptiles, monkeys, western lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, zebras, rhinos, antelope, and leopards among other animals.
- Montecasino Bird Gardens- A great family attraction, the Montecasino Bird Gardens has an array of brightly colored birds, reptiles and small mammals in a lush garden intimate setting. It is about nineteen miles outside of the downtown. They have over 60 species of birds in the aviary but people also like to get out of the hot sun, sit in the shade and enjoy a 30-minute bird show at the on-site amphitheater. Unlike many zoos, this one lets you feed the birds. Bird food is available for purchase at the ticket office. Great for kids.
- The Westcliff- The Westcliff is a luxury hotel that that sits atop a hillside in a part of town that was built as the residential playground for the city’s gold rush mining barons. Decadent meals are served over great views over the city’s northern suburbs. On a good day, diners can see elephants roaming in pens at the local zoo.
Good luck planning your trip!
