First Class Travel to Johannesburg
Johannesburg, South Africa is a offers a culture that is welcoming, warm, and full of history. Johannesburg has something for everyone and is a great vacation destination.The best place to begin planning your trip to Johannesburg is the internet. Log on to a few websites and compare airfare. Websites allow you to see the difference in fares based on the day, time, and airport you are flying from. Experiment with different times, look at airports that are a bit farther than the one you usually travel from. It’s quick and easy to shop around for fares. The best part is you can look into First Class flights to Johannesburg. Websites offer many great deals on last-minute first class tickets to Johannesburg.
What you Get with First Class Travel to Johannesburg:
International First Class tickets to Johannesburg come with all of the perks of luxury travel. This means short lines at the airport, preferred baggage check in with extra bags at no extra cost and additional weight limits without penalties. Different airlines offer different exemptions on baggage for First Class, check with your airline before you arrive at the airport. Websites like Flights Lux can check these details for you and inform you of the weight and luggage allowances for first class travel.
After enjoying the short lines through check in you also move to the preferred lines to go through security. This bonus will save you a lot of time at the airport. Next, arrive at the first class lounge at the airport and enjoy the complimentary hot meals, snacks, and cocktails. Grab a seat at the bar and mingle with other travelers, enjoy the elegant surroundings and don’t worry about missing your flight. When you check in at the lounge an attendant will track your flight’s status for you. If the gate changes or there is a delay, you will be notified. Other things you can accomplish at the lounge include charging your electronic devices, take a hot shower, and use the high-end toiletries. It’s a great way to decompress before your flight. You can also wrap up any work details you need to finish and contact anyone who needs to know you are leaving town. Exit the lounge and pre-board your flight and continue relaxing because the flight attendants are prepared to answer any and all of your questions and will help you in any way you need.
Once on your flight, you will enjoy a seat the lays completely flat. Let me say this again “completely flat” as in you can actually sleep on the flight. Also, depending on the type of plane you are flying on you may have an “apartment style” seat with a small desk area, but regardless you will have a seat the lays flat and offers ample privacy for sleeping. Additionally, you will receive warm blankets, slippers, pillows, eye masks, and anything else you need to get comfortable. The food is beyond five-star dining and you will receive complimentary alcohol and drinks throughout the flight plus several snacks and desserts. If you just can’t sleep, no worries. You can watch unlimited movies, read lots of different newspapers and magazines, and in some cases, assemble at a bar area designated for first class passengers. First class takes traveling to the next level. You will arrive in Johannesburg feeling relaxed and pampered. No recuperating from jet lag for a day or two. You leave the plane and head straight to the activities.
Here are ten things to see and do in Johannesburg:
1. 27 Boxes – This unique shopping complex is a collection of 27 shipping-crates. It is full of boutiques, galleries, restaurants, cafes and bars. A very hip site with a newly planted nursery, park and playground that make this a family destination. Highlights include the best baked bread from Baker Brothers. The Reserved Café serves incredible Portuguese cuisine.
2. 44 Stanley – The exact opposite of a mall, this location is a collection of lanes around tree-lined courtyards featuring an eclectic collection of local artists, designers, boutiques and trendy bars, cafes and restaurants. This is what urban shopping is all about.
3. 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 setting. It is about nineteen miles outside of downtown. They have more than 60 species of birds in the aviary and provide a place for people to get out of the hot sun, sit in the shade, and enjoy a 30-minute bird show. Unlike many zoos, you can feed the birds. Bird food is available for purchase at the ticket office. This garden is a treat for kids.
4. Apartheid Museum – The museum is a look back at the history of apartheid.The museum also covers the conditions that allowed apartheid to begin in the first place. Visitors are asked to select a race before entering the museum and are forced to enter through separate doors. A room of limp hangman nooses pays homage to the victims of state executions.
5. Braamfontein Market – Every Saturday vendors line the streets of Braamfontein Market to sell their goods and local delicacies. Food stalls sell favorites like giant paellas, oysters and craft beers. The market fills two floors with innovative foods. Braamfontein Market has always been a gathering place for students and the Avant Garde. The market has driven a large redevelopment effort in the neighborhood.
6. Hector Pieterson Memorial – A short walk from the upper end of Vilakazi Street, the Hector Pieterson Memorial remembers the most famous victim of the 1976 uprising in Soweto. This was a peaceful student protest demanding better education. The protest became heated between students and police. Hector Pieterson was 13 when he was shot and killed by police. A photographer captured a photo of his body being carried away and it became an iconic image of student protests. His memorial is an explanation of what life was like in a township during the dark days of Apartheid.
7. Spaza Art Gallery – The gallery is comprised of the home, sculpture garden, and small gallery of artist Andrew Lindsay. The garden is dominated by a mobile phone signal tower covered with thousands of plastic bottles. Mosaics and wooden sculptures are strategically located throughout the lush garden and in one corner is the tiny gallery where you can buy affordable art drawn and painted on matchboxes or printed on tea towels and aprons.
8. Yeoville Dinner Club – In the inner-city area of Yeoville, a much-maligned neighborhood is home to Johnnesburg’s most memorable restaurant. The restaurant is artfully decorated with a balcony overlooking Rockey Street. Sanza Sandile is the owner and chef. He tells wonderful stories about the city and serves mainly pan-African vegetarian and fish dishes. Dining is family-style all around one large table. Guests sit 20 deep at this table. Sanza also has walking food tours of the area.
9. Cradle of Humankind – A UNESCO decorated site. This area west of Johannesburg contains about 300 caves where thousands of animal fossils have been discovered, some dating back to as much as four million years. This site became one of the most significant archaeological and anthropological sites in the world. Visitors to the Cradle of Humankind should begin their explorations of the area at Maropeng Visitor Centre, shaped like a giant grass-covered burial mound, where a variety of exhibits detail the formation of our planet and the four-billion-year history of life on Earth. One of the most interesting exhibits for visitors is the Sterkfontein Caves. Not only a famous fossil site, but located on one of the world’s longest-running continuous paleoanthropological dig.
10. Vilakazi Street – This is the only street in the world that’s been home to two Nobel Peace prize winners.This two-lane road in Soweto was home to Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Mandela’s house was converted into a small museum. Tutu’s home is still a private residence. The museum doesn’t is small and its historical significance is overwhelming and awe inspiring. Other homes along the road have been converted to handle the tourism. You can find restaurants, cafes, and bars located throughout the area.