Trip Dates and Flight Itinerary - Essay Example

There are no direct flights from Washington D.C. to Cape Town so I will have a layover in Amsterdam. The first leg of my trip will take me from Washington D.C. to Amsterdam on Delta flight 9385. This flight will depart at 7:45 PM in Washington and arrive in Amsterdam at 7:45 AM. Hopefully I will be able to sleep so my jetlag will not be so bad. I will then board Delta flight 9599 from Amsterdam to Cape Town at 9:55 AM. From here I will fly straight through until arriving at 10:35 PM in Cape Town, South Africa.

The entire journey, including the layover in Amsterdam will take approximately 22 hours. The first full day of my visit will be spent just travelling to South Africa. My return trip will follow the same route in reverse. I will catch Delta flight 9436 in Cape Town and fly to Amsterdam. I will then board Delta flight 9384 and fly back to Washington D.C. The return trip will take approximately the same amount of time and the trip to South Africa. Hotel When I first arrive in Cape Town, I will stay in the Mouille Point Village Hotel in Central Cape Town.

This is a modern hotel not far from the airport. As I will be arriving late at night, I will want a close place to stay on the first night and for the next few days. The nightly cost of this hotel is $104. I will then relocate to the Cotswold House in the northern suburbs of Cape Town. This will give me a close location to Stellenbosch and the wine country. The cost to stay in this hotel with beautiful Dutch architecture is $54 per night. Ground Transportation Ground transportation in the Cape Town region consists of private cars that can be rented, public transportation trains, and minibus taxi’s known as “bakkies”.

Renting a car allows for the most freedom but is an expensive proposition due to high fuel costs and the need for an international driver’s license. Renting an economy car in South Africa will cost about $240 for the duration of my stay with additional fuel costs at $5.20 per gallon of gas. The public trains run throughout Cape Town and into the suburbs. They are clean and simple transportation. Tickets are an affordable $1.20 to many locations around the city. The train ends in Kraaifontein, many miles from Stellenbosch, but does go to many locations around False Bay.

By far the cheapest transportation is the “bakkie”. This is a good way to meet local people that are traveling to work, shopping or running other errands. The “bakkie” is a small van that holds up to 10 people, but drivers often smash more passengers in as a means of increasing their fares for each trip. They follow set routs, having four or five stops on each route. Weather Considerations March is near the end of summer in Cape Town. This part of South Africa enjoys a Mediterranean type climate, so summer is hot and dry.

I will not need to worry about rain gear, but evenings can get cool as you move inland from the coast, so I will need to pack some light sweaters. Most of the clothes I will need to wear are typical summer clothes and swimwear for the beach and the pool. I will need to keep in mind that the climate is much drier than I am used to in the Eastern United States, so I will need to pack lots of lip balm, sunscreen and I will need to remember to stay hydrated. Language Familiarity Many languages are spoken in Cape Town.

Different ethnic groups tend to have close