Travel/Africa

Day 4 in Zanzibar features a final walk on Jambiani Beach, a direct flight to Addis Ababa, and a layover at the Plaza Premium Lounge before returning to Mumbai.

Day 3 in Zanzibar features a traditional Dhow boat excursion, refreshing snorkeling in Jambiani, and a peaceful afternoon dip in the cool, clear waters of Kuza Cave.

Day 2 features a thrilling marine adventure from Nungwi: snorkeling at Mnemba Island, a dolphin encounter in a rainstorm, and discovering giant starfish in the shallow turquoise waters.

Day 1 of the Zanzibar trip covers the flight from Mumbai via Addis Ababa, a fleeting look at Mt. Kilimanjaro, and a road trip north to Babalao Bungalows.

A practical look at redeeming Lufthansa Miles & More miles for a trip to Zanzibar, featuring Ethiopian Airlines flight schedules from Mumbai.

After the wonderful Pilanesberg Safari yesterday, our overnight flight ET 848 from Johannesburg to Addis Ababa landed around 6:00 AM. We were already given a Passenger Accommodation Voucher at Johannesburg airport and at Addis Ababa we also got the transit visa card. We cleared immigration and were taken to the Ethiopia Hotel by bus. We each had a hotel voucher but needed only one room so they upgraded us to the suite for the two of us together. The room was basic but huge. It also had a small balcony. We went down for breakfast and then got ready for our day in Addis Ababa. ...

After spending our final day in Cape Town yesterday, we got up very early and took a taxi to Cape Town International Airport for our flight SA 302 to Johannesburg at 6:00 AM. We had breakfast at the SAA Domestic Premium Class Lounge before the flight. Onboard there was a choice of breakfast or fresh fruit. The expected time of arrival was 7:55 AM, so we wouldn’t be able to make it to Pilanesberg by 9:30 AM for the open vehicle safari drive. So the only option we had was the closed vehicle safari. I had booked it with MoAfrika Tours, including pickup and drop off at the airport, about a month before we travelled. ...

This was part of This Time for Africa - Day 5 🇿🇦 🔗. We joined the Bo Kaap Walking Tour at 4:00 PM and headed out from Green Market Square. Our first stop was the oldest Mosque, Auwal Masjeed. We learnt about the history of the place and its people. Seeing the different coloured houses across the streets was a nice sight. We saw the Biesmiellah Cape Malay Restaurant and then Chiappini Street with the backdrop of Table Mountain. ...

This was part of This Time for Africa - Day 5 🇿🇦 🔗. We joined the District Six Walking Tour at 2:00 PM and headed out from Green Market Square. District Six is a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town. It was made up largely of coloured residents who were forcibly removed during the 1970s by the apartheid regime. We learnt about the history of the place and its people, as well as the socio-economic and racial divide. We saw the street art and heard the stories behind it. We saw the Muir Street Mosque and the Al Azhar Mosque. On the way back we passed by the District Six Museum. ...

This was part of This Time for Africa - Day 5 🇿🇦 🔗. We joined the Historic City Tour at 11:00 AM and headed out from Green Market Square. We passed by St George’s Cathedral on the way to the Company’s Garden, the oldest garden in South Africa. We saw the Company’s Garden Sundial and the Cecil John Rhodes Statue. Next, we headed to see the infamous High Court Civil Annex where all non-whites had to go to be racially classified under the Apartheid regime. Then we next walked to Church Square to see the remembrance columns and the Statue of Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr. Our last stop was Grand Parade, the main public square next to the Cape Town City Hall. ...

After visiting the Cape Peninsula yesterday, we were going to spend the day in Cape Town today. We enjoyed a relaxed morning, had breakfast, and got ready. We walked to the City Sightseeing Cape Town office to find out about the walking tours in the city. We walked to Green Market Square to join the Historic City Tour 🔗 at 11:00 AM, and we had lunch at Shwarma Cafe on the way back to Green Market Square. ...

After Shark Cage Diving and visiting Table Mountain yesterday, we had decided to take the 1 day Cape Peninsula Tour by Baz Bus today. We got up early and walked to the Baz Bus office which was close to our hotel. We joined the group there, boarded our bus and began our trip for the day. We drove along Atlantic Seaboard crossing Camps Bay etc. and headed to our first stop, Hout Bay harbour. ...

After arriving in Cape Town, we got up early and got ready for the day we had planned. I had booked Shark Cage Diving in Gansbaai with Shark Zone about a week before. The Shark Zone team’s transport service picked us up from our hotel and we made a few other stops in Cape Town to collect other passengers. We drove east and made our way up the Houwhoek Pass and across to the meeting point in Van Dyks Bay. ...

Our flight MS 851 from Cairo to Addis Ababa landed around 3:15 AM. The airport was quiet and there weren’t too many passengers around. We were able to access the Star Alliance Gold Lounge thanks to my United MileagePlus Gold. There was also a different Ethiopian Airlines Cloud Nine Lounge, which was only for business class passengers on Ethiopian Airlines. It was still the middle of the night so we found some comfortable chairs and tried to get some sleep. Around 7:00 AM, we had some breakfast. Our flight ET 847 to Cape Town was at 8:30 AM. ...

It was finally here. The day we began the trip that we had been planning for the last 11 months. I had booked United award tickets for us from Mumbai to Cape Town via Cairo and Addis Ababa. We left Pune the previous evening for our first flight to Cairo MS 969 departing from Mumbai at 2:20 AM. The flight itself was uneventful and we reached Cairo early in the morning. The plan was to spend the day in Cairo in transit and then continue to South Africa. Since we were travelling on an award ticket, I wasn’t sure if we could get the complimentary transit stamp and hotel. So we had applied for the transit visa in advance just in case. We were redirected to multiple lines and immigration counters only to be told that we couldn’t exit the airport with a transit visa. Exasperated, we finally went to the EgyptAir desk for transfer customers and they arranged for us to get the transit stamp to enter Egypt and also gave us complimentary hotel accommodation for the day. Had we followed this path from the beginning we would have been better off. But we wasted money on the transit visa and also three precious hours trying to get through. ...

My flight from Mumbai via Delhi and Hong Kong landed just past noon and I had about 6 hours before my connecting flight. I decided to take the chance and pass through immigration to take one of the Incheon Airport Transit Tours. Indian nationals in transit through South Korea are visa-exempt for 30 days, provided they hold a physical visa / residence permit issued by one of the following countries: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Although I had a visa for Canada, the immigration officer checked my visa for the USA. He stamped my passport and I was through. My bags were checked all the way to Canada so I walked past baggage claim to the arrivals hall. I reached the Transit Tour Information Desk in Terminal 1 1F Near Exit 8. Given my transit duration and the tour timings, the only tour I would be able to take was the Incheon tour so I registered for it. ...

Both of us had been collecting miles on United MileagePlus from quite some time. With the miles we had collected so far, I was scouting for destinations which we wanted to visit and where we could maximize our miles. Africa was on top of our list and I was trying to figure out how we could do the most with that. We had enough miles between the two of us for 3 one-way tickets from India (Central Asia region) to South Africa (Africa region) which would mean that we would need to purchase 1 one-way for one of us. ...