Wikivoyage:Past events/World Cup 2010

The 2010 Fifa World Cup was held in South Africa between the 11th June and 11th July 2010. It was the first time the tournament was staged in Africa. Soccerex conventions 2007 to 2009 were also moved from Dubai to Gauteng.

Visas
The South African Department of Home Affairs, +27 12 810-8911, have details on visa requirements. Many nationalities are exempt for visa requirements. It is advisable that, if you require a visa, you apply for it with time to spare. Home Affairs are sure to be flooded with visa requests at the last moment and turnaround times may be longer than normal.

Tickets
Tickets will be made available by FIFA from the 20th February, 2009 via their website, www.fifa.com, and information will be posted here. Ticket prices for round of 16 matches range between US$ 100 to $ 200 pp (ZAR 700 to ZAR 1400). Plan on buying tickets early; fact being 2-3 million fans are expected to show up. FIFA gives accreditations for Official Travel Agencies (OTA's) across the globe to sell packages that include guaranteed tickets. This includes experienced, highly reputable international companies such as Thomson Sport in the UK and Cartan Tours and Great Atlantic Travel in the USA.

Accommodation
Best to plan your stay and book early.

June/July when the games are held is also one of South Africa's school holiday periods. Not only will you be competing for accommodation with a larger than normal number of international visitors, you will also have local holiday makers to contend with. Cape Town, and to a slightly lesser extend Durban, is especially popular as a holiday destination for people from Gauteng at this time of year.

A number of the venues are not generally regarded as tourist destinations and do not have the infrastructure to accommodate large numbers of visitors. It might be cheaper and easier to find accommodation a bit further afield and travel to the matches. You can, for example, quite easily drive from Pretoria to Rustenburg to watch a match and be back in Pretoria for dinner.

By air
South Africa has 10 airports that act as international ports of entry to the country. The larger and most used are OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and Cape Town International Airport

Prior to and during the World Cup, a number of additional international flights may also be scheduled to some of the other international airports. A new airport has been opened for Durban, King Shaka International Airport, 30 km north of Durban.

See Air travel in South Africa for detailed information.

By train
Gautrain, South Africa 80-kilometre mass rapid transit railway system in Gauteng Province, South Africa that will link Johannesburg, Pretoria, and OR Tambo International Airport.

Gautrain Network

The Gautrain rail network will be 80 kilometers long. Gautrain is connected to other forms of public transport:

Taxis Buses Current Metrorail public train system

Traveling at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour, Gautrain will only take 40 minutes to travel between Johannesburg and Pretoria, but this link will not be finished for 2010. From Sandton to the OR Tambo International Airport it will only take 10 to 20 minutes. Commuters on this route can check in their luggage at the Sandton Station before arriving at OR Tambo International Airport.

The cost for traveling on the Johannesburg/Pretoria route will be between R13.00 and R29.00, depending on distance. The cost of traveling to a station with the Gautrain Bus Link will be between R4.00 and R11.00.

Gautrain Stations

There will be security cameras and security guards on patrol in the stations and the parking areas. Only passengers who have an electronic ticket will have access to Gautrain?s stations and the parking areas. Motorists can travel to the stations and leave their cars at the safe parking bays that are being built at the stations. Parking at the station could cost around R6.00 a day.

Ten station locations have been identified:


 * Johannesburg Park Station - (underground station)
 * Rosebank - (underground station)
 * Sandton - (underground station)
 * Marlboro - (station at grade)
 * Midrand - (station at grade)
 * Centurion - (station on structure)
 * Pretoria - (station at grade)
 * Hatfield - (station at grade)
 * Rhodesfield - (station on structure)
 * OR Tambo International Airport - (station on structure)

Gautrain website

By bus
South African commuters busses: Golden Arrow

Long distance bus services in South Africa:

Greyhound Citiliner Translux MegaBus

By car
For distances up to about 400 km, a rental car generally your best option as public transport is limited and a car will give you the most freedom to go where you want when you want. The road infrastructure in South Africa is generally very good.

The section on road travel on the main South Africa entry will give you a lot more detailed information.

Host cities


The following cities will play host to matches during the tournament:
 * Bloemfontein
 * Cape Town
 * Durban
 * Johannesburg
 * Nelspruit
 * Port Elizabeth
 * Polokwane
 * Pretoria
 * Rustenburg

The following cities will host training camps for the competing nations:

Venues




















An unofficial self-updating Google Earth Placemark is available for those travelers who want to see where the stadiums are.

Buy
Take care not to pay exuberant prices for counterfeit 2010 World Cup merchandise. The SA Revenue Service reported on January 27, 2007 that they have already confiscated more than R2 million worth of counterfeit goods displaying the 2010 logo. The goods included kit bags, football balls and socks.



Do
South Africa is a country with many things to do apart from watching the soccer:


 * Go on Safari - All of the Big Five can be seen in natural surroundings in South Africa. The biggest and most famous safari park in the country (and possibly the world) is The Kruger National Park (located to the north east of Nelspruit, on the border with Mozambique and Zimbabwe), although one downside is that it is so large that it requires several days to see the whole park. Addo Elephant National Park (near Port Elizabeth) is a smaller alternative, although you won't see lions, and Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park (near Durban) is another good park. Also see National Parks and African fauna and flora for more information.


 * Surf at one of South Africa's many world-class surfing spots. J Bay, Durban, Plett...


 * Check out South Africa's colourful past - Robben Island, township tours...


 * Birdwatching


 * See whales, penguins, sharks


 * Visit one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Africa


 * Check out ancient San rock art


 * Play golf


 * Gamble


 * Horse riding is a popular recreational activity


 * South Africa has many famous hiking trails

From a fixed line

 * 107 - Emergency
 * 10111 - Police
 * 10177 - Ambulance

From a mobile phone

 * 112 - Emergency

Stay healthy
Use sunscreen, wear a hat, drink lots of liquids.

June/July is the middle of winter in South Africa, but temperatures can still be quite high during the day and you may suffer from sunburn when out in the open for extended periods of time. This is especially true for the Highveld (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg) and northern venues (Nelspruit and Polokwane). Also see the section on sunburn and sun protection.

Also read stay healthy in South Africa for other important health related issues.

Stay informed
Local media will from time to time carry articles about stadium progress, infrastructure upgrades and possible problems.

Newspapers

Go next
Whilst not soaking up the culture in SA and enjoying the soccer, there are many countries nearby which are well worth exploring:
 * Botswana
 * Lesotho, the Kingdom in the Sky is a haven for outdoor pursuits: hiking, pony trekking, off roading...
 * Mozambique
 * Namibia
 * Swaziland
 * Zambia
 * Zimbabwe

A bit further out, but popular with South African travelers and easy to reach by plane are
 * Madagascar
 * Mauritius
 * Seychelles
 * Kenya