Looking for a cheap and easy way to see the main attractions in Jozi in 2 days or less? Then I highly recommend Hop-On Hop-Off bus.
There are several options for the bus that let you customise your experience based on the amount of time you have and the stops you would like to make. If you are an early riser, you may be able to get away with the one-day pass, especially if you will not be visiting Soweto. The two-day + Soweto pass is ideal if you do not want to rush and also visit Soweto.
Schedule
The first bus leaves at 9:00am and the last bus leaves at 4:00pm.
There are multiple stops along this tour, each requiring at least a half to hour complete.
If Soweto is also on your list, then make sure you are purchasing the two-day pass that includes the Soweto tour, since there is a two-day pass that does not include Soweto. The two-day pass including Soweto is $40usd.
A similar tour, including Soweto, is also available in one day, but it is a bit tight to fit all the stops and the Soweto Tour in one day. If you only have one day, make sure you catch the very first bus of the day, so you do not miss out on any stops you are interested in.
It is not mandatory to stop at each place. A map is provided, and each stop is announced so you can get off only where interests you.
Sample Two Day Itinerary, Including Soweto:
The bus will pick you up at 9 am and take you to meet your Soweto tour connection (20 minutes)
Day 1
Soweto Guided Tour (roughly 2 hours):
2O10 FIFA Stadium – FNB Stadium
Soweto Sign
Drive through Soweto
Hector Pieterson Museum
Soweto Towers
Vilakazi Street & Nelson Mandela House (additional fee to enter Mandela House)
Lunch
2) Johannesburg Zoo: 3-4 hours
Day 2
Apartheid Museum: 2-3 hours
Roof of Africa: 15 – 20 minutes
LunchGold Reef City (Casino and Amusement Park): 30 minutes plus
3. Gold Reef City (Casino and Amusement Park): 30 minutes plus 4. Constitution Hill: 1 hour
Tips:
Do The Soweto Tour First
If you are planning to add the Soweto tour, do it first and then come back for the other stops!
Make sure you check what hours each stop opens and closes.
Not all stops are available all day or every day, so be sure to check opening hours for the stops that interest you in advance of booking your tour. For example, the Apartheid Museum is closed on Monday’s, so if you only have Monday, in Joburg, you will not be able to make this stop.
I hope this post helps you maximize your trip to Joburg!
Want to find out how you can swim with sea turtles, access unlimited Wi-Fi, and jump around on an ocean trampoline and more for just $8 USD? If your answer is yes, then you’ve come to the right place!
The Boatyard Barbados is located on the white sand beach and crystal-clear waters of Carlisle Bay. It is a fulfilled beach club of sorts, boasting many of the water activities you can think of for a low low price!
How does it work?
The Boatyard uses a day pass system via a wristband, which gives guests access to all of its facilities. Day passes can be purchased at the front desk, located at the main entrance of the Boatyard.
Guests are required to keep their wristband on at all times as proof of payment. Tampering with, or removing the wristband will result in the termination of your day pass and you will be required to purchase a new one should you wish to stay.
Food and drinks from outside are not allowed inside, though they did not seem to search guest belongings before entry.
Facilities
The Boatyard facilities include:
lounge chair and umbrella access;
trampoline in the ocean;
ocean slide;
dive platform;
rope swing;
basketball nets,
beach volleyball
showers, restrooms and changing rooms;
pool table;
Wi-Fi;
beach-side restaurant, bar;
island music and vibes; and
last but not least, the Turtle and Shipwreck Snorkel Tour.
Price
There are 3 price options for accessing the Boatyard, all of which allow you to use all the facilities:
Cruise Passengers – $25USD. This price includes use of all onsite amenities listed below, 1 free welcome drink, and transport back to the cruise terminal. Proof of your cruise ship purchase is required.
Cruise Ship Crew – $20USD. Crew are required to speak with the check in desk at the Boatyard for details of their benefits. I.D of proof of employee status is required.
Locals and tourists – $30USD This price includes the use of all onsite amenities listed below and roughly $22 USD or $45 Barbados dollars is put into a bar/restaurant credit which guests can use to purchase food and drinks, including alcohol.
Turtle and Shipwreck Snorkel Tour Okay so what about the Turtle and Shipwreck Snorkel Tour?
When you check in and purchase your wristband, they will ask you if you are interested in this tour and let you know when the next boat will be leaving. In case they forget to mention it, you can ask them and they will give you the information.
If you’re interested, they will write your name down and tell you when your boat leaves. You’re free to roam around the area or relax under a beach chair until your boat is leaving.
The Boatyard uses a PA system to notify guests when it is time for their snorkel tour. Guest names will be announced 10-15 minutes before the tour leaves to allow you enough time for your debrief and to put on your snorkel gear lifejackets. Snorkel gear and a life jacket are included, but you are welcome to bring your own!
The Boatyard provides storage space for your belongings while you’re out on the boat.
The Turtle and Shipwreck Snorkel Tour runs roughly once every hour and lasts about 45 minutes (don’t quote me on that. I was having too much fun to time it!).
The first stop on the boat are the sea turtles. This stop is only 5 minutes away from shore and you will have about 15 minutes to swim with the turtles. The guides will use bait to bring the turtles to shore and keep them there, but typically the turtles are already around.
After this it’s another 5-minute boat ride a little further in the ocean, and you’re at the shipwreck. Here you’ll have another 15 minutes to snorkel and explore the shipwreck. The shipwreck is typically surrounded with beautiful fish of all colours and sizes.
When the tour is finished, the boat will drop you back at the Boatyard where you can continue your fun-filled beach day.
Restaurant and Sharky’s Bar
If you want to take advantage of your credit (if that is included in your price), you can eat at the restaurant or order a drink from Sharky’s bar. Both offer sit down options, or you can opt to enjoy your meal on the beach.
If you choose to eat at the beach, the servers will take your orders while you relax comfortably under your umbrella and bring you food to you.
The Restaurant and Bar open at 11am and last call is at 9pm.
Tips:
Arrive early! I cannot stress this enough! If you’re hopping beach chair and umbrella access, arrive early! If you want to snorkel, arrive early! If you want pictures that aren’t overly congested with people in the back drop, arrive early!
Call ahead to find out if snorkelling is available. Snorkelling is weather dependent, so if this is your main reason for going it’s not a bad idea to call ahead to ensure it is available for that day.
Bring extra cash. Yes, the price includes a food credit depending on the option you used, but the food is very good and $20 goes by fast. So if you can, bring a little extra cash in case you need to top it up.
Location and Hours of Operation
The Boatyard is open Monday – Sunday, all year round.
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. *Hours may differ due to COVID Restrictions Address: Bay Street, Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Bridgetown, Barbados Phone Number: +1 246-826-4448
For more pictures from my time in Barbados, follow me on instagram!
Two popular questions I get are, “How do you edit your pictures?” and “How do you manage your social media, especially while travelling?” I’ve decided to answer these questions through this blog post by showing you 5 of my favourite social media management apps :
1. Adobe Lightroom
This is by far my favourite editing tool. Lightroom allows you to edit the details of your photo including: vibrance, exposure, contrast etc. Lightroom includes some free presets to simplify this process, my personal favourite preset is ‘Vivid’. You can also purchase presents and other tools such as the selective editing tool (allows you to edit select portions of the photo) and the healing tool (good for removing items/people from the background).
Here is a before and after of a photo edited through Lightroom.
I used the ‘Vivid’ preset on the entire picture, then I used the selective edit tool to sharpen the castle, brighten it and increase it’s saturation.
A closer look of the final edit is available on my Instagram.
Lightroom is available on mobile and desktop.
Tip: Lightroom allows you to copy and paste edits from one photo onto another. Use the ‘Previous’ feature to quickly edit similar photos!
2. Canva
Canva is a graphic design app that allows you to make social media graphics such as story posts, YouTube banners, posters and even logos
My favourite things about Canva are the variety and amount of templates available, You can also customise templates or you can build your own.
Canva is available on mobile and the web.
3. Mojo
Mojo is an Instagram story building and editing app. It includes a variety of templates for free, though it has far less variety than Canva.
However, mojo has animated text, which is my favourite feature about the app. I often build a template using Canva, and add animated text to the template using Mojo.
Planoly is primarily an Instagram scheduler. It helps you to plan and schedule your content for Instagram, Facebook & Pinterest. You can prepare your post, draft your caption and hashtags, and schedule it to be automatically posted at a later date and time. It also helps you to visually plan your posts by allowing you to do “mock” uploads to see where a picture best fits on your feed.
The best part? You do not have to be awake/on your device for it to post! So while your busy living your life, your scheduled posts can be posted to your social media.
This comes in handy if your optimal times for engagement coincide with your busy time during the day, or if you’re travelling but want to continue making posts without taking away from your vacation time.
The app is available on the Apple Store, Android App store and desktop.
5. Photo Editor-
Available in the Apple app store, Photo Editor- helps you to fix any imperfections in your photos. Need to fix a blemish or blur something out? This is the perfect app for that. This tool are all available on the free version of the app.
Photo Editor- is an easy photo finishing app. It is my go to app for fixing minor imperfections such as red eye and blemishes.
Which of these apps are you most excited to try? Try one today and let me know what you think!
Veradero is a popular beach resort town located along 20km of Atlantic Ocean coastline. It is famous for it’s all-inclusive hotels and spa complexes, as well as golf course.
Aside from it’s white sands beaches and crystal clear blue water, Veradero, like other parts of Cuba, has a rich history and culture, and of course, loads of classic cars.
As a beach town though, some of the activities like snorkeling and catamarans can be quiet expensive, so here is a list of some free/cheap things you can do:
Ambrosio Caves – Cueva de Ambrosio
If you’re scared of bats, this place isn’t for you because though the caves are beautiful, they are full of bats. If is possible not to wake the bats if you move quietly and shine your flashlight on the ground instead of the ceiling.
It costs CUC$5 or $5 USD.
Veradero Street Markets
You can walk around the local flea markets and find some nice souvenirs for to bring back home for yourself or loved ones. I bought cigar tubes (actually used as toothbrush cases) and had them customized with my friend’s names on them.
Customised cigar/toothbrush cases
Explore the City Centre
Walk around the city centre and try a pina colada served in a pineapple. Or perhaps you would rather try some home-made coconut ice cream served in a coconut with jelly.
Take a Ride in a Classic 1940/50s Car
Cuba is famous for its classic cars. These can be found anywhere and everywhere! It’s like one big mid-90s car show.
It costs anywhere from $5-10 to ride/take a picture in the car. The prices are negotiable and depend on whether you want to drive the car yourself, be driven, or just want to sit in the passenger seat for a picture.
The more well-preserved the car – fresh exteriors and interiors – the higher price.
Mi Casa Beatles
Whether you like to drink or not, this is a fun place to spend an evening or maybe lunch.
The bar has cheap food and drinks and fantastic live music.
It’s also a great spot to take a cheesy Beatles picture!
If you’re staying at a resort, then here’s an extra one for you!
Free Water Activities at your Resort
Many resorts include some free water activities as part of your booking such as kayaking, surfing. Usually the equipment, including a life jacket and a free beginner lesson, are also included!
Try one of these on your next trip to Veradero and let me know what you think below!
MilesWithMoonshyyne 