Hi all,

I've got to help organise a party for a friend of mine, and one possible location is SA where i've always wanted to go, but somehow never made it to.

Now Cape Town I've heard a lot about, heard its got fantastic nightlife (a priority since we're 10 guys between 28-35 on a bachelor party...) beautiful views etc.

But I've also thought a little about Sun City...

Which brings me to my questions:

I cant seem to find out exactly if its a compact area allowing me to stroll from one casino to the other, or if its a big totally spread out place with each hotel surrounded by nothingness...?

I was looking at the 3 hotels, Palace of the Lost City, Cascades Hotel and the Sun City Hotel, any thoughts given our circumstances?

I love the idea of a safari day, how is Pilanesberg National Park?

Whats it like in December in that area? lively? rainy? etc

And given all of the above, Sun City or Cape Town?


Many many thanks!

Aceman

It's a big, sprawling place--not exactly surrounded by nothingness, but not really an inviting walk between properties either. I have stayed several times at the Palace of the Lost City, which is a big enough destination in its own right. From there you have to take the resort buses/trams to get to the casino, golf courses, etc. I find this whole complex pretty irritating, actually--it's all so incredibly artificial. Night life is just you and a bunch of other tourists, at the casinos and bars. There is no "there" there. If you like big swimming pools, golf, and gambling in a completely purpose-built environment in the middle of nowhere, then by all means...but it is not a destination like Cape Town. (Which I love, BTW.)

The Palace hotel is the best but the prices are fairly astronomical. Service, as in the rest of South Africa, is not at all in line with the prices. This is a great country and a wonderful place to visit overall, but don't expect high-quality service anywhere you go, unfortunately.

The wildlife here is very populous, to the point of feeling like you are on a canned hunt. You will be driving in a bus or Range Rover on paved roads the whole way--no off-road stuff, no hiking. If you have no other game viewing opportunities, then definitely do it, because it will be fun anyway--but you don't get the same experience as you would in one of the wilder, larger game parks.

My very strong vote would be for Cape Town. It is a real city as opposed to a fairly cheesy resort; it is stunningly beautiful; it has vastly better nightlife; you can do interesting outdoor things (Cape of Good Hope); there are great beaches; you can go to the wine country nearby which is an amazing place. Sun City is not Africa, IMO. You might as well be in Florida (except that there is no beach!)

Given the agenda I have to say that travelmad478 has pretty much summed it up. Can't imagine what 10 rambunctious young men would find in Sun City that would consitute night life. After you've seen the single tits and feathers show (which is usually quite good), that is.

To me Sun City is all about golf, golf, golf!

You can gamble just about anywhere in SA now, and you can get much better game viewing and nightlife elsewhere.

If you are not a golfer I don't think it's worth it, although my kids enjoy the Valley of the Waves (ironic since we live in Plett...)

Excellent, thank you, exactly what I was looking for. If its going to be SA, Cape Town it will be!