Spending Money Estimates

From Rick McPherson

CapeTown will be the most expensive for the students.

Plan about $500 for food and basics. I think they actually spend less than that.

Breakfast is included in most hotels/lodges (including Lebo's!) .

Lunches are typically $5 (places like Steer hamburgers, KFC, fish and chips)

Dinners are $5-$15 ($15 buys a steak dinner), a top end restaurant at the V&A Waterfront might be $30-40.

Some of your business visits will include lunch.

We will buy group dinners at the safari lodges and in general 2-3 times a week.

After that, it will depend on what activities you want to do while there. Shark diving is $200-$300, for instance. Add'l game drives are probably $50-100.

Buying Souvenirs is another consideration - markets mostly take only cash, but some higher end items will take credit cards. Most gifty items are $5-10, such as wooden animal statues and light jewelry. There is some great nice jewelry for $25-50. There is some incredible original art that may be a couple of hundred dollars, but are really great. Lots of screen print and print art around for low prices. I would guess most students spent $100-200 for souvenirs.

Wine and the local beer is cheap, mixed drinks are less expensive than they are here. Some clubs have cover charges $10-20.

Good news - ATMs are everywhere in the major cities. There is ATM fraud, just like other places, but with a few tips it is easy to be safe. Bring both your ATM and some Travelers Checks, just in case the ATM card does not work for some reason.