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Movie Set Travel / Summer Travel / Adam Sandler / Drew Barrymore / South Africa Travel / Movie Travel / → All Tags

Where to Find Adam Sandler Filming His Annual Summer Movie Project

Summer's fast approaching, which means it's time for Adam Sandler to plan his next family vacation goofy summer-themed movie project.

Sandler has spent the past three summers filming Grown Ups, That's My Boy, and Grown Ups 2 in New England with his family and friends. But, this year he's trying something new and bringing the gang (which includes his wife, kids, and some combination of David Spade, Nick Swardson, Milo Ventimiglia, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, Andy Samberg, or Chris Rock) to Sun City, South Africa.

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In-Flight WiFi / WiFi / South African Airways / Mango / Airline News / Airlines / In-Flight Entertainment / → All Tags

It's Now Possible to Surf the Net from a Plane Over South Africa

There’s plenty of domestic in-flight WiFi to be found in and around the nifty fifty, and even long-haul options are starting to pop up here and there. However, if there was one place where all this up in the air connectivity has been limited it's Africa, but thankfully that’s not going to be the case for long.

Low cost carrier Mango—they’re kind of like the little brother of South African Airways—is getting ready to connect passengers at 35,000 feet. It sounds like Row 44, Vodacom and Wireless G are teaming up to provide the in-flight internet magic. G-Connect In-Flight WiFi isn’t just some limited gimmick either, as it sounds like email, websites and all the other World Wide Web tidbits are yours for the browsing. There’s even plans to bring some kind of text message system to the comfort of your tray table as well.

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Travel Cat / Animals / South Africa Travel / Hotels / Honeymoon Travel / → All Tags

The Adventures of Travel Cat: Knysna, South Africa

Kitty cats. They rule the internet and, whether we realize it or not, pretty much the world too. Ever noticed how cats sometimes stake out the coolest spots in a city? This new feature—Travel Cat—focuses on exactly that. Submit a photo to be featured by tweeting or Instagramming it to us (details below).

Travel Cat spotted at: Bamboo Guest House in Knysna, on Western Cape's Garden Route in South Africa.

This week's Travel Cat comes from Rebecca Metz, Community Manager at AirportParkingReservations.com. Her story:

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Volunteer Travel / Honeymoon Travel / Voluntourism / → All Tags

Yes, Volunteering While on Honeymoon is a Thing

For couples who don't want to spend their entire honeymoon in bed, Kaya Responsible Travel has launched Honeymoon Volunteers, a program that lets honeymooners do good without sacrificing their privacy or creature comforts.

Volunteer Honeymoon trips include a Diving Conservation Project with accommodations on a private island on the Belizean marine reserve. Honeymooners will help tackle the issue of lion fish invasion on the world's second largest coral reef during the week, and stay at a romantic colonial farmhouse resort on the weekends.

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Airline News / South Africa Travel / Airlines / New Routes / LCCs / → All Tags

This Could Get Weird: South African Taxi Drivers Launch Their Very Own Airline

Oh boy this sounds like a slice of travel hell just waiting to happen. Officials from South Africa’s taxi industry are planning to get into the airline business, and even the organizers of the new airline are calling their new venture a “unique traveling experience.” The operators of these mini-bus type taxi services are probably best known for their less than friendly battles—that even sometimes turn violent—over routes, territory, and turf. Let’s just hope the airline stuff remains pretty peaceful.

They want to link locals to areas of the country considered a little less accessible, along with giving those who have maybe never boarded a plane the opportunity to do so. Everything will be run by the South African National Taxi Council, and they’re going with Santaco Airlines. Apparently the taxi industry is trying to clean up its image a little bit, so hopefully the new carrier is a step in the right direction.

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Celeb Travel / Honeymoon Travel / South Africa Travel / Safaris / Kim Kardashian / → All Tags

Is Kim Kardashian Planning a Secret Honeymoon in South Africa?

Kim Kardashian and her fiance Kris Humphries are busy making plans for a lavish wedding worthy of her $2 million engagement ring, but their honeymoon may be a bit less luxurious.

Kim recently told Hollywood Life that her dream getaway is a safari in South Africa:

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Drinking Travel / In-Flight Drinks / In-Flight Cocktail of the Month / Airlines / South African Airways / South Africa Travel / → All Tags

In-Flight Cocktail of the Month: South African Airways' La Chanson

As many already know, we have a serious obsession with airline cocktails, and so much is our passion that we've created a whole first-Friday-of-the-month feature called In-Flight Cocktail of the Month, which highlights the special concoctions that flight attendants whip up with only a cocktail shaker, some tiny liquor bottles and a whole lot of hope that it won't make you drunk and unruly.

Red sparkling wine is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately, the fruity stuff isn't nearly as easy to find as, say, regular French champagne or good old Freixenet. Instead, you've often to grab it when you see it, like perhaps on an Africa-bound South African Airways flight.

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The Jauntys / Travel Awards 2010 / Jaunted Awards 2010 / → All Tags

2010's Destination Of The Year Is...

It's that time of the year again, the time when the year just plain ends. Alas, we can't just let 2010 go that easily, especially since travelers spent it both up in the air and up in arms over a crazy range of topics, encompassing everything from nudie scans to tarmac delays. Needless to say, we're ready for 2011, but first we're taking a brief look back at the best of 2010 with the Jaunted Travel Awards,—or as we fondly refer to them—The Jauntys.

Forget that whole story about the honeymoon murder that happened in the slums of Cape Town, because we're pretty convinced that it was a set-up made by the husband, and plus it is soiling what has otherwise been a banner year for South Africa, our Destination of the Year 2010.

Sure, they had the awesome World Cup, but the energy began earlier in the year when we named them one of the top three places for a medical vacation, owing to their reputation as a mecca for plastic surgery and recovery. Then The Bachelor's Jason Mesnick chose South Africa for his honeymoon, as did Chelsea Clinton, and Kim Kardashian made her inaugural visit to the country with sister Khloe in tow.

And then there was the World Cup...

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Volunteer Travel / Voluntourism / Cape Town Travel / South Africa Travel / → All Tags

Cape Town Asks Visitors to Donate One Vacation Day to Cleaning Up the Community

The Table Bay Hotel, in Cape Town, South Africa, is getting involved in the community by helping to restore several streets in Langa, one of the Cape's oldest townships, and they are asking their guests to help too.

The initiative is part of the “One Street at a Time” project which aims to build Langa into a sustainable tourism destination. The first street they are tackling is Harlem Avenue, a historic boulevard lined with shops and historic homes, including the home of Chris Hani, the influential anti-apartheid activist. Volunteers will help clean up the area and make needed repairs to homes and businesses along the avenue, which adds a nice positive, active slant to a South Africa vacation.

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Honeymoon Travel / Wedding Travel / Chelsea Clinton / South Africa Travel / → All Tags

Chelsea Clinton May Be Honeymooning in South Africa

Right after Chelsea Clinton married long-time beau Marc Mezvinsky two weekends ago in Rhinebeck, NY, the public has wondered one thing: what did she wear? That answer came quickly enough. The bride wore Vera Wang. And then the big question became: where are they honeymooning? This answer didn't come at all.

Now, over a week since the nuptials, there's possibly lead on where Mr. and Mrs. Mezvinsky have headed, and it's far, far away. Sources at WWD have spilled that the couple is currently on safari in South Africa. WWD explains wy South Africa is a perfect honeymoon idea for them:

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2010 World Cup / World Cup Travel / World Cup / Airline News / Flight Attendants / Emirates / → All Tags

Emirates Flight Attendants Played a Big Part in the World Cup Final

Who were those women in veils behind the South African president and other FIFA officials during the World Cup trophy presentation yesterday? Why, they were flight attendants for Emirates Airlines, a major sponsor of the 2010 World Cup who obviously gave enough money to get their girls up in the spotlight.

Following yesterday's final match between Spain and Holland, which Spain won with a single goal during stoppage time, a whole line of these khaki-clad, red-lipped ladies emerged with trays of the player's medals. Asking who they were was a popular question echoed across Twitter, but the answer lay in the big red ad banners for Emirates around the field. They also showed up the day before to present the third place prize to the German team.

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2010 World Cup / Tourists / South Africa Travel / Credit Cards / Sports Travel / Soccer Travel / World Cup / World Cup Travel / → All Tags

World Cup Tourists to South Africa Have Already Spent Over $128 Million

Are you going through World Cup withdrawal? Yes, us too, and it's only yesterday and today that we have to wait until the games start up again tomorrow when the Netherlands goes up again Brazil and Uruguay faces Ghana. When the World Cup ends for real on July 11, we just don't know what we're going to do, but we do know that the tourists who have headed down to South Africa to support their teams in person will sad to see their credit card bills.

VISA has announced that visitors to South Africa for the World Cup have already spent $128 million, and that's only counting what's been charged to VISA-branded credit cards for a couple weeks. Of course almost 90% of that was on travel purchases like airfare, hotel, car rental and restaurants, but still. That's quite a money waterfall spilling into South Africa right now. Makes the country's building all those $450 million stadiums look worthwhile (ah hem Moses Mabhida Stadium).

So how much of that will stay in South Africa?

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