Archive for December, 2009

Choosing A Car Rental

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

The best way to get a good car rental deal is if you plan your trip first. Planning gives you the time to come up with exactly what you want and gives you the chance to compare different rates.

You need to be sure on the number of days that you willl need the car for as the rates are usually daily rates. You might be surprised to learn that some companies do offer cover charges for lengthy rentals rather than the daily rates. What I am saying is that renting a car for seven days on a daily rate charge would cost more than getting a cover charge for the entire 7 days.

You also need to work out how much you are prepared to spend on renting a car. So you will be able to choose the correct size car and one that will save on fuel costs. You might not have been aware but car rental rates are not fixed. Depending on the day of the week and the time of the year they will be different. Obviously weekends and holiday times and seasons will have higher rates than the normal periods.

So you can schedule your trip with this in mind, if you are not restricted on the dates that you want to travel or can travel you will be able to get a good deal. Some car hire agencies belong to national associations like AA, being a meber of any one of them might get you a discount It might take up a bit of your time but doing a little research will save you lots of money.

If you have hired a car before do not make the mistake of thinking that all car rental registrations are standard. Go through the lease agreement in detail. Each company has its own set of guidelines that it abides by. make sure that you are clear on what is contained in your lease agreement.Some localized agencies where you can get some of the best deals include some of these:

  • Budget Car Rental Durban
  • Car Rental Cape Town
  • Car Rental Port Elizabeth South Africa

Renting A Car In South Africa

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

I will not give you a list of the most popular car hire companies in South Africa because popularity and excellent service are not always synonymous. I will tell you what a good car hire agency should be able to do for you and then you can use that information to see whether any particular one meets those criteria.

If you are going to need the car for a period of more than two days then you should be able to get a company that should be able to offer you a cover charge for the period than the usual daily rates and charge per extra km. A longer lease should qualify for a bigger discount when calculated against the daily rate.

Another thing that you can find out about are the add on features that you might need. A good car hire agency will have roof racks for luggage and maybe sports equipment or extra storage facilities. Not for free of course I’m just saying they should have them available should you ever need them.

Find out the requirements of having extra drivers included in the lease agreement. Registering extra drivers means paying an extra fee, but since you are leasing the car for a long period extra drivers should be registered for free.

A good car hire agency should be able to arrange your other requirements as well. Basically take care of your flight and accomodation requirements as well. This will normally come at an extra cost to you of course. A good agency will explan the conditions of your lease to you in detail.

Most agencies will either not point out the penalties and conditions of breach of your contract. You should be clear as to what these are and how they affect you. Did I say I wouldn’t mention the popular ones I was just kidding? Hertz, Avis, Budget and RAV are just some of the more preferred car hire agencies in the country. I suggest you check out one of the following for a good deal:

  • Cheap Car Rental South Africa
  • Car Hire Cape Town Airport
  • Car Rentals Gauteng

Best Car Hire In Durban, South Africa

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

If you are interested in touring Durban, South Africa and want to make use of the services of a rented car then allow me to point you in the right direction. I will tell you the things you need to know before deciding to settle for a particular agency so that you can get the best deal available.

Touring a city as large as this will take more than two days so you will be needing a car for a long period. Whilst car rental agencies do have daily rates and charges per km you will find some that are flexible and willing to offer cover charges for periods that are usually longer than two days.

You should know for how many days you will need the car and consider period you need it in. What I’m saying is that weekend rates and holiday rates for renting a car will be more expensive than renting the car at any other normal time. You can plan your trip to be outside these times. This will save you lots of money I assure you.

You need to bear in mind the terrain of the places you want to visit. Is your tour going to be a within the city tour or you want to go further out.These things will determine the car that you choose also having fuel cost and consumption in mind. Having said that you can check out any of the following for some good deals:cheap car rental south africa, cars to rent, car for hire johannesburg

You could sign up with a tour operator although that means that you now have to operate according to his schedule. Rening your own car will give you flexibility and freedom. Compare the various packages that are on offer and remember it’s always cheaper to book online.

The secret in selling your home in a slow market

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

It seemed not very long ago when you could just put your house in the market and would be sold out within few days.  You really didn’t need a realtor back then.You can just literally place a visible “For Sale” signage in your home and it would definitely sell.Well times have changed fast. It is getting harder and harder to sell a home.You absolutely need to do a good sell nowadays to sell a home.In this article we will talk about some essential methods to help you sell your home faster.

Staging your home is one of the best ways to sell your home in today’s market. This is where you arrange your home to look like a model home to make it more attractive.  As a home staging Orange County service I have seen how this business has increased.In staging a home you can definitely make it appear great and highlight its good points. 

Another thing you can do is not only stage a home but you can also hire a professional interior designer.  As an interior designer Orange County service we do both home staging and interior design.But how both of these can go hand in hand is an interior designer has the skill needed to make that staged home take advantage of everything. They are usually very good at utilizing spaces to make your home appear bigger.  They know how to pick the right furniture and decor to make it look beautiful.  Using a home stager and designer can really increase the benefit of home staging.

Another thing you want to consider is add scent into the house. One trick I have shown people of my home staging Corona service is to bake cookies. Cookies baking in the oven makes the home feel like a home.  It will give a prospective buyer that feeling of being home.

Selling a home is very tough as you can see.But you can increase your chances of selling if you do these few things.

A Gauteng Golf Holiday in South Africa

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Silver Lakes Golf Estate – One of Top Courses in Gauteng

Although Gauteng is the smallest province in South Africa, it is the financial capital and industrial hub of the country. Golf Digest ranks 31 Gauteng golf courses within the South African top 100 courses and Gauteng is said to be the golfing capital of South Africa. Gauteng also has a wide selection of other tourist attractions, and is therefore the ideal destination for a golfing holiday.

A Gauteng golf holiday offers the golfer a wide variety of top rated championship golf courses which will challenge the amateur and professional alike. Because of its ideal year-round climate, golf can be played throughout the year in Gauteng. The favorable South African Rand exchange rate is also attractive for tourists coming from Europe or North America. The price of accommodation, restaurants and golfing green fees are a fraction of what one would pay in the United States or in Europe when converted to dollars or euros.

Many of the golf courses in Gauteng have been designed by some of legends in golf, such as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Greg Norman and Ernie Els. Many European PGA Tour and South African Sunshine Tour golfing events have been hosted at Gauteng golf courses. Any Gauteng golf holiday should include the following courses:

  • Glendower Golf Club – Rated as the top golf course in Gauteng, and is one of South Africa’s most challenging and beautiful golf courses. This famous golf course has hosted numerous South African opens and is one of the older courses in South Africa. A must play for any golfer visiting Gauteng.
  • Royal Johannesburg Golf Club – ‘Royal’ contains two 18-hole courses which are considered two of the best parkland courses that Johannesburg has to offer. Although a challenging golf course, the famous ‘East’ course provides a spectacular round of golf. 7 South African opens have also been hosted at the ‘East’ course. For a totally different, but slightly easier golf challenge, try out the ‘West’ course, which is also ranked in South Africa’s top 30.
  • Blair Atholl Golf Club – Recently opened in 2008, Blair Atholl was designed by Gary Player and it is predicted to become one of Africa’s top golf courses.

To find out more about the golf courses in Gauteng, have a look at the GolfLinx Gauteng golf guide.

Besides its world class golf courses, Gauteng has many other attractions. Gold Reef City is a reconstruction of Johannesburg during the gold rush era, and is built around a functioning gold mine. Visitors can take a trip down an old mine shaft and observe the process of mining gold. Besides the gold mine, Golf Reef City has a brewery, a Victorian fun fair, pubs, hotel and tribal dancing.

Cradle of Humankind is a strip of dolomitic limestone caves found 50km southwest of Johannesburg. Here the fossilized remains of ancient forms of plants and animals can be found, as well as some famous fossilized remains of ancient humans/apes. There are more than three dozen fossil-bearing caves, with some of the ancient ape-man fossils dating back 2.3 million years.

Visitors wanting to see the Big Five, which are Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Rhino and Buffalo, can visit several excellent nature reserves and game parks situated around Johannesburg and Pretoria. Besides the few tourist attractions mentioned here, there are a large variety of other tourist attractions to keep you entertained whilst you are not playing the beautiful golf courses of Gauteng.

If you want to find and book accommodation within Gauteng, have a look at the GolfLinx Gauteng accommodation directory.