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Arrival and information
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Matsapha airport
(tel 518615), 35km southeast of Mbabane, just west of Manzini, is Swaziland's only international airport. There's no public transport from here into Mbabane, so if you haven't been able to arrange a pick-up with your hotel, be prepared to take a
taxi
or
rent a car
. You cannot change money at the airport, so have some rands or emalangeni handy.
Transtate (Jo'burg tel 011 773 6002) buses from South Africa terminate some way out of town at the intersection of Usutu and Manzini roads, from where you should call a taxi, as it's too far to walk into town. The main bus station is off the Western Distributor Road, beside the Swazi Plaza mall, and from here you can take a bus to almost anywhere in Swaziland. Minibus taxis ply the Mbabane-Manzini route and rank on the west side of the bus station - this is also where you can rent a private taxi for local travel. Mbabane's tourist office , Swazi Plaza (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 8.30am-12.30pm; tel 4042531) has a good supply of maps and brochures and a free What's On ? guide - very handy for information on forthcoming events.
Central Mbabane empties out at night, and
muggings
are a risk for those wandering the streets alone. If you're going out after dark, arrange for a taxi to pick you up. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Swaziland,
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