Jo’burg airport taxi scam

It seems like all “roads” in Africa go through O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, and on a trip to Namibia and Zimbabwe, my husband, George, and I passed through several times.

On the first leg, we flew KLM Royal Dutch Airlines from Los Angeles to Amsterdam to Johannesburg. We had been sitting 20-plus hours in economy on the long-haul flights when we arrived on June 25, 2014, at about 10 p.m.

Since we were scheduled to be outbound the next morning, we knew we would need a rest badly, so we had booked a room in advance at the Southern Sun O.R. Tambo International Airport Hotel (Airport Grounds, Jones Road, O.R. Tambo International Airport; phone +27 11 977 3600). We knew the hotel had a shuttle service, but how to find it?

At that hour of night, many businesses in the airport were closed. As we looked around, two nice, polite men with name tags approached and asked if we wanted a taxi.

“No,” we replied, “we want the hotel shuttle.” 

The men continued: “Oh, but it’s too late now for the shuttle. Let us help you get a taxi.” 

Well, the best I can say is we were very tired and bought this argument. Who knew? Maybe it was true that the shuttles had stopped running.

We ended up paying $20 for a cab ride that took, at most, five minutes. True, one cannot walk to the Southern Sun, as it is across a freeway, but we knew we had been ripped off. When we told the hotel staff, they said it happens all the time. (Grrrr.) Of course, the shuttle was still running.

So here’s a heads up: The hotel shuttles park in the lot BEHIND the InterContinental hotel. You walk out of the airport, carefully cross the street toward the hotel, then go along the side and around to the back. The way is lighted and shouldn’t take more than five minutes. 

The shuttle van from the Southern Sun is a combi (with a luggage trailer) and is black with gold letters.

ANNE STOLL

Claremont, CA