Take advantage of the special World Cup deals put together by various hotels for a summer full of excitement. The Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort will telecast all the major World Cup matches that start at 6pm and 10.30pm on a large screen by the resort's pool (entrance is free). Guests can avail of the hotel's "all you can eat and drink" package, valid during game screenings and priced at US$53 (Dh195) per person. Those who come dressed in their national colours get the chance to win a coupon for three drinks.
The Tavern, the hotel pub, will also show all live World Cup matches. Until the semifinals, guests get to participate in the Daily Raffle Draw by guessing the game score. The winner gets a complimentary beverage and a snack platter for the next game. To enter the Grand Raffle Draw (it runs until the quarterfinals), guests must predict the World Cup champions. The prize is two tickets from Austrian Airlines.
The World Cup room packages include single rooms from $162 (Dh595) and double rooms from from Dh795. Visit www.sheratonabudhabihotel.com for screening schedules. For more information, call 02 667 3333. Al Ain Rotana will screen live matches in a specially designed outdoor arena with an extra-long bar. The promotion includes various activities, limited edition club T-shirts, games and much more. Valid from June 11 to July 11.
For more information, call 03 703 1114 or visit www.rotana.com
Watch the migration of wildebeest from Tanzania's new Serengeti Soroi Lodge. Set to open on Tuesday, the lodge sits on a remote hill in the western corridor of Serengeti National Park, providing an excellent vantage point from which to catch all the action. Guests can choose from 25 wood-floored chalets. Each chalet has an en suite bathroom that features a Turkish bath and an outdoor shower that offers stunning views of the Musabi plains 100 metres below. The lodge also offers many facilities, including an infinity rock pool with a waterfall and a Nomadic African Spa (guests can ask to have their treatments in the privacy of their chalet or on the balcony). Serengeti Soroi can be accessed by daily flights landing at the Seronera Airstrip, private charters or self-driven vehicles. The lodge lies about 68 kilometres from the airstrip. Prices start from $485 (Dh1,780) per person per night based on two people sharing.
The 10-night "Best of Remote Tanzania" package costs from $7,158 (Dh26,290) per person based on two people sharing and includes three nights at Serengeti Soroi Lodge, three nights at Katavi Bush Lodge and four nights at Kungwe Beach Lodge in Mahale. This includes game drives and a walking safari in Katavi National Park (Tanzania's third-largest national reserve), chimpanzee tracking, a fishing trip, snorkelling and kayaking at Mahale. Prices include park and camp fees, soft drinks, laundry at all lodges and airstrip transfers. Valid from June 1 to December 31, 2010. For more information, visit www.kamili.co.uk. Return flights on Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dubai to to Dar es Salaam cost from $840 (Dh3,085) including taxes.
Head to South Africa and spend four nights at the Oyster Box Hotel in Durban for the price of three.
Situated right on the edge of the Indian Ocean, The Oyster Box hotel was named by Conde Nast Traveler as one of this year's "hot hotels". The Stay 4 Pay 3 package costs from $900 (Dh3,300) per person, based on double occupancy in a Classic room. The price includes accommodation, daily breakfast, airport transfers and taxes. The offer excludes stays during the Fifa World Cup (June 6 to July 13) and cannot be combined with any other discount. Valid for visits from now until October 31.
Guests can choose to complete their African adventure by adding to their itinerary a three-night big game safari in KwaZulu Natal province. Go bird-watching (there are more than 400 species to train your binoculars on) and wildlife tracking (look out for lions, cheetah and hyena), and enjoy a two-hour cruise in iSimangaliso Wetland Park, formerly known as St Lucia Park. Declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, iSimangaliso consists of 13 protected areas teeming with wild antelope, crocodiles and hippos, and a variety of waterfowl, including spectacular colonies of pelicans, herons and terns.
The Safari package includes three nights in luxury tents at the five-star Private Game Lodge, transfer from the Oyster Box via an air-conditioned vehicle, all meals (breakfast, lunch, high tea and dinner with house wine), the services of a certified guide and driver, a specialist wildlife guide, game drives in an open vehicle, Zulu dancing and a Boma dinner (a traditional African barbecue), a boat cruise on the St Lucia estuary, all entrance fees and airport transfers.
Until June 7, double rooms cost from $1,570 (Dh5,763) per person based on two people sharing. From July 14 to September 30, double rooms cost $875 (Dh3,213). For more information, visit www.oysterboxhotel.com and www.safarisforafrica.co.za