Bed & breakfast.

Pensacola CVB 

Pensacola offers warm welcome, cool costs

Beaches. Museums. Restaurants, shops, nightclubs.

Pensacola, a waterfront community famous for miles of sugar-white sand, also offers activities ranging from a nationally renowned aviation museum to an accredited zoo that features more than 700 animals.

Southern heritage and Gulf beaches provide a scenic setting for rest and relaxation, while rich history and vibrant happenings offer more than just fun in the sun.

Adding to the pleasure: Surveys regularly show Pensacola's costs are below the Florida average.

Beaches are protected by government programs that keep them pristine and easily accessible. Historic activities are educational and entertaining, while a potpourri of restaurants, shops and nightclubs will spice up any visitor's days and nights.

In Pensacola's restored downtown you will find a city with over 400 years of history. Pensacola changed hands more than a dozen times among Spain, France, England, the United States and the Confederacy.

Yesteryear is on display at sites in and around Historic Pensacola Village. They include museums, historic homes, and a Colonial Archaeological Trail.

The National Museum of Naval Aviation covers the age of aviation from the first flight in a wood-and-fabric biplane to today's travels in space. IMAX films about aviation and other adventures are shown on a 70-foot screen, making viewers feel close to the action.

All this touring will build your appetite, but you don't have to go hungry.

Pensacola restaurants feature everything from ethnic cuisine to fish that slept in the Gulf of Mexico only hours earlier. In Pensacola, food and entertainment often go hand-in-hand, and dress styles range from tuxedos to T-shirts.

Contact the Pensacola Convention and Visitor Information Center at 850-434-1234 or 1-800-874-1234. www.visitpensacola.com.

South Africa

South Africa is indeed a "World in One Country". From the towering Drakensberg Mountains to the vast plains of the Karoo, this fascinating land offers a stunning variety of landscapes, activities, people and cultures to experience and enjoy.

Thanks to more than a century of conservation efforts, viewing South Africa's unique wildlife remains a high point for visitors. There are at least 300 wildlife sanctuaries in South Africa, ranging from national and provincial parks to small private game and marine reserves, in addition to the Big Five--lions, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes and leopards--there are more species of wildlife found on these reserves than any other on the African continent.

But there is much more to see and do here. With South African artists, dancers, writers and musicians increasingly visible on the international scene, now is the perfect time to experience this rich blend of traditions--found everywhere from major museums and big-city arts centers to regional festivals and cultural villages. Special music tours of the townships bring economic empowerment to those communities while affording visitors a unique opportunity to experience the wealth of talent and warm hospitality of the South African people.

For food and wine connoisseurs, South Africa's most famous wine estates lie mainly in the fertile valleys of the Western Cape. The Spier Winery is unique in that it is a prime example of local community development, while offering outstanding wines, delectable traditional cuisine, and a cultural festival each Spring that showcases the musical and theatrical traditions of the many cultures that make up this rainbow nation.

A world awaits you in South Africa--explore the diamond mines at Kimberly, catch the Big Five at Pilanesberg National Park, or ride an ostrich in Oudsthoorn. For a change of pace, experience a cultural village at Lesedi, or share your views with the locals at a shebeen in Johannesburg.

With non-stop service on South African Airways, and a very favorable exchange rate, South Africa is both easily accessible and highly affordable. The cultural and emotional ties to the African American community stern from a common heritage and shared experience, which ensures that African-American visitors are warmly welcomed and appreciated.

And if you are seeking new business opportunities, South Africa offers tremendous investment potential in a wide range of sectors, including tourism, textiles, telecommunications, electronics, IT, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, automobile components and food processing, just to name a few.

For more information on South Africa contact South African Tourism (SATOUR) at 500 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2040, New York, NY 10110, telephone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail]; or visit their Website at www.satour.org.