A Travel Price Comparison for Families, Couples, and Backpackers Pretoria vs. Lyon for Vacations, Tours, and Honeymoons

Should you visit Pretoria or Lyon?

Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?

Should I visit Pretoria or Lyon? This is a common question asked by many travelers. By figuring out which city has activities that align with your interests along with knowing which is more affordable, you'll understand where you can get more bang for your buck. So, let's dive into the details and the data, which all comes from actual travelers.

Where Should I go: Pretoria or Lyon?

Pretoria

Located in Gauteng Province, Pretoria is the administrative capital city of South Africa, making it home to many government buildings and three universities. It is actually one of three capital cities, being home to the executive branch, with Cape Town as the legislative capital and Bloemfontein as the judicial capital. Within South Africa, Pretoria is also known as the "Jacaranda City" due to the thousands of jacaranda trees lining its streets, parks, and gardens.

Lyon

Lyon, located within the region of Southeastern France, is France's third largest city in terms of population, with just over 500,000 inhabitants. This makes the city large, yet still small and personable enough to be explored properly in a short visit. Known as the gastronomic capital of Europe, your culinary needs are exceptionally well catered to here, and for those with historical and cultural interests, you will never be at a loss for new things to do and see.

For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best Eco Tours in South Africa, The Best Sightseeing Tours in South Africa, The Best 10-Day Tours from Paris, and The Best 2-Week Tours from Paris.


Which place is cheaper, Lyon or Pretoria?

These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.

The average daily cost (per person) in Pretoria is $50, while the average daily cost in Lyon is $134. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each destination. What follows is a categorical breakdown of travel costs for Pretoria and Lyon in more detail.



Accommodation
  • Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one person
    Pretoria $25
    Lyon $57
  • Accommodation Typical double-occupancy room
    Pretoria $50
    Lyon $114
Compare Hotels in Pretoria and Lyon

Looking for a hotel in Pretoria or Lyon? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options and compare which is best for your budget and travel style.

Hotels in Pretoria


Hotels in Lyon


Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world. Compare prices for multiple destinations when planning your next trip.


Our Analysis
We've analyzed the average and typical hotel prices based on guest reviews, star ratings, and hotel amenities here: Lyon Hotel Prices.

Local Transportation
  • Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
    Pretoria $12
    Lyon $18

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Pretoria

Also for Pretoria, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:

  • Gauteng, South Africa: Airport transfers, shuttle services: $27
  • Shuttle Transfer from Gauteng to Greater Kruger: $61
  • One Way Private Transfer from Airports and Hotels in Sandton: $89
  • Sun City Private Transfer: $250

Typical Local Transportation Prices in Lyon

Below are a few samples from actual travelers for transportation costs in Lyon:


  • Funiculaire
    $5.57
  • Hop-on Hop-off Tourist Bus
    $20

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Lyon

Some specific examples of transportation prices in Lyon:

  • Transfer Privé Lyon saint exupery airport to lyon : $120
  • Superior Private Transfer From Lyon City to Geneva City: $297
  • Private transfer from or to Lyon train stations - Lyon city by car or luxury van: $47
  • Private Transfer: Saint Exupéry Airport(LYS) to Lyon City Center: $52
  • Private Transfer: Port of LYON to Lyon Airport LYS in Sedan Car: $98
  • Private Transfer: Port of LYON to Lyon Airport LYS in Luxury Van: $103
  • Private Transfer: Lyon to Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS): $125
  • Private Transfer: Lyon City to Lyon Airport LYS in Luxury Van: $103
  • Private Transfer: Lyon City Center to Saint Exupéry Airport(LYS): $52
  • Private Transfer: Lyon Airport LYS to Lyon City in Luxury Van: $103
  • Private Transfer: Lyon Airport LYS to Lyon City in Business Car: $98
  • Private Transfer: (LYS) Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport to Lyon: $124

Is it cheaper to fly into Pretoria or Lyon?

Prices for flights to both Lyon and Pretoria change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.





Food
  • Food Meals for one day
    Pretoria $15
    Lyon $44

Typical Food Prices in Lyon

Some typical examples of dining costs in Lyon are as follows:


  • Pastry
    $1.82

Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Lyon

Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Lyon.

  • Street Food Tour: $65
  • Croix-Rousse District Vegan Food Tour with Tastings: $65
  • Lyon Street Food Tour : $66
  • 3h Lyon Vegan Food Tour: $66
  • Guided Food Tour with Tastings: $67
  • Afternoon Old Town Food tour: $77
  • Lyon 2.5-Hour Dinner Cruise: $81
  • Cultural Walking Food Tour in the Vieux Lyon District: $86
  • Lyon Old Town Half-Day Walking Food Tour with Local Specialties Tasting & Lunch: $93
  • Old Town Food Tour: $97
  • Guided Food Tour with Tastings and Wine: $102
  • Guided Evening Food Tour: $102

Entertainment
  • Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.
    Pretoria $14
    Lyon $22

Tours and Activities in Pretoria

For Pretoria, here are a few prices for actual activities, tours, and tickets provided by various companies:

  • History Bicycle Tour of Soweto: $40
  • Apartheid Museum Tour in Johannesburg from Pretoria, every FRIDAY afternoon: $51
  • Apartheid Museum Tour in Johannesburg, every FRIDAY afternoon: $51
  • Soweto and Johannesburg Tours: $55
  • Soweto Township Tour from Johannesburg - Friday Special: $58
  • Soweto & Johannesburg - walking, Bike , E-scooter, Tuk Tuk Tour : $58
  • Pretoria Tour-Voortrekker Monument, Town, Union Buildings: $59
  • Cullinan Diamond Mine Surface Guided Tour from Pretoria, every MONDAY: $61
  • Soweto Pub-Crawl Tour: $61
  • Taste of Africa Food tasting Experience & Optional Beer Tasting: $61
  • Johannesburg exploration tour(Jo-burg/Soweto & Apartheid museum): $66
  • Private Johannesburg and Soweto with Apartheid museum tour: $69

Typical Entertainment Prices in Lyon

Some typical examples of activities, tours, and entrance ticket prices in Lyon are as follows:


  • Lunch for 2
    $48

Tours and Activities in Lyon

Some specific costs of activities, tours, and entrance tickets for Lyon are as follows:

  • 1 or 2-Hour Pedicab tour of Lyon: $27
  • 1-hour tourist walk with guide: $38
  • Access to a Self-Guided Tour to Traboules de Croix-Rousse: $8.77
  • Alternative Tour: Murals and Hidden Frescoes of Lyon: $46
  • An unusual city tour with sketches: $65
  • Audio-Guided Tour of the United States Quarter and Painted Walls: $11
  • Audio-guided tour of Old Lyon: $11
  • Audio-guided tour of the Fourvière and the Sacred Hill: $11
  • Beaujolais Wine Discovery - Private Tour - Half Day: $253
  • Beaujolais Wines & Castles - Private Tour - Half Day: $269
  • Best Intro Tour of Lyon with a Local: $142
  • Cheese and Wine Accord Tour at Château de Champ-Renard: $55

Alcohol
  • Alcohol Drinks for one day
    Pretoria $31
    Lyon $25

Typical Alcohol Prices in Lyon

Here are a few samples of the prices for alcohol and nightlife in Lyon from other travelers:


  • Drinks for 2
    $7.29
  • Bottle of Wine
    $16

Sample the Local Flavors in Lyon

Also in Lyon, these are the prices for nightlife and alcohol related activities from various tour providers:

  • Beaujolais Segway Tour with Wine Tasting: $65
  • Guided tour of Beaujolais by electric bike and wine tasting: $98
  • Lyon Old Town Food & Wine Tasting Tour including a Bouchon Lyonnais : $99
  • Lyon Music & Wine tasting: $104
  • From Beaujolais Region Wine Tour with Tastings: $107
  • Golden Stones Beaujolais Wine Tasting Trip from Lyon: $107
  • Beaujolais: Half-Day Wine Tour: $107
  • From Wine tasting and visits of the Beaujolais: $107
  • Half-Day Côte-Rotie Wine Tasting Tour: $107
  • Lyon : Music & Wine tasting tour: $108
  • Beaujolais Half Day Wine Tasting Tour: $109
  • Golden stones Beaujolais Wine Tour with Tastings from Lyon: $109


When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Pretoria and Lyon, we can see that Lyon is more expensive. And not only is Pretoria much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Pretoria is in Africa and Lyon is in Europe, this is one of the main reasons why the costs are so different, as different regions of the world tend to have overall different travel costs. So, traveling to Pretoria would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Pretoria and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Lyon would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Lyon than you might in Pretoria.

If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Pretoria Expensive? and Is Lyon Expensive?.


Which is Bigger, Pretoria or Lyon?

Pretoria has a larger population, and is about 3 times larger than the population of Lyon. When comparing the sizes of Pretoria and Lyon, keep in mind that a larger population does not always imply the destination has more attractions or better activities. So, always research the type of place that you want to visit along with the activities and attractions that interest you.