Before you travel to South Africa
INSURANCE
It is essential adequate travel insurance be taken out prior to departure. This should cover any medical situation such as hospitalisation, as well as cancellation, curtailment of arrangements and baggage. When you travel with andBeyond, you are automatically covered by our emergency evacuation insurance. This guarantees emergency evacuation to the nearest hospital should you suffer either severe illness or injury. This does not cover the cost of treatment once in hospital and in no way replaces your normal travel insurance. There are certain medical exclusions. Please advise us of any existing conditions in advance in order to arrange cover, subject to our insurer’s approval. Please contact us for further details.
Medical Emergency Number: +27 83 300 3927 or +27 11 952 6056
HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
Please consult your doctor for advice on malaria precautions before travel to South Africa. Anyone who takes any special medication should take enough supplies to last the visit.
Yellow fever certificates are required for entry into South Africa if you have travelled through the yellow fever belt.
Ticks can be found in Africa’s wilderness areas. To avoid getting bitten when going on bush walks, guests are advised to take precautions by wearing long trousers, socks and boots. Please note that there is a possibility that tick bites could lead to tick bite fever. Symptoms include fever, headaches and painful, enlarged lymph glands in the area of the bite. If you experience these symptoms after returning home, please visit your doctor and advise them of the possibility of tick bite fever.
PASSPORTS AND VISAS
To enter South Africa, a passport valid for at least 30 days after the intended date of departure is required by all nationals. Passports must have at least two blank pages for entry stamps. Our recommendation is to ensure you have three or even four blank pages if you are travelling through more than one country. If there are insufficient pages, entry could be denied.
It is imperative to check visa requirements with the South African embassy, as these may vary according to your nationality.
If you intend to travel between South Africa and its neighbouring countries, it is advised that you apply for multiple entry visas.
It is a mandatory requirement that you travel to Africa with at least 2 consecutive blank passport pages, per country visited, and that your passport is valid for a minimum of 6 months after your date of travel. Our recommendation is that you have 3 to 4 blank pages in your passport, especially if you are travelling through more than one country during your journey. If there is insufficient space in your passport, entry into a country could be denied.
To comply with regulation 2(1) (a) of the Immigration Regulations 2014, only Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs) will be accepted to enter South Africa. Extended passports will no longer be accepted. For this reason, travellers are advised to check their travel documents.
FLIGHTS AND ACTIVITIES
Check-in is 1½ hours prior to departure for domestic flights and 3 hours prior to departure for international flights.
Some scheduled regional and inter-lodge flights may involve multiple stops before reaching the final destination. Many flights are operated as shuttle transfers and therefore departure times may vary by up to one hour. Times are subject to change without notice.
In the event of bad weather, airlines reserve the right to drop guests off at the nearest serviceable airstrip, which may mean a road transfer to get to your final destination. Any costs resulting from such diversions would be for your own account.
The aircraft used on inter-lodge flights are small and interior space is limited. In addition, some activity and scenic air operators may have weight and/or height restrictions per guest per seat. For the sake of your own comfort, please advise us at time of booking if you are particularly bulky or tall and we will do our best to accommodate you. Please note that additional costs may apply.
For self-drive guests it is advisable to arrive at their safari lodge/camp no later than 14h30 as afternoon activities generally starts from 15h00.
International travellers are currently experiencing significant delays at OR Tambo International Airport. This is due to a new, and lengthy, process of capturing biometrics of passport holders. It is unclear as to how long these delays will last. Please ensure that you allow enough connection time when booking guests’ flights.When traveling in Africa, small aircraft are mostly used on inter-lodge hops and therefore luggage restrictions are applicable. Details of luggage restrictions per region are available and will be sent to you upon confirmation of your booking
• Some scheduled regional and inter-lodge flights may involve multiple stops before reaching final destination. Flights are operated as “shuttle transfers” and therefore departure times may vary up to 1 hour. Times are subject to change without notice.
• Airfare prices are subject to change without prior notice as well as to fare/class availability. Airfare prices may increase between the time of booking, payment and the ticket being issued
• andBeyond cannot be held responsible should airlines discontinue flights or change scheduled times resulting in missed connections etc. Should an amendment in a routing or itinerary be necessary, I will re-quote accordingly
To comply with international insurance requirements all airline tickets must clearly show the passenger’s title, full name and surname (as indicated in your passport). Please send me this information as soon as possible
LUGGAGE ALLOWANCE
As you will be travelling in vehicles and small aircraft with limited space, luggage is required to be packed in a soft bag weighing a maximum of 20 kg (44 lbs) and 5 kg (11 lbs) hand luggage. No hard suitcases are allowed and oversized bags may not be carried on your lap. An additional seat can be booked for extra luggage, subject to availability.
When travelling to any of our destinations in Africa, please remember that it’s a criminal offense to be in possession of, to deal with or to traffic in wildlife products. This includes, without limitation, Ivory, Rhino horns, furs, claws, teeth, bones, eggs, meat and feathers of any form of wildlife. The penalties for violating legislation governing the possession and trafficking of wildlife products in Africa are among the most punitive in the world and may even lead to life imprisonment upon successful prosecution. To avoid any inconvenience you are strongly advised not to purchase any wildlife products of any nature from any street
vendor, local market place, or village market when participating in any excursion. Only purchase wildlife
products which are offered for sale at legitimate curio vendor establishments located within the duty free demarcated area of the airport as these vendors are required by law to hold the necessary legal permits to enable them to offer for sale the wildlife products on display in their establishments.
CHECK IN TIMES
In accordance with global practice, all hotel and lodge check-in/out times are as follows: Check-in: 14h00; Check-out: 11h00
WHAT TO PACK
As a general guide, comfortable, casual wash and wear clothes are recommended. Muted colours are recommended for game viewing. Game drives are conducted in the early morning and late afternoon, which can be very cold, especially in winter.
The most practical items to pack for safari are: Khaki, green, beige and neutral colours
Shirts with long sleeves (even in summer, as protection from the sun and mosquitoes) T-shirts
Shorts or a light skirt
Jeans or safari trousers for evenings and cooler days
Jackets and sweaters are recommended for early morning and evening game drives Lightweight water-proof jacket
Swim and beachwear Comfortable walking shoes
Sun block, sunglasses, hat, moisturizer and lip-salve are all essentials Strong insect repellent like Mozzie Guard (www.mosi-guard.com) Binoculars and camera equipment
Good quality safari clothing is available in andBeyond’s Safari Shops
If you would like to purchase safari clothing, luggage or accessories to prepare for your trip, please visit www.andBeyondsafarishop.com, where a wide selection of quality products is available for your convenience.
Laundry: Most lodges, camps and hotels do their best to deliver a same day laundry service, weather permitting. Dry cleaning can be arranged at most hotels but is not available at lodges. At the lodges soap suds are generally provided in your room for delicate items. Please be mindful that, due to culture and customs in many of the areas in which we operate, some lodges/camps do not wash underwear. While most lodges/camps can arrange for your shoes to be polished, we regret that we are unable to provide a service for these to be washed. In most hotels a shoe buff is supplied in the rooms.
FIRST AID
Although most hotels and lodges are equipped with a first aid kit, we suggest that you bring a small airtight container with a few well-chosen articles, such as plasters, travel sickness tablets, antiseptic cream, pain relieving tablets for headaches, indigestion tablets, sunscreen, eye drops, insect repellent, medication for upset stomachs and after-sun moisturiser. We remind travellers who have any allergies, for example insect stings, or an asthma condition, to pack the required medication.
CLIMATE
South Africa is famous for its sunshine. Over much of South Africa, summer is characterised by hot, sunny weather, often with afternoon thunderstorms that clear quickly. The Western Cape gets most of its rain in winter, with quite a few days of cloudy, rainy weather. Johannesburg lies at an altitude of 1 694 metres (5 560 feet), keeping the average summer temperatures below 30°C (86ºF). The hot, humid KwaZulu-Natal coast, as well as the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, offer fantastic winter weather, with sunny, warmish days and virtually no wind or rain.
ELECTRICITY
220/240 volts AC, 50Hz. You will need an adaptor, which can be purchased in South Africa. It is possible that lodges in more remote areas do not have electricity and run on generator or solar power.
MONEY
The currency is South African Rand (ZAR).
Officials may not always be in a position to issue large amounts of change, so please carry small denominations of cash where possible.
Credit cards are widely accepted.
Please note that credit card transactions could take anything up to a few months to go through on guests’ cards, especially from more remote areas.
General banking hours in main centres and towns: Monday – Friday 09h00 – 15h30
Saturday 08h00 – 11h00
Travellers taking goods out of South Africa are able to reclaim VAT. VAT Reclaim Offices are found at Johannesburg,
Durban and Cape Town International Airports.
LANGUAGES
There are 11 official languages in South Africa, although English is widely spoken.
DIETARY
Most dietary requirements can be catered for. Please advise us of any specific dietary requirements and these will be communicated to all the properties you will be visiting. Should you require kosher meals these will incur additional costs as they are specially flown in to the more remote destinations (two weeks’ prior notice is required).
RESTAURANTS
We recommend pre-booking restaurants for dinner during South Africa’s peak seasons
PHOTOGRAPHY
Please be sure to bring sufficient memory cards and batteries as, although these are readily available in all South African cities and towns, there might be no stock available at the safari lodges. Please remember to ask permission before taking a photograph of any South African resident.
Please be advised that the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones) is not allowed in any of the conservation areas we manage, until such time as their impact on wildlife and anti-poaching initiatives can be assessed. This rule will apply throughout Africa, as our partners in various countries and regions have adopted a similar stance.
GRATUITY GUIDELINE
Please note, the below are guidelines only. Gratuities are at your own discretion and are not compulsory.
Waiters and Drivers
10% of the fare or bill
City Guides
Private transfer
R 90 per transfer
Private half-day tours
R 140 per tour
Private full-day tours
R 240 per tour
On Safari
Ranger/Guide
R 300 per couple per day
Tracker
R 150 per couple per day
Butler
R 150 per couple per day
Camp Staff
R 150 per couple per day
• When traveling in Africa, small aircraft are mostly used on inter-lodge hops and therefore luggage restrictions are applicable. Details of luggage restrictions per region are available and will be sent to you upon confirmation of your booking
• Some scheduled regional and inter-lodge flights may involve multiple stops before reaching final destination. Flights are operated as “shuttle transfers” and therefore departure times may vary up to 1 hour. Times are subject to change without notice.
• Airfare prices are subject to change without prior notice as well as to fare/class availability. Airfare prices may increase between the time of booking, payment and the ticket being issued
• andBeyond cannot be held responsible should airlines discontinue flights or change scheduled times resulting in missed connections etc. Should an amendment in a routing or itinerary be necessary, I will re-quote accordingly
• To comply with international insurance requirements all airline tickets must clearly show the passenger’s title, full name and surname (as indicated in your passport). Please send me this information as soon as possible
Please be advised that the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones) is not allowed in any of the conservation areas we manage, until such time as their impact on wildlife and anti-poaching initiatives can be assessed. This rule will apply throughout Africa, as our partners in various countries and regions have adopted a similar stance.
• Upon confirmation of this reservation, the cancellation policy for andBeyond and all 3rd party services will be effective immediately.
• By acceptance hereof the Parties agree to be bound by the Trading Terms contained in this Agreement. In the event of the Trading Terms not being signed by the Guest, the placement of any booking/s, whether by means of electronic mail or otherwise, shall be deemed to be confirmation that the Terms have been read and that the Guest agrees to be bound by the terms
• Rates quoted are subject to change without prior warning if there are any increases in bed levies, park fees, fuel, sales tax or VAT, third-party services, currency fluctuations or any other circumstances beyond our control
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