Practical Information

Passport

Remember to check the expiration date of your passport if travelling internationally. Many countries require your passport to be valid for at least six months after the date of your scheduled return.

Visa

South Africa

Travellers from the UK, US and most (though not all) EU states normally do not need a visa to enter South Africa. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/africa/south-africa
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/south-africa
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/south-africa/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/SouthAfrica.html

Please note, all travellers to South Africa who require a visa need at least two consecutive blank pages in their passport (ie a left- and right-hand page) to enable an entry visa to be issued.

Additionally, any child under 18 travelling to South Africa needs to be in possession of an unabridged birth certificate with the names of both parents. If a child under 18 is only travelling with one parent, they will also have to have an affidavit, no less than three months old, from the absent parent confirming the child can travel with the other parent; a court order granting full legal guardianship of the child; or a death certificate of the deceased parent.

Vaccinations and Health

South Africa

There are no required vaccinations. However, recommended vaccinations include hepatitis A, tetanus, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis B, rabies and tuberculosis. You will also need a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you’re arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission or transiting for more than 12 hours through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

Malaria prophylaxis is essential if travelling in the greater Kruger area; seek advice from your doctor or travel clinic about which tablets to take. The rest of South Africa, including the Garden Route, has a low risk of malaria.

Dengue fever, a tropical viral disease spread by daytime biting mosquitoes, is also a known risk in places visited. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available, so we recommend taking the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

We are advised that there is no risk of malaria on this trip.

Bilharzia is known to occur in some of the lakes or rivers visited on this itinerary, we therefore advise all to take advice from your guide or leader locally before venturing for a swim.

Local Time

South Africa's time zone: Africa/Johannesburg (UTC +02:00)

Electricity

South Africa's electricity: Plug types C (two round pins), D (three round pins), M (three round pins) and N (three round pins) – 230V, 50Hz

Money

South Africa's currency: South African rand (ZAR)

ATM Availability

ATMs are available throughout this trip but not necessarily every day so please advise your leader in advance if you’re going to want to use ATMs.

Extra Expenses & Spending Money

All prices listed are subject to change.

Plettenberg Bay

• Dolphin watching: 650 rand (US$35)
• Whale watching: 970 rand (US$53)
• Township tour: 350 rand (US$19)
• Robberg guided walk: 460 rand (US$23). Entrance only: adults – 60 rand (US$3.30), children under 12 – 40 rand (US$2.15)
• Sea kayaking: 400 rand (US$23)

De Hoop

• Birdwatching walk: 195 rand (US$11)
• Boat cruise: 450 rand (US$25)
• Nature drive: 450 rand (US$25)
• Marine walk: 295 rand (US$16)
• Mountain biking: 295 rand (US$16) – Mountain bike hire 350 rand (US$19)
• Vulture watching: 595 rand (US$34)

Cape Town

• Robben Island: 600 rand (US$34). Please note, if you would like to book this excursion then please advise your sales representative at least four weeks before travel, ideally when you book on the trip. We will take all names and the tickets will then be payable locally – this is to avoid disappointment as it is a popular tour. Once you have signed up, we cannot accept cancellations. Refunds will only be issued if we are refunded by the ticket office for adverse weather conditions etc).
• Cape Town Township & Robben Island tour 1600 rand (US$86) per person
• Township half day tour: 850 rand (US$47)

Tipping

On this Premium Adventure, tipping for any local support staff is included, and will be taken care of by your tour leader (or in some cases through our local agent). So need no for any tipping kitty contributions, or to give your own tips during the trip.

Our ‘included tips’ will normally be divided between drivers, local specialist guides, certain hotel staff, and serving staff for included meals. Amounts will be in line with the local standard. Of course, if you wish to make a further tip for some extra special service you may do so.

Tips for the Tour Leader are not included. Whether to tip at all and the amount is entirely at your own discretion, but as a starting point we suggest approximately 45-65 South African rand (US$2.50-US$3.70) per person per day.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips which improves life for the people and places we visit and looks after the planet we explore. To read more about sustainable travel ethos and practice, click here, and to find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation click here.

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• The use of a local guide means our customers will be well informed about local traditions, and cultural and social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally-owned hotels, vineyards and restaurants, the emphasis on eating locally produced food and support of other local enterprise.
• In Cape Town there is the option to visit a local ‘Shebeen’, which originally meant an illegal drinking den, and now refers to a legal tavern as part of township tour. Our visit here really gives an insight into the life of many South Africans that a lot of tourists don’t get to experience. Small local businesses really benefit from this type of tour as we pay for a home cooked, typically South African meal. Travellers are also able to buy souvenirs here which further supports this establishment.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels.
• By travelling in a small group, led by a local guide, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We do a number of wildlife-oriented activities, such as game drives in Amakhala Game Reserve and exploring the waterfalls and forests of Tsitskamma National Park.
• Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices with regard to working animals and wildlife viewing. Our animal welfare policy can be found here.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively eliminate or reduce waste, for example eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles and instead providing refills for re-usable bottles.
• Our local partners support the Save Our Sausage Trees initiative in Botswana, which aims to address the issue of depleting forests in the area. The Mokoro is a canoe used by the people of the Okavango Delta and it is crafted traditionally out of a single mature Kigelia Africana tree (or sausage tree). Although increased tourism has had some obvious benefits to the area, this has also brought a higher demand for Mokoro boats and therefore more trees are being cut down. As a wooden Mokoro only lasts about 5 years, there are hundreds of these trees being felled per year and not enough to sustain this. We have consulted with the Okovango community, and we have agreed to pay half the price of a fibreglass Mokoro if a poler wants to purchase the other half, in order to save the trees.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.
• By favouring smaller, locally run hotels and guest houses we have a much smaller impact on the surrounding environments.
• We encourage guests to try local specialities such as ostrich sausages, traditional ‘Pap’ (maize & water) and snoek fishcakes. As these foods are all sourced locally it means there will be a reduction in food miles.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

Extra steps you could take to minimise your impact when travelling.

• Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish behind in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, we’d ask you to consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: Please bring your own re-usable water bottle on this trip; filtered water will be provided where tap water is not drinkable.

Important Information

Optional activities and excursions

If you would like to join an optional activity or excursion outside those listed in the itinerary, your leader may be able to assist with selecting a provider. However, Exodus has not assessed the safety standards of activities or excursions that are not listed in the Trip Notes. All optional activities or excursions are undertaken at your own risk.

Water safety

This trip includes time by a lake, river or sea, where there may be opportunities to swim. You should always seek local advice before deciding whether to swim. Open-water or wild swim spots should be treated with extreme caution. Information on how to keep yourself safe while swimming is shown here.