IMPORTANT AND USEFUL INFORMATION

The above is a quotation only.
Services subject to availability at the time of booking.

Rates subject to change without prior notice due to circumstances beyond our control e.g. fuel increases, currency fluctuation etc.

Should the period of travel, number of participants, type of accommodation, type of vehicle, or the duration of the stay change, the quote will vary accordingly.

Terms and Conditions apply.

The South African Ministry of Home Affairs has introduced new regulations under the Immigration Act whereby from 1 October 2014 passengers traveling with children under the age of 18 years – arriving, transiting and /or departing from South Africa, will be required to produce an unabridged birth certificate indicating the biological parents of the minor. Additional documentation is required for children traveling with only one parent, or adults who are not the biological parents. Full requirements are available from the South African High Commission/Embassy in your area. Airlines will be forced to refuse travel to families not in possession of these documents. These new regulations have been implemented to combat child trafficking.

VISAS:

Visit the South African Department of Home Affairs comprehensive website www.home-affairs.gov.za. This website details which nationals are exempt from visas, and which are obliged to make an application. Enquiries regarding South African visa info can also be obtained from South African missions in your country or the nearest one to you.

If you are a national of a country that requires visas, you must make an application ahead of your departure, as visas are not issued on arrival. The visa must be affixed in your passport to be shown to immigration officials on landing. Applications must be made through South African diplomatic or consular representatives.

ELECTRICITY:

The South African electricity supply is 220/230 volts AC 50 HZ.

Most plugs are fifteen amp 3-prong or five amp 2-prong, with round pins. If an adaptor is called for, consider bringing one with you, although they can be purchased locally.

US-made appliances may need a transformer.
Most hotel rooms have 110-volt outlets for electric shavers and appliances.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS:
Some information on dialling codes:

WHAT TO WEAR:

We are generally laid back in South Africa, so no need to haul out your best silks and diamonds when you head for our shores. Here is some clothing advice when in South Africa:

For the summers, bring clothes that are cool and comfortable, along with an umbrella or rain jacket, as this is when most of the country gets rain. A light jacket or wrap is a good precaution. Do not forget a swimming costume.

The winters are generally mild, comparing favourably with European summers. But we do get some days when temperatures sky-dive, especially in high-lying areas such as the Drakensberg, so be prepared with jerseys and jackets. If you are going to the Cape, rain gear will be needed in this season.

Always bring a hat – the sun can be strong even in the winter months. Make sunglasses, a hat and sun block affirm part of your skincare kit.

Walking shoes are a good idea all year-round, with warm socks in the winter.

If you are doing business in the country, business attire may be called for, although some sectors of the corporate world e.g. media for example tend to dress down these days.

For game viewing, a couple of neutral-toned items will be useful, but there is no need to go overboard and kit yourself out like David Livingstone, out to explore Africa for the first time.

For the evening, if you are dining at an upmarket restaurant or seeing a show, go the smart-casual route.

TIPPING:

Tipping is widely practiced in South Africa. Here is some information on South African tipping:

Currency – Tips in South Africa are normally done in Rand, though US dollars are also accepted.

Restaurants and Bars – Tipping in restaurants is practiced mainly in the larger towns and is customarily kept at 10% of the total shown on the bill. Many restaurants will add a 10% service charge to a bill if the number of guests exceeds six. This amount is Vatable. Any service charge included in a hotel or restaurant bill which is levied by the accommodation establishment itself, will attract VAT at the standard rate in the normal manner, regardless of whether any amount is later passed on to the establishment’s employees or not.

Petrol Stations and Car Parking – Petrol station attendants may be tipped a few Rands if they wash the windscreen and offer to check oil and water and the tyres. Car- guards or parking-attendants are usually given R2 – R5. Car parks and areas around many popular tourist spots are populated by locals in Day-Glo yellow vests who offer to direct you to a space or to “look after your car for you.” They are not threatening, and you do not have to pay them, but giving them a few Rands may stop them from turning to petty crime. Cape Town has recently instituted a more formal parking attendant system in the downtown area, where uniformed attendants with handheld machines take payment for parking. You will need to estimate how long you’ll be staying and pay for that amount of time – if you run over, you can pay the difference when you return to your car (an improvement on the need to worry about the meter!). Payment needs to be in cash, and you can get a receipt.

Tour Guides and Drivers – Tourist guides and coach drivers are tipped at the end of the day. On a group day tour (7-Seater vehicle) there is usually a single driver/guide. On coach tours, you would normally have a driver and a guide. Recommended tip is usually R10.00 per person on a day tour and R15.00 per person per day on overland and local coach tours. The money is split between the tourist guide and the driver. For private tours, R50 per person per half-day tour and R80 per person per day for a full-day tour is the norm.

Hotels – At hotels it is customary to leave R50 per person per day for housekeeping. If a porter assists with your bags, it is normal to tip the porter R15 per movement, assuming about two normal-size bags per person.

Outside of larger cities, you may be asked to pay your tips to the hotel front desk.

You may want to consider tipping the person directly.

For outgoing international calls, dial 00 plus the country and area codes of the destination concerned.

Refer to telephone directories for international dialling codes or obtain 24-hour assistance by calling 10903.

For incoming international calls, the code is +27 followed by the city code or cell phone code, dropping the first zero.

O8 numbers are free to the caller; 0860 numbers are charged at local rates; 0861 numbers are charged at a flat rate.

Some local city dialling codes: 011 – Johannesburg; 012 – Pretoria; 021 – Cape Town; 031 – Durban; 041 – Port Elizabeth / Gqeberha