It is essential that adequate travel insurance be taken out prior to departure. This should cover any medical situation such as hospitalization, as well as cancellation, curtailment of arrangements and baggage. When you travel with andBeyond, you are automatically covered by their 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.

It is important to note that some travel insurance policies may not be recognized by certain local hospitals, therefore please check with your provider if their product is accepted in your destination and seek alternative cover if necessary.

Important:

If on medication at time of travel please ensure that you bring a sufficient supply for the entire trip, as it may be difficult to obtain after arrival. This applies to any malaria prophylaxis, prescriptions, chronic or preferred brand medication.

Malaria:
Please consult your physician for advice on malaria precautions before travel to Southern Africa.

Ticks:

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.

Allergies, Medication and Prescriptions:

If you suffer allergies, it is advised to take counteracting medication with you, as the medication you require may not be available due to the remoteness of these destinations.

Passports are required by all foreign visitors and must be valid for six months after the intended length of stay. Please ensure that you have at least two consecutive blank visa pages (not endorsement pages) in your passport. Our recommendation is three or even four blank pages if you are traveling through more than one country. If there is insufficient space in the passport then entry could be denied.

Visa costs and requirements are specific to nationality and country of origin. It is imperative to check your visa requirements with the relevant embassies / consulates as it may vary according to your nationality.

Requirements and costs for visas can change with little notice.

Eligibility for visa on arrival is indicated on the official websites. On occasion it may prove more convenient to make use of an intermediary to obtain a visa. These services are tailored to the language and market they serve and are available online.

Check-in is 1⁄2hrs prior for domestic departures and 3hrs prior for international departures.

Due to particularly stringent security measures at airports, guests are advised to arrive an additional hour prior to their departure time.

International travelers may experience 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.

Scheduled regional and inter-lodge flights may involve multiple stops before reaching the final destination. Flights are operated as “shuttle transfers” and therefore departure times may vary up to 1hr. 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 for guests to get to their final destination. Any costs resulting from such diversions would be for your own account. Aircrafts used on inter-lodge flights are small and interior space limited. In addition, some activity and scenic air operators may also have weight and/or height restrictions. 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. Additional costs may apply.

Some shuttle inter-lodge flights may depart early in the morning which means you will miss your morning activity. Regrettably, this is beyond our control as flights are scheduled to meet onward and connecting flights out of the various international airports. If a specific departure time is required, a private charter would need to be booked.

Please be advise that the departure tax out of Victoria Falls Airport to Kasane International Airport is for the guests’ own account. Previously this amount fluctuated all the time and the operator (Mackair) could not advise in advance how much guests should have on-hand. It has stabilized now at a rate of USD 50.00 departure tax per person Cash Only and this is to be paid directly at the airport by the guests.

andBeyond Botswana 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, we will re-quote accordingly.

When embarking on an African safari, luggage is required to be packed in a soft bag with no wheels or hard frame. These requirements differ from operator to operator, based on various conditions; however, because most of our guests travel cross border, and with more than one charter airline, we recommend that they adhere to the standard rule.

When traveling 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 marketplace, 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.

General Requirement for Light Aircraft

• Type of luggage & dimensions: Soft bags with maximum dimensions of 35cm (13.7 inches) wide x 40 cm (15.7 inches) high and 70 cm (27.5 inches) long. 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.

OR Tambo International Airport

OR Tambo International Airport has implemented restrictions on the shape of luggage that may be checked in. Please note that bags should comply with the following:

- Bags must be regularly shaped, with at least one flat surface. Round or irregularly shaped bags will not be accepted

- Bags with long hanging straps will not be accepted

Passengers with bags not meeting these restrictions will be asked to wrap their bags at one of the wrapping stations in the airport.

Mack Air Botswana

Maximum of 20kg (44lbs) per person which includes hand luggage. Type of luggage & dimensions: Soft and duffel/tog bags with maximum dimensions of 30 cm (12 inches) wide x 35 cm (14 inches) high and 70 cm (28 inches) long. Wheels on a bag are only permissible if they are not part of a solid frame or rigid structure.

An additional maximum of 30kg of luggage per person per flight may be purchased.

All luggage, including excess baggage, must be soft-sided.

As a general guide, comfortable, casual wash and wear clothes are recommended. Muted colors 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 colors

- 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

- Sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, insect repellent, moisturizer and lip-salve are all essentials

- Binoculars and camera equipment

- Good quality safari clothing is available in safari shops

- Camouflage-patterned clothing is not permitted in Zimbabwe. This applies to any clothing that can be construed
as mimicking military-wear.

- T ravelers are urged not to wear , or even carry , any military-inspired clothing while traveling in Zimbabwe.
You might want to consider some of our recommended travel accessory options: These include top quality Thule luggage items, which are not only designed for your total comfort, but also for your ultra-convenience as they are accepted by all andBeyond’s preferred flight providers.

When staying at one of the African &Beyond lodges or camps, you can enjoy the exclusive use of one pair of SWAROVSKI OPTIK binoculars per room / suite for the duration of your stay. However, should your itinerary include staying at one of our preferred partner properties and you wish to have access to binoculars throughout your journey, perhaps you would prefer to purchase your own pair of SWAROVSKI OPTIK binoculars for keeping.

• 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.

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 moisturizer. We remind travelers who have any allergies, for example insect stings, or an asthma condition, to pack the required medication.

CLIMATE

Botswana’s climate is mainly temperate. Summer, October to April, can be very hot, but daytime temperatures typically average around 30oC (86oF). The rainy season lasts from January to March. Winter, May to September, brings cooler weather with an average temperature of 25oC (77oF), early mornings and evenings may be very cold.

MONEY

Banks and foreign exchange bureaus are available at all international airports and main towns. Officials may not be in a position to issue change, so please carry small denominations of cash where possible.

Most hotels and lodges accept Visa and MasterCard.
Credit card transactions could take anything up to a few months to go through, especially from more remote areas.

It is advised that travelers to Zimbabwe can continue to pay in foreign currency cash or card. It is also advisable that small denominations of USD cash is carried when shopping locally.

LANGUAGES

English is widely spoken throughout Southern Africa.

DIETARY

Most dietary requirements can be catered for. Please advise us of any specific dietary requirements before you travel, and these will be communicated to all properties.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Bring sufficient memory cards and batteries as these are not always readily available. Remember to ask permission before taking a photograph of any local people.

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 applies throughout Africa, as our partners have adopted a similar stance.