Hi BAC:

Here are a few recommendations to avoid overpaying and staying safe:

1. Ensure your passport has validity of at least six months after arriving.
2. Always check the visa requirements, most countries no longer require advance visa but a visa tax at the arriving airport, ranging from $5 to $20 per person, except Brazil and Chile who tax Americans with the same visa cost as the US Embassy charges their citizens, or about $100, all others pay $5.
3. Check vaccination requirements and bring a copy of your vaccination record, the only strange required vaccine I have seen as required in some countries is Yellow Fever, others are fairly standard.
4. Forget about travelers cheques, take your credit card, all major hotels, restaurants and tourist places take them, and for small expenses such as taxi, tips, etc. Cash your first $100 at the airport and then go to an ATM to get cash as you need them. The ATM fee is typically 3% which is cheaper than 10% at Currency Exchange houses in the USA and Europe.
5. If you really want to save money in currency exchange, you will have to take cash and go to a local bank during business hours (M-F before 3pm in many countries) and get the best exchange rate. Take your passport as you will need identification.
6. Notify your credit card company that you will be travelling to country XYZ so they do not reject your charges and you won’t have a way to pay the bill.
7. Take more than one credit card on the trip, but only carry one with you, leave the other at the hotel, in case you lose the first card, you can continue with the second card.
8. Scan all your important documents in color:
   1. Passport
   2. Visas
   3. Front and back of your credit cards
9. Transfer your scanned documents into a file (Say Power Point), save it as PDF with a strong password and send it to your Gmail or Hotmail account. In case you are robbed or lose all your documents, you will be able to get a copy to call the credit card company or go to the embassy with identification.

You will have a wonderful experience, and I am sure your family will cherish this vacation forever.

Do not drink the water while you are in Africa. This includes ice in drinks, and raw foods that have been washed in water. Always keep a plentiful supply of bottled water wherever you go to stay safe and healthy while you are in Africa.

Eastern Cape Safari