Best of Southern Africa
This signature package combines top-rate safari experiences with world-class scenic highlights including Cape Town, one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, and Victoria Falls, one of the seven wonders of nature.
“The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa…For he has so much to look forward to” – Richard Mullin
Off-road game viewing, in private reserves that share an open border with the world-famous Kruger National Park, allows for a superior safari and luxurious lodging experience, while still enjoying the huge animal numbers and diversity of the Kruger Park ecosystem.
This winning combination of wildlife and scenery makes this our most popular package to date, run for 18 years under our founding brand “Africa Kosher Safaris/AKS.”
ITINERARIES
FAQ
These FAQ's are specific to this tour. For general info please visit our FAQ's page.
- Citizens of the U.S., most commonwealth countries, and Israel do not require visas to enter South Africa.
- Visitors must ensure that they have at least 2 blank VISA pages (not endorsement pages) in their passport for this, or they WILL be denied boarding to South Africa.
- Due to the many different countries that are often visited and reentry into South Africa, we strongly suggest having at least 5 empty VISA pages available!
- Botswana also gives free visas to citizens of most of these countries but their rules change from time to time.
- Zambia and Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls on our itineraries ) require visitors to buy visas.
- For U.S. ,European, and Israeli citizens, this is usually possible at port of entry but their rules tend to change regularly, so please double check with your local consulate.
- A limited ammount of CAZA visas which allows multiple entry to both countries for only $50 can be obtained at airport points of entry- when not available, seperate double/multiple entry visas need to be purchased for each country and can cost up to about $130 or more each, depending on nationality- please carry enough cash $US for these (only new notes post 2006)
- As GKS cannot take responsibility for accuracy of visa information, it MUST be verified by the consulates of these countries well in advance of travel .
- El Al flies direct from Tel Aviv to Johannesburg a number of times a week.
- South African airways flies direct from New York and Washington to Johannesburg daily, sometimes with an hour stopover in Dakar.
- Delta flies non-stop from Atlanta to Johannesburg daily. British airways fly regularly from London to Johannesburg and Cape Town.
- Other possible routings from New York include NorthWest/KLM via Amsterdam or Virgin Atlantic/British Airways via London.
Arrival/ Departure
- Some tours start in Livingstone and end in Johannesburg. Others start in Johannesburg and end in Livingstone or start and end in Johannesburg.
- Always arrive the morning the tour begins or before and depart no earlier than 7 pm on the last day of the tour.
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Always check routing and times with office before booking
GKS is happy to advise you with the booking process
- Despite its reputation for having a high crime rate, South Africa is generally a very safe destination for tourists.
- The Jewish centres of Johannesburg are now protected by CAP, community active patrol, which has brought about an 80% reduction in violent crime over the past two years and has made our suburbs relatively safe once again.
- Although a low-risk area for terrorism, the global climate dictates that we take certain precautions and exact venues of tours are only made known to confirmed participants.
- Most of South Africa has a moderate climate all year round with warm to hot rainy summers (October-March) and dry winters (April-September.)
- During our winter (May-August), the safari areas (Kruger region, Victoria falls, and Chobe) are usually mild to warm by day (highs in the 70’s and 80’s F) and cold at night (lows in the 40’s and 50’s F), Cape Town is usually mild by day (highs in the 60’s F) and cool to cold by night (lows in the 50’s F) with both sunshine, rain and fog being common, and Johannesburg and Madikwe are mild by day (highs in the 60’s and 70’s F) and very cold by night (lows in the 30’s F)
- During our summer (Oct-March), the safari areas are usually very hot (80’s and 90’s F by day, 70’s by night) with regular thunderstorms and rain, Cape Town is usually hot and dry ( 80’s and 90’s F by day, 60’s and 70’s by night), and Johannesburg and Madikwe are warm to hot and very rainy (80’s and 90’s by day, 60’s by night.)
- September and April are usually warm and dry in all venues, though weather can be very changeable during these transition months.
- EAST AFRICA has an equatorial climate and the temperatures are fairly similar throughout the year. They vary with elevation and precipitation, and although usually pleasantly warm , the higher areas of the Serengeti, Masai Mara, Ngorongoro, and Kilimanjaro regions can be windy, rainy, and cool, and a sweatshirt and jacket are always recommended
- South Africa has a modern health-care system and good medical care is available in all main urban centres.
- This is not always so in the more remote regions, and other African countries, so good medical travel and evacuation insurance is essential.
- Yellow fever innoculations are required for Victoria Falls/Zambia and for East Africa .
- Malaria is a risk in all of East Africa throughout the year, as well as in Victoria Falls, Chobe, and most tropical areas of Southern Africa. It is also a threat in The Kruger Park Region of South Africa, mostly, but not limited to the summer months (October-April) .
- Appropriate malaria prophylaxis should be taken before visiting these areas – consult your doctor about Malarone, mefloquine, or doxycycline.
- Women who are pregnant, infants, children under 4-5 should consult their doctor before visiting malaria areas. Malaria-free Safari areas like Madikwe and the Pilanesberg can be arranged in such cases.
- Johannesburg, Cape Town, and the Garden Route are completely malaria free.
- The unit of currency in South Africa is the Rand which is currently valued at about 19.07 ZAR = 1$, although currency fluctuations can be rather drastic.
- ATMs in South Africa accept most foreign Visa and Mastercards and are the best way of drawing the local currency.
- Botswana pula can also be obtained at ATMs in Botswana, and curio stores in Zambia and Zimbabwe will take $US