Frequently Asked Questions

Your safety is our priority. In fact, one of the benefits of traveling with Premier Africa is the extreme care and assistance we provide to each of our guests, every step of the way. From the moment you arrive, you will be met planeside and assisted through passport control, from where we will collect your luggage and escort you to your waiting private vehicle. By no means will Premier Africa take guests to any destinations or venues we have not inspected or not deem safe. We are proud to say that in our 20 years of travel we have never had any safety incident which we believe is due to our vigilant approach.

However, travelers in Southern Africa should exercise the same common-sense precautions as when traveling in other developing countries or even Europe. Pickpockets are present worldwide and African cities are no exception, so we urge guests to be aware in shops and crowded locations. We advice that fine jewelry be left at home. When in city hotels and bush properties, it is never wise to leave cash or jewelry unattended, even if locked in your suitcase; every lodge or hotel has safe deposit facilities for your valuables.

U.S. & Candian citizens (U.S. passport holders) visiting the Republic of South Africa for ninety (90) days or less for tourism / business purposes do not need visas.

USA and Canadian Travelers going to Zimbabwe & Zambia require a KAZA Uni Visa which allows multiple entries into both countries. This can be purchased on arrival and cost is US$ 50 per person payable in cash.

USA and Canadian Travelers going to Botswana do not require a VISA for periods less than 90 days.

USA Travellers going to Kenya and Tanzania require a VISA to enter these countries and should be obtained before arrival. This can be done online and your assigned Premier Africa journey specialist can assist you with the process.  The cost for the visas as follows:

Single entry visa for Kenya is $ 50 per person

Single entry visa for Tanzania is $100 per person

ALL NATIONALITIES traveling to Mozambique need to obtain an entry visa before arrival: (Exceptions: Angola, Botswana, Eswatin, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe for no more than 30 days and not for residence or working purposes.)  Please visit the Embassy of the Republic on Mozambique at https://usa.embamoc.gov.mz/index.php/en/visa/

South Africa

Most safari lodges lie within a low-risk malaria zone, so it is essential to consider taking prophylactics. We recommend that you adhere to the advice of your doctor regarding prophylactics. Insect repellent (spray or wipes) is provided in your suite and on game drive vehicles.

Zimbabwe and Zambia

No vaccinations are necessary unless you are traveling from a country that is a yellow fever risk area which will then require you to have a yellow fever vaccination & certificate. The USA and South Africa are not yellow fever risk countries.

When you are entering Zimbabwe, Zambia or South Africa, you will only need a Yellow Fever Certificate if you have traveled or lived in any of the countries that are considered high-risk areas.

Zambia and Zimbabwe are however countries with malaria risk and we do suggest consulting your Doctor with regard to anti-malaria medications as per South Africa.

East Africa

MALARIA – The lodges are in malarial zones so it is essential to consider taking appropriate prophylactics.

We recommend that you adhere to the advice of your doctor regarding prophylactics. Insect repellent (spray or wipes), is provided in your suite and on game drive vehicles.

YELLOW FEVER – Vaccinations: Guests are strongly advised to check the latest information with regard to vaccinations for Travel to Kenya, Tanzania or Rwanda with their local travel clinic.

If you are traveling to Kenya, Tanzania or Rwanda then you will be required to have a valid Yellow Fever vaccination certificate. Please ensure that you obtained your Yellow Fever vaccination no less than 10 days before leaving for Africa.

From the USA direct flight to South Africa are available with Delta and United Airlines from Atlanta and Newark to Johannesburg respectively. Flight duration is between 15 and 16 hours.

United Airlines have announced a direct flight between Newark Liberty International Airport and Cape Town from December 2019. The non-stop 12,600km flight across the Atlantic Ocean will take 14.5 hours, according to United Airlines.

From most other USA destinations (eg. Washington DC, New York, LA, Miami or San Francisco) you can fly via a European capital with a European carrier such as British Airways, KLM, Air France or United. Alternatively, some of the Middle Eastern carriers are also flying into the USA, such as Emirates and Etihad.

Southern Africa:

The international standard weight for luggage on most airlines is as follows:

• 1 bag weighing no more than 50lbs per bag (for those traveling economy via airline)
• 2 bags weighing no more than 50lbs per bag, (for those traveling business class via airline)
• 1 carry-on bag weighing a maximum of 15lbs
• Small personal carry-on item i.e. purse, camera

The domestic flights within South Africa weights are as follows:

• 1 bag weighing no more than 44lbs per bag
• 1 carry-on bag weighing a maximum of 15lbs
• Small personal carry-on items i.e. purse, camera

You will be supplied with a soft-sided safari bag for the safari portion of your trip.  Please note your soft-sided safari bag may only weigh 44lbs.

East Africa:

A maximum of 33lbs of luggage per person in soft-sided bags are allowed for light aircraft flights, including hand luggage and camera equipment. Special light-weight safari bags are provided to Premier Africa travelers.

Registration: A deposit of 35% of the quoted cost is required at the time of booking, unless otherwise stated in the reservation form. The remainder of the cost of your trip is due 120 days prior to your departure date. Balance payable by check. If you choose to pay the balance via credit card a 4% administration fee will apply. If your reservation is made within 120 days of departure, the entire cost is required at the time of confirmation.

A deposit (whether cheque or credit card) will only be processed once the group is confirmed at 4 couples. Our journey specialists will keep guests informed and let them know when the group is confirmed and when we are ready to process the deposit.

Cancellations: Cancellations received by Premier Africa Excursions that have replacement confirmations will be free of cancellation fees, subject to the agreement from venue partners/suppliers. This excludes prospective clients who have already indicated an interest in the trip. Due to the nature of advance-reservation processes and pre-paid bookings, strict cancellation fee procedures are applicable

Cancellations received prior to 120 days before departure, without a replacement, will be subject to the following trip cancellation fees:

• An administration cancellation fee of $1500 per person will apply to any cancelled reservation where replacement confirmations are not received.
• Non-refundable fees for all venues, airline tickets, permits and all other suppliers that have charged a non-refundable booking fee.

Cancellations received less than 120 days prior to departure, without a replacement, will be subject to the following trip cancellation fees:

• An administration cancellation fee of $1500 per person will apply to any canceled reservation where replacement confirmations are not received.
• Non-refundable fees for all venues, airline tickets, permits and all other suppliers that have charged a non-refundable booking fee.
• Cancellations received 120 – 80 days prior to departure: 45% of tour cost balance
• Cancellations received less than 80 days prior to departure: 100% of tour cost balance

* Unless otherwise stated on the reservation form supplied

South Africa

All major cities in South Africa have a variety of excellent private hospitals. While on safari there is a Doctor available at Skukuza in the Kruger National Park as well as an excellent Mediclinic 2 hours drive away in Nelspruit with the option of being airlifted if required.

East Africa

Emergency medical evacuation is included in your stay in East Africa lodges and guests will be evacuated with AMREF Flying doctors to Nairobi including the ambulance transport to a selected hospital.  The guest’s own medical insurance is then held liable for the cost of the entire MEDIVAC. It is therefore essential for all guests to acquire their own comprehensive Medical Insurance.

South Africa

South Africa’s climatic conditions generally range from Mediterranean in the southwestern corner of South Africa to temperate in the interior plateau, and subtropical in the northeast. A small area in the northwest has a desert climate. Most of the country has warm, sunny days and cool nights.

Summer months – December to February (summer rainfall in the North of the Country)

Autumn months – March to May

Winter – June to August (winter rainfall in the Western Cape – Cape Town)

Spring – September to November

Kenya & Tanzania

December to March are usually the warmest months of the year, while June to August is the coolest.  April and May often see intermittent rains, and from September to November the days are warm with short scattered rains falling in November.

Rwanda

Just south of the Equator and with much of the country lying at altitude, Rwanda enjoys an agreeable tropical highland climate. Temperatures vary considerably between locations but vary little from month to month.  Peak temperatures rarely exceed 86°F in the daytime or drop below 59°F at night. Akagera is generally the warmest and the Virunga mountains the coolest. The average daily temperature in Kigali is 70°F.

There are two rainy seasons in a year, from mid-February to May and mid-September to mid-December.

The dry season, from June to mid-September, sees light cloud cover and occasional light rainfall. The roads and paths tend to be easier to navigate in this period.

Casual clothing will be the theme throughout your trip to Southern Africa, with smart/casual clothing for your evening dinners at your hotel venues.  The safari lodges are very casual i.e. khaki trousers/shorts, cotton shirts, and comfortable walking shoes.  T-shirts, blue jeans and tennis shoes are also appropriate to wear while on safari.

Bright colors and white are not advisable whilst on safari. Camouflage clothing is not recommended for travel in East African countries 

Laundry facilities are available at all properties. Additional costs may apply

South Africa’s tap water is safe to drink however bottled water is supplied in all hotel rooms and on vehicles.

Zambia – it is advised not to drink tap water but to drink the bottled water provided

East Africa – it is advised not to drink tap water but to drink the bottled water provided

We highly recommend that travel insurance is purchased. Please note that some of the optional policies that can be purchased, namely cancel for any reason and cancel for work reasons as well as pre-existing condition waiver are only effective if the policy is purchased within 14 days of the initial payment of your trip)

We use Travel Guard, and have been using them for 15 years without a claim being denied – you can view them on their website  www.travelguard.com if you wish to see more about them.

South Africa offers a diverse array of safari experiences where you can expect to see the Big 5 as well as all the incredible animals that Africa is known for. This is Big 5 country after all. However, you must remember that one of the big Wow factors of the Greater Kruger and Sabi Sands reserves is that it is an unfenced reserve that allows the animals free rein to roam in their natural habitat.

What this means is that nothing is guaranteed, but what you do see, is spectacularly exciting. An added bonus is that guides and trackers are so skilled that they’ll ensure you’ll see as much as possible.

Some of the private concessions allow off road driving and this means that your guide & tracker will do their best to get you as close as safely possible to a sighting.

When taking a trip of a lifetime, it is important to come with the correct equipment. Nothing could be more useful for capturing the special moments of an African safari than a high quality camera. Lenses that can zoom up to approximately .300mm are adequate for safaris. Please establish if your camera has a built in stabilizer as the camera shake on a game drive vehicle when zooming in can compromise the quality of your pictures. If not, a simple bean bag to rest the camera on will work. 12 – 16GB of memory should be sufficient for a trip and make sure you carry spare batteries.

If you have decided to bring a large digital camera with interchangeable lenses here are a few pointers.

• Dust is a huge problem and getting dust on your sensor while changing lenses can ruin your photos. Therefore, I prefer to use a 50 – 500mm lens which has great versatility for wildlife photography and keeping you from having to change lenses out on safari, and a smaller 17 – 70mm wide angle lens for indoor shots around the camps etc.
• If you do decide to bring a large lens, make sure that you have a decent mono pod they work great especially when you are in a safari vehicle and you need to keep the lens steady for those long shots.
• Make sure you bring enough memory cards rather stay away from the big 16GB cards and bring more 2GB or 4GB cards with you, so that if your card gets damaged or lost you don’t lose all your photos

If you have a specific set of clubs that you only play with then I would suggest bringing them along. Please note that from arrival to departure we look after the transport and storage of your clubs so you will not have to worry about it.

There is an option to hire clubs at each club you play at or we can hire a specific set of clubs that we will transport for you to all the courses you play at. This is at an additional charge.