6NTS |  Ker & Downey Botswana Safari –  Okavango Delta |

TRAVEL ADVICE

Baggage

• Suitcase (not large) with a lock. This suitcase can be left at luggage storage facilities while visiting wilderness/safari areas.
• Small carry-on bag (10 kg /22 lbs) luggage for light plane transfers into safari areas.
• Small soft khaki or (camouflage) bag for binoculars, cameras, lip balm and sunscreen whilst on safari vehicles.

Clothing

Avoid dark blue, black, or white colors which are easily visible to animals. Most safari lodges will offer laundry facilities at minimal charge and often it is complimentary.

Basic list for safari areas to fit into a 10kg soft bag:

• 2 pairs jeans (or 1 pair jeans and 1 khaki cotton slacks)
• 1 khaki cotton slacks
• 3 long sleeve cotton shirts khaki or green/beige
• 1 or 2 cotton shorts khaki or green/beige color
• 2 cotton short-sleeve shirts khaki or green/beige
• 3 T-shirts
• 4 pairs of socks
• 4 underpants/panties
• 1 sun hat – wide brimmed with under chin strap that will fold into your luggage
• 1 peak cap (khaki preferable)
• 1 beanie for night drives and early morning drives
• 1 swimsuit
• 1 leather comfortable walking shoes
• 1 flat easy-to-pack canvas shoes. Alternatively, sneakers.
• 1 thongs/flip-flops
• 1 light sweater
• 1 long warm windbreaker/jacket
• 1 belt

Equipment / Toiletries

• Binoculars
• Flashlight with batteries
• A bird book for enthusiastic birders
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen and lip balm
• Insect Repellant
• Eye pads, earplugs, neck supporter, sleeping tablets, support socks for aircraft.
• Travel alarm clock
• Battery operated or disposable razor.

Electrical

• Electrical adapters and a converter/transformer for small electrical appliances are needed. Most African countries use 220-volt systems. Obtain from your local travel.
• Take along your camera and lots of spare memory card or film and camera batteries

Medical

• Anti-malaria. Obtain current recommendations from your family doctor or CDC (Center for Diseases Control).
• Hepatitis A and B and Tetanus shots prior to trip recommended.
• It is strongly recommended at the time of booking that you should purchase a comprehensive travel insurance policy of your choice. Your insurance should cover medical evacuation in the case of an emergency.

Travel Documents

• Visas
• Passports
• Air tickets
• Driver’s License
• Credit Cards (preferably Visa or MasterCard)
• We recommend that you take small denominations of cash:

$1.00 notes x 50 ($50.00)

$5.00 notes x 50 ($250.00)

$10.00 notes x 20 ($200.00)

$20.00 notes x 10 ($200.00)

Tipping

Tipping is normally from 10-15% depending on the service level received. Tipping as you would in North America would be well received.

The guidelines that are provided below are based on normal gratuities expected from American travelers. If you receive exceptional service and care, you may want to increase your gratuities just as you would decrease the gratuities if your service was inadequate.

All African countries included on this site accept US dollars for gratuities. Travelers are advised to take an adequate supply of US money in small denominations ($20-$1 bills). You may take some larger bills which can be useful for large purchases. However, remote game lodges will often not have enough US dollars to make change for $100 or even $50 bills.

Private Transfers

This applies to city transfers to and from airport and hotels, transfers to restaurants, rail or ship stations. Transfer gratuities should be given at the time service is provided.

• Meet & greet representative: $3 per person
• Transfer driver: $2 per person one way
• Separate transfer guide (if applicable): $3 per person one way

Game Lodge or Camp Stay

Generally, you tip all game lodge and personnel on the last day of your stay. Some lodges will provide a tipping box in the lobby or an envelope in your room for gratuities to general staff. If not, you can hand this tip to the lodge manager.

• Game Ranger: $15-$20 per person per day
• Game Tracker (if applicable): $10-$15 per person per day
• Butler (if applicable): $5-$10 per person per day
• General staff: $8-$10 per person per day (includes waiters, cooks, bar attendants, evening entertainers)
• Private game ranger: Minimum $50 to maximum $100 for a party of 1-6 people (not per person)

Purchases

You can find many great purchases as you travel. A Value Added Tax (VAT) will be added to purchases in certain African countries. Save your receipts and present them at the airport prior to departure to claim back this tax

Pack for a Purpose

Make a difference in the lives of children around the world by using available space in your luggage to provide supplies to the communities you visit. If just 500 individuals pack 5 lbs (2.27 kgs) each, we can provide 1.25 tons of supplies! You Can Have A Big Impact!

For just 5 lbs (2.27 kgs), you can bring:

400 pencils or
5 deflated soccer balls with an inflation device or
A stethoscope, a blood pressure cuff, & 500 band-aids

Community & Social Responsibility

As part of its founding principles we believed that one must recognise the dominant realities of the community in which we do business and that the sustained development of our communities is as paramount as the cause of good business principles, and not merely one of those principles.

We, therefore, encourage our guests to pack for purpose that is to take with them some supplies if they have to donate to communities they visit, every bit make an enormous impact in most homes in Africa.