As a VACAYA guest, discounts are available to you with various air carriers when booking your flights using our Group Codes/Links. Those codes/links, as well as the instructions for booking, can be found HERE.

All guests arriving on August 13 will receive a VIP Meet & Assist through immigrations, luggage collection, and escort to the InterContinental Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Airport. Instructions for where to meet the Sense of Africa representative will be available approximately 30 days prior to our adventure.

Please note that check-in time at InterContinental Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Airport is 3pm local time. If you arrive before then, you can check your bags with the porters and go off to explore the city.

To check in, you’ll need the following:

• Your Passport
• A Credit Card (for incidentals)

Our partner in South Africa, Sense of Africa, will have instructions for booking extra nights in Johannesburg and Cape Town shortly. As soon as they’ve been received, we’ll post the instructions here. 

The South African Rand (ZAR) is the official currency of South Africa. The exchange rate* is:

1 USD = 18.47 ZAR

1 ZAR = 0.054 USD

The Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWL) is the official currency of Zimbabwe. The exchange rate* is:

1 USD = 30,511 ZWL

1 ZWL = 0.00003 USD

For the latest exchange rates, we recommend https://www.xe.com.

*As of April 2024

Each day, certain meals are included. If a meal isn’t mentioned as being included, you’ll be on your own for that meal. Our guides will recommend local nearby places where you can eat, and, of course, each hotel has a restaurant(s) available to you.

By day, here are the meal inclusions:

August 13 – Johannesburg, South Africa – On Your Own Dining

August 14 – Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe – Breakfast

August 15 – Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe – Breakfast & Dinner

August 16 – Sabi Sabi Game Reserve, South Africa – Breakfast, Lunch (dependent on arrival time), & Dinner

August 17 – Sabi Sabi Game Reserve, South Africa – Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner

August 18 – Sabi Sabi Game Reserve, South Africa – Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner

August 19 – Sabi Sabi Game Reserve, South Africa – Breakfast

August 20 – Cape Town, South Africa – Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner

August 21 – Cape Town, South Africa – Breakfast & Lunch

August 22 – Cape Town, South Africa – Breakfast

August 23 – Cape Town, South Africa – Breakfast & Dinner

August 24 – Cape Town, South Africa – Breakfast

A passport is required of all travelers.

Visas to enter South Africa are dependent on your citizenship, with different rules for different nationalities. Determine whether you’ll need a South Africa visa HERE.

For Zimbabwe, all tourists are required to have a visa and these will be secured at the airport upon our arrival in the country on August 14. The price ranges from $30-$75 based on your nationality. To secure a Zimbabwe tourist visa, you will need the following:

• A Passport valid through February 14, 2025 (that’s 6 months after our date of entry)
• Two (2) blank Passport pages for the required entry visa
• Proof of exit from Zimbabwe (which will be your South Africa return ticket information)

You can find more information about Zimbabwe visas HERE.

All emails to our Booked Guests are available here.

Sense of Africa will soon provide us with a list of bookable excursions in Johannesburg for guests arriving before August 13. 

Gratuities have been pre-paid, but if someone goes above and beyond, you are ALWAYS welcome to show your appreciation with an additional tip. 

There are no required inoculations necessary for general travel to South Africa or Zimbabwe. However…

For those guests who are traveling around the African Continent prior to coming to South Africa, a yellow fever vaccine taken at least 10 days before arrival is required if you’re originating from or transiting through WHO-designated yellow fever countries. You can find that list HERE.

Although not required, do take care with the following…

Hepatitis A & Typhoid Vaccinations
Vaccination against food and water related illnesses are commonly recommended and consist of Hepatitis A and typhoid fever vaccines. It’s also recommended to carry an Anti-Diarrheal like Imodium with you (just in case).

Malaria
Malaria occurs in Kruger National Park, neighboring private game reserves (like ours), and at Victoria Falls. It also occurs in lowland areas in provinces of Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and KwaZulu-Natal. The risk, however, is reduced in the winter months of June to September. There are 3 commonly prescribed types of antimalarial tablets with different degrees of side effects; your doctor can recommend the best option based on your medical history. Antimalarials are roughly 90% effective. 

We have four opportunities to upgrade your lodgings at Sabi Sabi Game Reserve. The available suites are:

• Selati Camp – Ivory Presidential Suite
• Bush Lodge – Tumbela Luxury Villa
• Earth Lodge – Luxury Suite

The fee to upgrade to any of these suites is:

• $1,200 per person double occupancy
• $2,400 single occupancy

There’s also one top-tier luxury villa at Earth Lodge (Amber Villa), which also includes a private safari vehicle. The upgrade cost for that luxury villa is:

• $11,000 per person double occupancy
• $22,000 for single occupancy

For a video look at the Amber Villa, click HERE.

To upgrade to any of these incredible suites, please email us at info@myvacaya.com and make your request (by clicking on this pink email link) through close of business on Thursday, April 18. At 12pm ET on Friday, April 19, we’ll put all interested guests’ names into a proverbial hat and select a winner of each suite. Our sales team will then reach out to you with notice you’ve been selected and payment will be processed in full straight away.

If you have questions about any of these suites, our team is standing by for you.

All Covid-19 protocols (vaccination and testing requirements) have been rescinded. Of course, anything and everything could change at any time, but for now… we’re in the clear. 

If you have a special need due to a disability or dietary restriction, we’d love to know about it so we can communicate that need to our partners at Sense of Africa.If you have a special need, please email those needs to info@myvacaya.com by Friday, June 28. We’ll send the list of needs over to Sense of Africa soon after that date and we’ll get back to any guests whose needs might require alternative arrangements.

To better understand how VACAYA approaches the special needs of our guests, we encourage you to read through our Accessibility page HERE.

While it’s winter in southern Africa, temperatures are still comfortable. Here are the typical August highs and lows for the regions we’ll be visiting:

Johannesburg, South Africa
Highs: 68°F / 20°C
Lows: 40°F / 4.4°C

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Highs: 82°F / 27.7°C
Lows: 49°F / 9.4°C

Sabi Sabi, South Africa
Highs: 80°F / 27°C
Lows: 47°F / 8.3°C

Cape Town, South Africa
Highs: 66°F / 18.9°C
Lows: 46°F / 7.7°C

Temperatures can always vary, of course, so layering your outfits is key. August is the driest month of the year in this region.

Packing for a multi-destination southern Africa adventure will prove to be quite a challenge for most. That’s because the instra-South Africa flights have strict weight limits in regard to the single bag you can check (20kg or 44lbs) and the bag you can carry on (7kg or 15lbs). But with good forethought and strategic planning, we’re confident you can handle this.

WE RECOMMEND LAYERING YOUR CLOTHING. Game drives take place early morning and evenings and it’s quite cold before the sun rises and after it sets. The day-time temperatures can be warm and sunny and it can get quite hot. Light, natural fabrics like cotton and linen are recommended for during the day, and in the evenings, layer up with long trousers, long sleeve shirts, and a warm jacket. Formal wear is not required  – you are free to come straight from our game drives into dinner. 

We also recommend neutral tones and light colors for our game drives. Certain colors, like black and navy blue attract Tsetse flies and dark colors attract the heat. Brightly colored clothing can also be distracting on safari. If you plan to do a bush walk, neutral colors are advised. Avoid white/bright colors for bush walks. 

Recommended color palette:

 PACKING LIST 

• Long trousers or denim jeans 
• Long sleeve shirts/t-shirts 
• A warm jacket, fleece, or windbreaker 
• Wool hat/beanie, gloves, and scarf 
• A good pair of walking shoes with great tread
• Socks to wear with walking shoes – especially if you plan on going on Bush Walks 
• Sandals or flip-flops for during the day at the lodge and some closed shoes or sneakers for evenings 
• Wide-brimmed sun hat, sunglasses and a good sunscreen 
• Swimsuit 
• Camera, video camera, binoculars, spare memory cards, and charging equipment.