Contactless payment, an ATM, exchange of travelers cheques. You can’t take this for granted in Africa
Group tours are given a clear indication of how much “pocket money” is recommended. For private safaris and self drives it depends on your personal spending pattern. But make sure you have a reasonable amount of cash (in US $ or Euro) with you in case an ATM doesn’t work.
Travelling with a credit or debit card is always a good idea, and are widely accepted in Southern Africa, but should not be relied upon north of Victoria Falls. Most people choose to travel with a Credit or Debit card but this should not be relied upon.
VISA is the most widely accepted card and is recommended. Mastercard and American Express are accepted only in selected locations.
Some providers charge high fees for using credit and debit cards.
It is now possible to obtain Forex Cash Cards from Travelex as an alternative to your usual Debit or Credit Card.
Please note that all ATM’s will ONLY dispense cash in local currency. You will only be able to draw US$ cash from ATM’s in Zimbabwe.
Travellers cheques are an option to bring alongside Cash and Credit Cards. Travellers Cheques do give you the added benifit of more security than Cash. However they can be time consuming to change and can incur substantial fees.
If you are planning on carrying Travellers Cheques to pay your local payment with, please note that you will still need to cash the travellers cheques and convert them into Local Currency before purchasing US$ Cash – if you do this you will get stung twice with exchange rates and commissions.
Bring the majority of your spending money in cash in USD, Sterling or Euros. Bring the majority of your spending money in cash in USD, Sterling or Euros. Generally US dollars are the easiest to exchange. If your tour remains within Southern Africa – South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Swaziland, Lesotho, and Mozambique – you may like to bring all your spending money in South African Rand and you can change the money before you leave your own country.
If you carry US dollar bills in East Africa please ensure they are clean, un-torn and post-2005. Anything else will incur a poor exchange rate or be refused. Your guide can advise you where it is best to change cartier replica money into the local currency on your tour and how much you are likely to require. Some tours may require you to have money already changed after arrival in the airport.
We have worked and lived what we sell. We give honest advise from our personal experience.
Personal support from an African expert, before, during and after your trip.
We operate in the most sustainable way
We have selected our tours personally. We want to make sure you experience Africa in the best possible way.
We consider it our duty to let you well prepared board the airplane to start your journey to Africa. Many of our tours come with a Tour Dossier with additional information for your trip. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Below are some guidelines to get you started with your preparations.