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Input re: Using Tauck Duffel Bags on International Flight

TRAVELAM28

Thanks to all who have posted on this trip in past. Your input has been very helpful. This is our 3rd Africa Trip with Tauck and we are excited to be leaving in a few days.

I'm curious - did anyone use the Tauck duffel to pack ahead of time for the Botswana portion of trip - and take onboard
as a carryon for their international flight - or did you pack it in your main suitcase?
I thought that may save both time and space but not sure if any reason I haven't thought of why we shouldn't use it that way?? (We are flying South African air and are allowed 2 carryons each). Any thoughts on this will be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Comments

DawnC28

cathyandsteveg wrote:

Dawn...now that you have been on the trip...can you answer some of your own questions?

Sure! Before leaving for Maun airport, we packed what we wanted for the safari portion and left everything else in our checked bag to be stored for us.

At Maun, the 3oz. liquids do apply, and they do take your lighters - so give them to the luggage staff before entering security, and they return them to you when you land at your first safari lodge.

After that, it is hop on hop off the next three small plane flights from safari to safari, until you are back at Maun where you have time to repack if you like into your checked bags.

We did have a 2 hour delay in Maun, not arriving at the hotel in Cape Town until after 7:30pm, made for a long day, but that was our only travel glitch the whole trip.

Warning - we were told not to pack anything camera or electronics in checked bags, and on our of tour lost a camera lens during the flight in his checked bag when we arrrived at Cape Town.

Turned out to be pretty seamless, as all of Tauck's transfers are.

cathyandsteveg__

Good to know about the 3 ounce rule....I now know to pack three ounces for both of us so we don't run out! We wont have lighters so that wont be an issue.

We will be very careful with camera equipment and make sure we dont pack any of it.

Your information has been helpful...thank you.

We will book our flights the end of the week and have been purchasing things to take. So anything you share is so appreciated!

cathyandsteveg__

just to clarify

We are allowed the duffel bag weighing 44 pounds and are we also allowed carry ons...like back packs?

Sealord

Unless you are carrying bricks, the ‘full’ duffel will weigh around 30 pounds. Yes you are allowed a small backpack, but on the small planes it may go in with the cargo.

cathyandsteveg__

thank you

taxare

One minor point of clarification on what Sealord said. The duffel bags go underneath in the cargo hold, on all three of our small plane flights the backpacks went behind the last row on the plane in a netted area. The point being that you don't have to worry about the contents of your backpack being thrown in with the duffel bags.

cathyandsteveg__

oh thanks...We are bringing our laptop...in a backpack....not to use the internet...but to download pictures and save them. We will have lots of memory...but we always get nervous about saving photos and the possibility of losing them...so we back up everything several times. (We have lost pictures several times...so we now overkill)

I was also concerned about the camera bag. I have purchased photo vests for both of us so we can carry several lens and camera equipment on us during the safaris....but when flying Steve will certainly have his camera bag.

I am a clothes and shoe hog...but i am trying really hard to simplify....so I have purchased several t shirts and jeggings for myself and shorts and t shirts for him. I bought a few long sleeved shirts to wear over the t shirts that we can then remove when it gets to warm. So I believe we will be well below the 44 pounds allowed for the duffel bags.

We can book our air tomorrow...

Any information and advice is of course always appreciated. To say I am excited is an understatement.

AlanS

Years ago, I took a laptop on our first Tauck tour to England- what a pain- too big and heavy, separate power supply, etc. Since then I have used a tablet (iPad w/128 GB of storage).

My procedures for handling photos:

I use a 64 MB memory card in my DSLR which is large enough to hold several thousand photos (@ 18 MP)- an entire trip's worth, though I do carry a spare card just in case. Every evening I download a copy of the day's photos from the camera to my iPad, BUT I also leave the originals on the memory card. That way I always have two copies of each photo. I have used this procedure for the last 9 trips, and it still works well. The iPad allows me to view and share with people during the trip- with those on the trip (via airdrop) or friends back home (Facebook if there is enough bandwidth on the hotel internet.)

British

I would never dream of taking a laptop on such a vacation. Mr B has a camera that has a chip ( an SD card with a Wi-Fi chip in it) that has it's own Wi-Fi signal. He then links it to his mini iPad and as long as the camera and iPad are close to each other the photos automatically transfer onto the iPad. So when we are out on safari I can see the photos he is taking zooming onto his iPad as we drive along. They also remain on his SD card. The camera is about 5 years old and cost around $800 for the bundle. He bought an additional Tameron lens which takes good shots. Most cameras have a Wi-Fi card. My newer camera has one, a much less expensive one. I never take a camera bag, I just put my camera in a thin soft nylon but waterproof bag and it has never gotten damaged. With my small daybag, also soft nylon, the down jacket and other bits and pieces cushion it enough for me to just throw the bag on the floor, but most of the time out on safari it is around my neck. I wear a buff that cushions it nicely around my neck along with my binoculars.
We never wear shorts on Safari, always long pants, it protects us from the sun, having to use too much powerful nasty Deet on exposed skin and reduces chances of mosquito bites and tsetse fly bites.
Just our experience from five African Safari tours plus other nature type tours.

BKMD

I take a laptop on all my trips. I just don't like the virtual keyboard on a tablet. It's called an Ultrabook, which is an Intel spec for size and weight, not a brand name (mine happens to be Asus and weighs 2 1/2 lbs.) I only use this laptop while travelling, and don't have anything personal or important on it (eg., financial apps). I use it strictly for internet (with a VPN), photo downloads, etc. It's fit in every room safe I've encountered, though on my recent Tauck Scandinavia trip, two of the dumpier hotels we stayed in (Toftaholm and Loen) didn't have room safes. I asked the TD about that and she said it's not an issue - she left her (Tauck's) cash bankroll in her room and never had a problem.

AlanS

BKMD wrote:

I take a laptop on all my trips. I just don't like the virtual keyboard on a tablet.

I don't like the virtual keyboard on the iPad either so have an ultra-thin, lightweight Logitech wireless cover w/keyboard which attaches with magnets and connects w/Bluetooth. It provides all the keyboard functionality that was annoyingly missing or difficult to use on my iPad virtual keyboard, and more. My wife's is rechargeable, mine which is newer, uses button batteries which last well over a year. The back of the Logitech keyboard is made from the exact same brushed metal and is the same color as the iPad Air II case, looks like it was always a part of the iPad. I don't know anything about the keyboards for current models of the iPad.

9129-Logitech-Ultrathin-Keyboard-Cover-for-iPad-Air.jpg

9129-Logitech-Ultrathin-Keyboard-Cover-for-iPad-Air.jpg

cathyandsteveg__

British...I am taking some long pants for steve as well as some shorts...including convertible pants and convertible shirts. He will be as covered as he chooses to be. I am only taking long pants for me. I don't wear shorts...EVER. I am actually quite proud of myself in my planning. I think we will have plenty of clothes without going overboard and packing more than we need. I have been trying to plan light layers that we can use if we need them. I am pretty sure we could get everything into one duffel bag instead of two and still be under weight.

We take our laptop on every trip... every where we have been...and we have never had an issue. We do use a lock but I don't think we have ever really needed it. We are comfortable taking it with us and can use it for internet if we choose to....however...I will probably use my phone for most everything.

Steve uses a canon 5D mark III....and he shoots in Raw....so his pictures are large and he likes to download them to the computer as a precaution. We don't have a tablet or an I pad...I used to have one and found it pretty useless...between an Iphone and a computer...I don't really need an Ipad....I gave it to my granddaughter. Steve will carry his camera bag as one of his personal items as well as the back pack. I only carry one personal item. I got the photographer vests to use on the safaris so he is not toting around a bag. Between the two vests...he should be able to take what he needs each day.

Dawn...I am packing 2 baggies with personal products...one in my bag and one in his...and will make sure they meet the liquid rules for the flights. We will have a very long layover...11 hours? ...in London and will use the admirals club showers to freshen up since we will have two overnight flights. I can refill those baggies for the safaris before sending our big bags on to cape town.

I have to say...the information shared here has been most helpful. Many things have been contributed that i may not have thought about. We have never been to Africa...but we are experienced travelers. This is our second Tauck trip and we are planning number three to Antartica.

Again...thanks everyone!

British

AlanS wrote:

I don't like the virtual keyboard on the iPad either so have an ultra-thin, lightweight Logitech wireless cover w/keyboard which attaches with magnets and connects w/Bluetooth. It provides all the keyboard functionality that was annoyingly missing or difficult to use on my iPad virtual keyboard, and more. My wife's is rechargeable, mine which is newer, uses button batteries which last well over a year. The back of the Logitech keyboard is made from the exact same brushed metal and is the same color as the iPad Air II case, looks like it was always a part of the iPad. I don't know anything about the keyboards for current models of the iPad.

MR B uses a wireless keyboard too.

British

Cathy, we have had that long layover in London several times. Amazingly it soon passes and the food and showers are good.
Glad to here Steve has long pants! Highly recommend buffs for all manner of things including keeping the dust out of your eyes, mouth and nose. It’s so easy to get laundry done in Africa, it’s about the only place we will get laundry done because it is free or cheap and we don’t want to take back such dusty clothing. Please note, many places will not wash your smalls due to cultural reasons. Your underwear will dry in about half an hour in the Kalahari.

BKMD

Alan - I like that setup. May consider something similar when the laptop dies or is stolen.

Just a minor correction to a post earlier in the thread. The volume limit for carry-on liquids is 100ml, which is actually 3.4 oz. That came up for me once when I found a toothpaste tube that was 3.1 oz or 92 ml. which was OK.

cathyandsteveg__

I have been paying close attention to the laundry details....I will be sure we have it ready the first day so we get it back the second day.....and I will wash our "smalls". I bought us hats and sketcher shoes that are comfortable for walking.

Steve is looking at a new lens....and a new camera and binoculars for me. I complain that all the vacation photos are of me and I would like to take his picture on this trip...lol I read that sharing binoculars is not ideal because invariably someone will miss the sight during the exchange.

We checked again today on the flights...we still have to wait a couple of days ...the flights home are still not available for booking. But it looks like we can fly American and British airways all the way...which is good so we can use our miles...and the admirals club. I cant imagine how tired we will be with two overnights traveling....but it will be worth it i am sure.

We arrive a day early..so we will be able to rest a bit. I really wanted to do the elephant safari...but have been drawing some flack from people about the cruelty to the elephants. I am a horse woman...so I don't really have issues with "riding" animals...but i certainly would not want to cause any animal pain or abuse. It is something I will have to think about.

Any one have any opinions about this? I am open to ideas and discussions.

PureLuxury

cathyandsteveg wrote:

I have been paying close attention to the laundry details....I will be sure we have it ready the first day so we get it back the second day.....and I will wash our "smalls". I bought us hats and sketcher shoes that are comfortable for walking.

Steve is looking at a new lens....and a new camera and binoculars for me. I complain that all the vacation photos are of me and I would like to take his picture on this trip...lol I read that sharing binoculars is not ideal because invariably someone will miss the sight during the exchange.

We checked again today on the flights...we still have to wait a couple of days ...the flights home are still not available for booking. But it looks like we can fly American and British airways all the way...which is good so we can use our miles...and the admirals club. I cant imagine how tired we will be with two overnights traveling....but it will be worth it i am sure.

We arrive a day early..so we will be able to rest a bit. I really wanted to do the elephant safari...but have been drawing some flack from people about the cruelty to the elephants. I am a horse woman...so I don't really have issues with "riding" animals...but i certainly would not want to cause any animal pain or abuse. It is something I will have to think about.

Any one have any opinions about this? I am open to ideas and discussions.

If your tour ends in Zambia you can certainly try to book an excursion to the Thorntree (sp) Elephant Sanctuary. We learned so much there. We booked our excursion through the Livingstone Hotel. We had great interactions with the Elephants. It was wonderful watching the babies interact with the adult elephants. I think there is also a trail ride (if you can call it that) thru the river. I didn't participate in this activity. I fed the baby elephants. Their ears are like velvet to the touch. I sat on an adult elephant and was wrapped in his trunk..it was a really cool experience.

AlanS

cathyandsteveg wrote:

Steve uses a canon 5D mark III....and he shoots in Raw....so his pictures are large and he likes to download them to the computer as a precaution. We don't have a tablet or an I pad...I used to have one and found it pretty useless...between an Iphone and a computer...I don't really need an Ipad....I gave it to my granddaughter.

I use my laptop not the iPad at home. I don't own a smart phone. I still prefer PC over Apple, however the iPad is great for traveling- provides email, FB, Skype/Facetime, maps, airline, credit card, Tauck, aps, etc. etc - the main functions I use on trips. It is also a great place to keep copies of photo albums from all my previous trips to show family, friends, and fellow travelers. The screen on the iPad, though smaller, is much brighter and sharper, than the one on my laptop, so I do some initial culling of new photos in the evenings.