nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

South Africa now Level 4 Do Not Travel

JohnS

I just received a STEP notification that South Africa has been upgraded to a Level 4: Do Not Travel alert by the Department of State and the CDC.

We are booked on the South Africa An Elegant Adventure trip for November of this year so there is still time for things to change. Tauck is starting up these trips on August 6th and I am curious if any of the early adopters on this trip are affected, or if anyone is considering changing dates.

Comments

British

John, I just went on the US STEP website and have a rough count of 7 countries that are at level 4 that Tauck is now committed to opening already or within the next couple of months. Only you can decide if you are confident about travel to SA.
I’ve already said that I just can’t persuade my husband to travel before next January, he just doesn’t want this kind of hassle. What is funny is that the tours we do have booked, most are on that list or are currently closed to US citizens.
I’m resigned to the fact, that probably once decisions are made by Tauck next year, anywhere we want to go will probably by fully booked. He is talking independent travel to one country or city at a time which will be less complicated.
As of yesterday, some of our other loves and hobbies are opening up. We have booked 7 theatre shows and one live event in the past couple of weeks. We are going to be very busy. Three domestic trips before the end of the year, projects in the home…..I’ve been up to my elbows in painting for the last couple of hours. Time for a swim I think

MarketArt

Tauck has 3 tours that include South Africa & I imagine they must be doing a rethink. I'm with Mr. British re hassle, am not sure what to do about upcoming Grand Rail, which is either on or up in the air, depending where you look on Tauck Updates. Given lost time, my priorities are changing and I'm thinking I need to get back to Bucket List rather than revisit spots in Europe. Much of Europe btw is still CDC Level 3, unlike Iceland at Level 1. Looking forward to my test flight to Portland, ME, my first venture out.

sudhamali

I am also following STEP advisories at the CDC website;they usually lag behind.At this point almost the entire world is Level 3 (orange in the world map)including the places where Tauck has resumed tours.Some are red level 4 including India.Our trip is in October but things can change as we all know.We travelled in Feb 2020 to Vietnam Cambodia Thailand trip when the advisory was level 2.By the time we got back 3/10 that changed drastically.If one has no stomach for uncertainties and has to be absolutely safe it is best not to travel at all.We are still waiting to see what happens in Europe with Delta variant.Even though we are fully vaccinated,being* in the age group we are in ,our risk is probably higher.Sometimes I wish we did not clear the wait list to have this dilemma!

JohnS

I have noticed that all the August departures for trips in South Africa have disappeared from the Tauck website. I am wondering if Tauck is starting the cancelation process for South Africa. It would be nice to know what the chances are for a November departure.

Diane815

I am scheduled for Sept 24 ...Elegant Adventure. Truly wondering what to do as far as final payment due on Monday. Uncertain, yet also eager and not wanting to miss a thing. Sigh. Any other Sept 24 people wondering what they will do?

Jean_Smith_74

We are scheduled for the October 20th Elegant Adventure. Just rec'd an update on our air....so far all is still on. I asked if they have had any feedback from the August trips and they hadn't. They referred me to this forum. I'm hoping someone from the August trips can give a review of how their trip went.

Sue1206

We just returned from the Elegant Adventure. The trip was fabulous. Travel during the time if COVID is challenging. Be sure you get the correct test. We got a PCR test at the airport before departure. No problems. Our friends got a Naat test and had to be retested. We had long layovers and found day hotels between flights. In SA be prepared to always wear a mask, have your temperature taken and have your hands sanitized constantly. Lots of forms required for travel during the tour. Our tour director Barbara guided us through it all. Loved Cape Town. The bush drives were fantastic. We saw more animals than expected; we saw the Big 5. Game drives leave early - 0600. It’s worth it to lose a little sleep. Didn’t really care for Johannesburg. Lots of issues with the Fairlawns Hotel. Victoria Falls was beautiful. Loved the Elephant Sanctuary. The inter tour flights are on small commercial jets, Embraer 145’s. I wish we had left one day after the tour’s end. We flew home the same day and it made the total travel time home about 40 hours.

British

Sue, I have a question
Did you by any chance have a layover in CapeTown on the way? Do you know if there is testing there that does not involve going back to where you were tested within the airport after 24 hours?
Did you have a daytime room at CapeTown airport?
Thank you!

Sue1206

We arrived early in Cape Town for some pre tour wine tasting. We travelled through Frankfurt where we had a nice day room. I cannot comment on testing in Cape Town. I didn’t pay attention because we didn’t need to be tested until Johannesburg. We were tested at our hotel. I did see testing in the airport in Johannesburg.

British

Thanks Sue!