Anyone booked this tour?
We booked our flights with Tauck for our tour next year yesterday
Getting to Cape Town is easy, but then on to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe has very limited flights. This is generally the case in a non Covid world, we’ve been to Victoria Falls twice before, and I could happily skip it, seen it very full, seen it in just a trickle, seen it from both sides….but we want to go back to Botswana. Tauck has reserved flights for us on Qatar air, so we don’t have to pay up front. The next flight on SAA had to be purchased straight away, so we were given the choice to book that part ourselves, which we did. We have an unbelievable 22 hours layover in Cape Town.
The Tauck agent said we needed….at present of course…..that could change, a PCR test 48 hrs before. She said most airports are able to do tests. We should have investigated even further. Doha, which is a fabulous airport, we’ve been through there four times now….is not providing testing anymore. Cape Town does testing, butt it takes twenty four hours, they text you, and then you go back to where you were tested for the result. When you look at the information provided by the Zimbabwean government about testing, it says you have to be tested within 48 hours of departure for Zimbabwe, but whether that means form the US or not, is up for interpretation.
Also, right now, Americans have to be quarantined for ten days on arrival whether vaccinated or not, even with a negative test. You have to be tested again several times, and if you test positive, will be put into a government run quarantined facility.
Right now,Tauck still shows a tour beginning on September 23rd, less than two weeks time.
Is there anyone out there who is booked on this tour, or has Tauck canceled?
If things do not change, then I guess this tour just can’t go forward.
Our other tours booked for next year, have no dates for resuming, bad luck on choice 😕
Comments
Is the Z,B, and SA trip any easier? Personally, I find that trip more attractive. I just ‘floated’ a lot of money out there for our air to our next ‘K&T’ trip cuz the fare was significantly less than the other option. The vaccination thing is certainly irritating. Our county in California is 86% vaccinated and we rank 58th out of 58 counties in California for covid infection rate.
I am curious about the Zimbabwe quarantine restrictions. We are booked on the South Africa Elegant Adventure tour this November. Various web sites including this one all say that everyone needs to quarantine for 10 days.
Quarantine requirement at government designated site.
On arrival, tourists and non-residents with proof of a valid negative PCR test result should expect to be required to self-quarantine for 10 days.
Tourists and non-residents without proof of a valid negative PCR test certificate could be denied entry into Zimbabwe. Citizens and residents of Zimbabwe without proof of a valid negative PCR test certificate will be required to quarantine for 10 days at a designated facility at their own expense.
A significant part of our tour is in Zimbabwe and I am wondering how Tauck is addressing this. A majority of the tours for this year are showing sold out so I am sure there are others with the same questions.
Sealord - Sounds like you can travel safely in your county if you can't make it to K&T.
SeaLord, we have taken the Botswana, Z and SA tour. We plan on taking it again in the future if we can’t get to a few other countries in Africa that we have’t visited yet. We wanted to see more of Botswana, so chose the new Odyssey tour. For returning Africa customers, I wish there was an option for a tour that does not include Victoria Falls because that’s what makes the journey difficult both in convenience and money.
Having spent several hours on hold waiting for Tauck to answer or return calls this week, I’m not expecting a miracle and find they have updated any info on the website or know any more than I do. The agent yesterday, though wonderfully helpful with flights, was unaware of the points I have raised above. My go to these days is the Points Guy.
If you want to go soon, you should consider another K&T. There are trips available, and travel to Arusha and back from Nairobi is pretty easy.
K and T was my last Tauck tour, December 2019
It doesn't appear the guidance posted above by JohnS covers vaccinated visitors. I also wonder about their definition of "self- quarantine. Self-quarantine at the Old Drift Lodge (wink, wink) for two days then you are off the Botswana,
Remember, Zimbabwe barely has a functioning government and no stable currency of their own, despite numerous attempts to establish one- they use the USD. So, one wonders will they be monitoring the quarantine and how effectively. Go with whatever Tauck decides.
This is from the US Embassy in Harare-
"An update to the government regulations to contain the spread of COVID-19, effective June 29, 2021, states that travelers arriving to Zimbabwe from countries where the Alpha and Delta variants of COVID-19 are prevalent or on the increase, or those who transited such countries en route to Zimbabwe, will be quarantined at government appointed facilities at the traveler’s expense, regardless of the result of the COVID-19 test obtained prior to travel."
However . . . " the Government of Zimbabwe has not defined which countries it identifies as countries with these variants."
So that brings me back to my initial paragraph
We will be doing K&T for the third time in June 2022.
Alan, the rules do include vaccinated visitors
This week?
Of course,remember what we used to say about the Yellow Fever shots and the little self-important officials at the borders and their ability and willingness to read and understand what they are reading!
😂😂😂😂
2023