South Africa:Elegant Adventure April 2022
We are booked on the South Africa: Elegant Adventure tour in April 2022. I am concerned about our safety in Capetown and Johannesburg. Any comments?
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We are booked on the South Africa: Elegant Adventure tour in April 2022. I am concerned about our safety in Capetown and Johannesburg. Any comments?
Comments
SharonT52_ - You probably were unaware, but you should probably post this in the South Africa thread instead of the Kenya & Tanzania thread. I see you're new to the forum (at least as a poster).
That said, if all of the countries you will visit (specifically South Africa for Johannesburg and Capetown) are below level 4 in the CDC's assessment, then with all the protocols that Tauck and their partners put in place, I think you would be fine. Currently South Africa is assessed as a Level 3.
Personal comfort and safety is very much a personal decision.
Sharon, please try posting you message on the South African Forum.
Do you mean Covid safety or general safety?
You do have to be careful because of crime in both cities. When you arrive at the airport, watch your bags carefully, don’t get in the elevators with men, be careful being approached by anyone who offers to help you with your bags or help you find somewhere unless you are sure they are official. Don’t get into a ‘taxi’
I’ve been to both of these airports several times over the last ten years or so. Once you meet the Tauck rep, you will be fine. When you meet your TD, they will explain where you are safe to go.
In Cape Town, the tourist areas by the hotel are safe. The Cape Grace staff are wonderful. They will help you. They have a free limo service to take you places and collect you.
I also suggest leaving all jewelry at home.
This trip is awesome. The place we felt most unsafe was when we connected thru Joburg on our way to Cape Town. Lots of "helpful folks" trying to carry your bags and help us find the gate. They were persistent but pay no attention to them and they will look for another target. The same safety considerations should be applied in S. Africa as you would in any large American City.
We spent the night at the adjacent InterContinental so had bags and were flying on a different ticket to Livingstone. Because of that I had researched the Joburg airport layout but it has some of the worst signage and directions of any airport we have ever transited. I also read about the "helpers" there, but hadn't fully briefed my wife, so we ended up with one. He was persistent but not aggressive. He rolled my wife's bag and actually got us to the correct check-in area much more quickly and easily than if we had tried to find it ourselves- all for a modest tip. If you are not leaving the airside this is not a problem.