South Africa - January 21
Arrived in Cape Town last night, beginning our 8th Tauck tour. Wanted to put a post out there for fellow travelers to give an idea what to expect during the COVID travel period. First let me say we booked this trip last April, but after the news out of South Africa last November we were certain it would be canceled either by
Tauck or us. Needless to say, we both moved forward, us with much trepidation. I hear that our “Small Group” tour will actually be an intimate group of eight! The Cape Grace Hotel is lovely with the staff friendly and welcoming. We feel very secure so far. There is a high level of mask compliance even outdoors and many shops, restaurants and attractions as well as the airport are doing temperature checks and spray hand sanitizer on you as you enter. The weather is fantastic. Warm and sunny. Today we took the Hop on Hop Off bus up to Table Mountain and spent at least an hour enjoying the views. I know they shut the cable car down in case of high winds or bad weather, so for us it was a must see and we wanted to take advantage of a perfect 
day. As a side note S Africa is requiring a negative PCR test no earlier than 72 hours prior to departure. Our travel agent suggested we schedule the tests at two different places hoping to have at least one set of results back. We did a free test at CVS and paid for one that guaranteed results by midnight. Fortunately we received both test results back back the day before we traveled. Now off to meet the rest of the group!
Comments
Great to hear your review, please keep posting, and Cape Grace is one of our all time favorite hotels
KHChgo. Enjoy your trip. I agree with British...The Cape Grace is Fabulous. Attentive staff and perfect location to walk around and see the immediate area. If you have time or need some downtime, opt for the afternoon tea in the library. Nice tea and beautiful views. Enjoy!
Yes, please keep posting, KHChgo. I think it was over a year ago when British's guidance had me convinced to do this trip. A friend since junior high school and I are thinking of taking this tour in 2024, and afternoon tea might just help seal the deal!
Safe travels!
Patiently waiting for updates. We’re in the Feb 18 journey and anxious to hear how things are going.
I’ll do a full review when we get back on 2/2, but we’re LOVING it - so glad we came. I’ll be sad to leave Sabi Sabi tomorrow but we’ve seen all the big five. The lodge is quiet, the service and guides excellent and we love our Tour Director. It’s amazing to be so close to the animals.
Your pictures are beautiful! Thank you for sharing them. I see you went in the winter. Did you encounter
hot, humid days with a lot of rain?
Thanks, in advance,
Marilyn
Thanks Mowie, I briefly answered your question under another posting you made. In late January of this year Capetown had an unusual heat wave - it was around 100, but it did not deter us at all. I don't recall it being humid either even though you're on the ocean. For the safari portion, it was warm, but not too hot. My husband wore shorts and short sleeved shirts. It did rain during two of the evening game drives. One evening it poured and the other it drizzled and then stopped. The vehicles had large ponchos with hoods to use when it rained. I didn't feel the weather was a problem, but you might want to research which winter month has the least chance of rain. Our Tour Director is a great photographer and she told us we'd be so much happier with our pictures during that time of the year rather than in the dry season. It was no problem spotting the animals either. It's a great trip - you'll enjoy it no matter which month you choose!
Did you have Susan as your TD? She gave everyone on our tour a great CD of photos with some great ones of us we did not know she had taken
British, Our TD was Barbara. (I believe she does some southern Italy tours too) We thought she was great. We did not get a CD, but she often took pictures of us and sent them on. Additionally she gave some brief photo lessons for phones and then some one on one hints for DSLR cameras.
Thank you very much for your detailed information!