Article by Gen Wright

Southern Africa tours have always been popular with society’s more adventurous members – those who were keen to venture to a place where they would encounter wild animals roaming the streets, indigenous people slaughtering livestock on their porches and tribe members who run around maniacally, while banging drums and chanting.

But since the age of the Global Village has dawned and the classic African Hollywood stereotype has been disproven by countless YouTube videos showing bustling African cities, incredible landscapes and fantastic (structured) game viewing opportunities, even those who value their creature comforts (read: air conditioning, Bilharzia-free water, wireless internet connectivity) have jumped on the African tour bandwagon.

Feel like heading down South for a bit of an African adventure? Keen to break out the camouflage gear and binoculars? Fabulous idea – while you’re at it we would like to give you the opportunity to enjoy our world-renowned game parks, coastal hideaways and incredible hospitality. When travelling to Africa we highly recommend that you align yourself with a reputable tour operator. While there is a lot to be said for travelling independently and drawing up your own itinerary, a structured African tour will give you the opportunity to explore the country without the hassle of securing your own transport and accommodation or sourcing activity providers.

The African tourist trade is booming, which means there is a very large selection of Africa tour operators to choose from. This can be quite confusing, especially if you are visiting from abroad and are doing your research exclusively online. Clever marketing ploys and strategic website content can, unfortunately, muddy the digital waters and lead you astray. Here are a few handy pointers that should help you separate the good from the bad:

1. Go Old School: Remember the good old days before Google when you actually had to go out and ask something if you wanted to know something? User-generated reviews are all good and well, but unfortunately these may be fabricated and can not always be trusted. If you are planning an African safari and don’t know where to start, it is best to ask around. Talk to friends and family and make a note of tour operators they mention – both the good and the bad. This way you will already have a frame of reference when you do plunge headfirst into your online research.

2. Determine your budget and requirements beforehand: Tourism websites are meant to entice you, in fact, designers and copywriters spend most of their time making sure that it does. To ensure that you don’t get carried away and sign up for that balloon-based hyena viewing adventure just for the heck of it, sit down with your travelling party beforehand and determine what your budget is and how you are willing to spend it. Break your expenditures down into categories like flights, transport, accommodation, food and beverages, entertainment and spending money. Having this on hand will make it easier to see whether or not a particular African tour package is within your budget.

3. Check the company’s credentials, and then check it again: A good way to determine if a tour company is legitimate right off the bat is to see whether or not they are accredited with their country of origin’s tourism associations. These include:

* KATO – Kenya Association of Tour Operators* TATO – Tanzania Association of Tour Operators* SATSA – Southern Africa Tourism Services Association* TASA – Tours and Safari Association of Namibia* ATTA – African Travel and Tourism Association* ASTA – American Society of Travel Agents* APTA – Association for the Promotion of Tourism to Africa.

4. Ask for references: If you decide on a tour operator that no family member or friend has used before, ask for references from previous clients. Disgruntled clients are usually very keen to air their grievances and this will help you to weed out the bad apples early on.

5. Check payment and cancellation policies: There is always the chance that something may happen which would prevent you from participating in your African tour, which is why it is important that you make sure of the company’s payment and cancellation policies before you fork out your hard-earned holiday money. In the same vein, in could happen that the area you are planning to visit is flooded or that there are too little people interested in a particular safari to make it viable – in which case your tour operator may be forced to cancel the trip. You should be informed about reimbursement policies should something like this occur.

These five tips should make it a bit easier to select the African tour operator that will best suit your budget and requirements. Good luck and happy surfing!

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