per person per week in cash from home (excluding what you might need for entry visas and airport departure taxes). This cash is specifically for paying for small incidentals (including taxis, tips and souvenir purchases). Visas secured on arrival must be paid in cash and often the exact amount i.e. officials will 'claim' not to have change - so carry an assortment of US$5, US$10 and US$20's (plus the required US$50 notes).
Be warned – some countries are not accepting US$ bills dated before the year 2000 due to suspicions of counterfeiting. Don’t be surprised if your US$ notes are run through a ‘counterfeit-checking’ device. Generally, large bills (US$50 and US$100) obtain better exchange rates than smaller denominations (US$5, 10 and US$20) if you need to exchange for local currency.
Be wary of street money-changers! They may offer a better rate but are not averse to using any number of underhand techniques to short change you. If you do use one, be sure to count each note separately to satisfy yourself that the whole amount is there BEFORE handing across any of your own cash. Once counted, be sure not to let the pile out of your sight – it is an old trick to switch bundles and for you to later discover that the new bundle is mostly newspaper. If the money traders are legitimate they will not be offended!
Credit & debit cards
Most establishments will accept international credit cards and I recommend using credit cards as a method of payment wherever possible - as much for the convenience as the efficiency. It makes sense to carry more than one brand of credit card as not all types are accepted by all outlets/hotels. On the downside, credit card companies do not offer the best exchange rates going around and will often add a foreign transaction fee for good measure!
BE WARNED: credit cards in Africa will often attract a surcharge - up to 5% in some cases, and possibly more! Be sure to ask about any surcharges before you hand over your credit card.
IMPORTANT: Most banks and credit card companies advocate that you advise them before you travel overseas so that their credit card monitoring systems do not suspend your card when they detect any unusual purchase sequences (paying for hotels, flights and rental cars in a foreign country) that occur on a holiday. Such purchases can sometimes trigger the suspension of your card and leave you with the embarrassing consequences. Secondly, be cautious of providing your credit card details when travelling. It is an unfortunate feature of credit cards that your card number can be obtained without your knowledge (at hotels desks, shops or rental companies).
BE CAUTIOUS AND VIGILANT.
Do not let your card out of your sight when paying your bill.
ATM machines
ATM machines in Africa are becoming more commonplace but are certainly not as ubiquitous as elsewhere in the world. They supply only LOCAL CURRENCY and you will need an international PIN code – be sure to check with your bank/credit card facility at home about how this should work. Not all ATM's in Africa will accept all credit card types. In my experience, VISA appears to have the best coverage in Africa. Try also to use an ATM at a bank – this way, if your card is retained for any reason, you can go in and get it back! Keep in mind that you may not even get the opportunity to locate an ATM as your itinerary will likely be designed to get you to your next destination – not to the next ATM. My advice – don’t rely on using ATMs as your main source of cash on safari!
Electric current
Electricity in Africa is all 220 -240V/50Hz AC as is much of Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand and virtually all the Asian countries and India. Those of you from North America, where 110V/60Hz is the standard, will need both an adapter for the proper plug configuration and converter to step down to the lower current required by your electrical equipment.
Type C (European) - Two-prong round (unearthed)
Type F (Schuko plug) - Two-prong round (with 2 x earth contacts)
Type G (UK plug) - Three-prong rectangular
Type M (South African plug) - Three-prong round (large)
Type D, G and M plug sockets are the dominant plug types in Africa although some countries do offer the two prong round (Type C & F) plug socket types (see Table below). A number of hotels have international wall sockets which will take an array of both two-prong and three-prong plugs. North America and Japan use Type A & B plugs, and Australia a Type I plug - all will require an adaptor plug!
Country Plug type:
Botswana - G
Kenya - G
Namibia - M
Malawi - G
Mozambique - C, F & M
Uganda - G
Rwanda - C
South Africa - M
Swaziland - M
Tanzania - G
Zambia - G
Zimbabwe - G & M
Please note:
Not all safari camps and lodges will have an electrical outlet in the tents/rooms but they will always have a central location where you can recharge your camera / video and phone / iPod batteries.
Some camps will only run a generator at certain times of the day – so be sure to check with the manager when you arrive.
A number of mobile safari operators have inverters in their vehicles (an inverter changes 12 volt DC from a vehicle battery to 220/240 volt AC) and in this way you can charge your camera/video batteries on the move.
Mobile (cell) phone & WiFi access
Generally speaking, communications in Africa are not what you are accustomed to at home, but mobile (cell) phone coverage, and even WiFi, is certainly becoming more widespread throughout Africa – although not in some of the more remote safari destinations (thankfully).
A tip before you leave home: check with your service provider that your phone is registered for international roaming (and check that the phone you have is compatible with the networks in Africa - almost all of which operate GSM digital networks running at a frequency of 900 MHz (and some 3G/4G networks too)). If your phone is a dual or tri-band GSM phone it is likely this will work just fine.
More and more we are seeing WiFi being offered at safari camps/lodges * – some as an extension of that countries communications grid, and some connected via satellite. Check with your travel agent before you leave home about which camps/lodges have WiFi as this can be a real boon for sending/receiving email whilst on safari (and accessing the internet if speeds allow), including Skype, rather than using your mobile phone to text and call at exorbitant international roaming charges!
Please note: Not all conventional communication options (phone, fax, internet and email) are available at the more remote safari camps (and mobile camps particularly). Communications may sometimes be via HF radio only.
* The provision of WiFi in the safari industry is still a contentious issue,
