Travel Information

We will require a copy of all travelling passengers’ passports to book and confirm flights.

All booking confirmations are to be communicated via e-mail.

• Please do not confirm a booking without holding the required deposit from your client. (Trade partners)
• Please do not confirm a booking if all flight arrangements have not been confirmed.

(We deal with very small and exclusive properties in high demand, and they apply their cancellation policies very strictly)

It is very important that you are aware of our payment and cancellation policy, which comes into force as soon as a booking is made definite.

Standard Journey Beyond Payment terms:

• We require a 20% non-refundable commitment fee.
• If flights are booked through Journey Beyond, we will require 100% of the flight costs.
• Final balance is due 42 days prior to travel, unless specified differently in your quotation.

(All properties have their own sets of booking and cancellation terms and conditions. These will be shared in your quotation.)

Standard Journey Beyond Cancellation terms

• Cancellations are only effective on receipt of a written cancellation.

Cancellation charges will be levied when travellers cancel their confirmed reservations as follows:

The traveller’s 20% commitment fee is forfeited if a confirmed booking is cancelled.
Cancellations made within the following number of days before travel date will be charged cancellation fees expressed hereunder as a percentage of the total booking value, and are as follows:

• within 46 – 75 days = 25%
• within 31 – 45 days = 50%
• within 30 days = 100%

Important to Note: We contract services and accommodation of third parties who have their own payment and cancellation policies. These policies may differ from ours and must be adhered to. All parties will require a partial or full payment upfront to confirm a booking. On cancellation, this larger deposit may therefore be forfeited as per the third party’s cancellation policy.

Important to Note: We contract services and accommodation of third parties who have their own payment and cancellation policies. These policies may differ from ours and must be adhered to. All parties will require a partial or full payment upfront to confirm a booking. On cancellation, this larger deposit may therefore be forfeited as per the third party’s cancellation policy.

Please note that Peak Season and Festive Season cancellation policies are stricter.

• It is very important to be aware of the cancellation policy, which comes into force as soon as a booking is made definite.
• Cancellations are only effective on receipt of a written cancellation.

Cancellation charges will be levied as follows:

• The Journey Beyond 20% commitment fee is forfeited if a confirmed booking is cancelled.
• Cancellation fees in accordance with the Terms & Conditions as per Hotel/Lodge will be forfeited.
• All flights booked via Journey Beyond will be submitted to the airline for a refund (that is if the fare class permits a refund) and refunded to you once we have received the refund from the airline. For refundable tickets, the airline may charge a handling fee as per their fare terms.

For Out of Season Bookings

• Please refer to each policy shown in your Journey proposal. Should there be none, the standard Journey Beyond Payment and Cancellation policies will be applied.

For Peak Season and Festive Season Cancellation Policies

• Please refer to each policy shown in your Journey proposal. Should there be none, the standard Journey Beyond Payment and Cancellation policies will be applied.

Payment can be made by electronic transfer directly into our account or by credit card. Journey Beyond accepts all major credit cards i.e., Master Card, Visa and American Express. For credit card payments we will send a link. If you choose to pay by credit card, Journey Beyond will have to convert the USD/EUR payment into South African Rand at the bank selling rate of exchange on the day payment is processed. This is a requirement of South African foreign exchange regulations. Credit card payments may incur a card fee which your travel designer will share with you.

Certain countries in Africa require that you travel with an unabridged birth certificate and other documentation when you are travelling with children under the age of 18.

An Unabridged Birth Certificate is a birth certificate containing information on both biological parents and legal guardians. Certificates must be in English. If they are not in English, they need to be translated into English and certified by a Commissioner of Oaths/Notary.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW that even if you transit through South Africa, you will be requested to supply these documents for your onward connections.

BOTSWANA: Requirements for Minors Entering Botswana 

• A certified copy of the child’s unabridged birth certificate.
• A valid passport with at least 2 blank pages per entry.
• A parental consent letter/affidavit from the parent or parents not accompanying the child.
• Adults travelling with children that are not their biological children should be in possession of an affidavit (sworn statement deposed to before a commissioner of oaths/Notary) from the child’s parents’ consent that the child may travel with the traveller.
• When a child is travelling with anyone other than his or her own parents, the traveller should have copies of the identity documents / passports of the parents or legal guardian/s of the child. Contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child should also be at hand.
• Any unaccompanied minor may be required to produce Proof of Consent from one or both his or her parents or legal guardian in the form of an affidavit for the child to travel. Letter from the person who is to receive the child, containing his or her residential address and contact details where the child will be residing. A copy of the identity document or valid passport and visa or permanent residence permit of the person who is to receive the child, and the contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child.

NAMIBIA: Requirements for Minors Entering Namibia

• A certified copy of the child’s unabridged birth certificate.
• A valid passport with at least 2 blank pages per entry.
• A parental consent letter/affidavit from the parent or parents not accompanying the child.
• Adults travelling with children that are not their biological children should be in possession of an affidavit (sworn statement deposed to before a commissioner of oaths) from the child’s parents’ consent that the child may travel with the traveller.
• When a child is travelling with anyone other than his or her own parents, the traveller should have copies of the identity documents / passports of the parents or legal guardian/s of the child. Contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child should also be at hand.
• Any unaccompanied minor may be required to produce Proof of Consent from 9one or both his or her parents or legal guardian in the form of an affidavit for the child to travel. Letter from the person who is to receive the child, containing his or her residential address and contact details where the child will be residing. A copy of the identity document or valid passport and visa or permanent residence permit of the person who is to receive the child, and the contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child.

It is an essential travel requirement, when travelling with Journey Beyond, to take out comprehensive travel insurance. In addition to the insurance, and because of being a Bonded Member of SATSA, JB has Liability Insurance, however, it is a condition of booking that the traveller has comprehensive travel and medical insurance to cover themselves and any travelling dependents/companions for the duration of their trip. This insurance should include cover in respect of, but not limited to, the following exposures:

• Cancellation and curtailment
• emergency evacuation expenses
• medical expenses
• repatriation expenses
• damage/theft/loss of personal baggage, money and goods.

Journey Beyond, including its representatives, employees and agents will take no responsibility for any costs or losses incurred or suffered by the traveller, traveller’s dependents or travelling companions, with regards to, but not limited to, any of the above mentioned eventualities. Should the traveller not be carrying the relevant insurance cover, they will be charged directly by the relevant service providers for any emergency services they require or find themselves in a position unable to access such services.

Airlines: Domestic & Regional requirements

For domestic airlines, the recommended check-in time is 90 minutes prior to departure.

For international/Regional flights the recommended check-in is three hours prior to departure.  This is very important as late check-in may result in a reservation being cancelled. Passengers may only carry liquids, aerosols, and gels (LAGs) in their hand luggage in containers that have a maximum capacity of 100 millilitres each. They may carry several containers with liquid contents which must be packed in a re-sealable, transparent plastic bag – a maximum one bag per passenger with a total capacity not exceeding one litre.  It must be possible to open and re-seal their plastic bag as they will need to remove it from their hand luggage and present it to security personnel for inspection. Baby formula and food, as well as medication, carried on-board need not be in their LAGs bag, but they must remember to show them to security. If carrying medication, they may need to produce their prescription.

PLEASE DO NOT include the following items in checked baggage, fragile items, money, jewellery, precious metals, negotiable documents, cameras, Laptop’s, mobile phones, and chronic medication.  Should these go missing out of checked-in luggage the airline will not assume liability and passengers will be advised to claim against their personal insurance

Airlines: Baggage out of OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg:

To increase operational efficiency and on-time performance for luggage processing, O.R. Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg, South Africa) has embarked on an awareness campaign to enable departing passengers to comply with acceptable baggage restrictions.

Round bags, bags with long hanging straps and those without flat surfaces are the largest sources of jams in the baggage handling system, causing shutdowns, delays and inconvenience to passengers and airlines.

Acceptable Baggage Rules

• Only regular-shaped bags will be allowed at check-in counters.
• Bags must have at least one flat surface to be accepted.
• Bags with long hanging straps will not be accepted for check-in. Passengers will be requested to secure or remove straps before checking in.
• Round bags will not be allowed at check-in counters.

To Comply with Baggage Rules

• If your guests are flying through OR TAMBO in Johannesburg, they may visit a baggage-wrapping station to wrap their bags at a standard cost per bag. All costs required to make an irregular bag compliant to the requirements will be for your guests own account.
  *Note: This rule only applies to passengers departing out of O.R. Tambo International Airport. The normal rules for hand luggage are still applicable for each country.

Hand Luggage Restrictions at South African Airports

• When it comes to what passengers carry on to a plane, things are getting slightly stricter. The Airport Company of South Africa (ACSA) have enforced new hand luggage restrictions at airports across South Africa. All travellers can assume the bag-sizing bins located at check-in counters and boarding gates will start to play a pivotal role when queuing up to board.

Carry-on Baggage Retrictions 

• 1 bag plus 1 slimline laptop bag per passenger

No bag should exceed these dimensions:

• 56 cm + 36 cm +23 cm (22” + 14” + 9”) = total dimension of 115 cm (45 in) including handles and wheels
• Weight limit per bag: 7 kg (15.4 lbs)
• Any hand luggage which exceeds the dimensions; piece and weight restrictions stipulated above will have to be checked in. This could cause delays, or cause passengers to miss their flight so take heed of this announcement to avoid a frustrating domestic travel experience. The airlines are not accepting responsibility should flights be missed due to incorrect hand baggage. Please check for restrictions, and further details when making bookings.

Airport Random Inspections

• Agricultural and/or Customs Officials conduct random inspections, with sniffer dogs, at all airports.
• Both Journey Beyond and the African governments are fervently committed to protecting the wildlife and natural environment of our continent. Please remind your clients that it is therefore illegal to remove any fauna or flora from its natural habitat. Includes and not limited to pick up any plant (including seeds), animal material (such as bone, teeth, skins, feathers, quills, shells, etc.) or even a rock or stone or seashells whilst travelling.
• Inspections can take place whether arriving or departing and regardless of the destination – to ensure that nothing has been removed from its environment and that no alien species are being brought into the country.

If you are travelling in a light aircraft during your Safari PLEASE READ

The maximum baggage allowance on the light aircraft utilized for transfers between game lodges is 20kg (44lbs) per person in a soft-sided bag. This includes photographic equipment and hand luggage. Only soft-sided bags will be accepted. Soft bags with a rigid structure at the base (including wheels and/or a collapsible handle) will be accepted if the basic dimensions are similar to that of the bag.

To comply with baggage restrictions in South Africa, bags must be a regular shape, have at least one flat surface and long, hanging straps must be removed or secured.

The maximum dimensions of the soft bags which can be accommodated are as follows:

To be checked in:

• WIDTH 30cm (12 inches)
• HIGHT  35cm (14 inches)
• LONG   70cm (28 inches)

Should you require a bag, we do have a supply of soft canvas-all bags at a reasonable cost. Please note that the baggage compartments on light aircraft are only 30 cm (11.8 in) high, so pilots must be able to manipulate the bag into the compartment. If you need to bring additional luggage (not included in the weight restriction), an extra seat can be purchased. Excess luggage needs to be in soft bags as per the above dimensions as well.

Please inform us in advance if your clients personal body weight exceeds 100kg (220 lbs), as an extra seat must be purchased for safety and comfort. The per person male passenger weight is 100 kg (220 lbs), the female passenger weight is 80 kg (176 lbs) and the child (age 2 – 12 years) is 35 kg (77 lbs).

Your travel designer will also alert you to luggage restrictions in your Journey proposal.

In many African countries, a drone permit, as well as approval to operate the drone from the local Aviation Authority, is required for recreational drone use.

The use of drones or camera drones are strictly prohibited in the following areas:

• Within 3km of airports or in areas where aircraft are operating,
• Over wildlife reserves or national parks, hotels, lodges, and campsites, over people or large crowds, roads and moving traffic.
• Any sensitive areas including government or military facilities.

Service staff in Africa depend on tips as part of their livelihood. However, we recommend that tipping be based on the quality of service provided. Always bearing in mind that all tipping is for good & exceptional service and NOT compulsory.

As a guideline, we recommend the below.

In City Hotels

• Hotel porters: approximately USD1.00 per bag carried each way
• Restaurant staff and bar waiters: between 10% – 15% of the value of the meals or beverages purchased.
• Hotel general: USD 7.00 to USD 13.00 per room per night
• Private City tour guides: USD 13.00 per person per day for a private guide.

On Safari

• Guides:  USD 10.00 to USD 12.00 per guest per night
• Tracker: USD 8.00 per guest per night (not all camps have a guide/tracker team)
• Butler:   USD 8.00 per guest per night (not all camps have butlers)
• General staff: USD 10 to USD 12.00 per guest per day, and this should be handed into the communal tipping box, or can be added to your credit card, usually found in the reception area.