Safety and Precautions in Southern Africa

Travelers often ask us whether or not it is safe to travel in southern Africa. Our response is a confident assurance that yes, it is safe. This is especially true if you take a few precautions that are necessary any time you travel abroad. At Lark Tours we know that a little planning and some precautions can go a long way to ensuring a smooth and safe trip.

Here are our suggestions:

1. This process begins before you leave home:

• Avoid taking valuable jewelry, watches, expensive purses, or even costly articles of clothing.
• Leave behind unnecessary objects of value such as extra credit cards, social security cards, family valuables, and so on.
• Traveling light is a good idea - it is less to look after and keep track of.
• Bring a pouch or money belt for carrying your necessary valuables such as your passport and credit card. These are far safer than purses, handbags, wallets, and especially fanny packs.
• Consider setting a daily limit on your credit card (and bank card if you bring it) so that if your card is stolen the thief will only have access to a set amount of money and not the full balance of your account.
• Bring important telephone numbers with you. A good example would be to have your credit card company's international number in case your card is stolen or lost.
• If you are bringing anything that is essential to you, such as glasses or prescription drugs, make sure to bring extras. 
• For prescription drugs, you will also need to carry a note from your doctor certifying that you need and/or are certified to posses that drug. Make sure you have enough to last during your trip. Keep them in their original prescription bottles and always in your carry-on luggage.
• Pack all valuables in your carry on. Things like cameras, laptops, important documents, and so on should go in your carry on. This will keep dishonest luggage inspectors, especially in African airports, from stealing your valuables.
• It is always a good idea to bring extra passport photos, as well as a copy of your passport information page, in order to make it easier to get a new passport in the event that it is stolen or lost.
• Better yet, scan a copy of all your valuable documents (passport information page, credit card, etc) into your computer and then email them to yourself. That way, if you need them, you can access these documents from any computer that has an Internet connection.

2. Once you arrive in Africa, there are a few more things to consider:

• We cannot outline every possible scenario of what could happen, but just keep in mind that the main, underlying theme, one that applies to travel no matter where you go, is to use common sense at all times.
• One of your objectives should be to blend in as much as is possible. Wearing modest apparel with no obvious flashy jewelry or cameras is a good idea.
• Your passport is one of your most valuable possessions. Keep it somewhere that you know it will be safe.
• Never leave valuables in plain sight or unattended, whether in your room, or on your person.
• Do not carry around large amounts of cash. There are plenty of ATMs where you can withdraw money, either with your bankcard or with your credit card.
• Be cautious and ensure that you have total privacy when drawing money from ATMs.
• Never count your money in public. This attracts unwanted attention.
• When you go to pay for something, try to be as discreet as possible and count your money inside the wallet, not in your hand.
• One great trick is to carry two wallets. Use one to hold your credit cards and the bulk of your cash and use the other as a decoy. Put money and some insignificant cards, papers, etc into the decoy wallet to make it appear real. Then if a thief confronts you give him/her your decoy wallet.
• Alternatively, put your credit cards and big bills in your money belt and use your wallet to hold small change, enough for the day, as well as insignificant papers, etc. Then if your wallet is taken your loss will be minimal.
• Always do things in groups of three or more. Wandering off by yourself in territory that you are not familiar with can be unwise.

Much of southern Africa, and especially South Africa, is well developed. You do, though, have to remember that there is a lot more poverty here than there is in the U.S. Many times we carry on our person things that represent as much as a month’s wages for some of the Africans. Our goal during travel is to minimize their temptation. This being said, the odds of having a safe and incident free holiday are greatly in your favor. If you follow our guidelines, you will only increase your odds of having a trouble free adventure. Moreover, if you decide to come to Africa with Lark Tours, we will be with you every step of the way which means we will be able to help guide you away from making any potential mistakes. Southern Africa is a superb part of the world - our absolute favorite!

For more information on safety in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland, look over the Consular Information Sheets on the U.S. Department of State website. (On the left side of the page, under "International Travel Information," you will see a link to "Consular Information Sheets" where you can select any country.)

In case you would like some general information and statistics about these countries, visit the CIA World Factbook.

This article was written by Colin Camu. Colin Camu and Lark Tours L.L.C reserve all rights to this article.