TRAVEL INSURANCE

The free cover that you may receive from paying by credit card is generally quite limited and the excesses to be paid are high. Talk to your consultant about our innovative and competitive travel insurance products - rather be safe than sorry!

For more information and to download forms Click Here

PASSPORTS

Make sure that your passport is valid for at least 6 months before you travel - many countries will not issue you with a visa or allow you to enter should your passport be on the verge of expiry.

N.B. It takes 4 – 6 weeks to be issued with a new SA passport by the Department of Home Affairs. Temporary passports are available at shorter notice, but are an additional interim expense before you get your proper passport.

FLIGHT TIMES

All times that are shown are local times. As timings are subject to alteration you are urged to reconfirm these locally.

RECONFIRM YOUR RESERVATION
Be sure your reservations are reconfirmed; flights are very often cancelled or overbooked. If you don’t reconfirm you may not have a reservation at all.

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

Please ensure that all your travel documents are in order prior to your departure. It is ultimately the passengers’ responsibility to ensure that they are in possession of valid passports together with health documents and any visas that may be required.

Photocopy in triplicate all important travel documentation such as, passport, air-tickets etc. to avoid getting stranded through having your things go missing while overseas: one set to keep on you, one to leave in your luggage and the last to leave with a friend at home who can fax them to you if you run into trouble while travelling.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Place inside your suitcase and paperclip inside the back of your passport an emergency contact list and include the telephone number of your insurance people, credit card issuer, and home numbers in case of emergency.

ARE YOUR PERSONAL PAPERS IN ORDER
Make sure your will and personal papers are all in order. If something were to happen to you while traveling, it's good for your family and heirs to know where your will is, where your insurance papers are kept, where the safe deposit box keys are, etc.

FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMME MEMBERS
Please retain boarding passes and ticket stubs, as proof of travel may be required by the airline

OFF PEAK TRAVEL

Travelling off-peak season means you will find cheaper, discounted tickets more easily, and the destination will be less crowded .

IMPORTANT INFORMATION WHEN HIRING A CAR

There are some very important issues and pitfalls when travellers hire a car. Please read the following information carefully on car rental:
General:

• The driver/renter of the vehicle must;
  • Inspect the car for any damages when you take delivery as you are liable for any damage thereafter.
  • Read the conditions of the rental contract.

Insurance:

• If the vehicle is a write-off, some car hire companies will charge double excess. Read the fine print (as above).
• There is no longer 90% and 100% cover; the cover now comes in standard and super. There is also an excess which varies according to the type of cover
• Towing costs in the case of an accident are not included in the insurance excess. The administration fee is also extra even if the customer has taken super-cover. This could cost between R250-R300.
• The customer’s belongings inside the car are not covered by the insurance in the case of theft.
• Even if you are not at fault you are still liable for the excess. You may be able to successfully recover damages from the third party later, but not if there is a knock-for-knock agreement with another car-hire company.
• Third-party claims can take a long time.
• Ignorance is no excuse. Some customers believe if they don’t know what happened, they’re not liable. They will usually have to pay excess to cover scratches or hail damage, for example.
  • Hijacking is covered as per write-off if no negligence or fault is found.
  • Insurance Waiver Exceptions: "Breach of Contract"

Please read these exceptions VERY carefully!!:

• The following are some of the reasons a driver can be held in breach of contract and will be liable for all costs.
  • If the driver is negligent, the car-hire company can find that the waivers purchased are not applicable. Negligence is assumed when a reasonable person would have or could have avoided the accident.
  • If a driver does not advise the car-hire company of an extension to the rental.
  • If the vehicle is driven by an unauthorised person, the driver (renter) may have to pay the full damages in the case of an accident.
  • If the driver looses the car keys and the car is stolen, it amounts to negligence and he is liable for the costs.
  • If an accident involving third parties or theft of the vehicle is not reported to a police station within 24 hours.
  • If a vehicle is taken across borders without the necessary authority.
  • If the vehicle is involved in an accident where no other object/person is involved – for example, the driver falling asleep at the wheel – insurance falls away as this implies negligence.
  • Criminal actions by the driver.

PRIORITIZE PACKING

You want to pack everything but can't. Make 3 piles: necessities, almost necessities and luxury items. Take all the necessities, none of the almost necessities and one luxury item. It will be all you need.

BUY YOUR FILM AT HOME

If you're going to a popular tourist attraction, buy your film at home! It usually costs a lot less.

Luggage and Hand Luggage

Newer baggage screening may ruin film, so carry it with you in your pocket and lay it in the basket when you deposit your keys to go through the screener. And if you find this too hard, you may just need to buy it when you arrive.

For more information on weight allowances and adaptor plugs Click Here

CAMERA EQUIPMENT

When travelling overseas, declare all camera equipment with customs officials at the airport before departing so you don't have to prove ownership upon return. Consider bringing copies of receipts for cameras and other photo equipment.

We suggest try taking your digital camera with you on the plane to help ensure it won't be damaged. Airlines have rules about carry-on baggage; this rule varies from airline to airline, so always check your airline's rules regarding checked baggage before you fly with your digital camera.

The equipment you will require in addition to your camera are batteries, a charger, and enough memory cards to get the images you want without worrying about memory card space. If you have a portable storage device or a notebook, you can offload your cards later or even as you shoot.

If you have insufficient memory space on your cards get your card images transferred to a CD while travelling. This should not be a problem in big cities. Most hour-photo spots offer this service, and it's relatively inexpensive.

A note of warning, make sure they will transfer your images at the same resolution as they are on the card. Check to be sure they don't use a smaller resolution to fit all the images on a CD, and check the CD before deleting your card images. You could also go to an internet café and connect via your camera’s USB cable and e-mail your images to yourself, or even burn them on CD, or upload them onto an online photo storage site.

DIGITAL CAMERA TIPS
When traveling a long way, there's no need to purchase a lot of expensive digital camera film. At different points, take your film to a local photo store and have your photos put onto a CD.

you can delete the photos from the digital camera and start over each time.

CONNECT TO THE INTERNET WHILE TRAVELLING
Connect to the Internet While Travelling - Connecting to the Internet whilst travelling has become a lot easier recently. Many international hotels and most international airports offer fast broadband wireless networking.

There are also other services available such as Bluetooth or cell phone internet access. It would be advisable to discuss which method is most suited to your needs with your ISP (Internet Service Provider.)

ALL CONSULTATIONS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY!
Phone 0860 100072 for an appointment at all or any clinic. (The 0860 number only works from Western Cape)

TELEPHONE:	(021) 851 7643 / 0860 100072
FACSIMILE:	(021) 851 7649
CELLULAR:	082 571 2838
STREET ADDRESS:	Cavendish Place No 3, Cavendish Street,Claremont, Cape Town
POSTAL ADDRESS:	P.O. Box 3587, Somerset West, 7129
CONSULTATION HOURS:	Mon-Fri 09h00-18h00 Sat 08h30-13h00
E-MAIL ADDRESS:	doctor@travelsafeclinic.co.za
WEBSITE:	www.travelsafeclinic.co.za

ALL CONSULTATIONS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY!
Phone 0860 100072 for an appointment at all or any clinic. (The 0860 number only works from Western Cape)

TELEPHONE:	(021) 851 7643 / 0860 100072
STREET ADDRESS:	Shop 28 Helderberg Village Walk, Intersection of Main Road & Victoria Road
CONSULTATION HOURS:	Mon-Fri 09h00-18h00 Sat 08h30-13h00

Global Paws (Members of IPATA)

TELEPHONE:	+27 (0) 21 713 4296
FAX:	+27 (0) 21 713 4291
CELL:	+27 (0) 79 323 1767
E-MAIL:	melanie@globalpaws.co.za
WEBSITE:	www.globalpaws.co.za