Overland safaris in Africa are now very popular and top-selling to most tour operators, especially in Southern and Eastern Africa. Some clients do it in groups of 10 – 25 in a big overland truck, while others prefer a self-drive tour from Cairo to Cape Town for instance. It is all much fun with a strong 4×4 vehicle with camping equipment.
You are aware that you will need to incur several financial commitments before traveling because everything ranging from the air ticket, travel insurance, accommodation, and meals to the transport to the final destination needs money thus there is always a need to know the important financial preparations required for traveling during your overland safari through Africa.
Advance preparations are always important for any kind of safari thus the following are the crucial financial preparations every tourist needs to undertake before traveling during the Safari to Uganda, Kenya, and beyond.
Inform your credit card company
There is nothing as bad as or even worse than being able to access your money while overseas (during the African overland safari). To avoid that, you have to inform your bank about your travel plans and where you will be going to, then don’t also forget to ask them to add the information to your file. By doing so, the fraud department of your bank will not freeze your account while assuming someone might have stolen your number. Additionally, if you are hiring a car during the safari, make sure that you first find out if your credit card also provides any coverage for damages to the car hire/rental company.
Make sure that your credit card can work within the countries you are traveling to
There is carrying the credit card but the issue will be whether it can work within the country you are heading to. One of the questions you should ask includes whether your credit card has a chip because some destinations switched to Chip-and-PIN Technology and also few businesses in Africa countries accept outdated magnetic-strip cards. Remember the African overland safari goes through over 8 countries depending on your itinerary.
Check the entrance and exit fees
In most cases, countries require you to pay entrance and departure fees which may cost as much as $200, and these fees are not always included in the cost of the air ticket thus you will need to inquire and budget in advance.
Pay your forthcoming/upcoming bills
Before undertaking an International trip, make sure to first sign up for your bank’s bill pay feature and online access so that you are able to transfer money or/and pay bills while overseas. On the other hand, you may need to pay any pending bills in advance or leave signed checks with at least a family member or trusted friend.
Therefore, it is important to prepare financially for an International trip which needs to be done by paying forthcoming bills, check the entrance and exit fees for the destination you are traveling to, inform your credit card company and make sure that your credit card can work within the destination/country you are traveling to.