Planning Your Trip

Visa stuff

South Africa

You can volunteer in South Africa on a tourist visa for a duration of up to three months. A tourist visa can be extended once while in South Africa. For longer stays, like long-term volunteering, you will need to apply for a volunteer visa at your nearest South African Embassy. Whether you can receive your tourist visa upon arrival at the airport in South Africa or whether you need to apply for a tourist visa at an Embassy depends on your nationality. For the latest details and more information visit www.dha.gov.za or contact the South African Embassy in your home country.

Namibia

All volunteers can enter Namibia on a Tourist Visa, valid for a maximum of 90 days. You will receive the visa at the airport when entering the country. All visitors require a passport for entry into Namibia, which must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the intended stay in the country and have sufficient pages for entry and exit stamps. You must also have a valid return ticket or onward ticket to prove that you will leave the country after your trip.
Extensions for a further three months are available from the Ministry of Home Affairs in Windhoek, and your volunteer project coordinator can assist if a visa needs to be extended.

If you experience any difficulties, please contact us.

Vaccinations

It is recommended that you consult your doctor for recommendations regarding vaccinations when travelling to Southern Africa. Some of the projects do recommend specific vaccinations such as tetanus. However, the WHO (World Health Organisation) does not require any vaccinations to prior to traveling to Southern Africa (apart from Yellow fever).

Travel insurance

We strongly recommend that you take out full personal insurance cover. This should include protection against theft and against loss of fees, should the whole or part of a programme or activity or accommodation not be attended.

Medical insurance

As a volunteer, you are required to take out a medical insurance for any of our projects and for any length of stay. You can take out any medical insurance policy as long as it meets the following minimum requirements:

  • The minimum coverage must be USD 100.000.
  • The insurance must be valid from the day you leave your home country to the day you arrive back in your home country.
  • The insurance must cover the country you volunteer in. If you volunteer in more than one country the insurance must cover all counties you volunteer in.

You may want to look at these international insurance companies that specialise in international youth travel (in alphabetical order):

Guard Me

International Student Insurance

Pro Trip World

World Nomads

Before you go bungee jumping or white-water rafting, please check if this is covered by your insurance. It is possible to buy extra insurance to cover most adventure activities, and it is recommended that you do so.

Money

  • Credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted in Southern Africa.
  • Bring very little cash with you. You can draw local money at ATMs to cover expenses for your daily needs.

What to pack

Detailed information about what you need will be provided in our project descriptions. As a general rule, however, please remember the following:

  • pack light,
  • don’t forget sun protection (caps,  cloths with long sleeves, sun glasses, sun cream),
  • bring some warm clothes for cool evenings (all year round) and cool days (April to October),
  • leave valuables like expensive watches, jewellery or expensive cameras at home.

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