South Africa and the things that go with it.

[Startyabastard]

I'm going to South Africa with friends in December and it's going to be hot!
I'm thinking about what insurance I should get: the coverage and brand and what vaccines I should get. I've made a n appointment with my nurse at the GP surgery for next week with a view to exploring what I need for that, I'm also happy to pay because I don't expect the NHS to.
I'm going for around 4 weeks.
Thanks xxx

You don’t need any vaccinations for South Africa, above the normal childhood ones.

You may need malaria tablets depending where in the country you go?

we needed something can't remember what though.

I'm sure you do. Think I had to have some before going.

Where I went in South Africa I did

I went to Cape Town and the Winelands in November last year. No vaccines needed.
Buy decent travel insurance!

I think no extra vaccines for most of the country, ditto malaria tablets. I guess you need to check out the areas you plan to visit. I lived there for 3 years and never needed anything extra and frequently visited Kruger and Northern ZKN which I’d guess are closest to the malaria zones. I think Eastern Swaziland may have a slight malaria risk from memory. We had vaccinations to travel to other places in Africa, but nothing specifically for SA.

You do need a few vaccines for South Africa and you're going in their summer, so if you're going to malarial regions you'll need malaria tablets too. Take a look at this website - it's the one that your GP surgery will use to see which ones you need: https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/country/201/south-africa#Vaccine_Recommendations

See also this NHS link: https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinations/africa/south-africa

You only need malaria if going to certain parts. If you have never had a TB vaccination, I'd recommend getting one. Not sure about others - as far as I know, as a South African, I've only had all the same vaccines my children now have + TB.

Most decent travel insurance is fine - ours is just through our bank and I have previously called to confirm that they'd cover medical etc (there's little state medical services there, so it's all private should you need medical care. On the plus side, it's relatively inexpensive compared to Europe and extremely high quality).

You will have a wonderful time.

If theres a vaccine for hangovers...get that as the wine is so cheap!

Thanks everyone, my best friend who was born there and who is also the person I'm going with has said I don't need any at all and that we will not be in the malaria region. Thanks xxxx
Any more health care insurance recommendations are welcome.

I think I had health insurance from the Post Office when I went to Greece years ago, but I luckily never needed it.

Bloody Google had me thinking I needed to pay hundreds for multiple vaccines.

I went this winter I didn’t find it that hot tbh, only on some days.

other than its super cheap, they take cards everywhere, even they random guys selling water in the beach. I just used a monzo at the cash point for a bit of rand.

ubers are cheap and we took them everywhere so make sure you have Uber and bolt on your phones. No one really walks there, the food is amazing, the wine is amazing and the oysters are amazing.

if you can, do a wine tour. So much fun

I don't think you NEED any vaccines, but there are some which are advisable. I remember having a couple before I went. They weren't expensive, and it was worth it for peace of mind.

Lots of South Africans don't realise that they have had TB vaccines and that it's not standard in all areas of the UK, especially if they don't have children. Certainly, I was surprised to be told I should get my children TB as I hadn't specifically thought about it and I think on some level I just assumed they'd had all the same vaccines as me.

Hep A and Typhoid are recommended. We've just had them both for our trip there

I had my TB jab aged 12 years old. Do I need another?

Whereabouts are you going? I went on honeymoon to South Africa and it was just incredible!

We didn't need malaria tablets where we went, and no vaccines.

Second the recommendation of sorting Uber in advance, it's the safest way to get about after dark.

I have lots of recommendations for Cape Town if you're interested!

Yes I'm going to Cape Town. Thanks xxx

Make sure you have enough unmarked pages in your passport, a double spread. They were super-fussy about this when I went there.

Cape Town is absolutely stunning, you'll have a wonderful time there and there's loads to do.

We did a day trip (this was organised through our holiday company but I'm sure you could sort locally) down to Cape Point which was just the most stunning scenery, with a boat trip to see the seals and a visit to Boulders Beach for the penguins, fantastic experience.

We went up table mountain which was great but take a jumper, it was cold up the top! We also did paragliding off signal hill landing down in camps bay.

We used the hop on hop off bus which was a great way to get around, and visited the botanical gardens which were lovely.

A bit of beach time down in camps bay, as the sun set.

Use Uber to get around, it's safe and really cheap. I researched restaurants on trip advisor and we had some great meals out at great prices. We had a great experience at Mzansi but read the reviews carefully so you know what to expect and see if it's for you.

If you're not going there separately I'd recommend a visit to Franschhoek to visit the vineyards using the wine train, a lovely experience, stunning scenery and very cheap wine!

The V&A waterfront is nice for a mooch around and lunch.

Be careful, but enjoy, it's a spectacular place!