Hi everyone 

This will be my 7th JY tour, hope anyone can help.

I'm booked onto the Experience South Africa holiday for 14 days safari and tour in Oct. With the added whale watching 1 day and Zambia Victoria Falls 3 days so 19 days total.

I will be prepaying for the extra optional excursions so that will help out 

Can anyone advise me on how much spending money to take please? 

I will just need a few meals, alcohol, souvenirs and tips. Maybe you have been on this holiday before and can say if you had enough or needed more or was far to much. Or if you are on my holiday how much are you planning on taking?

Any advice is always good advice

Many thanks 

Chloe xx

Hi Chloe- I did this very tour last year- you will have a great time, although it’s pretty full on! My highlights were Mainly the add on- Chobe ( my best game drive ever inc sightings of loads of elephants)and the helicopter flight were both amazing- although the whole tour was great and we were fortunate with whale sightings. In terms of spending money- I would say think about the additional optional trips you want to take and where you can, book in advance- I didn’t book a lot of mine in advance which meant I needed quite a bit of cash - South African rand- especially as plans changed for the group quite a bit in terms of daily game drives whilst in Kruger. You will need to pay for all of these in cash if you don’t book in advance and the tour manager/ guides tended to push us to choose game drive options almost as soon as we landed ( and make payment!)... we resisted on this!. I took my cash with me . The add on section of the trip can add up but the hotel we stayed in in Zambia- the Avani- was lovely and meals were reasonably priced- they can charge all of that to your card at that hotel if you prefer.They will also take USD and I think Rand in Zambia. Generally from my recollection food prices and beverages were reasonable, with a lot of the meals included. It’s a busy trip- I’ve been on about a dozen JY tours- mostly long haul- and this was probably the biggest group- but the numbers reduce for the add on. Our local guide and driver were really good. Have a great time !

Hi Chloe

You may have read several posts re spending money on holidays. Spending money is a personal choice. I can't remember exactly how much money I took with me when I did South Africa with Zambia add on tour, but it was quite a lot. I had over £600 worth of South African Rand (I had purchased a lot when I went to Namibia the previous year as I knew I would be going to South Africa) and spent it all. I also took US dollars for Zambia. I did a 30 minute microlight flight and also did Cheetah encounter - both not cheap but worth every cent. You will need, not sure if it was $80, for Zambian Visa which you pay on arrival. I think we also had to pay for the Livingstone Express whilst there - could not pay it in advance in the UK. Again, worth doing. I hardly drink so not sure what the cost of alcohol was. I rather take more than less. I also take a credit card. Pay for all the optional excursions, which you can pay in advance, before you go as this means carrying less cash. This is a fantastic holiday and hope you get to see the whales.

Regards

Jaya

Hi Chloe

I was on the same trip as Sue and we had an amazing time.  As mentioned, it's the additional trips/drives that are the most costly element - if you choose to do them.  We are both animal lovers and therefore it was important to maximise time in the Kruger so we did extra game drives (I think 3 additional 1/2 days) all payable in sterling to the tour manager. I also did the cheetah experience in Livingstone, which Jaya mentioned, with two of the group; this was payable in $, and seven of us visited the elephant sanctuary in Knysna.  Both these trips we organised ourselves, with the help of the local guide and went by taxi.  It's worth reading Jaya's review of the whole trip as this is where I picked up the idea to do both of these visits - if interested you can look online to get an idea of the current costs for entry.  Taxis on the whole are cheap and they take you to the venue and wait to bring you back - easily organised through the hotel reception.  If you are happy with the animal content of the trip as it is then your spending money needs are significantly reduced.  Have a brilliant time Jane

Thank you all for your very good advice, I will take note

Yes I want to book as many and as much opinional excursions as possible. I've just posted a long question about the excursions as there is a lot more than a thought and a lot we can only book there ::( Im glad they push you to book and pay as soon as land as I don't want to want to be too much cash.

In some ways I would like to do all of them but this was already an expensive holday then excursions and spending money. I need to be realistic and be able to eat as well lol.

I would like some free time as rest as I know these holidays are full on anyway.

There doesn't look like there's a cheetah encounter, they might of taken it off. But I did like the sound of that one. 

I'm gutted there isn't a hot air ballon ride over the safari, I don't care what the price is I'd book it.

I need to do a bit of over time and save up hehe. I will defo look at your review Sue thank you ::)

Cheers 

Chloe xx

If you have any free time in Cape Town I recomend you go to Robben Island. Book it on the internet before you go.

Hi Chloe

I do not think Cheetah Encounter has ever been offered by Just You. You can book it via the hotel reception. I was told that they needed at least two people so I roped in another person though on the day there were about 5-6 of us who were picked up from the hotel though a couple of them were doing the elephant encounter/ride. There was also lion encounter on offer, but we did not have enough time to do that. There were a couple of ladies who went for lion encounter after the cheetah one and to be honest I was a bit jealous of them as I would have loved to do the lion encounter as well.

Regards

Jaya