• Check your passport, make sure you apply for a passport well in advance. It could take up to 12 weeks to get a passport. If you have limited time, we suggest you apply for a passport at a home affairs office based in a rural area (their processing time is usually less).
• Make sure your passport is valid for at least six months after you return from your tour / trip.
• Make sure your passport is signed and that you have completed the emergency contact information at the back of your passport.
• For married, female teachers & coaches: Make sure your passport surname is the same as the surname on your issued flight ticket, and not your maiden surname (a marriage certificate is no longer accepted as proof of a change of surname).
• Make three colour copies of your passport and leave one at home, put one in your suitcase and give one copy to your tour leader.
• Make sure you have a visa (if necessary) to enter the foreign country (your Trendsetters consultant will advice you in advance). It can take time for visa applications to be issued and processing times can vary depending on the times of the year, tourist season and other factors. It is worth leaving sufficient time to apply for the visas you require.
• Make sure you have the vaccination (if necessary) for the county you are about to enter example: Yellow Fever for Brazil. Trendsetters Travel will organize a mobile travel clinic to visit you should you require any vaccinations for your tour.
• Make sure you have your group, travel insurance card in your travel wallet.
• We suggest that you read as much as possible about your tour destination before the trip to familiarize yourself with the destination. It will give you the most enjoyment out of the visit and give you extra appreciation of everything you will see and experience.
• Pack carefully and check your flight ticket for maximum weight. Remember that you will pay extra for excess luggage. Also keep in mind that you need space (and weight) for gifts that you buy abroad.
• Please check your flight ticket for hand luggage weight restrictions as well. The majority of airlines allow 5kg for hand luggage.
• Please make sure that you familiarize yourself with the new hand luggage rules as set by Airports Company South Africa (ACSA). Example: Toiletries packed as hand luggage needs to be in small containers with a limit of 100ml per container.
• If you take any strong medication, you need a prescription or letter from your doctor.
• When packing, keep track of the weather at your destination. Your Trendsetters Travel Consultant will give you guidelines on this. OR alternatively World Weather
• Declare all electronic equipment (Cell phones, cameras, video cameras etc.) at the declaration desk in the International departure hall of the airport. Keep your declaration documents in your hand luggage as you will be requested to show this declaration on your return to South Africa at customs.
• Keep the following in your hand luggage: your travel wallet, insurance card, cash, bank card, flight ticket, passport & valuable items such as cameras, cell phones as well as declaration documentation (see previous point).
• Luggage needs to be checked through to the final destination (this applies if you are in transit in another country).  However, if you have a stopover in another country (in other words, when you leave the airport building), you need to check-in your luggage to the stop-over destination and not to the final destination.
• Arrive at the airport well in advance. At least 3 hours before departure is the general rule of thumb for group travel. For evening departures we recommend 4 hours in advance.
• To protect your luggage and for security reasons, we recommend that you always wrap your check-in luggage in plastic at the airport. Budget approximately R70 per suitcase for this.
• When you have checked-in, you will receive a luggage label that corresponds with the label on your checked-in luggage. Please keep this with you at all times as you will be requested to show the label if your luggage gets lost. (It is important not to keep labels as a group since this will make the process of reporting lost luggage and tracking luggage very time consuming and difficult)
• Think clearly, be alert at all times and do not leave any luggage unattended at any time in the airport/departure points.
• When purchasing any goods or services make sure you understand the correct price being charged and ensure you are using the correct exchange rate so you have a clear idea of how much it costs. Remember that it’s usually acceptable to bargain at foreign markets and small vendors.
• Check if tap water is safe to drink, if not use bottled water.
• For Credit Cards and Debit Cards ensure you have the full contact details of the companies issuing the cards and keep a copy of the card details separately from the cards in the event of the cards being lost or stolen.
• Trendsetters Travel requests that all groups are pre-seated and that seats are allocated as a group next to each other. However, please keep in mind that this seating arrangement is only a request and cannot be guaranteed by all airlines.

In continuing to offer its clients a world class service, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has added a cutting edge technology which allows for easy and immediate access to Flight Information via SMS messages or live flight information online. The SMS technology works as follow: You send your flight number (for example: SA305 via a Text SMS to this number 0838899330 – and you will receive that particular flight info within 60 seconds). Network and Internet dependent. Normal cellular rates apply.