After an unprecedented year of staying home, South Africa travellers are surely counting down the days until they can ready themselves and begin exploring. The Travel Corporation’s MD, Kelly Jackson, discusses how an air-bridge between countries is one way to get travelling again.
“An air-bridge is literally an open link between two countries that makes travel possible. The two countries we have links with are Zanzibar and Egypt and already we’ve seen an increase in interest for both destinations.”
Egypt and Zanzibar are open for business and ready to welcome travellers from all corners of the globe, including South Africans. “All that is required is a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, a valid passport, visa (for Egypt) and you’re good to go,” says Kelly. “We have trips across all our touring brands and of course Egypt is just made for river cruising.”
The Nile River is the longest in Africa and almost certainly the most famous. Have your own Agatha Christie moment at the Old Cataract Hotel, one of the settings for her most famous crime thriller, Death on the Nile, when you sail this ancient river on Uniworld’s Splendours of Egypt & The Nile With stories spanning the ages you’ll love discovering both the ancient and modern worlds.
Follow in the footsteps of the Pharaohs on Costsaver’s 9-day trip from Cairo to Aswan, taking in the temples of Luxor and the seaside splendour of Hurghada. Travellers can get lost in the legends of ancient civilisations, the stories of great battles and tributes to powerful men and women who once revealed their might through man-made wonders which followed them into the afterlife.
“And South Africa is not alone. Travellers from the United States travelled to the land of the ancients in March this year. Jason and Lauren Fidler, a father and daughter from Iowa, USA, had the most extraordinary holiday to Egypt with Trafalgar and we currently have a couple on an Insight Vacations tour through the same region” adds Kelly.
If you thought an international beach holiday was off the cards you’d be wrong. Right now, South Africans can dust off their passports and head for the beaches of Zanzibar with Contiki. Zanzibar is about as close as you can get to heaven on earth, and Contiki’s open age trip offers four full days on the idyllic beaches of Zanzibar.
Flights to both countries from South Africa couldn’t be easier. Egypt Air offers direct flights from Johannesburg to Cairo, while a number of carriers offer Zanzibar with Mango Airlines flying direct.
Kelly concludes: “we cannot wait for the world to open so that we can travel to our hearts content, but for now we’re happy to set our sights on Egypt and Zanzibar”.