Make sure your passport is up to date (has at least six months after you would depart from South Africa before it expires)

Book your transportation to Cape Town - flight, drop off & pick up at airport

Prepare items to be packed - confirm with your airline your baggage allowance

Use Adobe Scan to make copies of your passport, drivers license and health insurance in case the original copy is lost. Then get identification documents (ie. passport) notarized. Finally, use Adobe Scan again to have a digital copy of everything on your devices

Confirm that you have health insurance that covers you while you travel

Make sure that any cards won’t expire while you’re here (e.g. credit cards, drivers’ licenses, etc.)

Get necessary immunizations (note: Malaria is not an issue in Cape Town)

Visit the Doctor for a checkup- be sure to go through the yearly checkup routine to ensure that there are no pressing health matters to take care of before leaving

Stock up on any medication that requires a prescription that will cover the time you are traveling

If you own a car, make a plan for what will happen to your car (will you store it and have someone drive it occasionally so the battery doesn’t die)

Assess what local banking options you want (tips listed on our General Information tab)

Notify bank + (any credit cards) you are traveling

Set up mail forwarding (as needed) — include bank, government, etc

Look into travel insurance for any valuables you are bringing with you

Exchange some money to Rand so you have some cash on hand

Send transportation itinerary to anyone involved (family + the staff of your program)

Download any items to your phone that you’d want to access offline (e.g. important travel documents, Google Maps of Cape Town)