Safari Holidays to South Africa and Namibia for independent travellers.

You can use the following as a guideline:

• A service charge is included in many restaurant bills, and in these instances no further tip is expected.  If no service charge is  included, then a tip of about 10% is normal.  

• If you go on a tour with a good guide, a 10% tip is a good rate to offer at the end of the trip.  

• For taxi drivers, again a 10% tip is much appreciated. 

• It is also customary to tip your guide and tracker when you leave your private game safari - generally, the guide and tracker share the tip between them,  and a useful guideline is to tip about R100 per day

• Porters - a good guide is to tip R2 per bag carried.

• The car attendants who offer to keep an eye on your vehicle when you are parked in a town centre provide a good service, and the going rate is around R5 - R8 per hour. 

• For a guide to tipping the petrol pump attendants, please see our Driving in South Africa - Buying Petrol page

VAT

VAT is charged at 14% on most goods and commodities, and tourists can claim this back on any goods they take with them when they leave the country from one of the international airports.

It is not possible to reclaim VAT on perishable goods such as food, or when departing via a land border.  The total value of the goods must exceed R250.

To claim your VAT refund, you will need to present your receipts, together with your passport and flight ticket home, at any VAT Refund Office. 

There is one at both Cape Town International and Jo'burg International Airports, or in the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, or the Sandton City Shopping Mall in Jo'burg.

The claim is processed while you wait, and you are issued with a receipt and in most cases, a VAT refund cheque.  The VAT Refund Office at the airport has to validate both before you can cash the cheque in for foreign currency at the airport banking facilities.