FAQ's

Can I drink South Africa water?

South Africa has safe and high quality tap water in cities and towns, however less so in rural areas. However, even in more remote areas, accommodation establishments can advise you further with, in most cases, tap water being safe to drink.

Cholera vaccination is not required unless you will be working/volunteering for long periods in rural areas with unreliable drinking water.

Water purification tablets, boiling tap water and bottled water are other precautions travellers can take if unsure about water situations in less populated areas.

What happened to the membership plans?

Since migrating our online courses over to our new dedicated online course platform here many membership plans have become redundant.

Online Courses – Users / students can contact [email protected] for your own course coupon codes if you are part of a collaboration or would like to be part of a collaboration.

Travel, Experiences and Externships – Register an account here in order to access restricted areas on this site. This part continues as normal.

Which live streams can I watch?

With hundreds of live streams, replays and online events available, here are the 4 types of live streams and how to watch them.

1) Free to View (no membership required) – Biomimicry Online, TEP Experiences, TEP Town Hall.

2) *Free Membership minimum – TEP Projects.

3) **Paying and Collaboration Memberships(Explorer MembershipSociety MembershipSouth African Membership etc) – Coastal Conservation Online, Ecology Online, Global Goals Online, Marine Biology Online, Special Events (also Ad Hoc Live Events), Wildlife Vet Online.

4) **Ad Hoc Live Events – Special Events linked to University Societies, Online Conferences, Wildlife Vet Online Live Events – Lion Surgery and Elephant Translocation.

What makes TEP courses dynamic?

Growing lessons – ‘complete courses’ are always growing which means new content can be added at any time at no extra cost once purchased
Membership access – unlike most online courses, your content access doesn’t expire after 3 months
Donations – we are a social enterprise so your purchase is a donation
Hybrid learning – All our courses are available as in-person experiences too! Can’t join in person?…we also include live streams, Q&A sessions and mentoring so that you cant participate on-demand and live.
Blended learning – we include things you can do for us and things we can do for you, as well take-away tasks, global goal cross-overs, quizzes, case studies, worksheets and more.

How should I make donations to projects?

For some donors, the thought never crosses their minds, but for others, they want to know the ‘what, when, where, how and how much’ side of things. Here is a breakdown of fees, third-party fundraising sites, restricted and unrestricted funding and more…

Read more here.

Do I need a visa?

For many countries, a 60-90 day tourist visa is issued on arrival. Check here if you will need to apply for a visa in advance.

Visitors who wish to travel to South Africa must have a passport that is valid for at least 30 days after their intended return date from South Africa. It’s important to note that non-South African passport holders must have at least 1 completely unused visa page for entry or departure endorsements by the South African Immigration Service in their passport. Government regulations prohibit airlines from boarding travelers without the required blank visa pages, even if you hold a valid ticket and a valid passport.

You may be asked to complete a form similar to this on arrival. Please have the information you need to hand:

Do I need vaccinations?

Yes, some vaccines are recommended or required for South Africa although not essential – this depends on you and your local GP.

The National Travel Health Network and Centre and WHO recommend the following vaccinations for South Africa: COVID-19, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, cholera, yellow fever, rabies, and tetanus. Source: Passport to Global Health and WHO

When visiting South Africa from the UK, a few precautions should be taken to ensure you stay safe. Mosquito bite prevention and sun safety should be practiced, and care should be taken when eating and drinking in areas with poor sanitation. It’s also important to get properly vaccinated. Make sure you visit our Vaccination Checker to receive your personalized travel health summary.

Before you leave for South Africa, you should make an appointment with your GP or a travel clinic to discuss your individual requirements. You should do this six to eight weeks before you fly to South Africa, as some of the common travel vaccines must be administered over the course of a month. Source: Lloyds Pharmacy

COVID – If you are fully vaccinated, you do not need to take a coronavirus test to travel to South Africa. You may need to present your vaccination certificate during travel and on arrival. Unvaccinated people may need to provide a valid certificate of a negative COVID-19 PCR test, which was obtained not more than 72 hours before the date of travel. Source: Gov.uk

Will I need warm clothes?

South Africa has hot summers and mild winters but the temperatures do drop in the evenings and at night in the winter so you will need warm clothes if traveling from May to September (Southern Hemisphere winter).

Bear in mind that although temperatures may not look too cold in South Africa indoor heating, insulation, and housing designs are not the same as what you may be used to in other parts of the world.

Will I be covered under employee liability insurance?

Placements cover students and volunteers under their guest liability insurance but it is not possible to be covered under their employee’s insurance without a short-term contract. You will need to take out your own travel insurance.

This is an example that covers working abroad travel plus wildlife/sanctuaries etc – go here.

How good is the mobile/cellular signal?

The signal is good throughout South Africa with many WiFi opportunities.

Make sure you activate your phone for international roaming.

What plug adapters do I need?

Should I carry cash?

South Africa has card payment facilities as well as ATM’s but it is always worth carrying some emergency cash.

Do make sure you activate your bank cards for international use.

Are there benefits and memberships for South Africans?

South Africans have their own memberships plans which include local rates and discounts for SA residents. See all options here.

For a general SA resident membership plan – go here.

For an SA project partner membership plan – go here.

For an SA accommodation partner membership plan – go here.

For an SA restuarant partner membership plan – go here.

Read about pricing and specific membership plan benefits here.

How do I add a non-paying membership plan to my account?

Most membership plans now have the self-add option so you can sign up as you would for a paying membership plan. Go to Free Membership Plans here.

Some membership plans can only be manually added by us. When you register your account please indicate the membership plan you need. If you have already registered or already have an account and wish to add a membership and you are unable to, please get in contact with us.

What does The Expedition Project do?

We are a social enterprise created after our foundation expeditions in 2012 and 2013, when we visited 353 towns & 155 projects, with the help of 405 hospitality partnersHere there is a video if you’d like to check it out.

We wanted to meet and understand the challenges various South African communities face to help them and support them. We work with volunteers, travellers and local businesses including tourism offices, restaurants, accommodations and activities providers. We take care of volunteering projects and are always open to getting to know new ones.

If you’d like to become a partner and you are an activity provider, restaurant or accommodation, get in touch with [email protected].

If you’d like to let us know of any project that needs help or you are a volunteer willing to take part in any of our projects send an email to [email protected].

Here, you can find an article talking about us written by one of our interns.

Also, read about our Journey in Ethical Enterprise here.

What advantages do I get as a Featured Partner?

Being one of our featured partners would allow you to:

  • Stay on our website and gain more visibility for FREE, and the opportunity of getting more enquiries;
  • Get more visibility and advertising on our website and social media;
  • Be part of our most recommended accommodation establishments, located on top of our “Explore” page;
  • Be on the main route for our road trips;
  • Help the South African Communities, and support our Projects;
  • Help us with first-hand updates of your area.

How can I be a Featured Partner?

Seems complicated, but it is not. First thing first, we want to feel that you are interested in the project and you will be in touch with us. We would like to know about you, your area and create a relationship with you.

We would only ask you to give us the availability to host our team or one of our volunteers whenever we will be coming around your area. Obviously, that will be depending on your availability.

Secondly, we’d ask for support for our sustainable revenue journey. This would only come from your successful bookings. Meaning that you don’t have to pay anything to get free advertising!

If you’d like more information please email us at [email protected]

Will I be charged to be a partner?

Nope! We are a community and you, as a partner, are part of it.
No tricks! Only voluntary commissions.

How do I become a TEP partner?

You would not only be our partner, but you would also be part of our community. The first step to being a partner is getting in touch with us by sending an email to [email protected] and telling us a little bit about you and your area and how we can support you.

We would also ask you to give us the availability to host us and our team of volunteers in case we come to visit your area! that’s the perfect way to see closely you and your area, so to help you at best. Indeed, this will depend on your availability.

How do I sign up for a society membership account?

Most society membership plans now have the self-add option by adding a few details like your society membership number and/or upload proof of your society membership. Go to Society Membership Plans here.

Alternatively, if you are having issues, and you do not yet have a TEP account then register here and tell us what society you belong to so that we can link the relevant membership plan to your account.

If you already have a TEP account then contact us here so that we can help you upgrade / change your account.

Do projects get my donations if made via TEP?

Yes of course! TEP makes the process easier and also more interactive by offering many ways to donate.

You can either make a direct donation via our donation page here or sign up for a fundraising course here where 100% of course profits go to the relevant project or anytime you sign up for a course associated with a project there are donations made to these projects – just check the product tags.

Read more here.

How do I book volunteer projects, roadtrips or experiences?

Have a look at our current or upcoming experiences here and then send us an enquiry so that we can talk it through with you.

Why are some courses sold by module?

Instead of selling courses as large, expensive courses, we have opted to sell some of them module by module. This allows you to mix and match and not have to pay large amounts of money in one go.

How do I know it is worthwhile to volunteer?

The EXPEDITION Project represents a transparent, collaborative network of volunteer projects in South Africa. With sustainability as one of our core values, we stand for ethical volunteering and responsible travel.

Read more on TEP Volunteering here.

Read more about Ethical Volunteering here.

Our firsthand experience of working with underprivileged communities has done away with any illusions we may have started out with. And yet, we have emerged more hopeful for the future. Where obstacles stand in the way of meaningful change, we see opportunities for creativity and growth. Where resources are scant, we see potential to use what is right here at hand. Continue reading here.

How do I get my course certificate?

Certificates are not available for all courses. Check the conclusion section of your course to see if a certificate is available for your chosen course.

Certificates are only available for paying membership plans

Certificates are activated by completing necessary course steps:

  • Make sure you have clicked on Complete Lesson button at the botton of each lesson page
  • Make sure you have taken all course quizzes

Where can I find my online conference purchase?

Our online conference is an innovative one: This means you can use conference material before, during and after the event. For this reason our conference is laid out in a lesson and e-learning format. 

This means that you will find our online courses under My Courses.

Navigate to different talks and topics as you would progress through online learning modules and lessons. Scroll down and choose talks, speakers or participation options using either the listed conference schedule or lesson breakdown under specific topic modules.

Will my online course expire?

With the exception of some courses which naturally expire or become obsolete, as long as you have an acitve account and membership plan you will have access to your purchased online courses. Note that free membership plans have less extended access to courses than paying membership plans.

As of December 2023, some courses will be moved over to a new course platform. Provided you apply for the new course platform before your course expires and before the migration to the new course platform, then your course access can be transferred over. Read more about this migration and register for the new online course platform here

How do I book accommodation?

Go to Accommodation in the Explore section, choose the establishment you wish to enquire about or book and send in your details in the enquiry form at the bottom of the page. You will then recieve a response direct from the establishment. If you do not hear anything within 48 hours please get in touch with us using Contact

Where does my money go?

16% project donations on expeditions and road-trips

5-50% project donations on selected online courses that are not already specific fundraising courses / events


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