Glatt Safaris has set out the group departure windows for its 2027 season, giving Torah observant families a fixed calendar to plan around while September is still early enough to arrange leave, flights and school holidays. The Johannesburg based operator runs Glatt Kosher gourmet African safari and holiday tours across South Africa and East Africa, and its published dates now sit far enough ahead that the paperwork side of the trip, which is the part most travellers underestimate, can be handled calmly rather than in a rush.

Two group tracks carry confirmed dates. The Gold Track runs from 15 February 2027 to 25 February 2027, corresponding to 8 Adar 1 through 18 Adar 1, with a second departure from 16 August 2027 to 26 August 2027, or 13 Av to 23 Av. The Silver Track runs from 15 February 2027 to 22 February 2027, that is 8 Adar 1 to 15 Adar 1, with its own August window from 16 August 2027 to 23 August 2027, or 13 Av to 20 Av. Both tracks are listed with their Hebrew dates alongside the civil ones, which matters for families checking a departure against yahrzeits, chagim and school terms before they commit.

Publishing the calendar this far out is the practical half of the offering. The company hosts between 20 and 40 people on a public tour, so a family group booking together needs to know the window before it can book international flights, and an international flight to Johannesburg is not a booking anyone wants to make twice.

What the Gold Track covers

The Gold Track is the eleven day itinerary that crosses borders. It moves through South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, staying in five star hotels for the duration. The itinerary opens with Kruger National Park, where the game drives are timed to the early morning and late afternoon hours when lions, leopards and antelope are active, and where guests sleep in a private game reserve. It then flies to Cape Town for Table Mountain, a city tour taking in Company's Garden, Bo Kaap, the Jewish Museum of South Africa and Greenmarket Square, and a full Shabbos in the city with a walk to a nearby shul, a leisurely Friday night meal, Shalosh Seudot and Melave Malka.

From Cape Town the group visits the Cape Peninsula where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, takes a boat to Seal Island and drives the coastal route to the Cape of Good Hope and the penguin rookery. The trip then flies north to Victoria Falls, cruises the Zambezi River until sunset, and views the falls from both the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides. Victoria Falls is included on this Kosher Tour in two forms, on foot through the rainforest under the spray and from the air on the helicopter flight known as the Flight of Angels. An elephant ride with the accompanying Indunas and a crossing into Chobe National Park in Botswana, famous for its elephant population, round out the eleven days before the flight home.

What the Silver Track covers

The Silver Track keeps to South Africa and runs a day shorter. It opens with a private safari at the Lion Park outside Johannesburg, then moves to Kruger National Park, a reserve the company describes as holding more animal species than any other, with 150 mammals, more than 500 birds and 100 reptiles. Two full days are given to game drives before the group flies to Cape Town.

The Cape leg adds the Stellenbosch wine route with a tasting at a private estate winery, and a boat trip out of Hermanus for whale watching. Table Mountain, the Cape of Good Hope, Seal Island and the penguins follow, with Shabbos again spent in Cape Town. For a first trip to the continent, the Silver route is the more contained option, one country, two domestic flights and no border crossings, while still covering the Big Five and the Cape.

Private tours for families working to their own calendar

Not every family fits a group window. Alongside the two tracks, Glatt Safaris designs private itineraries across South and East Africa that are customisable to budget, interests and pace, which is the usual route for honeymoons, anniversaries and multi generation family trips. Private travellers set the accommodation level, from three, four and five star hotels through to private reserves and VIP retreats, and decide where the money goes. A family can spend less on hotels and take pre packaged Kosher meals in order to cover more destinations, or spend more on a private reserve with a personal chef and visit fewer places at a slower pace.

Destinations available on a private route include the Garden Route up the east coast, Cape Town and Table Mountain, Kruger Park, Chobe National Park in Botswana, Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe and Zambia border, and Madikwe Safari Reserve. Madikwe is often suggested for first time safari goers because its grounds give varied game viewing and photography, and because it sits in a malaria free zone, which removes the malaria precautions from the planning list for families travelling with young children.

Kashrut arrangements on the road

The kashrut standard is the same across every Kosher Safari the company runs. Guests receive three Kosher le'mehadrin meals a day supervised by the Cape Town Beth Din, and the company holds Badatz Cape Town approval, which extends to the hotels used and to the pre packaged meals carried on the road. A mashgiach travels with the group and is available to speak to before booking.

In Cape Town and Johannesburg meals can be supplied by Kosher restaurants. In remote areas the company flies in its own food, chefs and mashgichim, sets up temporary Kosher kitchens and uses imported Kosher ingredients that guests are welcome to inspect. Religious arrangements are handled as part of the tour rather than left to the traveller, including minyanim, a Sefer Torah, mikveh access, places for netilat yadayim, Kiddush wine and Shabbat candles. Meals are three course and prepared by chefs working in Mediterranean and South African styles, with vegan, vegetarian and other special diets catered for on request.

Why the lead time is the point

Booking a year ahead is not only about seats. Passports must remain valid for a further six months after the trip and carry three empty pages, which for a family of six is a queue at Home Affairs or a consulate rather than an afternoon's admin. Immunisation questions should go to a traveller's own health department in good time. Insurance is best purchased at registration rather than later, so that a cancellation for unforeseen medical reasons falls within the policy rules.

Families travelling with children need longer still. South African requirements in force since 1 June 2015 for anyone under 18 entering, leaving or passing through the country carry documentation obligations, and the company keeps the necessary paperwork available from its offices for guests who need it. Starting that process in September for a February departure, rather than in January, is the difference between an administrative task and an emergency.

What is included and what sits outside the price

Both group tracks include the three daily Kosher le'mehadrin meals under Badatz Cape Town supervision, two domestic flights within South Africa, accommodation in luxury hotels, air conditioned tour buses, mineral water on the buses and entrance fees to all the reserves. International flights to Johannesburg and home from Cape Town or Victoria Falls sit outside the price, as do medical and luggage insurance, personal expenses and optional excursions such as Robben Island. Gold Track travellers should also budget for the entry visa payable on arrival in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The company notes that changes in flight prices affect the price per traveller, another reason early planning tends to work in a family's favour.

Anyone weighing up a group departure against a private itinerary can compare both, along with full day by day schedules for each track, on the Glatt Safaris website at https://www.glattsafaris.com/.

About Glatt Safaris

Glatt Safaris is a South African tour operator founded in 2013 by Chanan Green, a frum Israeli South African who began organising trips after arranging a safari for relatives visiting from Israel. Registered as Glatt Safaris (PTY) LTD and based at 48 Orchard Road in Johannesburg, the company runs Glatt Kosher gourmet safari and holiday tours across South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, on public Gold and Silver tracks and on fully customised private itineraries. Its Kosher Safaris carry Badatz Cape Town approval, with three Kosher le'mehadrin meals a day supervised by the Cape Town Beth Din, a mashgiach travelling with the group, and minyanim and Shabbos arrangements built into the schedule. The company maintains contact lines in New York, London, Jerusalem and South Africa.

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Glatt Safaris
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +27 21 300 1844
Website: https://www.glattsafaris.com/