Health

Innoculations: No inoculations are required for our destinations if visiting from the U.K., but we would recommend consulting your doctor to make sure your children are up to date with all they require for their personal health and well-being.

Malaria: None of the regions we feature on this web-site are malarial, so prophylactics do not need to be taken. However, if you wish to visit certain other regions such as the Kruger Park or parts of Kwa-Zulu Natal, it is strongly advisable that they are taken. Malarone Paediatric can now be prescribed for children weighing 11 - 40 kg and offers 97% protection.

Doctors and Medical Facilities: Private health care facilities are of an excellent standard in all our destinations, so do ensure you have adequate travel insurance in place so that you can access these if required. Doctors will generally come to your hotel for a fee, if you or your child would prefer not to travel to a local surgery or it is out of hours.

For further information about health issues, please see the Health Advice for Travellers pages in the Department of Health website.

Safety and Security

Mauritius, The Seychelles Islands, Oman & Dubai are very safe destinations to visit.

Most crime in South Africa occurs in the townships and isolated areas away from the tourist destinations, and the South African government is actively trying to address the issue amongst local communities.

We appreciate that you may feel particularly vulnerable travelling with children, and therefore only include main tourist areas in the regions we feature. If you would like to visit a township, please do so only as part of an organised tour run by a reliable operator (our representatives in South Africa can advise should you wish to do so).

As a holiday-maker therefore, South Africa is as safe as most destinations, as long as you take basic common sense precautions (e.g. not walking around with expensive jewellery and photographic equipment on show). We would also recommend that you seek the advice of your hotel with regards to local issues, such as whether it is safe to walk to a restaurant at night.

For further information, please see the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice.

Language

South Africa has 11 official languages, of which English is one and is widely spoken, whether it be for shopping, restaurants, doctors, or child care. English is also widely spoken in Mauritius and The Seychelles Islands as well as the Middle-East.

Childcare

Mauritian hotels have some of the best children's clubs in the world whilst resorts in The Seychelles Islands are increasinlgy offering this facility. All the hotels we feature in Dubai offer excellent facilities for younger guests as well as the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah in Oman.

Hotels in South Africa are responding to the needs of parents and providing some good facilities where child carers can play and look after children, such as those at Hunters Country House and The Kurland on the Garden Route. The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa in Cape Town has some great facilities that will appeal to children including picnic walks, a rock formation swimming pool and even a 16-seater cinema!

Some of the South African hotels in our portfolio such as the Mount Nelson and Le Franschhoek also offer supervised activities during the school holidays, whilst others such as The Fancourt, George and Sun City Resort provide this year round. The safari lodges generally offer educational programmes for children, sometimes including special game drives.

Cost

Childcare in South Africa is very affordable, generally in the region of 20 - 50 rand per hour (well under £5). Often there is no charge for activities organised in the school holidays, and generally there is no charge for the Children's Clubs in Mauritius, unless your child is under the age of 3 or 4, when a babysitter may also need to be hired. Costs elsewhere are likely to be higher.

Staff

In some more remote hotels and lodges, this may be provided by staff who may or may not have relevant qualifications. In the main cities such as Cape Town, this will be provided by a professional agency.

Further details

In the accommodation details for each hotel and lodge we feature, we provide further information about the facilities and activities provided for children. Alternatively we will be happy to make suitable recommendations if you let us know your requirements.

Shopping

Shopping in main towns is a pleasure and good value in South Africa. It is easy to park and Mall's are air-conditioned. It is possible to purchase good value children's clothes at supermarkets such as Pick 'n' Pay. Woolworths stores (the South African equivalent of M&S) generally have a small food hall full of tempting goodies if you need to stock up before a journey! Please note that imported baby products such as nappies and wipes are very expensive (close to double that in the UK).

Availability is not so straight forward in Mauritius, The Seychelles Islands and Oman with regards to children's items and so we recommend that you bring these with you. In Dubai the selection is excellent and tempting.

For further information, see our 'Shop Till You Drop' pages.