Cross-border transfer planning: the checklist we run before every crossing

Before the booking is confirmed

We check four things before we accept a cross-border leg: passenger nationalities, whether minors are travelling, the direction and date of the crossing, and the onward flight or activity. Any one of them can change the vehicle, the departure time or the price.

• Passport validity and blank pages — a common cause of refusal on KAZA corridors.
• Unabridged birth certificates or equivalent for minors on South African crossings.
• Visa or KAZA UniVisa eligibility for the specific nationalities on the manifest.
• Whether the vehicle itself is permitted to cross, or whether a handover is required.

On the day

Our drivers carry a printed manifest, pre-lodged permits and the duty-desk number. On busy corridors an agent walks the group through formalities on foot rather than leaving them in a queue with luggage in a vehicle.

Where vehicles cannot cross, the handover point is named in the booking — not described as 'the border'. Guests are met by name on the far side, and the desk is notified when both legs complete.

Buffers that hold

We treat holiday weekends, month-end freight peaks and mid-morning coach waves as known conditions rather than surprises. On those dates we shift departures earlier instead of promising the same duration and hoping.

If a leg cannot be run safely to the timings a file requires, we say so at quoting stage and propose an alternative — a flight, a different post, or an extra night.