Handling a 20-person group in Southern Africa without losing the day

Vehicle mix before vehicle size

For 20 passengers we normally run two minibuses rather than a single coach. It keeps luggage inside the vehicles, works on gravel access roads that coaches cannot use, and halves the risk if one vehicle has a mechanical issue.

A coach earns its place on long tarmac transfers between cities, where luggage volume and passenger comfort favour a single vehicle.

The operational spine

Every mid-size group movement we run has the same fixed elements.

• A named group controller who owns the movement end to end.
• One manifest with passport details, collected at booking rather than at the post.
• A luggage count agreed in advance, with a trailer added if needed.
• A dispatcher at the gateway for arrival-day movements.
• A pre-briefed rendezvous point for the tour leader at every stop.

Borders and buffers

Twenty passports through a border post is a different exercise from four. We depart earlier, lodge vehicle permits ahead of travel, and put a representative on foot at the post to move the group through in one batch.

Group files are quoted by a person against the actual dates. We do not publish automated group rates, because the vehicle mix and the border profile change the cost far more than passenger count does.