First class rail services are available on the world renowned Blue Train and Rovos Rail which operate scheduled services between Johannesburg and Cape Town and other areas of interest.

airlines
There are 3 international airports: Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban in order of size and traffic. Domestic / provincial hubs are: Kimberley & Upington (Northern Cape), Bloemfontein (Free State), East London & Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape), George (Garden Route), Nelspruit (Mpumalanga) and Richards Bay (northern Kwazulu-Natal).

About 50 airlines provide service to and from the country. The major ones are British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, SwissAir, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Alitalia, Sabena & Virgin with regular flights to and from Johannesburg and Cape Town.

South African Airways is the national carrier, distinctively a class above other African airlines in terms of service and reliability (they have a 99.8% take-off record). They connect to all major European hubs as well as the continental US and the Far East.

For hunters from the USA, the best direct connections are with SAA/Delta via Atlanta or New York with a flight time of approximately 16hrs. Otherwise, flying via Europe possibly offers more flexibility of US departure cities and times. There is usually a couple of hours stop-over en route.

GUN friendly airlines should be your biggest concern when visiting Africa. Most notorious for bad service are British Airways, with hunters consistently having to delay their safaris because of lost rifles or badly damaged cases. SAA, KLM, Lufthansa and SwissAir all seem to be proficient at handling and accommodating travelers with firearms.

Visitors require a passport valid for at least 6 months after the intended day of departure from South Africa. It is best to comply with this one as immigration officials can be difficult.

No visas are required for nationals from the USA, European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Usually, when a visa is required it can be issued upon arrival and is free.

Visitors can stay for a maximum of 90 days provided they have proof of exit: a return air ticket, onward connection and proof of sufficient funds such as travellers' cheques and cash.

Your travel agent is the best person to sort out your immigration requirements as they handle this kind of thing everyday. Otherwise contact the South African Department of Home Affairs at (Tel: +27-12-3148911 Fax +27-12-326 8328) or from the Embassy of South Africa, 3051 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008. Tel: +1-202-23244. There are consular offices in Beverly Hills, Chicago and New York as well. 

If you are up to it, you are entitled to import into South Africa a personal allowance of: 400 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 250 grams pipe/cigarette tobacco, 2 litres of wine, 1 litre of spirits, 50ml of perfume, 250ml of eau de toilette and other gifts up to a value of R500 (approx.US$80).

You can import any amount of foreign currency as long as you declare amounts over $20,000 to customs upon arrival.

The unit of currency is the Rand, divided into 100 cents.

Travellers' cheques and banknotes of all major currencies are easily exchanged at banks and exchange bureaus at a commission of about 1-2%. Some cheques like AMEX offer commission-free encashment.

Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Diners Club are all widely accepted in shops, hotels and restaurants. More and more automatic teller machines will give cash advances from these cards as well. Check with your bank to see if you can use your bank or ATM card at tellers displaying the CIRRUS sign.

Most hunting outfitters will require you to pay the balance of your daily fees and trophy fees in cash or travellers' cheques before you depart. This can mean carrying a wad of banknotes or cheques around which is worrying and cumbersome. A good idea is to wire-transfer the amount you think you are likely to spend to the outfitter, prior to your departure and then just top it up when your safari is over.