Glatt Safaris Confirms 2027 Kosher Safari Dates

Torah observant families now have firm dates to build a 2027 around: Glatt Safaris has released the departure windows for its group tours, and with September still on the calendar there is room to sort out leave, flights and school holidays without pressure. The Johannesburg based operator, which runs Glatt Kosher gourmet African safari and holiday tours through South Africa and East Africa, has timed the release so that the administrative side of travel, the part most people leave too late, can be worked through at an easy pace.

Confirmed dates cover two group tracks. The Gold Track departs 15 February 2027 and returns 25 February 2027, matching 8 Adar 1 to 18 Adar 1, with a further departure from 16 August 2027 to 26 August 2027, or 13 Av to 23 Av. The Silver Track departs 15 February 2027 and returns 22 February 2027, that is 8 Adar 1 to 15 Adar 1, and repeats in August from 16 August 2027 to 23 August 2027, or 13 Av to 20 Av. Each track shows its Hebrew dates next to the civil ones, a detail that helps families measure a departure against yahrzeits, chagim and school terms before signing on.

Releasing the calendar this early is the practical part of the offer. A public tour carries between 20 and 40 guests, so a family booking as a group has to fix the window before it can lock in international flights, and a flight into Johannesburg is not something anyone wants to buy twice.

What the Gold Track covers

The Gold Track is the eleven day route that crosses borders, moving through South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana with five star hotels throughout. It begins at Kruger National Park, where game drives run in the early morning and late afternoon while lions, leopards and antelope are on the move, and where guests stay in a private game reserve. From there it flies to Cape Town for Table Mountain, a city tour covering 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, an unhurried Friday night meal, Shalosh Seudot and Melave Malka.

Leaving Cape Town, the group heads to the Cape Peninsula where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, boards a boat to Seal Island and follows the coast road to the Cape of Good Hope and the penguin rookery. Next comes a flight north to Victoria Falls, a Zambezi River cruise that runs to sunset, and views of the falls from both the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides. Victoria Falls features twice on this Kosher Tour, once on foot through the rainforest beneath the spray and once from above on the helicopter trip called the Flight of Angels. An elephant ride with the accompanying Indunas and a crossing into Botswana’s Chobe National Park, known for its elephant herds, close out the eleven days before the return flight.

What the Silver Track covers

The Silver Track stays inside South Africa and runs one day shorter. It starts with a private safari at the Lion Park near Johannesburg, then continues to Kruger National Park, which the company describes as holding more animal species than any other reserve, with 150 mammals, over 500 birds and 100 reptiles. Guests spend two full days on game drives before flying to Cape Town.

The Cape section adds the Stellenbosch wine route with a tasting at a private estate winery, plus a whale watching boat trip out of Hermanus. Table Mountain, the Cape of Good Hope, Seal Island and the penguins come next, and Shabbos is once again spent in Cape Town. For anyone new to the continent, the Silver route is the tidier choice: one country, two domestic flights, no border crossings, yet it still delivers the Big Five and the Cape.

Private tours for families working to their own calendar

A group window does not suit every family. Beyond the two tracks, Glatt Safaris builds private itineraries across South and East Africa that flex to budget, interests and pace, the usual choice for honeymoons, anniversaries and multi generation family trips. Private travellers pick their accommodation level, from three, four and five star hotels up to private reserves and VIP retreats, and choose where to direct their spend. One family might trim the hotel budget and take pre packaged Kosher meals so it can reach more destinations, while another might invest in a private reserve with a personal chef and see fewer places more slowly.

Options on a private route take in the Garden Route along 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 comes up often for first time safari goers, both for the range of game viewing and photography across its grounds and because it lies in a malaria free zone, which lifts the malaria precautions off the planning list for families with young children.

Kashrut arrangements on the road

Every Kosher Safari the company operates holds to the same kashrut standard. Guests are served three Kosher le’mehadrin meals daily under Cape Town Beth Din supervision, and the company carries Badatz Cape Town approval that reaches the hotels in use and the pre packaged meals taken on the road. A mashgiach travels with the group and can be spoken to before booking.

Meals in Cape Town and Johannesburg can come from Kosher restaurants. In remote areas the company brings in its own food, chefs and mashgichim, builds temporary Kosher kitchens and works with imported Kosher ingredients that guests are free to examine. Religious needs are covered as part of the tour rather than handed to the traveller, among them minyanim, a Sefer Torah, mikveh access, places for netilat yadayim, Kiddush wine and Shabbat candles. The meals are three course and cooked by chefs working in Mediterranean and South African styles, with vegan, vegetarian and other special diets accommodated on request.

Why the lead time is the point

A year of notice is about more than seats. Passports have to stay valid for six months past the trip and hold three blank pages, which for a family of six means a queue at Home Affairs or a consulate rather than a quick afternoon. Immunisation questions belong with a traveller’s own health department well ahead of time. Insurance is best taken out at registration instead of later, so that a cancellation for an unforeseen medical reason still falls inside the policy terms.

Families with children need even more runway. South African rules in place since 1 June 2015 for anyone under 18 who enters, leaves or transits the country bring documentation requirements, and the company keeps the relevant paperwork on hand at its offices for guests who need it. Beginning that process in September for a February departure, rather than in January, turns a potential emergency into routine admin.

What is included and what sits outside the price

Both group tracks cover the three daily Kosher le’mehadrin meals under Badatz Cape Town supervision, two domestic flights within South Africa, luxury hotel accommodation, air conditioned tour buses, mineral water on the buses and entrance fees to every reserve. International flights into Johannesburg and out from Cape Town or Victoria Falls fall outside the price, as do medical and luggage insurance, personal expenses and optional excursions such as Robben Island. Gold Track guests should also allow for the entry visa payable on arrival in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The company points out that shifts in flight prices feed through to the price per traveller, one more reason early planning usually favours a family.

Anyone comparing a group departure with a private itinerary can review both, together 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 started running trips after organising a safari for family visiting from Israel. Registered as Glatt Safaris (PTY) LTD and based at 48 Orchard Road in Johannesburg, the company operates Glatt Kosher gourmet safari and holiday tours across South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, on public Gold and Silver tracks and on fully tailored private itineraries. Its Kosher Safaris hold Badatz Cape Town approval, with three Kosher le’mehadrin meals a day under Cape Town Beth Din supervision, a mashgiach travelling with the group, and minyanim and Shabbos arrangements written into the schedule. The company keeps contact lines in New York, London, Jerusalem and South Africa.

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Email: info@glattsafaris.com
Phone: +27 21 300 1844
Website: https://www.glattsafaris.com/