Tour Information
Note: The information presented below has been extracted from our formal General Information for this tour. It covers topics we feel potential registrants may wish to consider before booking space. The complete General Information for this tour will be sent to all tour registrants and of course supplemental information, if needed, is available from the WINGS office.
ENTERING ANGOLA: United States citizens need a passport valid for at least six months beyond your date of entry and with at least one blank page for an entry stamp, and a tourist visa. Proof of a Yellow Fever vaccination is also required.
Citizens of other nations may need a visa and should contact their nearest Angolan Embassy for entry requirements required by the embassy or visa-granting entity, WINGS can provide a letter for you to use regarding your participation in the tour.
COUNTRY INFORMATION: You can review the U.S. Department of State Country Specific Travel Information here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel.html. Review foreign travel advice from the UK government here: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice and travel advice and advisories from the Government of Canada here: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories.
PACE OF TOUR: This is not a particularly strenuous tour. Most walks are reasonably short and over good terrain. There may be one demanding hike when we visit Mount Moco, and there may be one or two other locations where we encounter some uneven ground or need to push through vegetation. As this tour is based entirely in hotels, and does not involve camping, there will be the need for some early starts to reach certain locations.
HEALTH: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all travelers be up to date on routine vaccinations. These include measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, polio vaccine, and your yearly flu shot.
They further recommend that most travelers have protection against Hepatitis A and Typhoid.
Please contact your doctor well in advance of your tour’s departure as some medications must be initiated weeks before the period of possible exposure.
Yellow Fever: A vaccination is required for entry into Angola.
Malaria: A malaria prophylaxis is recommended. Note that according to the CDC, Chloroquine is not an effective antimalarial drug in Angola.
The most current information about travelers’ health recommendations can be found on the CDC’s Travel Health website at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/angola.
Smoking: Smoking or vaping is prohibited in the vehicles or when the group is gathered for meals, checklists, etc. If you are sharing a room with a non-smoker, please do not smoke in the room. If you smoke in the field, do so well away and downwind from the group. If any location where the group is gathered has a stricter policy than the WINGS policy, that stricter policy will prevail.
CLIMATE: We are visiting Angola at the end of the dry season. Although we are unlikely to encounter much rain, some light showers are possible. It will mostly be warm and sunny, but temperatures in the highlands are cooler and it can sometimes be windy.
ALTITUDE: Most of our birding is done at relatively low altitudes with some birding at 2000m.
ACCOMMODATION: Unlike other tours to Angola which use camping, this one is based entirely at hotels. The quality does vary but generally they are all of a reasonable standard. The only issue tends to be a lack of maintenance with various things such as plumbing and some lights not working. All the hotels have en suite facilities.
Internet & Mobile Phone Access: Mobile phone coverage is reasonably extensive and you will have reception on most nights, although roaming often does not function. Local SIM cards may be available at the airport. Some hotels have WiFi but it can slow.
FOOD: Food is mostly Angolan/Portuguese, which is generally heavily meat- and starch-based. Breakfasts will be simple: tea, coffee, cereal, fruit, bread and jam, and sometimes eggs. Lunches will be light and mostly taken in the field.
Drinks: Bottled water, a soft drink or a beer are provided at meals, as is coffee or tea. In addition we keep a supply of bottled water on the tour vehicles.
Food Allergies/Requirements: We cannot guarantee that all food allergies can be accommodated at every destination. Participants with significant food allergies or special dietary requirements should bring appropriate foods with them for those times when their needs cannot be met. Announced meal times are always approximate depending on how the day unfolds. Participants who need to eat according to a fixed schedule should bring supplemental food. Please contact the WINGS office if you have any questions.
TRANSPORTATION: We will be travelling in one or two 4x4 vehicles. Participants should be able and willing to ride in any seat in our tour vehicles. The leader will arrange a seating rotation. Please note that while many of Angola’s main roads have been resurfaced in the last few years, some sections are under construction which means we will be driving on some small, bumpy tracks.
Updated: 15 November 2023