For many people a Nile Cruise is a holiday of a lifetime, something they look forward to possibly for many years. There are many different Nile Cruise Holidays available to suit all budgets and tastes, so it is important to discuss the options with your Travelux Consultant and to tell them what your expectations are; they will be able to fully explain the different holidays and to help you choose the right one for you. The amount of history you can potentially see in those few days is simply staggering and it can involve a lot of walking in very high temperatures, so you should also carefully consider what time of year you will be travelling.

Prior to this educational visit I had never been to South Africa before, so this was an extremely exciting prospect for me. Before the trip, I visited my GP Surgery to find out what vaccinations/medications I needed. This is very important when visiting destinations such as Africa, and for Kwazulu Natal I did need Malaria tablets.

There are no direct flights to Durban, so we flew with Emirates from Gatwick to Dubai and then on to Durban from there. Our luggage was checked through to Durban at Gatwick. The flight from Gatwick to Dubai is 7 hours and Dubai to Durban is 9 hours.

The Gambia had previously been described to me as a “Marmite” destination (you will either love it or hate it!) and at the end of October I joined Monarch on the 6 hour flight to find out. Courtesy of The Gambia Experience, I spent four nights at the Kairaba Hotel in Kololi.

My arrival at Banjul airport was met with eager porters to assist with my luggage in reward for a tip despite the 10 second walk to the air conditioned minibus. The transfer to the hotel was only 20 minutes so it did not take long to check-in at the Kairaba.