Girls Sport South Africa Tour 2026
Please find all the information for the Girls Sports Tour to South Africa in 2026 below.
Click above to view a recording of the Information Evening by Edwin Doran Sports Tours
FAQs (click to open)
> I’m concerned about safety
- We monitor the advice on the FCDO website, and should any update affect your groups itinerary, i.e., protest in a township, we will put a plan in place to avoid this. In addition, our staff on the ground monitor local news, and should they feel it is unsuitable for you visit a certain place or travel along a certain road, they will flag this, and we will change your itinerary accordingly. We have our own internal risk assessments and safety management systems in place for South Africa including utilising local knowledge of the areas we visit including roads conditions and protest actions.
- The risk of crime to visitors travelling to the main tourist destinations is generally low. The South African authorities prioritise protecting tourists with local security provided in the tourist areas.
- The most violent crimes that hit the headlines tend to occur in certain townships on the outskirts of major cities and isolated areas. None of the tour is undertaking heads to any of these areas concerned.
- Our coach company Hylton Ross also ensures that the pickup and drop from groups at hotels, excursions and fixtures are close as possible and in safe areas only e.g. at the front of hotels, on school grounds or at excursion venues not walking distance away. The coach company themselves put limits on when they are comfortable driving, and we adhere to their stipulations to ensure the group are kept as safe as possible when travelling.
- Each of the hotels where the students are staying all have their own personal security guards on duty 24/7 at the entrance to the accommodations. They are there to ensure only hotel guests and accredited visitors have access to the hotel facilities. Finally, the students will only be allowed free time whilst in South Africa to explore in recommended safe areas such as shopping malls and only at be at the discretion of the teaching staff.
- We take the safety of every traveller extremely seriously and we do not go into any area without knowing what is happening there. Because of our strong relationship with the local community and sports clubs in the townships we are well informed if anything is not right on any given day. In over 20 years that I have been working and going into the townships, we have not had one issue.
> Can you tell me some more about the tour company?
Edwin Doran Tours is the longest-running sports tour operator in the UK, with over 50 years of experience organising bespoke sports tours for schools & groups worldwide
All Edwin Doran Sports Tours are ATOL protected (Air Travel Organisers’ Licencing) and IATA bonded (International Air Transport Association), ensuring good standards of practice and bringing customers financial protection against unforeseen events.
We are a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), which means you have the benefit of ABTA’s assistance and Code of Conduct. All the package and Flight-Plus holidays we sell are covered by a scheme protecting your money if the supplier fails.
Edwin Doran Sports Tours is a fully assured member of the School Travel Forum (STF). The STF promotes good practice and safety in school travel. Choosing an STF Assured Member ensures teachers and schools are meeting the requirements of DfES and Scottish Executive guidelines and that they can delegate important tasks with confidence. As members, we adhere to a stringent Code of Practice and Safety Management Standards, which meet with Department for Education guidelines and are externally verified every year by independent Health and Safety professionals. Teachers booking their sports tours through Edwin Doran can therefore be sure that we:
- Manage safety effectively.
- Understand and facilitate the needs of educational travel
- Offer fair terms & conditions and the best financial security.
- Are fully inspected every year by independent experts.
Edwin Doran Sports Tours is an accredited Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality Badge holder. The nationally recognised badge is designed to bring together all safety & quality badges into one easily identifiable mark of high standards. Only awarded after a rigorous external assessment, this assures our customers that we do what we say we do. This means we have pledged to engage in an ongoing process to sustain high-quality learning outside the classroom and have demonstrated that we meet the following quality indicators:
- We assist our teachers to plan the learning experience effectively.
- We provide accurate information about our tours.
- We provide activities, experience or resources which meet learner needs.
- We review your experience and act upon feedback.
- We review your experience and act upon feedback.
- We have a safety management process in place to manage risk effectively.
Please contact Mrs Collins with any further questions you may have.