Booking Terms & Conditions
Disclaimer – These conditions supersede any previously issued conditions and come into efect immediately.
Booking Reservation
Prices are in USD ($) unless agreed otherwise. A 40% deposit is required to book your reservation, covering accommodations and any necessary activities or permits. The remaining balance is due 14 days before your safari to ensure smooth logistics. Your safari consultant can provide a milestone payment plan.
Payment Policy
We accept online card payments via a secure PCI DSS-compliant payment gateway. We absorb the card transaction charge from our end, but this could change in the future. Transfer SWIFT payments are also accepted, and we will provide the bank account details upon request via our designated email address. We shall not accept responsibility for any transactions outside our official payment channels.
Accommodation
We’re excited to offer cost double rooms designed for two. If you prefer a single room, just let us know, and we can arrange that for a small extra fee. Please note that if our first choice is booked, we reserve the right to book you a suitable alternative.
Per Person Sharing: Splitting the cost equally on a shared twin or double room
Single Supplement: If staying in a single room, an extra amount of the per-person sharing rate will apply
Meals: Unless otherwise stated, all bookings will be on Full Board (breakfast, lunch, dinner), except for arrival and departure dates, where only one or two meals will be available, depending on the respective itineraries.
Diet Requirements: All our accommodation suppliers cater to diverse dietary requirements.
Please communicate any special diet requirements to us during booking confirmations.
Transportation
Safaris are transported in 4-wheel-drive vehicles, while city transfers may use minivans or sedans. The company may use subcontractors when needed. We offer bottled water for safaris and recommend using it for drinking at hotels and lodges, as tap water may be unsafe.
Most parks are eco-friendly and may not allow plastic bottles: please carry a reusable water bottle.
Tour Language
Our safaris are conducted in English by default, and we can accommodate French, German, Italian, and Spanish requirements with prior requests during the booking process. Last-minute requests for bilingual guides or translators may not be possible.
Rules for National Parks, Game Reserves, Conservancies, and Sanctuaries
For your safety, you are advised to observe the rules and guidelines in our national parks, reserves, and game sanctuaries. Failure to adhere may result in bodily harm and/or stif penalties, which the client will bear. Such include but are not limited to hanging out of the safari vehicle, feeding wild animals, littering, making loud noises or playing music, and operating unauthorized photography drones.
Alteration to Tour Itineraries and Pricing
Every efort is made to adhere to itineraries advised to clients. However, the company reserves the right to change the sequence of an itinerary or lodge due to weather conditions or any other cause.
Tour Pricing: Prices are based on prevailing tariffs when going to print but are subject to change without prior notice. In the event of increases in tariffs outside of our control, e.g., park entry fees and activity tariffs, you will be advised accordingly.
Travel Regulations & Visa Requirements
Most nationals will require an e-Travel Authorization to visit Kenya and probably a tourist visa for most other African destinations we serve. These travel documents for most countries are now processed online, and your travel consultant will advise you accordingly when booking confirmations is made.
Health: Consult a travel clinic or physician for the proper medication, which usually starts a few weeks before travel and continues after you return. Avoid mosquito bites by wearing long sleeves and trousers after dark to prevent malaria.
Vaccinations: Your country’s health ministry, clinic, or physician can brief you on recommended vaccines. A yellow fever vaccine is recommended for protection if you travel to an endemic zone, even if you fly from a non-endemic zone. Travel advisories issued occasionally may also recommend or require specific types of vaccines, and we shall work together to provide timely and relevant vaccine information.
Travel Insurance
We’re thrilled you’re planning your adventure! When making your deposit, we highly encourage you to consider purchasing insurance for unexpected cancellations, medical evacuations, and lost luggage. It’s also a great idea to check if your health and life insurance provides coverage during your safari, including emergency evacuation options. Just a friendly heads-up: we don’t sell travel insurance, so be sure to obtain it in your home country from a reputable underwriter.
Local Emergency Medical Evacuation: In partnership with local emergency medical service providers, we can procure land, sea, and air emergency medical evacuation at $40 per person.
NOTE that this is not a medical cover or travel insurance policy nor a replacement for travel insurance requirements.
Local and Regional Air Transfers
All the companies we use for air transfers, whether scheduled or chartered, are locally licensed and fully compliant with relevant aviation regulations. Often, a baggage policy will restrict the weight limit of checked baggage; please comply or plan to purchase a baggage allowance upgrade in advance.
Connecting fights: If your fight itinerary includes connecting fights, there could be delays, usually communicated in advance.
Landing for immigration processing: Flights connecting East Africa from bust destinations may land at the nearest exit town or city for exit immigration processing, e.g. Masai Mara-Entebbe fights will land at Kisumu Airport for immigration procedures.
Cancellation Policy
All cancellation requests must be made in writing.
Unused Park/ Conservancy/ Sanctuary Entry Tickets: If you decide to cancel or forgo a game drive for which park entry tickets have been purchased, please note that the ticket fee is non-refundable. However, if you provide prior written notice of the cancellation or postponement, the authorities may allow you to reschedule at their discretion.
Gorilla & Chimpanzee Trekking Permits: Gorilla and Chimp permits cannot be booked and are only confirmed on full payment. Gorilla and Chimp permits are not refundable. Once you choose to cancel your safari, the full payment made for the gorilla and chimp permits will be forfeited. However, if you wish to reschedule your Tracking permits (Gorilla and Chimp Permits), the Uganda Wildlife Authority accepts two complimentary rescheduling per the regulations. A third reschedule can only be made with the express agreement from the Executive Director of Uganda Wildlife Authority and is charged at 25% of the permit value.
Hotel Cancellation Policy: Cancelling bookings will have consequences, depending on the time of cancellation, in relation to the tour’s start dates. A cancellation policy protects the tour operator, the client, and the suppliers from unfair loss from contractual obligations/ misuse of cancellations.
Between 90 – 30 days- 25% Penalty
Between 30 – 15 days- 50% Penalty
Between 15-7 days- 75% Penalty
Within 7 days- 100% Penalty
Child Policy
Hotels and accommodations have specific policies regarding children that can impact pricing and other aspects of a stay. The specific child policy for each property will directly affect child rates, extra beds, age restrictions, supervision requirements for certain activities such as swimming, and access to amenities such as kids’ play areas.
General guidelines as adopted by the company-
Infant: from 0-3 years old, stays FOC (free of charge)
Child: from 4-11 years old, pays a service-specific percentage of the adult rate
Adult (rate): from 12 years and above, pays the full adult rate
Child-sharing: the child enjoys a prescribed discount is sharing a room with an accompanying adult
Complaints
Should a problem or disservice occur on safari, you are advised to contact our office through your tour consultant immediately. For most field issues, a quick intervention will smooth things out and reach a tenable solution. Should you remain dissatisfied, please escalate to us via email, setting out the complaint in detail within 14 days of the end of our services under the contract. We cannot accept responsibility for any complaints that are not noticed entirely under this clause.
Force Majeure
“Force majeure” is a French term that translates to “superior force”. It refers to unforeseen circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract. In legal terms, it often includes natural disasters like earthquakes, foods, or hurricanes and other extraordinary events such as war, acts of terror, civil strife, or strikes. These events are beyond our control; we shall not be liable to pay any compensation or otherwise be responsible for any expenses or losses you might incur where we are forced, as a result, to cancel, delay, curtail or change your arrangement in any way or where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected.
Liability
The company and its agents do not accept any responsibility for personal injury, accident, illness, death, delays, theft, loss or damage to baggage or any other personal property, or alteration or cancellation of itinerary due to force majeure. The company will not be held responsible for delays, cancellations, or non-acceptance of air space reservations. Blends of Africa Adventures Limited’s liability is governed by the laws of Kenya and no other country. Any claim would be subject only to the Kenyan Judicial System.
