Terms and Conditions
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
PAYING FOR YOUR TRIP TO EAST AFRICA
When you make your booking, you must pay a deposit to confirm your trip. Balance or full payment should be made within 3 months of the trip's departure. Sometimes your booking may require other upfront payments on top of the deposit – for internal flights, gorilla permits, or some bookings over peak holiday periods.
Chimpanzee and Gorilla permits in Uganda and Rwanda must be paid 100% upfront. Changes in pricing and booking terms of the permits are independent in terms and determined by the government body in charge of wildlife. Once your Gorilla and Chimpanzee permits have been purchased, they are non-refundable by the organization (Uganda Wildlife Authority) UWA.
We will inform you before booking your trip with us if an additional deposit is required. Then you must pay the remaining balance of the booking cost at least 3 months before your departure date.
Our suppliers have rates in US dollars. We will quote you a trip in only USD, and any quote you receive from us will be valid for 7 days.
IF YOU CANCEL YOUR TRIP TO AFRICA
You, or any member of your party, may cancel your travel arrangements at any time. Written notification from the person who made the booking must be received by email. Please send it to info@gorillashomelandsafaris.com and ensure that acknowledges the email. Since we incur costs in canceling your travel arrangements, you will have to pay cancellation charges as follows:
Period before departure: Cancellation charge:
More than 90 days 35% of the booking cost
45 to 90 days 75% of the booking cost
less than 45 days 100% of the booking cost
No show 100% of booking cost
Note: Some Hotels and lodges have high cancellation charges in the high season, May to September and December to February. That may affect the above cancellation charges, making them higher than normal. If higher-than-normal cancellation charges affect your booking, we will inform you. Once your deposit is paid and we have issued you a Confirmation Invoice, you are liable for these increased cancellation charges.
If you paid upfront for gorilla permits or domestic flights at the deposit stage, these are non-refundable. So the cost of these will be retained by us on top of the cancellation charges indicated above.
IF YOU CHANGE YOUR BOOKING
If, after we've issued our confirmation invoice and you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, for example, your chosen departure date or accommodation. We will do our best to make these changes for you. However, it may only sometimes be possible.
Any request for changes to your confirmed booking must be in writing from the person who made the booking. We may ask you to pay an administration charge of USD 50 and any further costs we incur in making this alteration.
You should be aware that the closer to your departure date, the higher the costs of making changes to your confirmed booking will likely be. So you should contact us to make them as soon as possible.
Note: Certain travel arrangements may not be changeable after a reservation, and any alteration could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements. In particular, any changes requested within 45 days of departure will be subject to the cancellation charges above.
You can transfer your booking to another person who satisfies all the conditions that apply to this booking by giving us notice in writing at least 7 days before departure. You and the new traveler are responsible for paying all costs we incur in making the transfer.
IF YOU CANCEL YOUR BOOKING
If we refund you, we will pay compensation of $250 per person except where the cancellation is due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances.
IF WE CHANGE YOUR BOOKING
(a) Changes to the price: We can change the price of your trip after you've booked, only in certain circumstances: Changes in the price of the carriage of passengers resulting from changes to the cost of fuel, the level of taxes or fees imposed by third parties, including tourist taxes, means that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked. However, there will remain the same within 45 days of your departure.
(b) Changes other than the price
It is a term of your booking that we can change any aspect of your booking. If the change is insignificant, we will ensure that you are notified about it. Examples of minor changes include alteration of your domestic flights by less than 12 hours, changes to safari vehicle type, changes of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard, and changes of when some activities occur.
OUR LIABILITY TO YOU
You must inform us without undue delay of any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services included in your safari package. Suppose any of the travel services included in your package are not performed per the contract or are improperly performed by the travel service suppliers or us, and this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements. In that case, you may be entitled to an appropriate price reduction, compensation, or both. We will not be liable where any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services is due to: you or another member of your party; or a third party unconnected with the provision of the travel services in the package and is unforeseeable or unavoidable; or unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which means a situation beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if we've taken all reasonable measures.
Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury or illness, shall be limited to three times the cost of your travel arrangements. Our liability will also be limited in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to the contractual terms of the companies that provide the travel services that make up your package. These terms are incorporated into your booking.
COMPLAINTS
If you have a complaint about any of the services included in your trip, you must inform the supplier or your trip manager. That may be a camp or hotel manager where you are staying, your driver guide or trip manager via the contact telephone numbers we will provide before your departure.
If it is not resolved locally, please follow this up within 28 days of your return home by writing to Give your booking reference and all other relevant information, keeping your email as concise and to the point as possible. If you fail to report your complaint whilst on your trip, we will not have the opportunity to investigate and rectify it whilst you are traveling, affecting our ability to improve the situation for you and the possibility of claiming back any form of compensation.
ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE
If you're in health difficulty whilst in East Africa and ask us to help, we will provide necessary assistance, in particular by providing information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance, medical assistance, and helping you to find alternative arrangements and any necessary phone calls/emails. You must pay any costs we incur or claim them back from your travel insurance company.
MEDICAL CONDITIONS, DISABILITIES AND OTHER SPECIAL REQUESTS
We welcome customers with special needs, but you must contact us before booking with specific details so that we can advise on the suitability of your plans. We must reserve the right to refuse a booking if we cannot meet your needs. If you fail to advise us in advance, we must reserve the right to cancel the booking as soon as we become aware of the situation.
Should you have special requests, such as food intolerance or meal requests, for other reasons, we are happy to pass these on to the relevant suppliers, but these are requests and not guarantees.
EXCURSIONS
Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are in Africa are not part of your trip provided by us. For any excursion or other tour, you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during its provision by the operator.
DOCUMENTATION
Please check all the documentation you receive and notify us immediately if you notice any errors. If you do not do so, there may be additional costs if changes have to be made later.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
Firstly, you must review the current travel advice of your safari holiday destination before booking and ensure you remain up to date.
Your specific passport, visa, and other immigration requirements are your responsibility. You should confirm these with the relevant Embassies or Consulates. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel because you have not complied with any passport, visa or immigration requirements.
You must also ensure that your vaccination certificates are in order and that you have taken the advice of your doctor with regard to vaccinations.
We refer, in particular, to our pre-departure information sheet. We will offer general advice but cannot be held responsible if you do not comply with current requirements before your departure.
We do not accept liability for any advice given of a general nature before the holiday commences. You are responsible for a timely check-in for all flights and presenting yourself to take up all pre-booked components of your holiday.
No credit or refund will be given should you fail to take up any component of your holiday or lose any travel documents.
INSURANCE
It is a part of our Terms & Conditions that all clients must purchase adequate travel insurance. We reserve the right to cancel your holiday at any time should such a policy not be taken out by you.
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