WHY TRAVEL WITH US?
We have lived, worked, and traveled extensively throughout Africa for three generations. Our first safari took place in Kruger in 1979 with our grandparents leading the way for decades of safari journeys that followed. Our firsthand knowledge allows us to plan unforgettable safaris, honeymoons, small group tours and incentive trips with great care and attention to detail. Over 70% of our clients are repeat traveler's, some returning year after year. We offer dedicated tour managers for groups over 30 and tailored experiences to suit your personal needs.
REPUTATION & TRUST
Our brand is trusted by honeymooners, corporate clients, filmmakers, and families from across the globe. We offer verified documentation, references, and client testimonials upon request. All suppliers we work with carry full insurance and public liability cover.
- Expanded global footprint now includes a dedicated UK market offering and UK sales person. (with partners reaching across the globe from USA to Australia, Europe and South America. )
- Products and pricing are designed specifically for the UK market in alignment with Aviate Journeys UK standards.
- Easy-to-sell, set departure and private tour packages
- Transparent pricing and trade support with dedicated account management and marketing tools
- All packages comply with UK travel regulations
- Reduces legal risks for agents and reassures end customers
- Competitive deposit and cancellation policies tailored to UK consumer
- In the event of a supplier failure, clients are guaranteed refunds or repatriation as per ATOL and ABTA standards.
- Support from a UK based Sales Manager - Marguerite Mornet +44 7368 430530
PROTECTION
( IN SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO OUR UK CO-OPERATION AGREEMENT WITH AVIATE JOURNEYS ATOL NUMBER 10232, WHO ACT AS THE PRINCIPAL IN REGARDS TO JOURNEYS BOOKED THROUGH TOURISM THAT CARES TO SOUTHERN AND EAST AFRICA)
All the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme.
When you pay, you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotels and other services) is listed on it.
Please see our booking conditions for further information, or more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate, go to: www.caa.co.uk”
If some products listed in publicity material are not ATOL protected, then the following statement should be stated clearly on all publicity material:
Some of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed on this website.
This brochure shows you the protection that applies in the case of each holiday and travel service offered. This website will provide you with information on the protection that applies in the case of each holiday and travel service offered before you make your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected.
If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information, or more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.caa.co.uk
Itinerary Terms and Conditions
TERMS AND CONDITIONS 2024-2025
NOTE: by completing a booking form or paying a deposit for your trip or instructing us via email or WhatsApp to proceed with the booking, you indicate your agreement to these Terms and Conditions below in full.
Nb: If we see you have numerous flight sectors that are on certain high demand routes, and there is a risk of a flight becoming fully booked, we may require a 100% deposit on your flight tickets only, and a 50% deposit on your accommodation. if not, we prefer a 50% deposit of the full trip value.
{This is especially important, when you are flying on the only flight of the day, between a safari area and a major CITY. Often these seats must be booked and paid for immediately, as it’s a smaller plane, and seats are limited}
This 50% deposit is normally refundable, less a 10% admin fee of total trip value, up until 60 days before travel. HOWEVER, if some lodges and hotels charge a 20 to 25% non-refundable deposit, then this refund will be affected.
Please note this does not apply to flights. IT APPLIES only to hotels, safari lodges and road transport. Flight tickets are generally offered for postponement only, and not transferable to another name.
As a rule, we strongly recommend postponement, versus outright cancellation, if you enter dates within the 30-day window. higher cancellation fees normally start to apply then.
Please note: With postponement, a slight increase is possible, simply due to airline ticket increases, fuel costs, or the annual inflation rate of the nation/s you are travelling to.
1. PAYMENT METHODS
Payment is due in ZAR for trips within South Africa and Namibia only. Any prices quoted in your currency are just for comparative purposes only, and do not constitute a legal contracted price. The ZAR price is the legal tender price as per the invoice.
Payment is due in U$ dollars for East African (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania) or any SADC countries (Botswana/ Zambia/ Zimbabwe/ Mozambique) journeys.
Unless otherwise stated, payment is via International bank transfer.
By exception, we accept Visa and Mastercard, Amex and are bound by First National Bank of South Africa’s security and safety laws when it comes to processing of payment.
The value of the trip must be paid for as per the ZAR or US dollar value of the invoice provided.
Exchange rates are merely guidelines for clients to see the cost in their own currency for comparison, and we cannot be held responsible for the exchange rate your bank uses when converting into your local currency.
Our credit card machines are ZAR based, and thus if you chose to pay for a US dollar trip in ZAR, we will charge the card with a quoted rate from our bank, and these prices are set taking various factors into consideration including:
*Our bank quoted rates of exchange * current volatility of the currency in question.
If paying by credit card for US dollar-based costs, you can expect a 2,2% hedging fee to be charged, to protect ourselves from incurring losses, due to exchange rate volatility. This can be avoided by paying via international bank transfer for any US dollar-based holidays in East Africa, or some nations in Southern Africa, where the output costs are also in US dollars.
These prices exclude the service fees or exchange rate your local bank chooses to charge at the time of deduction.
2. EXCHANGE RATE FLUCTUATION
At no stage can we guarantee a rate of exchange, if your trip involves multiple currency costs for more than 24 hours. Any major fluctuations will be adjusted on the invoice accordingly especially if the deposit and balance of payment is over a long period of time. i.e. deposit paid in March and balance in August, and during this period, exchange rates have changed drastically.
3. DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS GUARANTEEING SERVICES
Once a deposit is paid, you will receive your necessary travel vouchers within 2 weeks of payment, guaranteeing your trip with detailed inclusions and exclusions. These vouchers are legally binding, service guaranteed documents in accordance with international travel standards set out by SATSA (Southern African Tourism Services). These documents are normally sent in PDF FORMAT to your email or delivered by hand or DHL courier services {if requested} at an additional fee.
If you are a travel agent, we will gladly send these documents in word format, for you to transfer to your respective letterheads, in order to forward to your customer.
4. BOOKING FORM
Due to the extremely important nature of correct spelling of names on flight tickets, as well as safety and security regulations, no bookings will be processed unless a complete booking form and copies of passports is received on conversion of a quote to a booking. Please be very clear and comprehensive around dietary requirements, Kosher requirements, special medical needs etc. Do not only relay this information verbally to our consultants.
All booking forms must be sent to the travel consultant you are dealing with directly.
5. TRAVEL INSURANCES AND LEGAL DOCUMENTATION:
We strongly recommend you take out travel, cancellation, curtailment and medical insurance when making a booking.
We urge you to purchase cancellation insurance & supplemental medical coverage (which covers pre-existing conditions). This is a smart way to safeguard against life's surprises.
Here are some options to consider, and you can purchase them directly. It remains your final responsibility to ensure you have adequate cover for your trip in place from the moment you make your first deposit with us. We also realise it is a grudge buy, but it is imperative to have travel insurance when you book trips with us.
Please note: to receive maximum coverage, it is suggested to purchase travel insurance at the same time as you pay us your first DEPOSIT payment.
Please note that we cannot accept responsibility for any losses or expenses which you or any member of your party may incur as a result of failure to secure adequate travel insurance coverage.
6. ADMINISTRATION FEES:
All deposits carry a 10% non-refundable administration fee of the total trip cost.
We carry bank charges, credit card fees, administration and communication costs based on time invested in a booking, this is why we apply this policy.
*Should a postponement take place, this fee is retained and you are provided with a credit voucher for the new dates set out within 12 months of the original planned dates of travel.
7. CANCELLATION POLICY EXCEPTIONS:
Some Safari Lodges and smaller private resorts can enforce stricter non-refundable deposit policies than the above policy.
Please note: Some Safari Lodges, resorts or Boutique hotels with a small room total, are now enforcing 25% non-refundable deposits within 14 days of making a booking, and the balance is due 60 days prior to arrival.
Any cancellations less than 60 days carry a 100% cancellation fee.
Therefore, this policy overrides our general standard cancellation policy in point 5, only when a specific lodge or group of lodges applies this higher percentage of cancellation and non-refundable deposits.
Specific supplier cancellation policies can be requested from us when making a booking.
8. FESTIVE OR PEAK SEASON BOOKINGS:
Please note: Between 5 December – 10 January every year most hotels, resorts and lodges enforce a stricter cancellation policy than our standard policies stipulated in point 5. These can be obtained on request when booking over this period.
{In some instances, July/August may also have peak season policies in place, please enquire with your consultant if you have any questions in this regard}
9. AIRLINE TICKETS:
Flight prices are only guaranteed for 12 hours on our systems and are subject to availability. They will be re-quoted if you have not paid as per the flight deposit deadline.
Most tickets are generally partially refundable, but always carry an amendment or cancellation fee. Refunds are treated case by case, depending on the fare class booked, and the individual airline policy. If booked in the cheapest class they are non-refundable.
10. REFUND POLICY:
10.1 Our refunds are processed within the cancellation guidelines listed above in points 6 – 9. Refunds are processed within 14 days of receiving your cancellation email, which must be put in writing to your travel consultant that you were dealing with, and supported with necessary documentation i.e. medical certificates etc.
Refunds are only paid over, once we have received the finances back from the supplier
10.2 If in the case of a service delivery failure, please lodge your complaint in writing to your travel consultant you were dealing with, or to adrian@bestsafariafrica.com
or call +27 71 372 4916 if you wish to talk to a manager before lodging the complaint in writing.
10.3 Once we receive a complaint regarding a specific hotel or service provider, we will investigate the matter within 7 days of your complaint, and thereafter issue a refund instruction and refund form to complete if your complaint was verified and approved by our investigation. Refunds are processed using the same avenue / form of payment that was used when the client made payment to us.
10.4 We operate within the laws of the Consumer Protection Act (act nr 68, 2008) of South Africa, and should a dispute arise with a hotel or service provider, we will act within the guidelines of this law applicable to the tourism industry within South Africa.
https://www.saica.co.za/portals/0/technical/legalandgovernance/gon271codeofconductcgso.pdf
We will also refer to SATSA’s code of conduct, by which we are required to comply:
http://www.satsa.com/code-of-conduct/
If you are of the opinion, we are not complying with this code of conduct, you are welcome to lodge a complaint with SATSA directly. SATSA contact details:
+27 (0) 86 12 72872; +27 (11) 886 9996. Email: pa@satsa.co.za
11. CANCELLATION INSURANCE AND NEGOTIATING REDUCTIONS WITH
MANAGEMENT:
Based on the above, we repeat it is advisable to take out cancellation insurance, to complete Booking forms properly and to be aware that our terms and conditions relate to service providers and principals that we use under guidance from SATSA code of conduct.
We will try and negotiate the reduction of the cancellation policies, per case, to serve the customer, should the need arise. The final decision lies with the hotel or service provider’s management team, not us as a travel agency. They will take into account factors such as reselling of rooms, or time of year, or loss of revenue.
These negotiations are merely an offer to minimize costs to our clients, but under no circumstances is it up to us as a travel agency what the final decision will be if existing cancellation policies from our suppliers will be waivered or reduced.
We operate within the rules of law and ethical norms of our nation and cannot put undue pressure on a service provider to refund more than is stipulated in their cancellation policies and terms and conditions.
12. PRIVACY POLICY:
12.1 All information received in the booking form, on payment forms, and correspondence via email will be treated with strictest confidentiality.
12.2 No unsolicited emails, spamming or usage of the client’s information other than for the purposes of direct communication relating to the clients travel needs, will be entered into.
12.3 Client’s information will not be sold or passed onto any third parties for usage in database promotional activities or marketing.
End of document
Tourism That Cares Terms and Conditions
The Aviate Journey Specialist Booking Terms are located on the "documents " tab of our WETU packages, and can be downloaded as a PDF for your ease of reference.
