Virtuoso Africa Safaris – Payment and Cancellation Terms for services
All company services must be fully prepaid in advance otherwise the services booked will not be provided. A deposit of 30% is required at the time of booking, the balance 45 days before departure. If the booking is made within 60 days of departure the full amount should be paid at the time of booking. Cancellation of tours up to 14 days prior to departure will be subject to a cancellation fee of 50% of the tour cost. Cancellations received within 14 days of departure will incur forfeiture of the entire tour cost. Gorilla permits must be paid for at the time of purchase. Read below for all details regarding payment/cancellation terms
PAYMENT TERMS FOR ALL SERVICES
At the time of booking, the client(s) will need to pay for all gorilla permits needed in full. Safari deposit 30%; the balance 45 days to departure of safari.
Unless otherwise stated, prices quoted include a safari car for the itinerary stated, accommodation on a shared basis and meals (in Kampala/Kigali/Bujumbura bed and breakfast only and on safari full board), boat trips/launch cruises as stated, park fees, chimpanzee permits and one gorilla permit. Additional permit is subject to availability and payment at time of booking.
Prices do not include airfares to Uganda/Rwanda/Congo/Burundi, entry visas and airport taxes, all personal expenditure such as tips, telephone calls, laundry and drinks. For single rooms, the supplement (SRS) has to be paid.
Prices are quoted in US Dollars. At the time of booking, clients should confirm with us the prevailing exchange rates for Pounds and Euros, if they wish to pay in those currencies.
CANCELLATIONS BY US: Occasionally we have to cancel confirmed bookings. We always endeavour to avoid cancelling, but we must reserve the right to do so. We shall not cancel your confirmed holiday less than 30 days before departure unless you fail to make all payments due in full and on time or we are forced to do so as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care.
If we cancel your holiday (except where you have failed to make payment or as a result of force majeure) we shall offer you the choice of purchasing an alternative holiday from us of a similar standard to that originally booked if available. If the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original holiday we shall refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we shall ask you to pay the difference.
Alternatively you are entitled to a full refund of all monies you have paid to us save that paid for gorilla permits which can only be refunded if the refund has been made available to us by the government Authority concerned. Except where we cancel for reasons other than those mentioned in this clause, we shall have no further liability to you. We regret we cannot pay any expenses, costs or losses incurred as a result of any cancellation. If we cancel for a reason that is not mentioned in this clause, we shall pay a maximum compensation of $100 depending on the circumstances.
We reserve the right, without prior notice, to terminate the holiday of any person in your party if, in our opinion or in the opinion of any other person in authority, the persons concerned behave in such a way to cause or be likely to cause danger, annoyance or distress to any third party or damage to property.
In this situation, the person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other service immediately. We shall have no further responsibility towards such person(s). No refunds will be made and we shall not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.
CANCELLATIONS BY YOU: Should you or any member of your party be forced to cancel, you must advise us or your travel agent in writing. A cancellation is not effective until we receive a copy of your written notice. To cover our estimated loss caused by the cancellation and as we may be unable to resell your holiday, cancellation fees, excluding insurance, will be levied per person as follows:
Period before departure Cancellation charge
(as percentage of total price paid where applicable)
More than 45 days Deposit
44 days – 15 days 50%
Less than 14 days 100%
GORILLA AND CHIMPANZEE PERMITS: Only when payment has been received can permits for gorilla tracking and chimpanzee tracking in the relevant National Park be purchased. Getting a gorilla permit is not a guarantee of seeing a gorilla. Local conditions sometimes mean that access to the gorillas is made impossible at short notice. We are unable to accept liability for any circumstance that might lead to gorilla viewing being cancelled, whether it is closure of the National Park or borders; absence of the gorillas; security changes. Refunds are at the discretion of the relevant authority (Uganda Wildlife Authority in Uganda, UWA; Office Rwandais du Tourisme et Parcs Nationaux, ORTPN; or Institut Congolais pour la Conservacion de la Nature, ICCN in Congo) and we cannot accept liability for them. We shall use our maximum endeavours to obtain a refund and if a refund is paid by the relevant authority, we shall pass it on to the client.