Booking & Cancellation

Your journey begins with an enquiry. Our team will discuss your travel interests, destinations, preferred dates, number of travellers and other relevant requirements before preparing or confirming the proposed arrangements.

Sending an enquiry through our website, WhatsApp or email does not by itself create a confirmed booking.

Before payment, you should review the itinerary, quoted services and any specific conditions communicated for your trip.

A booking is considered confirmed once the required deposit has been received by Birds and Primates of East Africa Safaris and we have issued confirmation of the booking, subject to availability and any specifically disclosed supplier conditions.

A deposit of 25% of the total trip price is normally required to confirm a safari with Birds and Primates of East Africa Safaris.

The deposit allows us to begin securing the accommodation, transport, guides, activities and other arrangements included in your itinerary.

Some services may require a larger advance payment or full payment at the time of reservation. This is particularly relevant where a third-party provider requires payment in advance, including certain permits, flights or accommodation.

Where additional advance payment is required, we will aim to disclose this before you are asked to make that commitment.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the remaining balance is due no later than 45 days before the scheduled start of your safari.

If you make a booking within 45 days of departure, full payment will normally be required when the booking is confirmed.

We will communicate any different payment deadline that applies to a particular itinerary or third-party service before the relevant booking commitment is made.

If a payment is not received by the agreed deadline, please contact us promptly. Failure to pay after reasonable notice may result in cancellation of arrangements that we cannot continue to hold with our suppliers.

Birds and Primates of East Africa Safaris currently accepts payment by:

• Bank transfer.
• M-PESA.

Payment instructions will be provided through an authorised company communication channel.

If you receive unexpected payment instructions, a request to send money to a different account or number, or any communication that appears unusual, please verify the instructions directly with us before sending funds.

Your booking reference or other requested identifying information should be included with the payment where applicable so that we can correctly allocate it.

We understand that plans can change. If you need to cancel, please notify us in writing by email so that the date of cancellation can be clearly recorded.

Unless different conditions were specifically disclosed for your booking, the following standard cancellation schedule applies:

The cancellation charge is calculated as a percentage of the total trip price.

Any genuinely non-refundable third-party costs that were specifically committed on your behalf may also affect the amount that can be returned to you, as explained below.

Some components of a safari may be subject to stricter third-party conditions than our standard cancellation schedule.

These may include, depending on your itinerary:

• Gorilla, primate or other wildlife permits.
• Domestic, regional or international flights booked on your behalf.
• Accommodation requiring non-refundable advance payment.
• Special activities, private arrangements or services purchased specifically for your trip.

Where a permit, flight, accommodation deposit or other third-party service is specifically identified as non-refundable before payment, its actual non-refundable cost will remain payable and may be deducted from any refund otherwise due.

We will not arbitrarily classify a cost as non-refundable after cancellation. Where practical, relevant restrictions will be communicated before we make the commitment on your behalf.

Where a supplier provides us with a refund or credit for a cost that had initially been treated as non-refundable, we will take that recovery into account when determining the amount due back to you.

Sometimes you may need to postpone rather than cancel your journey.

Date changes remain subject to availability and the conditions of the accommodation providers, permit authorities, airlines and other suppliers involved in your trip.

You will remain responsible for any genuine supplier change fees, non-refundable costs or increase in trip price caused by different seasonal rates, availability or revised services.

If the revised trip costs less, any adjustment will depend on the amounts we are able to recover or amend with the relevant suppliers.

Requests made 60 days or less before departure will be considered individually and may be subject to the normal cancellation terms and supplier conditions.

We recognise that exceptional personal circumstances can arise unexpectedly.

In the event of a documented death, serious accident or hospitalisation affecting a traveller or their immediate family, please contact us as soon as reasonably possible.

Rather than automatically relying only on the standard cancellation schedule, we will make reasonable efforts to explore options such as:

• Postponing the safari to a suitable later date.
• Seeking credits or date changes from relevant suppliers.
• Recovering refundable amounts from accommodation providers or other suppliers.
• Reducing the financial impact of cancellation where reasonably possible.

We cannot guarantee that every supplier will agree to a refund or postponement, particularly for permits, flights or services governed by strict third-party conditions.

Any compassionate adjustment will therefore depend on the circumstances, supporting information where reasonably required, supplier conditions and amounts that can actually be recovered.

Where a refund is due, we aim to calculate and process the refundable amount fairly and transparently.

Once the refundable amount has been established, approved refunds will normally be processed within 14 business days.

Where part of the refund depends on money being recovered from a third-party supplier, that portion may take longer. We will aim to keep you reasonably informed where this occurs.

A refund may take account of:

• The applicable cancellation charge.
• Specifically disclosed non-refundable third-party costs actually committed on your behalf.
• Unavoidable bank or payment-provider charges actually incurred in processing or returning funds.

We do not apply an additional blanket cancellation administration percentage on top of the standard cancellation schedule.

Where practicable, refunds will be returned through an appropriate payment method consistent with the original transaction and applicable financial requirements.

Safari arrangements sometimes require adjustments. Where a minor change becomes necessary, we will aim to preserve the overall character and quality of the trip and communicate material changes where appropriate.

If Birds and Primates of East Africa Safaris cancels your trip for a reason within our reasonable control before departure, we will normally offer you the choice of:

• A refund of amounts paid to Birds and Primates of East Africa Safaris for services cancelled and not provided, subject to applicable law; or
• Applying the relevant recoverable amount toward an agreed replacement trip or new travel date.

This provision does not apply in the same way where the cancellation results from circumstances genuinely outside our reasonable control. Those situations are addressed in the following section.

Events outside the reasonable control of a traveller, tour operator or supplier can affect travel arrangements.

Depending on the circumstances, these may include severe weather, natural disasters, government restrictions, border closures, park closures, significant civil disruption, serious security incidents, epidemics, pandemics or other comparable events that materially affect the planned trip.

Where such an event materially affects your safari, our first approach will normally be to explore a reasonable alternative, rescheduling or credit where this is practical.

If this is not possible, we will seek to determine what amounts can reasonably be recovered from the relevant suppliers and what refund, credit or alternative can be provided, taking into account unavoidable costs already incurred and applicable law.

We will not describe an event as outside our control merely to avoid responsibility for something that was reasonably within the control of Birds and Primates of East Africa Safaris.

We strongly recommend that travellers obtain appropriate travel insurance as soon as reasonably practical after confirming their trip.

Depending on your circumstances and itinerary, you may wish to consider cover for:

• Trip cancellation or interruption.
• Medical treatment while travelling.
• Emergency evacuation or repatriation.
• Lost, delayed or damaged baggage.
• Travel delays.
• Activities included in your itinerary.

Insurance policies vary considerably. It is your responsibility to determine whether a particular policy provides suitable cover for your personal circumstances and intended journey.

Birds and Primates of East Africa Safaris does not guarantee the suitability or payment of any insurance claim.

Travellers are responsible for providing accurate information reasonably required for their booking and for reviewing the travel arrangements communicated to them.

Unless a specific responsibility has expressly been accepted by us, travellers remain responsible for ensuring they hold passports, visas and other documentation required for their individual journey.

Please tell us about relevant dietary, accessibility or health-related requirements where they may affect the safe or appropriate arrangement of your trip.

Wildlife sightings, bird sightings, primate sightings, weather and other natural conditions cannot be guaranteed.

If you have questions about a payment, cancellation, date change or the terms applicable to your proposed safari, please contact us before making a commitment.