Terms and Conditions

Please read these terms and conditions thoroughly and carefully before booking a trip with us. This is a binding agreement between you and African Welcome Safaris ( ” AWS” )

Intellectual Property Rights

All the content on this site, including text, graphics, logos, icons, designs, colours, layout and trademarks are the intellectual property of African Welcome Safaris and its associates and are as such protected by South African and International Intellectual Property Law.

Disclaimer

Although African Welcome Safaris endeavours to provide accurate, up-to-date and truthful information on this site, neither African Welcome Safaris nor any of its employees, agents and associates make any representations or give any warranties, whether expressly, tacitly or implied, as to the operation of the site, the information, content, materials and products included and available from this site.

Change to User Agreement

African Welcome Safaris reserves the right to make changes to this site and this user agreement at any time without notice.

Booking  and payments 

1. In order to confirm a reservation, African Welcome Safaris requires a 25% deposit payment at the time of making your booking. Failure to do so will result in your reservation automatically being cancelled. The balance of payment is due 45 days prior to the commencement date of your itinerary. Bookings made within 45 days prior to departure are subject to full prepayment at the time of confirming the reservation.
   Full payment for any flights booked will be required within 24 hours, in order to guarantee said flight costs
2. Please note that should you have been quoted in foreign currency, only direct bank transfers as a payment method with be accepted. The South African Reserve Bank prohibits South African companies from taking foreign credit card payments and keeping the payment in foreign currency.
3. Clients are welcome to settle payment by means of a bank transfer in a foreign currency – in this instance the amount will be converted by your bankers on presentation of our invoice or our bank into Rands, on arrival into South Africa. It is the client’s responsibility to inform and instruct their bankers that the net invoice amount must equal the funds clearing into the African Welcome Safaris bank account and that ALL bank charges are for the client’s account.
4. A booking will only be deemed to be confirmed once the deposit has been received
5. African Welcome Safaris will only release flight tickets,  vouchers and travel documentation on receipt of your final payment

Flights and Payment

Please note that in the event of flights being booked and secured by African Welcome Safaris on behalf of the client, payment is required by credit card due the time delay of securing funds to us when paying by bank transfer. Airlines require the full names of passengers as printed on the passports and will not accept changes once tickets are issued. African Welcome Safaris accepts no responsibility for incorrect passport numbers or incorrect spelling of full names. Please ensure that you provide accurate information to African Welcome Safaris.

Our Standard Cancellation Policy

All cancellations must be received in writing.  A cancellation request is deemed received the business day it arrives to us, not the day you send it out or notify us by phone.

Cancellation prior to 8 weeks of travel – Full 25 % deposit is forfeited – Cancellation 8 weeks – 46 days prior to travel – 50% of total cost is forfeited
– Cancellation less than 45 days or less prior to travel – 100% of total cost is forfeited

Please note – In certain instances our suppliers Terms & Conditions may differ to the above, or during Peak and Festive Seasons or pertaining to a specific supplier.  Should this be the case, African Welcome Safaris will inform you on booking

We therefore recommend taking out Travel Insurance to cover and potential non refundable amounts

Any request to amend or change a booking once it has been confirmed may be accommodated subject to space availability.

No refunds are given (1) for lost travel time or substitution of facilities, (2) for itineraries amended after departure, (3) for circumstances arising beyond the control of AWS, necessitating alternative arrangements being made to ensure the safety and / or further participation and enjoyment of your holiday (4) any unused portion of your tour regardless of the reason, including but not limited to sightseeing, activities, meals, accommodations, or transport

AWS responsibility and role as a booking agent

AWS acts as booking agent for hotels, airlines, air charters, bus companies, ground transportation, destination management companies, and other independent contractors providing accommodations, transportation and or other services. We hire companies and other independent contractors that are qualified, competent and reliable in what they do, based on information that is reasonably available to us. Each of these companies and independent contractors is separate from AWS with its own management and is not subject to the control of AWS, including, but not limited to, various  ground operators. The transportation, accommodations and other services provided these third parties are offered subject to their own terms and conditions contained in the tickets,  or vouchers issued by them or their suppliers.. Because we act only as an intermediary for independent vendors and suppliers, AWS assumes no responsibility for their actions or inactions, including delay, cancellation, overbooking, financial default or strike, and cannot be held liable for any personal injury or property damage which may arise out of these third party services.

All bookings are accepted by AWS as agent for independent overseas ground operators. Because AWS does not have the right to control the operations of the independent operators and their suppliers, AWS reserves the right to cancel any itinerary or any part of it, to make such alterations in the itinerary as it deems necessary or desirable, to refuse to accept or to retain as a member of any tour any person at any time, and to pass on to tour members any expenditure incurred by delays or events beyond its control.

Force Majeure

1. “Force Majeure” means, in relation to AWS, any circumstances beyond the reasonable control of AWS (including, but without limitation, acts of God, explosion, flood, tempest, fire or accident, war or threat of war, sabotage, insurrection, civil disturbance, or requisition, sickness, quarantine, government intervention, weather conditions or other untoward occurrences).
2. If AWS is affected by Force Majeure it shall forthwith notify you of the nature and extend thereof.
3. AWS shall not be deemed to be in breach of these terms and conditions or otherwise be liable to you, by reason of delay in performance, or by non-performance, of any of its obligations hereunder to the extent that any such delay or non-performance is due to any Force Majeure.
4. If AWS is affected by Force Majeure it shall be entitled to, and may in its sole and absolute discretion, vary or cancel any itinerary or arrangement in relation to the trip. We must normally make substantial and non-refundable payments to its suppliers far in advance of the scheduled departure date. As such, payment of any refund by us to you as a result of the non-performance of any obligations will be less any non-refundable deposits and third party cancellation fees. Further, we shall be entitled to deduct from any refund recoverable the reasonable actual costs to AWS of the Force Majeure.
5. Regarding civil unrest, once AWS has investigated the prevailing situation as it deems fit, it shall remain in the sole discretion of AWS whether to proceed with the trip. You may in such circumstances cancel the trip. However, if, after having made all reasonable and proper inquiries, AWS is of the opinion that the trip may proceed, no refund will be payable to you and the cancellation policy shall apply.

Passports and Children

Please note that anyone traveling to Southern Africa must have two consecutive blank pages in their passport which lie side by side when the passport is open (i.e. a left- and a right-hand page). Passengers traveling to Southern Africa with passports which do not comply with these requirements, will either be stopped from boarding the aircraft or risk deportation on arrival in Southern Africa. In addition, a parent traveling with children, without the other parent, will need a letter of consent from the absent parent. The letter of consent must be certified by the police.

Travel Insurance

Comprehensive Travel Insurance is required by all clients who have booked with African Welcome Safaris.
You acknowledge that without such travel insurance, you will be responsible for all costs arising from any cancellation, re-routing or rescheduling of your trip or any emergency (medical or other) that may arise during your travels. In the event of you failing to purchase adequate insurance cover, you will not hold African Welcome Safaris responsible for any harm or loss that you may suffer.

Luggage

Temporary or permanent loss of baggage is the responsibility of you or the carrier. Please note that when traveling by light aircraft during your tour, space is limited, and luggage is limited to a weight restriction as is indicated in your itinerary and ONLY soft luggage or duffel bags are allowed. No hard suitcases are allowed, and NO EXCEPTIONS will be made.

Vaccinations and Travel Documents

You assume complete and full responsibility for checking and verifying any and all passport, visa, vaccination, or other entry requirements of each destination and all safety or security conditions at such destinations. It is your responsibility to ensure that passports, visas, travel permits, health certificates, inoculations, international driving license, or other documentation required for the trip are obtained and are in order. It is your responsibility to meet any additional costs incurred by yourself or by AWS on your behalf as a result of any failure by you to comply with such requirements. Anti-malaria precautions should be commenced prior to departure. Please consult your physician for more details. AWS may provide information or advice given on visas, vaccinations, climate, clothing, baggage, special equipment, etc. in good faith as a courtesy to you. AWS is not responsible for any errors or omissions as to the information provided

Special Requests

You must advise AWS in writing of any special requests, i.e. diet, facility or physical handicap, when you submit your reservation request to AWS, which will be met if possible.  AWS will not be held responsible should any special requests not be received in writing

Notice of Enforceability

NOTE –  when you book travel related services with AWS, you are entering into a binding agreement that assumes all terms and conditions are fully understood as stated in this document.

CORONA VIRUS CANCELLATIONS POLICY [ Effective 16 March 2020 till further notice ]

We are urging all  clients with existing bookings DO NOT CANCEL YOUR TRIP,  CHANGE THE DATES AND POSTPONE TRAVEL AND LET US SAVE TOURISM TOGETHER !

Existing bookings:

1. Confirmed bookings for which we have received a deposit or full payment, will be secured should you (or your clients) are not able to travel due to restrictions placed either by your country of departure or your destination country 
2. Bookings can be amended up to 12 (twelve) months from the original arrival date. Please note only one amendment to travel dates may be made and should the season change to a higher rate season, the new rate will apply. **
3. In the event that you (or your clients) do not travel within 12 (twelve) months of the original arrival date, dependent on our suppliers specific terms and conditions, normal cancellation policies will be in force
4. The above will only apply if we have received the required deposit or the full payment to confirm your reservation.
5. Flight bookings   – Most airlines are allowing one flight change with no penalties. There may be a surcharge billed should the fare basis be different to the original fare booked. AWS do not take responsibility for any airline who is currently in Business rescue and cannot for this reason cannot honour the flights booked.

**  Note  – These are the general new terms offered by hotels and lodges.  Certain Lodges / hotels / destinations may have slightly different terms and we will refer back to these on a booking by booking basis, so please contact us pertaining to your specific booking 

Each and every booking will be looked at on a case by case basis at the time.

We are monitoring the situation constantly and should circumstances change, we will reassess the situation accordingly.

Refunds:

1. In order for us to ride out this global epidemic storm as a privately owned travel & tourism business, we are unable to offer any refunds at this time.
2. We trust that our partners and guests understand our situation; we are doing all we can to work with our guests and partners to find mutually agreeable solutions.
3. This step is necessary to ensure that our business can continue to operate through these difficult times so that we will be here for you when the storm blows over.
4. We reserve the right to make changes to these new terms and conditions at any time and will send out notifications.
5. As soon as the Corona Virus epidemic has been contained we will revert back to our original terms and conditions for bookings.