Terms & Conditions

Reservation

We quote every price in US dollars, split into two line items: Ground Handling and Permits, plus a total. Once you confirm a safari, pay a 25% deposit on the Ground Handling cost and 100% of the permit cost. We do not book services or buy permits until you pay both deposits. After we receive your deposits, we send you confirmation of the services booked and the permits purchased.

Pay the remaining Ground Handling balance 30 days before your tour starts. We accept bank wire transfer or credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express). Credit card payments carry a 5% surcharge. The balance is due 30 days before we provide the services.

Accommodation

We reserve rooms for two people sharing a double. A single room costs extra. If your named hotel or lodge is unavailable, we book you into an alternative.

Transportation

You travel by 4-wheel-drive Land Cruiser or minivan. We sometimes use sub-contractors to run these vehicles. Every vehicle carries bottled water for you. Drink bottled water at hotels and lodges too. Skip the tap water.

National Park Rules

Each national park sets its own safety rules. Follow them.

Changes to Your Itinerary

We follow the itinerary we give you. Weather, lodge availability, or other conditions outside our control sometimes force a change in sequence or lodge. When that happens, we make the call and tell you.

Tour Prices

Prices reflect the tariffs in place when we print them. Tariffs, especially park entry fees and activity fees, change without notice from the parks themselves. When that happens, we notify you.

Visa Requirements

Most nationalities need a visa for Uganda. It costs $50 per person, per entry. Apply for your visa online, at least a week before you arrive, at https://visas.immigration.go.ug/#/help/visa. Online is the only way to get one.

Health

Talk to a travel clinic or your physician about the right medication for your trip. Most malaria prescriptions start a couple of weeks before you arrive and continue a couple of weeks after you return. No bite, no malaria. Wear long sleeves and long trousers after dark to cut your risk.

Vaccinations and Yellow Fever

Check with your closest Uganda embassy for current entry requirements, and ask your travel clinic or physician which vaccines you need. If you arrive from a Yellow Fever endemic zone, you need proof of vaccination. If you're over 60 or under 1, you're exempt. A doctor's letter stating you can't take the vaccine also exempts you. Arriving direct from a non-endemic zone (Europe, the US, Australia), you need no vaccine at all.

Insurance

Buy travel insurance when you pay your deposit. Cover yourself against cancellation, medical evacuation, and lost luggage. Check that your health and life insurance covers your entire safari, including emergency evacuation or repatriation. We don't sell travel insurance. Buy yours in your home country before you travel.

Air Transfers

Every air transfer company we use, scheduled or chartered, holds a local license and full authorization to operate.

Cancellation Policy

Put your cancellation request in writing.

Ground Handling

If you cancel in full, these charges apply to your Ground Handling cost:

Want to postpone instead of cancel? We rebook your trip for a new date, subject to availability and any price change. Your tour consultant works out the price difference, if any, and tells you at the time of rebooking.

Gorilla and Chimpanzee Trekking Permits

Gorilla and chimp permits carry no refund. Cancel your safari, and you forfeit the full permit payment. Want to reschedule instead? The Uganda Wildlife Authority grants two free reschedules to future dates through December 2024. A third reschedule needs sign-off from the Executive Director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority and costs 25% of the permit value.

Complaints

Hit a problem on your trip? Tell us and the supplier immediately. Most issues get fixed on the spot. Still unhappy? Write to us with the full details within 28 days of your last day of service under this contract. We only handle complaints submitted this way.

Force Majeure

Force Majeure covers war, threat of war, civil unrest, industrial disputes, terrorism, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, severe weather, government action, and similar events outside our control. When one of these events forces us to cancel, delay, shorten, or change your trip, we owe you no compensation and carry no responsibility for the expenses or losses you incur.

Liability

We and our agents carry no responsibility for personal injury, accident, illness, death, delay, theft, or loss or damage to your baggage or other property. The same goes for itinerary changes or cancellations caused by force majeure. We hold no responsibility for flight delays, cancellations, or denied reservations of air space. Ugandan law governs our liability, and Ugandan courts hear any claim against us.