Terms & Conditions - Africa Safari Lodges

Bookings Terms and Conditions

Africa Safari Lodges is owned & managed by African Travel Consultants South Africa.

In order to confirm our clients’ reservation, ATC Africa (African Travel Consultants – Trading As Africa Safari Lodges) requires a 30% deposit payment at the time of making your booking, some lodges require 50% deposit.Failure to do so will result in your reservation automatically being cancelled. The balance of payment is due 8 weeks (60 days) prior to the commencement date of your itinerary. Bookings made within 8 weeks (60 days) prior to departure are subject to full prepayment at the time of confirming the reservation.

Please note that should you have been quoted in foreign currency and wish to settle payment by means of a credit card, your quotation will be converted to South African Rand prior to the transaction being processed due to foreign exchange regulations by the South African Reserve Bank. Foreign Services are subject to the bank exchange rate at time of payment. As we are based in South Africa, we can only collect payment in South African Rand. Services offered outside South Africa and charged in US Dollar are subject to forex rates advertised by our local bank.

The rate of exchange on the day that the transaction is processed will be used to determine the equivalent Rand amount with any resulting foreign exchange differences or bank charges being for the client’s account.

The South African Reserve Bank prohibits South African companies from taking foreign credit card payments and keeping the payment in foreign currency. The payment has to be converted to South African Rand before it is credited to the recipient.

Clients are welcome to settle payment by means of a bank transfer – in this instance the amount will be converted by your bankers on presentation of our invoice. It is the client’s responsibility to inform and instruct their bankers that the net invoice amount must equal the funds clearing into the ATC Africa (African Travel Consultants - Trading As Africa Safari Lodges) bank account and that ALL bank charges are for the client’s account.

Once payment has been made, the reservation becomes confirmed and all terms & conditions related to the booking will apply. Kindly note that we don’t charge additional fees for our secure online payment gateway. In the event of refunds bank charges will apply

Booking confirmation documents are sent to guests when payment is required. This document serves as the official confirmation.

It’s the guest’s responsibility to check all documents as confirmation vouchers are manually produced. “E & OE -Errors & Ommissions Expected

Flights and Payment

Please note that in the event of flights being booked and secured by ATC Africa on behalf of the client, payment is required by credit card because of the time delay of securing funds to us when paying by bank transfer. In addition to this, when booking flights with ATC Africa (African Travel Consultants - Trading As Africa Safari Lodges), we require a copy of all passengers’ passports.

Airlines require the full names of passengers as printed on the passports and will not accept changes once tickets are issued. It is a security procedure which will ensure there are no discrepancies.

ATC Africa (African Travel Consultants - Trading As Africa Safari Lodges) accepts no responsibility for incorrect passport numbers or incorrect spelling of full names. Please ensure that you provide accurate information to your ATC Africa (African Travel Consultants - Trading As Africa Safari Lodges) Consultant.

Local & regional flights booked by ATC Africa are booked at the best possible fare, most of the time those flights are neither refundable nor re-routable.

We encourage our guests to take an adequate travel insurance cover in order to protect their travel investment.

Our Standard Cancellation Policy:

- Cancellation prior to 8 weeks of travel - Full 25 % deposit is forfeited
- Cancellation 8 – 4 weeks prior to travel - 75% of total cost is forfeited
- Cancellation less than 4 weeks prior to travel - 100% of total cost is forfeited

Travel Insurance

We highly recommend all clients to subscribe to travel insurance covering cancellations or medical emergencies. ATC Africa (African Travel Consultants - Trading As Africa Safari Lodges) recommends that you have an adequate travel & medical insurance cover against cancellation, lost baggage, flight delays and medical emergencies.

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.

 Waiver, Indemnity, and Liability

• All vouchers, receipts and tickets issued by “African Travel Consultants” to you are subject to the supplier’s terms and conditions.
• Participation in any tour or travel package arranged by “African Travel Consultants” and provided by any of its Suppliers (including but not limited to transportation to or from any venue) is undertaken at your own risk.
• You indemnify “African Travel Consultants” and its directors, employees, assignees and/or agents against any claim arising for any damages or loss which might be instituted against it arising from or connection with the services contemplated in these Terms and Conditions.
• The Client, his/her heirs, dependants, agents, executors or their assignees hereby irrevocably waive any claims which they may have against “African Travel Consultants” for any form of compensation for damages which they may suffer due to injury and/or loss of any nature whatsoever, which includes accidents caused by the Client’s own actions, injuries or death while on the tour, in a transportation vehicle or at any place during the tour or illness or death at any time after the tour.
• “African Travel Consultants” acts solely in the capacity of an agent for third parties and as such “African Travel Consultants” holds themselves free of responsibility or liability for any delays, loss or damages from any cause whatsoever including loss/ delay/damages/ dissatisfaction caused by third party products and services. “African Travel Consultants” shall be exempt from all liability in respect of any claim whatsoever as aforesaid, the Client acknowledging that, in the case of a defective product, it is unreasonable to expect “African Travel Consultants” to have discovered the product failure having regard to “African Travel Consultants”’s role in arranging access to the third-party products and services on behalf of the Client.
• All our suppliers will have their own terms and conditions and in certain cases would require a client to sign these terms and conditions when arriving at the accommodation or a requirement for car rental, we would like to encourage our clients to familiarise themselves with these terms and conditions prior to signing. 
• We would also like to make clients aware that car rental companies will send notifications when going over speed limits, after a final notification it will result in insurance being cancelled.

 3rd Party Terms and Conditions

• By accepting “African Travel Consultants” Safaris' terms and conditions, you also agree to the terms and conditions of our suppliers. These suppliers include, but are not limited to, accommodation providers, transportation services, and activity providers.
• When you confirm your booking with “African Travel Consultants” Safaris, you enter into a direct contractual relationship with our suppliers. This means their terms and conditions will apply in addition to ours.
• While “African Travel Consultants” Safaris acts as an intermediary, each supplier operates independently and is responsible for providing the services you have booked. We strongly advise you to review the specific terms and conditions of each supplier, as they will govern the respective services provided.
• Any claims, disputes, or issues related to the services provided by our suppliers must be resolved directly with the supplier. “African Travel Consultants” Safaris will assist to the best of our ability but cannot assume liability for services provided by third parties.
• Suppliers reserve the right to make changes to their services, including pricing, itineraries, and availability. We will communicate any such changes to you promptly, and your acceptance of our terms includes acceptance of potential modifications by suppliers.
• Each supplier may have specific requirements, such as health and safety regulations, entry permits, and other travel-related conditions. It is your responsibility to comply with these requirements as stipulated by the suppliers.
• By proceeding with your booking, you acknowledge and accept that “African Travel Consultants” Safaris’ terms and conditions encompass the terms and conditions of our suppliers. We recommend thoroughly reading all relevant documents to ensure a smooth and enjoyable travel experience.