The following booking terms and cancellation policies are meant to enable you prepare for your safari with Verdant Safaris and to ensure complete transparency throughout the booking process. Please take some time and read through and feel free to contact us at any moment should you need any more clarification.
BOOKINGS:
We consider a booking to be CONFIRMED once an initial 50% deposit payment has been made. For purposes of proper planning, all bookings should be made at least 20 days before the date of departure. Please note that we are flexible enough to accommodate last minute bookings as well depending on availability.
PAYMENTS:
Full payment MUST be made at least 30 days before the date of departure. If the full payment is not made in due time Verdant Safaris reserves the right to treat the booking as CANCELLED.
CANCELLATION BY US:
We always do our best to avoid cancellation of confirmed bookings, but we reserve the right to do so. We shall not cancel your confirmed holiday less than 60 days before departure unless 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 with the exception of that used to pay for gorilla permits which can only be refunded if the refund has been made available to us by Uganda Wildlife Authority. 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.
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 person(s) 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.
CANCELLATION BY YOU:
In the event that you decide to cancel your tour, you will be REQUIRED to notify us in writing. A cancellation is therefore 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 per our refund policy.
REFUND POLICY:
If a tour is cancelled at least 91 days or more prior to the date of departure, a full refund, excluding Administration Fees will be made.
75% of the amount deposited will be refunded if a tour is cancelled between 90-45 days before the date of departure.
No refund will be made if a tour is cancelled in less than 45 days to the date of departure.
No refund will be made once the safari has commenced and no refund will be made if any tours, accommodation, hires, services or inclusions are not utilized.
GORILLA PERMITS:
Gorilla Permits can only be purchased when payment has been received. Both the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) issue the Gorilla Permits on first come first serve basis and therefore it is imperative that the initial deposit on a tour is made as soon as possible to be able to acquire the Gorilla Permits because they are on a very high demand all year round. 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. This could be due to a number of reasons, including but not limited to; closure of the national park or borders, absence of the gorillas, security changes.
PLEASE NOTE that the chances of seeing the gorillas stand at 98%.
CANCELLATION OF GORILLA PERMITS:
FOR UGANDA: Gorilla Permits are sold by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). In the event that one cancels, the Uganda Wildlife Authority retains a certain percentage of the Gorilla Permit price as per the table below:
| NUMBER OF DAYS BEFORE THE TRACKING DATE | PERCENTAGE RETAINED BY UWA |
| More Than 90 Days | 25% of the Gorilla Permit Price |
| 46 – 90 Days | 50% of the Gorilla Permit Price |
| 9 – 45 Days | 75% of the Gorilla Permit Price |
| 0 – 8 Days | 100% of the Gorilla Permit Price |
FOR RWANDA: Gorilla Permits are sold by Rwanda Development Board (RDB). In the event that one cancels, Rwanda Development Board DOES NOT provide a refund. However, the client is given an option of rescheduling the Gorilla Permit to another date that may be suitable for the client to track the gorillas.
COMPLAINTS:
Complaints must be reported immediately to our representative and to the supplier of the service(s) in question, who will do their best to resolve them. If you remain dissatisfied, please call our Safari Manager in Kampala as soon as possible, to enable us to investigate and resolve them to your satisfaction. Regrettably, liability for any complaints not notified will not be accepted.
CHANGES:
We reserve the right to make changes to itinerary details and holiday arrangements both before and after your booking is made. Most changes will be minor. If we have to make significant changes to an arrangement, you will be notified at the earliest possible opportunity. In such changes you will have the choice of either accepting the change or booking alternative arrangements.
INSURANCE:
You are advised to take comprehensive cover for cancellation, medical expenses, personal accident, personal baggage, money and public liability before the commencement of your tour. This should be arranged at the time of payment of the deposit, and will in certain circumstances, cover you against loss of deposit or cancellation fee from the date of confirmation of your booking, as shown in the insurance policy. You also agree to indemnify us against all third party claims, actions, damages or remedies that may be brought against us in respect of your participation in the tour.
Regarding Health Insurance, we recommend AMREF Medical Insurance, which provides medical assistance and evacuation to remote regions of East Africa.
The above Verdant Safaris Booking Terms and Policies apply upon your confirmation of your tour with us.