Booking Terms & Conditions

The following booking Terms and Conditions form the basis of your contract with Consider Africa (hereinafter referred to as CA) whose registered office is at 7, Dias, Sanyati Park, 3 Abrey Road, Kloof, Durban.

CA undertakes to provide all services offered subject to the Terms and Conditions laid out herein.  Confirmation of a booking by payment or partial payment of a deposit will be regarded as acceptance of CA’s Terms and Conditions of business by every member of the travelling party.

Quotations and Bookings
CA will respond to all quotation and booking requests in writing.   Quotations and bookings are valid for the dates specified by CA and are subject to amendment should your travel dates change or should services quoted on not be available at the time of booking.  Should you have any special requests such as celebrating a special occasion, diet,medical, room configuration orroom location thesemust be made in writing. Whilst CA will always endeavor to accommodate such requests, we cannot guarantee that this will always be possible.

Prices
Prices quoted are on a per person basis unless otherwise stated.  Prices are subject to adjustment in the event of changes in government imposed taxes, tourism levies, hotel charges, fuel price, air fares and the introduction of national, regional or local taxes or levies of whatever nature

Payment conditions:
On acceptance of your quotation a twenty percent (20%) non-refundable deposit is payable to secure your booking. Full and final payment must be made six (6) weeks prior to your arrival date.  In order to confirm a booking made within six (6) weeks of arrival full payment must be made at the time of booking.

Payment must be made in the currency in which the quotation was made and accepted and in which the invoice is made out.   CA invoice all South Africa arrangements in South African Rand (ZAR) and any regional (Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique) in US$.  Depending on your itinerary you may receive two invoices. All prices quoted are nett of any financial transaction charges which means bank charges are the responsibility of the traveller/s.

A telegraphic transfer is the quickest and best method payment.  Please provide CAwith proof of payment together with the SWIFT code of the transaction. 

If you opt to pay by credit card you will be required to fill in and sign a Credit Card Authorization Form giving details of your credit card.   Banking institutions require this information in a bid to prevent fraudulent transactions.  In addition to providing CA with a completed Credit Card Authorization Form we will require a copy of your passport and the front and back of your credit card to be faxed through to us. It is important to note that due to foreign exchange regulations CA will have to convert the invoiced foreign currency amount into South African Rand at the day’s bank selling rate of exchange.

Scheduled airline air fares and airport taxes can only be guaranteed once paid in full and tickets have been issued.

Cancellation policy:
Cancellations are only valid if received by CA in writing and are calculated from the date of receipt of notice of cancellation. 

The following scale of charges will be payable depending on when the notification of cancellation is received.
90 days or more:  20% deposit forfeited;
89 - 46:                      25% of total holiday cost
45 - 31:                      50% of total holiday cost
30 days or less:    100% of total holiday cost

CA contracts the services of third parties and is therefore bound by theindividual service providers booking conditions and cancellation policies.  This means cancellation policies may vary from supplier to supplier, if this is the case we will advise you at the time of booking.

Scheduled airline airfares are subject to the conditions imposed by the respective airline

No refund will be made for no-shows or unused services irrespective of whether they form part of your tour arrangements or whether they are in respect of pre-booked optional arrangements. 

Insurance:
It is a condition of booking and the sole responsibilityof travellersto ensure they carry adequate comprehensive travel and medical insurance to cover themselves, as well as any dependents/travelling companions for the duration of their trip.

This insurance should include cover in respect of, but not limited to, the following eventualities:  cancellation or curtailment of the holiday, emergency medical evacuation expenses, medical expenses, repatriation expenses, damage/theft/loss of personal baggage, money and goods.  CA, including their representatives, employees and agents will take no responsibility for any costs or losses incurred or suffered by the traveller, or traveller’s dependents or travelling companions, with regards to, but not limited to, any of the above mentioned eventualities.  Travellers will be charged directly by the relevant service providers for any emergency services they may require, and may find themselves unable to access such services should they not be carrying the relevant insurance cover.

If you opt to make use of travel insurance as offered by credit card companies please check their inclusions and exclusions very carefully to ensure that you and all members of your party are adequately covered for all eventualities as indicated above.

Booking amendments
Should you amend your booking after it has been confirmed either in the form of a date change, itinerary amendment or any other change whatsoever, CAreserves the right to charge a per booking amendment fee. Each change will be charged at ZAR300.00 per booking, over and above the tour cost.

After commencing travel arrangements booked by CAit is understood any extra expenses incurred as a result of any change will be for the travellers account, and any unused service will not be refunded.

Our right to change your travel arrangements:
Every effort is made by CA to adhere to confirmed itineraries; however, we reserve the right to make changes to your travel arrangements should conditions necessitate a change be made. If this should be the case substitutes of equal value will be offered where possible. 

Travel arrangements are made in advance but due to the fact that CA is reliant upon suppliers such as airlines, hotels and/or other supply companies, changes to travel arrangements and cancellations thereof may occasionally become necessary. Should any travel component be confirmed by CAand this component is subsequentlycancelled by the supplier for any reason whatsoever CA will accept no liability for the cancellation thereof.

If in the opinion of CA the fulfillment the traveller/s arrangements are considered to be inadvisable or impossible due to weather conditions, strikes, civil unrest, war, government interference and/or any other reason not arising from CA’s negligence, CA retains the right to cancel arrangements or make alterations in the route, accommodation or any other aspect thereof and any losses and expenses resulting from such cancellation or alternation shall be borne by the traveller/s.

Flight and other travel timings:
Flight timings are provided by airlines and are subject to Air Traffic Control restrictions. All types of transportation are subject to weather conditions, the need for maintenance and passengers checking-in on time. We cannot guarantee an aircraft type and there is no guarantee that aircraft, ferries, ships, trains or coaches will depart at the times stated on any itinerary or tickets which you receive. CA cannot be held responsible or liable for any delays or additional costs incurred as a result of airlines or other transport providers not running to schedule, whether booked independently or through CA.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you reconfirm the departure date and time of your scheduleflights at least 72 hours prior to departure as well as ensuring you check in for your flight timeously

Lost/stolen flight tickets:
The loss or theft of a ticket must be reported to CAimmediately. Certain airlines will not authorizeCAto issue a replacement ticket if such ticket is lost or stolen. If this is the case you will be required to purchase a new ticket, at your own cost.  If CA is in a position to issue a replacement ticket we will do so and a re-issue fee of ZAR200.00 per ticket, will be for your account.

It is your responsibility to report the lost or stolen ticket to the police and to provide CAwith the proof of such report if required.

Documents:
On receipt of your travel documents it is very important that you check them very carefully, especially names as shown on airline tickets and flight departure times.  Departure times are subject to change and CA cannot be held responsible for late check in unless this is as a direct result of our negligence.  If there are any inaccuracies on any of your travel documents, or should you have any queries, you should contact CAimmediately.

Unscheduled extensions:
In the unlikely event of there being an unscheduled extension to your holiday arrangements caused by flight delays, bad weather, strikes or any other cause which is beyond the control of CA,  it is understood that the expenses relating to the unscheduled extension, (hotel accommodation, transfers, meals, telephone calls etc.), will be for the account of the traveller/s.CA accepts no liability for changes, omissions or delays before or during the course of your holiday occasioned by technical difficulties, weather conditions, strikes or communication breakdowns or the like.

Passports and visas
It is your responsibility to ensure that you and all those travelling with you have a valid passport and any necessary visas to gain entry to the countries you are visiting. Passport and visa regulations may change without warningtherefore, we recommend that you check passport/visa requirements with the Embassy or Consulate of the countries you are going to visit.

CAwill not accept any responsibility or liability should you, or any member of your party, travel without the correct travel documents.   As a guideline, passports should be valid for six months after your intended departure from your last destination and contain a minimum of three blank visa pages for affixing visas and arrival stamps.

Vaccinations and inoculations
It is your responsibility to ensure that all the required vaccinations and inoculations for the countries being visited have been obtained.  We recommend that you consult your doctor or vaccination centerfor advice and up to date information regarding medical requirements.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Authority:
Where the client is travelling with persons under his/her authority, he/she warrants that he/she is authorized to bind every member to the terms of the contract.

Complaints:
In the event that you have any reason to complain, or experience any problems with your holiday whilst travelling, you must immediately inform the service provider of the service/s in question. Any verbal notification must be put in writing and given to the service provider as soon as possible.

If you are still dissatisfied, you must notify CA at the earliest opportunity - until CA is made aware of a problem or complaint, CA cannot begin to resolve it. Failure to give CA the opportunity to resolve any problem at the time it occurs will result in either a reduction, or complete extinction, of any rights which you may have to claim compensation from us.

If you remain dissatisfied, you must write to your CA booking Consultant within 28 days of the end of the trip you have purchased from CA, giving your booking reference and full details of your complaint.

Whilst every effort will be made byCA to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction it is specifically recorded that CA in no way accepts liability for any claim that you may have in respect of your complaint.

Credit Cards
Any charges made to your credit card whilst you are travelling are your responsibility. CAwill not be responsible, nor accept responsibility for having these charges reversed or corrected upon your return home.

Departure taxes:
Local departure tax is payable on departure from some small regional African airports.  The onus is on the traveller to make such payments and for this reason we recommend small denominations of dollars are carried.

Force Majeure:
Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, CA cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of CA’s contractual obligations is prevented or affected, or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss, as a result of "force majeure". In these Booking Conditions, "force majeure" means any event which CA or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity or actual threatened terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.

Liability:
CAprovides clients with travel and/or other services either itself or acting as agents for principals engaged in or associated with the travel industry, such as airlines and local ground operators. CArepresents such principals as agents only and accordingly accept no liability for any loss, damage, injury or death which any client may suffer as a result of any act or omission on the part of or the failure of such principals to fulfill their obligations, whether in relation to travel arrangements, accommodation or otherwise. The contract in use by such principals (which is often, but not solely, constituted by the ticket or voucher issued by the principal), shall constitute the sole contract between the principal and the client and any right of recourse the client may have, will be solely against such principal.

Refunds:
CA shall not be responsible or liable for any loss, damage or expenses should sickness or an accident interrupt your travel arrangements, whether as a result of CA’s negligence or otherwise and no refund shall be made of either total or partial of money paid. Travel insurance must be taken out. CA may, in its sole discretion, consider a refund in the event of death or serious illness of the client.

Renovations:
Please be aware that hotels, lodges, guest houses and safari camps undergo renovations from time to time.  Propertiesdo their best to give advance warning of renovation work and take all possible steps to limit disruption to their guests.  If CA receives advance notification of renovation work you will be advise you accordingly.CAwill not entertain complaints or requests for refunds if a hotel is carrying out renovations whilst a guest is resident. 

Legal:
Definitions

• CA/we/are/us refers to Consider Africa
• Client/Passenger/Traveller/Guest means individuals, groups, companies or other legal persons using the services offered by Consider Africa
• Services means the provision of accommodation, airline reservations, transportation, guides, sightseeing and meals as offered by Consider Africa and accepted by the client.
• The singular shall include the plural and vice versa

Any claim or dispute which may arise between the client/s and Consider Africa including any claim for loss or damage due to injury to person or property shall be resolved by arbitration in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa.