In this document, "you" and "your" include the lead-named person on the confirmation invoice (who must be at least 18 years old at the time of booking) and all persons on whose behalf you make a booking.

These are the agreed terms as laid out below:

1. Definitions

"Tour" means [any adventure/tour/event/activity] constituted in the services we offer.
"Tour Services" means our service in providing a Tour.

2. The contract between us

2.1. Mahanda Africa Safaris’ Tours/safari services vary. Whatever service you choose, the terms of this contract will apply unless we indicate otherwise.

2.2. The contract between us comes into existence when we send you our booking confirmation, Tour itinerary and invoice, and you pay the initial deposit. You will have undertaken to pay for your booking (as per payment terms), and we will have undertaken to provide you with the Tour we describe in the brochure/ on our website/in a tailor-made Tour itinerary. Our invoice will be sent to you by post or email.

2.3. For you to confirm your booking, we require payment of your initial deposit and a completed booking form, as provided on our website or via our other communication channels. Any booking made will remain unconfirmed until the initial deposit has been paid.

2.4. If we are unable to accept your booking, we will notify you typically within 24 hours of your booking request. In the event that you have paid the initial deposit by the time we decline the booking, we will of course return any payment made to you immediately, in any event within 14 days. We may decline your booking for any reason. 

3. Your authority to book for others

3.1. If you make a booking on behalf of others as well as yourself, you guarantee that you have the authority of each of those other people to enter into the contract and that you and they have agreed to be jointly and severally liable to us. You now accept personal liability for the acceptance and compliance of each of those people, with these contract terms.

3.2. It is your responsibility to ensure that all of the details on your travel documents are correct and notify us of any discrepancy or misunderstanding immediately. We shall also look only to you for making payments as they become due, ensuring the accuracy of the personal details and other information supplied by other members of your party and for whatever liaison communication is necessary between you and each other party to keep them fully informed.

3.3. As lead member of your party, we will deal only with you in our correspondence.

4. What is included in the price of a Mahanda Africa Safaris Tour?

4.1. Travel from the meeting point to your return to the departure point (which is likely to be the same place);

4.2. Accommodation and all meals (unless otherwise stated in the itinerary);

4.3. Drinking water and/or other light refreshments i.e. soft drinks;

4.4. Services of one or more of our tour guides;

4.5. Any permits or tickets that may be required by local law and/or regulation for your safari e.g. gorilla tracking permits etc.

5. What is NOT included?

5.1. Return flights from your home to the Tour destinations;

5.2. All other costs incurred before you board transport at the meeting point and after you return to the departure point;

5.3. Travel insurance or any other insurance personal to you;

5.4. Passport and visa costs;

5.5. Vaccinations and medication, before, during and after the Tour;

5.6. Food and drink over and above what we include in the Tour;

5.7. Gratuities you choose to give, in addition to any we give on your behalf where we consider appropriate.

6. Tour prices

6.1. When you make your booking, we shall ask you for a deposit of 25 % of the total cost. Deposits are non-refundable, except as mentioned below, but in some cases may be transferable to another Mahanda Africa Safaris Tour. The balance of the price must be paid at least six weeks before your departure date. If the balance is not paid on time, we reserve the right to cancel your travel arrangements and retain your deposit in line with our cancellation policy (see section 10 below).

6.2. Any booking made less than six weeks prior to the departure date must be accompanied by full payment at the time of making the booking.

6.3. We shall not change the price of your booking once we have accepted your booking.

7. Special requests

Any special requests relating to your travel arrangements must be sent to us at the time of booking in writing. While we try to meet your reasonable requests, we do not guarantee that they will be fulfilled. If we are able to confirm a special request, we will do so by confirmation in writing to you at least 6 weeks before your departure date.

8. Changing your booking

We will always do our best to help you with any change to your booking. However, we give no guarantee that we shall succeed. If you require any change, you must tell us by email or in writing. A change will be subject to an administration charge of USD 100 plus any costs we incur in making the change for you. Please note that costs are likely to be higher, the closer you are to the departure date. Most travel arrangements cannot be changed once a reservation has been made.

9. Transferring your booking

If you would like to transfer your booking from one person to another, the following terms apply:

9.1. The transferee must satisfy any special conditions or qualifications applicable to the Tour.

9.2. You must inform us about your intention to transfer your booking to the transferee at least seven days before the departure date in writing or through email.

9.3. You and the transferee will accept that you and he/she will be jointly and severally liable for full payment of any outstanding sums due in respect of the booking as well as fees, charges or other costs arising from the transfer.

9.4. Our administration charge for a transfer made more than 07 days before departure is USD 150. For transfer made within 07 days before departure the administration charge is USD 300.

9.5. Please note that some airlines may treat your transfer as a cancellation and re-booking, effectively making your requirement impossible. If this happens, we will try to find an alternative flight but this may cost more than the original flight.

9.6. We will not refund or compensate you if changes made to your booking, or re-booking, leave you paying for parts of the Tour Service which you do not use.

10. Cancellation by you

If you or a member of your party needs to cancel your booking, you must tell us by email or in writing. We will not accept a cancellation by telephone alone. Cancellation incurs costs for us. Costs vary considerably and are not always precisely identifiable. We therefore charge a rounded cancellation fee as follows:

For travel by road:

Timing of Cancellation	Cancellation Fee
more than 42 days before departure	Deposit
between 41 and 30 days before departure:	30% of booking cost
between 20 and 7 days before departure:	70% of booking cost
6 days or fewer before departure:	No refund

For travel by air (or a combination of road and air travel):

Timing of Cancellation	Cancellation Fee
more than 42 days before departure:	40% of booking cost
between 41 and 30 days before departure:	50% of booking cost
29 or fewer days before departure	No refund

10.1. If you or a member of your party cancels your booking due to an uncontrollable event affecting the Tour, then we shall not charge any cancellation fee as set out in the previous paragraph. Other terms set out in this paragraph shall apply as is.

10.2. In any circumstances giving rise to cancellation, we will consider allowing you to transfer the money you have paid, to some other Mahanda Africa Safaris Tour of your choice. But whether we do so is in our discretion, for which we do not have to give a reason.

10.3. In any of the above circumstances, we will return any money due to you within 14 days of the notification of cancellation.
Note: We strongly recommend that you take out holiday travel insurance which covers the cost of cancellation.

11. If we cancel your Tour or make changes

Because we make travel arrangements far in advance, we sometimes have to change an arrangement and occasionally even cancel a Tour. If that happens the following terms apply:

11.1. We will always inform you as soon as possible about any change. If that happens you may take any of the below actions:

11.1.1 accept the change; or

11.1.2 accept our offer of alternative travel arrangements of a comparable standard; or

11.1.3 cancel your booking, whereupon we will give you a full refund of all money paid to us.

11.2. We will not compensate you for minor changes outside our control. Examples are changes to flight times, aircraft type or different carriers.

11.3. Provided your final payment has been made we will cancel your travel arrangement only in circumstances where we have no choice but to do so.

12. If you have a complaint

12.1. Your point of contact during the Tour will be communicated to you before your arrival.

12.2. If you have a problem during your Tour, it is most important that you immediately inform the relevant provider (such as a hotel’s management) as well as our representative (your point of contact). If you complain only after you have returned home, we shall not be able to investigate the problem - for your benefit and ours. If that happens, you may lose your right to compensation.

12.3. If you feel our representative has not resolved to your problem, please write to us within 14 days of your return giving us full details of your Tour and concise details of the complaint and any subsequent history.

13. Limitations on our liability

13.1. We want you to enjoy a perfect Tour with Mahanda Africa Safaris. We shall do our best to make this experience special for you. Nonetheless, we must make clear the limitations in law. 

13.2. If we fail to provide the Tour set out on our website or in our brochure and to which these terms apply, we will pay you appropriate compensation. We are not liable if any failure is due to:

13.2.1 your own carelessness or negligence in any aspect of your behaviour whilst on Tour;

13.2.2 medical emergencies;

13.2.3 laws, culture and standards of service and behaviour in any country we may visit;

13.2.4 minor changes we reasonably make to an itinerary or to accommodation or any other aspect of the management of your booking and which we duly notify you about in advance;

13.2.5 some third party unconnected with the provision of travel arrangements where we could not reasonably have foreseen or avoided those circumstances;

13.2.6 any other unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control such as natural disasters or epidemics;

13.2.7 a specific event or series of events which we or our contractors or providers could not reasonably have foreseen or prevented;

13.3. We and you are subject to international conventions, when they apply. This may limit the amount of a claim you may make, against us or anyone else.

13.4. The services and features included in your booking are those specified in our website. If you choose to buy other goods or services during your Tour, those are not part of our service, even if our representative helps you to buy or arrange for them. Accordingly, we are not liable to you for any happening in connection with that service or goods.

13.5. You alone are wholly responsible for arranging your travel insurance. The period of cover should span the whole duration of your safari/tour with us.

14. Passport, visa and immigration requirements

14.1. It is extremely important that you obtain and carefully check travel and immigration documents required for each country you visit. You alone are responsible for obtaining required travel documents for your party. We do not accept responsibility for any delay or problem which may occur in this connection. 

14.2. If we have local representation at the time of any such problem, we will assist you as far as reasonably possible to resolve it. 

14.3. However, in the case of group Tours, for the benefit of other people who may be booked on that Tour, it may not be possible to delay or change travel arrangements or events which will affect others in the Tour group.

15. Help we need from you

Your information pack will provide details about your chosen Tour, but the following are contractual matters:

15.1. Most Mahanda Africa Safaris Tours require reasonable physical fitness and appropriate footwear. You should be prepared to walk up to a couple of kilometres a day, sometimes on uneven or slippery surfaces.

15.2. To satisfy the majority of our clients, we apply "no smoking" rules in the same way that they are applied by law in Uganda. Please note however, that smoking is permitted in some countries we may visit so we cannot prevent third parties from smoking in a bar or restaurant.

15.3. If we provide medical help to you, whether or not you specifically ask for it, we will provide receipts for all costs (for your insurer) and you now agree to repay us that cost on your return from the Tour.

15.4. If at any time, it is our opinion (given by any of our staff or representative) that you are acting in a way which may cause accident, injury, discomfort or extreme displeasure to any other member, we may exclude you from the programme for the remainder of the activity or safari or Tour. You will understand that this extreme action will not be taken lightly but may be necessary to protect the health, safety or enjoyment of other travellers.

16. Terms and conditions of third-party providers

16.1. Many of the services we provide, including options which may occur from time to time during your Tour, are provided by third parties and not directly by us. Each has their own terms and conditions. Whilst the law provides that we are liable to you in the round, for any failure connected with such a provider, our obligations do not cover every contractual term.

16.2. Accordingly, instances may arise where you have no redress, for example, in the purchase of locally produced goods. If our representative warns you of a possible problem, for example related to food, and you choose not to take that advice, then we are not liable for any problem which may arise.

17. Miscellaneous matters

17.1. If any term or provision of this agreement is at any time held by any jurisdiction to be void, invalid or unenforceable, then it shall be treated as changed or reduced, only to the extent minimally necessary to bring it within the laws of that jurisdiction and to prevent it from being void and it shall be binding in that changed or reduced form. Subject to that, each provision shall be interpreted as severable and shall not in any way affect any other of these terms.

17.2. Any obligation in this agreement intended to continue to have effect after termination or completion shall so continue.

17.3. No failure or delay by any party to exercise any right, power or remedy will operate as a waiver nor indicate any intention to reduce that or any other right in the future.

17.4. The parties agree that electronic communications satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

17.5. In the event of a dispute between the parties to this agreement, then they undertake to attempt to settle the dispute by engaging in good faith with the other in a process of mediation before commencing arbitration or litigation.

17.6. So far as the law permits, and unless otherwise stated, this agreement does not give any right to any third party.

17.7. Any communication to be served on either of the parties by the other shall be delivered by hand or sent by express post or recorded delivery or by e-mail.

It shall be deemed to have been delivered:

if delivered by hand: on the day of delivery;
if sent by post to the correct address: within 72 hours of posting;
If sent by e-mail to the address from which the receiving party has last sent e-mail: within 24 hours if no notice of non-receipt has been received by the sender. 

17.8. The validity, construction and performance of this agreement shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of Uganda and the parties agree that any dispute arising from it shall be litigated only in that State.