Safari Information:Safari Terms

The main role of Maasai land  explorers is to create customer oriented tours and itineraries. The following are our terms and conditions.

PRICES

All prices are in US dollars (US$) per person. Prices are based on costs at the time of publication. In creating your desired tour and itinerary, we may use independent suppliers. We reserve the right to change published prices at any time before booking is confirmed. In case the price increases for more than 5% (for entry fees, accommodation, fuel, etc.), we reserve the right to adjust the rates.

Prices in general include park entrance fees (except where specifically indicated otherwise), service charges, ground transportation, camping/lodge/hut costs, full board/a cook (three meals every day while on tour – with full board safaris you will start the tour on the first day with a lunch and finish it on the last day with a lunch), government taxes, English speaking drivers/guides/porters (also possible in other language – make sure to request a driver/guide/porter in other language before finalizing your booking), camping equipment, 4×4 vehicle, all expenses for drivers and vehicles while on tour (i.e. transfers, drive to camp/lodge/hut, game drives), unlimited game viewing within park opening hours, if not otherwise stated in your tour and itinerary.

Items of personal nature are excluded from our prices. Excluded from our prices as such are: airport taxes, landing fees (for charters), phone calls, Visas, toiletries, tips to drivers and porters, souvenirs, soft drinks, bottled water, alcoholic beverages, laundry, cigarettes, accommodation and meals before and after the tour/safari/itinerary, travel and personal insurance, any tour service requested that is not specifically stated in the itinerary, any other extras.

ACCOMMODATION

All prices are based on two persons sharing a double-bed room in a hotel or sharing a tent on a camping safari. Where possible, we arrange the rooms to have a private bath or shower. Single-bed rooms are arrangeable at an additional rate. Since the single-bed rooms are subject to availability, we do not give any guarantee for either single rooms or private baths or showers.

If you do not want to pay the additional rate for single-bed rooms, we can also find another traveler of the same gender willing to share a double-bed room or tent. In case we do not find another traveler for you to share a room, you will need to pay the whole price for the single-bed room. If we are unable to provide you a single-bed room and you have already paid for it, we will give you the appropriate refund.

The hotels, tents and lodges in the itineraries are mentioned only as an indication of their category. We will give our utmost to provide you the accommodation mentioned in the itineraries. However, if rooms at this mentioned establishments are fully booked, we may book rooms in other similar establishments.

If you have any special requests regarding your accommodation such as smoking or non-smoking rooms, connecting or adjacent rooms, special dietary food, you should inform us at time of booking. We will make every effort possible to provide you with your special request; however, we cannot give any guarantee. We also give no guarantee for special request mentioned after booking is finalized.

On trekking and camping tours we will provide tents, cooking equipment, sleeping pads and lanterns for you. However you will need to bring your own day pack, clothing and sleeping bags with you. On special request we can also provide sleeping bags for you.

TRANSPORTATION

The transportation provided for you will be according to your route and number of participants. As transportation we might provide for you four-wheel-drive vehicles with pop-up roofs, safari minibuses, coaches, cars or aircraft etc. during your tour. During your safari you will be guaranteed a four-wheel-drive vehicle with pop-up roofs and sliding windows to ensure you good game viewing and unlimited photography. In case of technical problems of our vehicles, high season or any other reason, we reserve the right to employ the service of our sub-contractors. English speaking drivers and/or guides are included in your transportation and tour.

With air transport we arrange only domestic flights within the country. We guarantee you only the coordination of your domestic flights with your tour and land arrangements. We can not give you any guarantee for your airfares until the flight is purchased and ticketed. Any airfare increase is your responsibility. It is your responsibility to check, if the name on your airline ticket matches your passport name. Please keep in mind that you give us the correct name as stated in your passport before tickets are purchased, latest when you are making your domestic flights bookings. Any changes to your air plain ticket are under your responsibility and the penalties, cancellation and change fees depend on the individual airline’s rules and regulations.

RESERVATION AND PAYMENT

After booking you will receive an invoice from Maasai land  explorers. At receiving our invoice, you will have to pay a non-refundable deposit of 25% for camping safaris, trekking tours and Kilimanjaro or other climbs. The non-refundable deposit for lodge safaris or hotel reservations is 50%. In case you booked only an accommodation with Maasai land  explorers you will need to pay the full price upon confirmation. All deposits need to be paid within 14 days of receiving our invoice to our bank account. We will consider only the actual amount transferred to our bank account as paid, all additional money transfer costs need to be paid by the client.

The remainder of the price needs to be paid minimum 4 weeks, 8 weeks for lodges and hotels, before the beginning of your tour. The client needs to make the payment in time, otherwise we reserve the right to cancel your bookings.

BOOKING CONDITIONS

Bookings should be made as early as possible to guarantee the desired tour, itinerary and departure day. Booking and reservation can be done by e-mail, by telephone or by using the booking form on our web page. Bookings made by telephone will be reserved for 5 working days with no obligation. With telephone reservations, you will still need to confirm your booking with sending us the completed booking form by e-mail or post with the proper deposit within 5 days, or otherwise your telephone reservation will not be accepted. Your booking is fully confirmed when we receive 25% of the non-refundable deposit on our bank account. Booking and our confirmation are considered as a binding contract between you and Maasai land  explorers.

The client must be over 18. In case the client making a booking with Maasai land  explorers, is doing the booking for a group of passengers and not only for him/herself, the client warrants that he/she has all authority to signing a contract on behalf of all other persons mentioned in the booking form.

It is the client’s responsibility to inform other passengers, for whom they are signing or sending the booking form, about all the bookings and about our terms and conditions. All clients must read the terms and conditions on our web page. With the signing of the contract, the client confirms that he/she and all other passengers mentioned on the booking form have read, understood and agree to all of the terms and conditions of the tour. All of the passengers mentioned on the booking form agree to our payment conditions (payment of the deposit or any other partial payment or provisions for reservation, cancellation fees, etc.), whether they have directly signed the contract or not.

Before booking please make sure you have the correct names of all the passengers traveling with you. For tours and safaris you will also need to give us the information about each clients nationality and date of birth. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have the correct names, nationality and dates of birth for each client who is traveling with you.

Confirmed tours and itineraries cannot be transferred to any other date. You must check what is included in the price and inform us before booking if you do not agree or if something is not clear. Later complaints after booking will not be considered.

LATE BOOKING

For last minute reservations and bookings, less than 2 weeks before arrival, you will have to pay the remaining balance in cash at arrival and before your tour starts. Lodges and hotels are excluded from this rule, where full payment is necessary for a reservation. With late bookings the price of the itinerary might adjust, in case that at the time deposit is received accommodation at one or more hotels, huts or lodges might be fully booked. If that happens we will try to find proper accommodation in the same category. In that case the client needs to pay the difference.

ITINERARY CHANGES AND FEES

If you wish to change your itinerary after it has been confirmed and up to 60 days prior to departure and the changes affect such things as departure date, destination, an/or name, a $100 per person administrative fee has to be paid, in addition to any other fees such as cancellation penalties, airline fees, hotels or local operators. Any changes to your itinerary made less than 60 days before your departure are subject to cancellation fees. If you want to modify your itinerary after departure of the tour (i.e. change accommodation, tour duration, etc.), we do not accept any liability for additional expenses or higher prices and no refunds will be made.

CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS

CANCELLATION BY YOU

If you have to cancel your booking before departure, you must notice Shadows of Africa in writing. The day we receive your written cancellation is considered as the cancellation date. All cancellations will be charged with a cancellation fee, depending on the number of days before the departure date. You will get a refund minus the cancellation fees charged by Maasai land  explorers plus any additional non-refundable cancellation fees and money already paid in advance to hotels, airlines and local operators. We strongly recommend you take a cancellation insurance for the total itinerary cost. Also the failure to deliver the complete payment by the due date will be considered as cancellation by the client. In this case we will also apply cancellation fees as stated below. The cancellation fees are as follows: 41 – 60 days: 30% of total invoice 31 – 40 days: 40% of the total invoice 21 – 30 days: 50% of the total invoice 11 – 20 days: 60% of the total invoice 02 – 10 days: 70% of the total invoice Within 48 hours and after commencement of holidays: 100% of the total invoice, no refund.

CANCELLATION BY US

We reserve the right to cancel any arrangements. Should this happen we will arrange an alternative choice for you, with paying or receiving a refund regarding the price difference or a full refund of all sums already paid. If we have to stop the tour after departure because circumstances of acts of God or force majeure, we cannot make any refunds or give you any compensation for unused services or any additional costs on your behalf. If any already paid service or transportation has been canceled by Maasai land  explorers, you will get the whole refund for all sums paid to Maasai land  explorers for the canceled service. You will get a refund for canceled services by Maasai land  explorers  within 14 days after cancellation and within 30 days for canceled services by sub-contractors or after receiving money from sub-contractors.

Subject to refund are all sums paid by clients minus the airline ticket cancellation charges and non-refundable deposits for parks, hotels and other services included in your itinerary. We give no partial refunds for any unused portions of your tour, also if any part of the service or climb are not utilized. If during any climb the client has to be brought down of the mountain for any injuries and therefore does not complete the climb, no refund will be issued for the unused service or climb. In this case the client needs to pay all extra costs. Also any unused portions of your safari or tour after departure are not subject to a refund.

No refunds will be paid, if the client wishes to stop the trip after departure or does not wish to use any arranged, booked and already paid services.

ALTERATION

We reserve the right to alter any arrangements or cancel a scheduled operation should it be obligatory in case of air schedule, poor road conditions, weather conditions, security matters, border closures or any other reason beyond our control. The local conditions in Africa are not always predictable and from time to time delays and diversions from the planned rout can happen.

We will do our best to please you and minimize inconveniences but cannot be responsible for matters clearly beyond our control.

LIABILITY AND OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Maasai land  explorers, its agents and sub-contractors act only as the passenger’s agents in matters relating the tours, itineraries, hotel accommodation, transportation etc., and shall not in any way be liable for injury, death, illness, delays, subsequent missing of ship, air or train connection, inconveniences arising from unannounced alteration of ship, air or train schedules, weather conditions, loss or damage to personal property whether resulting from but not limited to force majeure or acts of God, civil unrest or revolt, acts of war, strikes or other labor activities, animals, any criminal or terrorist activities.

The company is also not responsible for any overbooking or downgrading of any services or accommodation, mechanical or other failure of any means of transportation or failure of any transportation resulting in arrival or departure delay. The company’s liability towards passengers carried in their own vehicles is under domestic law of the country where the safari takes place and no other country. All claims are subject to the law of the courts of the country where the action happens. In case of a car damage or breakdown, a rescue vehicle will be provided and any lost time will be compensated either with an additional day or a refund according to the time lost. Maasai land  explorers reserves the right to employ independent suppliers or sub-contractors for all or part of the arranged services.

The company cannot be responsible for loss or damage to any luggage or equipment carried while on tour.Maasai land  explorers cannot be responsible for any willful or negligent act or inaction of any person or entity clearly not in their control, or of any other sub-contractors or third party not under their control. Please keep in mind that we are only responsible for those services which were arranged, agreed and/or provided on your behalf. Any services which you arrange on your own are out of our liability and responsibility.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

The clients need to keep in mind that safaris, adventure travel and particularly any physical activity like trekking long distances or climbing involves a certain risk factor and inherent dangers. We therefore advise that persons not fit enough for such long, adventurous and rigorous trips due to chronic illness, heart disease, physical handicap, mental illness or advanced pregnancy should not participate in these travel programs. Maasai land  explorers also reserves the right to accept or retain participation for any person on a tour at any time, if we consider someone unsuitable for the trip. In this case we will refund a fair and reasonable amount. Parts of the safari and climbs can be physically demanding with driving over dirty, dusty and rough road, and high altitudes of almost 6000 meters. Maasai land  explorers has to be informed in written form of any physical disability requiring attention or treatment at the time of the reservation. The clients accept all possible dangers of such kind of travel on their own risk.

The possible risk factors and inherent dangers include, but are not limited to, risks of climbing, hiking mountains (i.e. falling stones, rock slides, etc.), equipment failures, walking safaris, trail obstructions, and on all safaris dangers of animals, difficulty in evacuation from remote locations in case of a medical emergency and inaccessibility to medical care. It is the clients own responsibility to obtain proper medical advice about medication, immunization, and about their own physical ability for such a trip prior to departure. We are not reliable to provide any medical care and our standard terms and conditions exclude liability for an adequate medical care that may be provided. We therefore most strongly advise you to arrange an adequate insurance against any possible risk while on tour. The travel insurance should cover medical expenses and repatriation, personal accidents, tour cancellation and any kind of loss. Make sure your insurance is aware what kind of tour you are going to undertake. By sending the deposit each passenger, named on the booking form, certifies that they do not have any physical or other medical conditions that would interrupt the tour.

We demand that any client with a medical condition requiring regular treatment or which could be affected by such demanding activities as heat, high altitude, cold, natural phenomenon or food inform  Maasai Land Explorers in writing before departure.

NATIONAL PARK RULES AND BAGGAGE RESTRICTIONS

Clients whose trip includes a visit to one or more National Parks and/or Conservation Areas need to follow the rules and restrictions of the individual National Park and/or Conservation Area. In case of rule violation, clients must pay a fain to the National Park. The instructions of guides and drivers must to be followed. Our safari vehicles have limited space, so baggage and luggage is restricted to one normal size suitcase, soft bag or backpack per person.

Baggage weight on all scheduled flights within the parks and trekking trips is limited to one bag of 15 kg per person. In case your baggage exceeds 15 kg, you will have to pay the cost for an additional porter on trekking trips an/or additional costs on all scheduled flights depending on the airline’s rules (you will get specific details on your itinerary). While on safari or a trekking tour the rest of your luggage can be stored in most of the hotels in Arusha.

DOCUMENTATION

Clients from other countries traveling to Tanzania are obligated to carry proper documentation showing their citizenship, such as a passport. Please keep in mind that it is your responsibility to carry proper documentation, which should be valid for at least six months after boarding Tanzania. If you have any questions regarding entry requirements to Tanzania, you should contact the nearest Tanzanian embassy or your consulate in Tanzania.

COMPLAINTS

If you have any complaints while on tour, you must talk to the guide, the supplier of the service or other local representative to clarify any problems or situation. We advise you to immediately address the problem to our representatives and supplier of service right at the spot, since they will do their utmost to find the best possible situation to your problem. Please keep in mind that, it is unreasonable to complain on return, if you have not taken any actions whilst still on tour. Should you upon departure still remain dissatisfied, feel free to send us a detailed complaint about the problem within 28 days of the end of our services mentioned in the contract.

Only detailed complaints (problems or situation which caused your dissatisfaction and the exact date must be mentioned, as well as solutions given to you to solve the problem and actions taken while still on tour must be mentioned) will be accepted.

E-MAILS

Sometimes it also might happen that your e-mail does not reach us. If you do not receive any answer from us within 3 working days, we advise you to resend your e-mail again.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Maasai land  explorers reserves the right to take photos, film material and images of its travels and individual participants while on tour. The clients and tour participants grants Maasai land  explorers all permission to do so and to use the material for commercial or promotional purposes. In case you disagree with this you should send us a written notice at time of booking your tour.

PRINTING

Maasai land  explorers is not responsible for any possible printing errors in their brochures/leaflets/catalogs e