Terms and Conditions

Travel Exclusively African want you to enjoy every second of your holiday, and with this in mind, we would appreciate your taking some time to read the following information which we trust you will find useful. This information forms the contract between Travel Exclusively African and you, our client.

 BEFORE BOOKING

Your Holiday

We hope that your Travel Exclusively African holiday meets your expectations, so it is very important that you choose the holiday that is right for you. Space on our website is limited so the information we supply on accommodation is therefore brief. Whilst our staff are always happy to advise, this can only be an opinion, therefore please ask for further information if needed.

Hotel Grading

Hotels, Lodges and Guest Houses are categorised with star ratings to give you a general guide. Please be aware that standards may differ between accommodations of the same class even in the same country. City hotels for example cater for business travellers as well as leisure, and may have a generally higher standard than perhaps a beach hotel where the atmosphere may be more ‘laid back’. Please read the descriptions of the hotels carefully, and if you need more information, we will be happy to provide it. We select rooms according to our travellers needs, i.e. single, family, suites etc but as a minimum rooms will be of standard quality based on twin or doubles.

Booking A Room For An Early Arrival Or A Late Departure

As a standard, most hotel rooms are ready for occupation from between noon to 3 pm and should be vacated between 10:00am and noon on your day of departure. If you wish your room to be ready before noon on day of arrival or after 10:00am on the day of departure, please let us know when booking and we will request this from the hotel for you. There may be a cost attached to extended check in/check out time.

Passports

You will need a full passport to travel to the destinations we offer our travellers. Please take a look at the website for information on visas and vaccinations. We will need the first forename, title and surname (as shown in your passport) of all the travellers in your group in order to reserve seating on your chosen flights. Please note that before booking is confirmed no charges on flights will be applicable. Also please note that for a visa to be granted to someone travelling to South Africa, there must be a least one clear blank page otherwise entry will be refused.

Holiday Seasons

95% of the destinations we offer the travellers are available 12 months of the year. In the ‘off peak’ periods take advantage of the excellent prices and uncrowded resorts but be aware that some hotel facilities may be scaled down to match the lower demand of these times.

Public Holidays 2024

Monday January 1st New Year’s Day

Thursday March 21st Human Rights Day

Friday March 29th Good Friday

Monday April 1st Family Day

Sunday April 27th Freedom Day

Wednesday May 1st Workers Day

Saturday June 17th Youth Day

Friday August 9th National Women’s Day

Tuesday September 24th Heritage Day

Monday December 16th Reconciliation Day

Sunday December 25th Christmas Day

Monday December 26th Day of Goodwill

Public Holidays 2025

Wednesday January 1st New Year’s Day

Friday March 21st Human Rights Day

Friday April 18th Good Friday

Monday April 21st Family Day

Monday April 28th Freedom Day

Thursday May 1st Workers Day

Monday June 16th Youth Day

Saturday August 9th National Women’s Day

Wednesday September 24th Heritage Day

Tuesday December 16th Reconciliation Day

Thursday December 25th Christmas Day

Friday December 26th Day of Goodwill 

Other Hotel Guests

Many hotels, particularly those in cities or major resorts can accommodate conventions and conferences. At certain times of the year some hotels also have an influx of students groups, associations or clubs. The hotels we feature are shared with travellers from many different countries and cultures. We do not have any control over the acceptance of bookings at the hotels we feature. Therefore we are unable to accept any responsibility for inconvenience caused by groups or other guests. 

Meals

The majority of the accommodation Travel Exclusively African offers is on a bed and breakfast basis. However for safari experiences all meals are usually provided. This means breakfast, lunch and dinner, sometimes with afternoon tea included. We recommend that where all meals are being catered for, if you have a special dietary requirement that you inform us at the time of booking and we will request an alternative food option for you if possible.

Disabled Travellers

Travel Exclusively African is happy to give you advice on choosing a holiday that will meet your requirements. However please note that due to the nature of some destinations there may not be even the simplest facilities such as ramps for wheelchairs, lifts etc. We would need to be provided with full disability details and special requirements in writing before booking so that we can tailor a trip especially for you.

Weather

World weather is becoming increasingly unpredictable and we cannot be held responsible for any disruption to your holiday due to bad or unusual weather. For details on average seasonal temperatures and rainfall please see the weather link on our website.

Our Staff, Consultants and Business Partners

We pride ourselves on the pro-active, friendly and informed approach of our staff, consultants and business partners, in the UK, USA, Europe and in South Africa. We are continually striving to improve our level of service, and we always welcome clients reporting back to us about their trip – both positive and negative. We love to include clients comments on our website and where clients send us their comments, we assume that these can be placed on the website. We may from time to time change the content slightly in order to make it all fit into place and be appropriate in its content.

Your Commitment to Us

When you wish to confirm a holiday booking you must pay a non refundable deposit of 25% of the full cost of the holiday at this time. When you make the booking you are confirming that you understand and have accepted on behalf of yourself and all members of your party our Terms & Conditions & Important Holiday Information. All contracts made with Travel Exclusively African are made subject to these booking conditions. 

Our Commitment to You

Your contract is with Travel Exclusively African. We will arrange to provide you with the various services which form the part of the holiday that you book with us. Any changes made to either your accommodation or cost will be made known to you before you book. Should you wish to pay immediately, you may do so and therefore benefit from the price being held with no future increases. A booking is not accepted until we issue an invoice. The date shown on the invoice sent to you is the date of the booking. It is very important that you check the details on the invoice when you get it, as well as the final itinerary issued to you.

Paying For Your Holiday

After your booking is taken an invoice will be sent to you detailing the total cost and due date of final payments. Full payment is due 8 weeks before departure. If you do not pay in full 8 weeks before departure, Travel Exclusively African reserves the right to cancel your booking – deposit will be non-refundable. If you make a booking within 8 weeks of your departure date, the full payment will be due immediately.

Insurance

We highly recommend that all travellers have adequate travel insurance cover. There are numerous companies that offer this service and we have found that it pays to shop around. Please make sure that you cover yourself and all the travellers in your party for every eventuality.

Travel Information & Documents

You will receive a Final Itinerary from us which will cover the areas that you are visiting. We recommend that you read these to familiarise yourself with all of the opportunities open to you during the course of your African adventure. Change or addition to your holiday : If you want to change any part of your holiday after the invoice has been issued, we will do our best for you. However, please note that late changes may not be possible. Any request for a change must be made by the person who made the original booking and if it is possible to make a change, there may be further costs incurred by the change. Scheduled airlines generally regard any name change as a cancellation and rebooking, so please note that any alteration may incur a 100% cancellation in respect of airfare. Also, subject to Travel Exclusively African’s discretion it may not be practical for a change to be made to a booking within 21 days of scheduled departure date. You will receive your Final Itinerary together with vouchers approx. 3 weeks before your departure date. Within the itinerary will be directions and/or maps to the properties you’ll be staying at if you are self-driving as well as Tips & Hints pages to make your stay as smooth as possible.

Cancelling Your Holiday

If you or anyone on your holiday booking decides to cancel the holiday you must notify us by telephone of the decision as soon as possible. All notifications must then be confirmed in writing or by email by the person who booked the holiday no longer than 24 hours of the original notification. Cancellation will take effect on the day of notification (provided this is followed by the written notification within the terms above). Each property or service provider has their own unique cancellation clauses and related fees and we will be governed by these. Notwithstanding the afore mentioned, the following scale of charges will be applicable depending on when the notification to cancel is received. Please note the cancellation charges apply only to accommodation and any tours booked – flight fees are non-refundable and therefore not subject to cancellation charges. All deposits are non-refundable at any time. Where a full amount has been paid in advance, then 25% of this would be deemed to be the deposit. Less than 30 days 100% of total holiday cost, 31 to 60 days 75% of the total cost and 61 to 90 days 50% of the total cost. We strongly recommend that you take out full travel insurance which will in most cases, subject to terms and conditions, cover costs incurred against loss of deposit or cancellation fees. Should Travel Exclusively Africa need to cancel or change your holiday for reasons beyond their control then we will assist clients with the necessary paper work in order to receive compensation from their insurance company. Any outright cancellation of reservations, including cancellations due to Governments issuing travel bans or the World Health Organisation issuing an advisory against travelling to Southern Africa, will result in our standard cancellation policy’s application, and guests will be required to claim a refund from their travel insurance company and again, we will of course assist in providing documentation to support a claim a client needs to make. Please bear in mind that any forthcoming refunds will be subject to the exchange rates ruling at the time of the processing of such refunds. Where cancellation is due to a COVID19 situation, there will be a 10% administration fee. Over and above this, we will transfer the funds back to you in SA Rand currency. This may differ from the original rate the client purchased and we cannot be responsible for this movement.

Force Majeure

If you have to cancel your booking due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (including, but not limited to, government measures prohibiting travel, air traffic control strikes, serious adverse weather conditions making it impossible to fly, pandemic, epidemic, other serious health risks, warfare, other serious security problems such as terrorism, or natural disasters), our cancellation terms shall apply. However, in such circumstances, we may (acting on our sole discretion) provide you with a voucher to the value of your booking which can be used to make a booking with us at a future date.

If we are unable to fulfil your booking due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (as described in the paragraph above), or we conclude that such circumstances mean that it is not commercially viable for us to do so, we may cancel your booking and provide you with a voucher to the value of your booking which can be used to make a booking with us at a future date. We will use all reasonable efforts to notify you of a cancellation of your booking for the reasons set out in this paragraph as far in advance of your booking as possible. 

Building & Development Work

Very occasionally hotels and resorts may continue to develop. Sometimes this is without warning and whilst we have no control over such circumstances, it is very important to us that you are aware of any significant building or refurbishment work that may be carried out during your stay. We will endeavour to inform you of any activity there may be as soon as possible however near to your departure date that may be.

Flight Changes

Airlines may occasionally change the type of aircraft used on a particular route without any advance warning. Scheduled and charter flight timings and days of operation are subject to change. We will advise you of any significant change as soon as we ourselves know about it. Minor changes for instance on timings will be shown on the flight tickets which must be checked carefully on receipt. Should the changes involve a reduction of your duration, we will attempt to recover any loss of applicable costs from the properties that this has affected. We plan arrangements over a period of time in advance of your trip with airlines, hotels and service companies over whom we have no direct control. In the event of a minor change having to be made to your itinerary, we reserve the right to make these. However where we consider a significant change has to be made, we will endeavour to inform you as soon reasonably as possible. A significant change would include a change of accommodation to that of a lower/higher category and/or price, a change of flight time of more than 24 hours, a change of UK departure airport, or a significant change of resort area. In the case of a significant change before your departure we will give you the choice of alternatives based on the circumstances requiring the change. In all cases, we will attempt to offer alternative travel arrangements of equivalent or of very closely similar standard and price.

Changes Due To Circumstances Beyond Our Control

We will not be liable to pay any compensation whatsoever if we are forced to cancel or in any way make a change to your holiday as a result of unusual or unforeseeable events beyond our control – the consequences of which could not have been avoided even with all due care. Included are unavoidable technical problems with transport, changes imposed by rescheduling or cancellation of flights by an airline, the alteration of the airline or aircraft type, war or threat of war, civil strife, industrial disputes, natural disaster, bad weather, epidemic, pandemic or terrorist activity.

If We Cancel Your Holiday

We reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your holiday for any reason. However we will not cancel your holiday within 61 days of departure unless it is for a reason outside our control (see Changes Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control). In the unlikely event that we have to cancel your holiday we would offer the following: Alternative travel arrangements of equivalent or of very closely similar standard. 

Water/Electricity Supplies

Many of the less sophisticated destinations we offer, the water and electricity services struggle to keep up with the increasing demands made by tourism. Sometimes limited rainfall can put even further pressure on these services. Hotels do everything possible to offer full services but sometimes occasional unavoidable power cuts and/or water restrictions may occur.

Accommodation In The Tropics

Many of us seek the adventure offered by exotic destinations and getting closer to nature. However you may encounter varied types of flora and fauna you wouldn’t expect to see in a UK hotel room or resort. Insects in the room should not be regarded as a sign of dirtiness – it is just a fact of life and part of the experience! Views from some hotel rooms may be partly obscured by vegetation and possibly palm trees which can grow very quickly in warm tropical climates.

Watersport and Other Activities

In the interest of your personal safety you may be asked to demonstrate your ability and competence at some activities (for example a swimming test) prior to commencement. They reserve the right to refuse you participation for any reason if they feel it may compromise you or another person’s safety. Behaviour: Most of our travellers go on holiday for the adventure and rest and relaxation. However if in the reasonable opinion of ourselves or any airline pilot, hotel manager, tour leader or other person in authority, your behaviour is persistently affecting the enjoyment of others, is causing danger or damage to property we reserve the right to terminate your holiday. Should this unfortunate circumstance happen, no refund or compensation will be payable. Lost Items: All lost or stolen items whilst on holiday must be supported by a written report from a local representative or police to help with insurance claims on your return.

Complaints While You Are On Holiday

If you have any cause for complaint when you are on holiday, you must bring it to the attention of Travel Exclusively African immediately. We will do our best to rectify the problem; however it is unreasonable to take no action whilst holidaying but then write a letter of complaint on your return when we would have no options available to help you. If you do not raise these concerns immediately it could impact on the way your complaint is dealt with.

Conservation

It is becoming ever more important to conserve the world’s natural resources, and no more so than in Africa. To coin a phrase, please ‘Take only photographs, leave only footprints’ .

Our Commitment to You

Operational decisions may be made by air carriers and airports resulting in delays, diversions or rescheduling. Travel Exclusively African has no control whatsoever over these decisions and is unable to accept any responsibility for them. Where we are obliged, due to circumstances outside of our control, to change or end your holiday after departure, but before the end of your holiday, we will not pay compensation or reimburse you for expenses incurred. Your travel insurance should cover you fully for your holiday and you should claim via your insurance company for any loss or damage to luggage and/or personal possessions. 

Representative Services

Please note that we do not have representatives available in all of the destinations we offer, however we do have representatives in all the major cities throughout southern Africa, where you have requested, you will be met at your airport of choice on arrival. Where transfers from airports take place, you will be met in the arrivals hall and you should look for our representative holding your name board. Please make sure that you keep the appropriate contact details with you at all times should you need assistance whilst on your holiday.

Curtailment

If you cut short your holiday and return home early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about your holiday – i.e. standard of accommodation and the services provided, we will not offer you any refund for the uncompleted portion of your holiday or assistance with any additional costs incurred. Claims should be made with your travel insurers. If you had a problem which after reporting has remained unresolved during your holiday, please make a complaint, in writing by email, to Travel Exclusively African within 28 days of returning from your holiday. We will reply to you within 7-28 days of receipt of your email.