1. How to cancel
Email safaris@geob.co.ke with your booking reference, the names of the travellers who are cancelling, and whether you are cancelling the whole safari or part of it. The lead traveller must send or confirm the request. The date we receive your email is the date we use to work out any charge. We confirm the cancellation, the charge and any refund in writing within one working day. A WhatsApp message is welcome as an early warning, but please follow it up by email.
2. Cancellation charges
Charges are a percentage of the total price of the safari for the travellers who cancel:
| When we receive your written cancellation | Cancellation charge |
|---|---|
| 61 days or more before arrival | Loss of your deposit (30% of the total price) |
| 31 to 60 days before arrival | 50% of the total price |
| 15 to 30 days before arrival | 75% of the total price |
| 14 days or less before arrival, or no-show | 100% of the total price |
If the cost of items we cannot get back from suppliers is higher than the charge in the table, that cost applies instead. This covers gorilla and chimpanzee permits, flights, and park, conservancy or lodge payments the supplier will not return; see "Non-refundable items".
If only some travellers cancel, the charges apply to their share, and the price for those still travelling may change (for example a single supplement, or a smaller vehicle group).
3. Non-refundable items
Some things are paid to third parties in advance and cannot be got back, whatever the date:
- Gorilla and chimpanzee permits issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Rwanda Development Board. They are paid in full when you book, issued in your name, and cannot be refunded or transferred to someone else. The authorities sometimes allow a date change for a fee; we will ask on your behalf.
- Flights follow the airline's fare rules. Many domestic and regional tickets are non-refundable once issued.
- Park, reserve and conservancy fees already paid for your dates follow the authority's rules. If an authority refunds us, we pass the refund on in full.
- Peak dates: some lodges apply stricter cancellation terms of their own over Christmas and New Year and in the peak migration season. If your quote includes them, we will say so before you book.
- Visas, travel authorisations, travel insurance premiums, bank and card processing fees.
4. Moving your dates instead
Moving a safari is often cheaper than cancelling it. If you ask to move your dates more than 60 days before arrival, we will transfer what you have paid to new dates within 12 months, charging only the USD 50 amendment fee, any charges suppliers make us pay and any seasonal price difference. Closer to arrival, a date change is treated as a cancellation, but we will always try first to move as much as suppliers allow. Permits can only be moved if the issuing authority agrees.
5. Serious illness or bereavement
If you have to cancel because a traveller or a close family member dies, or is seriously ill or injured, contact us as soon as you can. We will do everything we can to recover money from our suppliers, and in those circumstances we will charge you no more than the deposit or our actual unrecoverable costs, whichever is higher. We may ask for reasonable evidence, such as a medical certificate.
6. Unused services
Once your safari has started, there are no refunds for services you choose not to use, or miss because of a late arrival or a no-show, such as a game drive, a meal, an activity or a night's accommodation. If a service is missed because of our failure, our Booking Terms explain the compensation we pay.
7. If we cancel or change your safari
- If we cancel your safari for reasons within our control, you can choose a full refund of everything you have paid us, or a replacement safari.
- If we have to make a significant change before you travel, you can accept it, take an alternative, or cancel for a full refund.
- If your safari can't go ahead because of events beyond anyone's control, such as a natural disaster, epidemic, unrest or a government closure of borders or parks, we will offer new dates first. If that isn't possible, we refund everything we can recover from suppliers and show you a breakdown of any costs we could not recover.
Section 11 and 12 of our Booking Terms give the full rules.
8. How refunds are paid
- Timing: we pay refunds of money we hold within 14 days of confirming the refund amount. Money we must recover from suppliers or authorities is refunded within 14 days of our receiving it; we will tell you if that will take longer.
- Method: refunds go back the way you paid: to the same card, to the same bank account, or to the same M-Pesa number. We do not refund to a different person or account, to protect you from fraud.
- Currency: refunds are calculated in US dollars, the currency of your booking. Bank, transfer and currency-conversion fees, and exchange-rate differences since you paid, are not ours to cover.
- We confirm every refund in writing with a breakdown.
9. Insurance claims
Cancellation charges are usually covered by travel insurance if you cancel for a reason in your policy, such as illness. We will give you a cancellation invoice and any supplier documents your insurer asks for. This is one reason we ask everyone to buy insurance when they pay their deposit.