Terms and Conditions

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Sandfieldtravel is a trading name of Sandfield Travel, Ltd., a company registered in Uganda and East africa and the United Kingdom.

The following terms as used in these Booking Terms and Conditions shall be considered synonymous: safari, tour, and trip, all of which refer to the travel arrangements being booked with Sandfieldtravel.

Additionally, the following terms: client, guest, participant, visitor, member, passenger, and traveler all refer to you, as the traveler.

These booking terms and conditions are expressly made part of the following forms (a separate completed and signed copy of each being required for each traveler to confirm a trip reservation with Sandfieldtravel):

Reservations Booking Form, Liability Release and Assumption of Risk Agreement

1. RESERVATIONS AND PAYMENTS
Standard policy for Sandfieldtravel is that on booking, a deposit of 20% of the total cost per person has to be sent back to us along with a completed and signed Reservations Booking Form and a completed and signed Liability Release and Assumption of Risk Agreement order to confirm your reservation. Upon receipt of your signed Reservations and Release forms and your deposit, we will, subject to availability, reserve your place on your selected service or safari. The balance of the safari price is due not later than 8 weeks prior to departure.

Upon receipt of your payment, the signed Reservations and Release forms, signed by each guest, plus the completed and signed we will send, safari information, clothing lists,
etc. All prices are quoted in U.S dollars or English pounds.

2. CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY
Cancellations are only effective upon Sandfield Travels’ receipt of written notification, signed by the client. If cancellation is made prior to 8 weeks before departure, your 20% deposit is forfeited. If your cancellation is made after the due date for full payment of your trip fare, additional charges will be levied. The scale of charges, expressed as a percentage of the trip price, is as follows:

  • More than 8 weeks notice ~ Deposit forfeited;
  • Less than 8 weeks notice ~ 45%;
  • Less than 4 weeks notice ~ 50%;
  • Less than 3 weeks notice ~ 60%;
  • Less than 2 weeks notice ~ 100%.

Should you fail to join a tour or join it after departure or leave it prior to its completion, no tour fare refund will be made. The above policy applies to all travel arrangements made via Sandfieldtravel.

3. INSURANCE
It is a condition of booking that the sole responsibility lies with the guest to ensure that they carry the correct comprehensive travel and medical insurance to cover themselves, as well as any dependants and traveling companions for the duration of their tour to Africa. This insurance should include coverage in respect of, but not limited to, the following eventualities: cancellation or curtailment of the safari, emergency evacuation expenses, medical expenses, repatriation expenses, damage, theft or loss of personal baggage, money and goods. Sandfieldtravel will take no responsibility for any costs for losses incurred or suffered by the guest, or guest’s dependants or traveling companions, with regards to, but not limited to, any of the above mentioned eventualities. Guests will be charged directly by the relevant service providers for any emergency services they may require, and may find themselves in a position unable to access such services should they not be carrying the relevant insurance coverage.

A Travel Insurance Acceptance form must be completed and returned to Sandfieldtravel as a condition of travel.

4. MEDICAL INFORMATION / LIABILITY RELEASE
Participation on a safari or tour to Africa requires that you be in generally good health. All guests must understand that while a high level of fitness is not required, a measure of physical activity is involved in all African safaris and tours. It is essential that persons with any medical problems and/or related dietary restrictions make them known to us well before departure. Anti-malaria precautions should be taken, and these are the sole responsibility of the client. Any required inoculations must be recorded by the client’s health practitioner on a valid vaccination certificate, which the client must carry in his/her possession throughout the tour. Sandfieldtravel will not assume responsibility for the accuracy of any medical information. You should consult your doctor or pharmacist for up to date requirements and personal recommendations.

By forwarding the tour deposit, the signed Reservations Booking Form and the signed Liability Release and Assumption of Risk Agreement, the guest certifies that he/she does not knowingly have any physical or other conditions of disability that would create a risk for him/her or other tour participants.

A Liability Release and Assumption of Risk Agreement must be signed by each tour participant prior to commencement of a tour. Participation by any tour participant will be declined in the absence of the signed Liability Release Form.

5. CURRENCY FLUCTUATION
In order to keep our tour rates as low as possible, we do not build into the price an allowance to cover possible increases from currency fluctuations. Therefore, as currencies do fluctuate constantly around the world, it may be necessary for us to raise the tour cost, at any time before final payment, if there is exceptional cost increases beyond our control. An increase in the tour price shall not be sufficient grounds for any refund of fees already paid for the tour.

6. AIRFARES & DELAYS
Airfares are subject to change without notice prior to ticketing. Sandfieldtravel is not responsible for any airline schedule or airfare changes, cancellations, overbooking or damage or loss of baggage and property. Any and all claims for any loss or injury suffered on any airline must be made directly with the airline involved and not Sandfieldtravel. Air schedule changes may necessitate additional nights being added to your tour. These schedule changes are beyond the control of Sandfieldtravel and any resulting additional costs must be borne by the guest. Sandfieldtravel cannot be held liable for any delays or additional costs incurred as a result of airlines not running to schedule.

7. TOUR CANCELLATION
Sandfieldtravel shall not be held responsible for occurrences such as strikes, wars, acts of God, acts of government or any other cause whatsoever that may make operation of the tour impossible, illegal or inadvisable. All tour payments received will be promptly refunded, and this refund will be the limit of Sandfieldtravels’ Liability. Sandfieldtravel is not responsible for any expenses incurred by tour members in preparing for the tour, including non-refundable or penalty-carrying airline tickets, special clothing, visa or passport fees, or other tour-related expenses.

8. GUIDE REPLACEMENT
If a private guide is unable to lead a pre-scheduled safari due to illness, etc., Sandfieldtravel and its operators in Africa reserve the right to substitute with another guide.

9. ITINERARY CHANGES
Although every effort is made to adhere to schedules, it should be noted that our operators in Africa may be obliged to occasionally change routes and camps on safaris as dictated by changing conditions. Such conditions may be brought about by seasonal rainfall on bush tracks, airfields and in game areas, by game migrations from one region to another, or airline or other booking problems, etc. Sandfieldtravel shall not be held responsible for such itinerary changes as discussed above.

10. ITINERARY CHANGES – BY THE CLIENT
If the client makes any changes to the pre-approved itinerary while on their tour, the client is responsible for these arrangements and cost. Sandfieldtravel is only responsible for the expenses and schedule listed on the agreed upon itinerary. If the client paid for something on the pre-approved itinerary and then the client does not participate in an activity or use a facility, then that paid money will not be refunded. If the client chooses to do something extra – not listed on the itinerary – he/she must pay for that extra/different thing and make arrangements for it on their own.

11. SPECIFIC ACCOMMODATION
While our operators use their best endeavors to ensure that all reserved accommodation is available as planned, Sandfieldtravel shall not be held responsible for a refund either in the whole or part, if any accommodation or excursion is unavailable and a reasonable alternative is found. If the guest is unable to use any service provided in the itinerary, then there are no refunds due.

12. LUGGAGE
For safety and because space is restricted, baggage in the charter aircrafts commonly used to transport guests to and from safari camps is restricted to a maximum of 12 kg per person in a soft bag this includes camera equipment and carry-on baggage. Should guests arrive with excess baggage without prior warning, their baggage could be delayed, as our operators in Africa may then have to fly the baggage into camps at a later stage at considerable extra cost to the guest. However, should the guests know in advance that their baggage will exceed the limit; we can usually make arrangements to book an extra seat for the bags on the aircraft, at an additional cost.

13. WILD ANIMALS
Please be aware that our safaris may take you into close contact with wild animals. Attacks by wild animals are rare, but no safari into the African wilderness can guarantee that this will not occur. Sandfieldtravel cannot be held responsible for any injury or incident on the safari. Please note that the majority of the safari camps are not fenced and that wildlife do move freely in and around the camps. Always follow the safety instructions from the camp’s staff with regards to moving to and from your tent and while on game activities throughout your safari.

14. PASSPORTS & VISAS
The onus is upon the guest to ensure that passports and visas are valid for the countries they plan to visit. SandfieldTravel cannot be held liable for any visas and/or passports which are invalid or not held by the guests, nor for the cost of any passports or visas.

15. COSTS NOT INCLUDED
(varies by itinerary): Insurance to cover for cancellation and curtailment, medical, baggage, money, and emergency evacuation; beverages in certain areas; personal laundry; gratuities to guides, paddlers and to camp staff; any excursion not related to the safari; optional meals in towns and cities.

16. GUEST REPRESENTATION AND CONSENT
The person making any booking with Sandfieldtravels, warrants that he or she has authority to enter into a contract on behalf of all other persons included in such a booking and in the event of the failure of any or all of the other persons so included to make payment, the person making the booking shall by his/her signature thereof assume personal liability for the total price of all bookings made by him/her.

The payment of the deposit or any other partial payment for a reservation on a tour constitutes consent by all guests covered by that payment to all provisions of the Terms and Conditions contained herein whether the guest has signed the booking form or not. The terms, under which you agree to take these tours, cannot be changed or amended except in writing signed by an authorized representative of Sandfieldtravels.

17. AGE LIMITS
Please consult with us for the specific age policies at the camps on your itinerary. If anyone misrepresents their age, our operators reserve the right to terminate the tour without refund. Sandfield Travel cannot be held responsible for any refund in this situation.

18. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY
This section defines Sandfieldtravels’ responsibility with respect to all of our safaris and tours booked for our guests, including extensions and independent arrangements. Please read it carefully.

Sandfieldtravel, its owners, and employees give notice that they act only as the agent for , contractors, and suppliers providing means of transportation and/or all other related travel services and that they assume no responsibility, howsoever caused, for injury, death, loss, or damage to person or property, delay or change in air or other services, howsoever caused, irregularity, inconvenience or additional expenses in connection with any service resulting directly or indirectly from: defect of any vehicle, act of God, act of war, insurrection, revolt, terrorism, government restrictions and regulations, or other civil uprisings or disturbances, military action, quarantines, strikes, weather, sickness, wars, detention, annoyance, delays, thefts, pilferage, force majeure, wild animals, failure of any means of conveyance to arrive or depart as scheduled, overbooking, travel advisories, discrepancies or changes in transit, hotel and other services over which it has no control, occurring in either the country of origin, destination or through passage, or through the acts or default of any company or persons engaged in conveying the passengers or in carrying out the arrangements of the tour.

All such losses or additional expenses shall be the sole responsibility of the client on the tour. Sandfieldtravel will not be held responsible for any loss or damage to luggage, before, during, or after the tour program.

Reasonable changes in the itinerary may be made where deemed advisable for the comfort and well being of the guests. As described in item 5 above, all prices are subject to change. As described in item 7 above, in the event that a safari or tour must be cancelled, SandfieldTravel is not responsible for any personal expenses incurred by guests in preparing for the safari. Upon advancement of deposit to Sandfieldtravel, the depositor acknowledges that he/she has read and understands the above recited terms and conditions, and agrees to be bound by them.

On advancement of tour deposit to Sandfieldtravel, the depositor therefore agrees to be bound by the above recited terms and conditions. Sandfieldtravel reserves the right to accept or decline any individual from participating on any of our tour programs for any reason. Sandfieldtravel will not discriminate against any individual because of race, religion, sex, sexual preference or nationality.