These Terms and Conditions, together with our Privacy Policy and where
your tour is booked via our website, together with any other written
information we bring to your attention, form the basis of your contract with
Destinations Afrique Tours (“we”, “us”, “our”).
In these Terms and Conditions, references to "you" and "your" include the
first named person on the booking and all persons on whose behalf a
booking is made or any other person to whom a booking is added or
transferred.
By making a booking, the first named person on the booking (“Lead Name”)
agrees on behalf of themselves and all persons detailed on the booking that:
These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are
governed in all respects by laws of the Republic of Ghana. We both agree
that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in
connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of
Ghana only.
All participants in tours operated by us are expected to obey the laws and
regulations of the places or countries visited and any failure to do so
relieves us of all obligations that we may otherwise arise.
Many of the services which make up your tour are provided by independent
suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their
own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us.
Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier's
liability to you.
The specific itinerary, inclusions, and additional information related to a
tour are detailed in the Tour Notes.
The Tour notes are the singular document that accounts for what will be
provided on the tour. If you participate in an activity not specifically detailed
as included (or where you sign a waiver to negate an inclusion) in the tour/
holiday operated by us, you
The tours operated or supplied by us have been designed to provide
participants with exposure to the true nature of the environment visited and
therefore involve an element of potential risk and exposure to potential
hazards over and above those associated with normal ’package’ holidays or
human inhabited terrains.
Our tours are adventurous by nature and require some level of active
participation. You accept that the tour may include travel to remote areas,
within developing countries, where events are less predictable than is
usually the case in, for example, Western Europe or North America. Many of
the places visited do not have the same quality of emergency health and
safety services you may be used to. This unpredictability means that the
itineraries should be seen as statements of intent, rather than as
contractual obligations. A variety of factors, including weather, transport
difficulties, and political instability, might require changes in any itinerary.
Only rarely will such changes be significant, and every reasonable effort will
be made to minimise the effects of the enforced changes.
You agree to accept the authority and decisions of our employees, tour
leaders, and agents whilst on tour with us. Our customers are expected to
conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt
the enjoyment of others. If in our opinion or in the opinion of any hotel
manager or any other person in authority, your behaviour or that of any
member of your party is causing or is likely to cause damage, distress,
danger, or annoyance to any other customers or any third party, we reserve
the right to terminate your booking with us immediately. In the event of
such termination, our liability to you and/or your party will cease and you
and/or your party will be required to leave your accommodation or other
arrangements immediately. We will have no further obligations to you
and/or your party. No refunds for lost accommodation or any other
arrangements will be made, and we will not pay any expenses or costs
incurred as a result of the termination. You and/or your party may also be
required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions, and we will
hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for
any damage or losses caused. Full payment for any such damage or losses
must be paid directly to the hotel manager or other supplier prior to
departure. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting
any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result
of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim
against you.
We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests
or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or
with us.
All bookings are accepted on the understanding that you appreciate such
risks and hazards and that you undertake all tours of your own volition. No
liability can be accepted for the results of changes or delays, irrespective of
how they are caused.
Local laws relating to the wearing of seatbelts may be non-existent or not
enforced in some countries and therefore local people largely choose not to
wear them. For this reason, local service providers may or may not have
seatbelts in vehicles or they may be hidden between seats or underneath
protective seat covers. Customers acknowledge that seatbelts may not be
available and therefore travel at their own risk. It is expected that where
seatbelts are available customers must use them and remain seated at all
times while the vehicle is moving.
Travel insurers may not cover specific activities within their standard
insurance policies. It is your responsibility to check your insurer policy
inclusions and you accept full responsibility for obtaining fully
comprehensive travel insurance for all activities as outlined within our
documentation or for any service you may arrange locally whilst on holiday
with us.
We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our
website and in any advertising material that we publish are accurate,
however occasionally changes and errors occur, and we reserve the right to
correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the
current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you
wish to book before you make your booking.
We reserve the right to amend the price of unsold tours at any time and
correct errors in the prices of confirmed tours.
Sale or promotional prices:
A booking is secured with us when making full payment for your
reservation, or when a non-refundable minimum deposit, as dictated by us,
is paid. Some exceptions may apply to deposits for bookings secured with
our third-party operators. You will be notified when making your reservation
of the exact non-refundable deposit amount and this will be reconfirmed on
your invoice.
Full payment is required at time of booking for 2-for-1 deals or 50%
discount promotions, thereafter the booking is non-refundable/non-
changeable. Occasionally other deals may have the same conditions, and we
will notify you at the time of booking if this is the case.
Free cancellation and amendments are available on selected tours when the
booking is confirmed and paid at least seven days before the final balance of
the reservation is due OR when a shorter promotion period is indicated by
your reservations consultant at the time of booking. During this 7-day
period, any monies paid to us remain fully refundable in the event of
cancellation and standard amendment fees will be waived. Should you opt
to change your tour, travel dates, or destination, the pertinent costs of your
new booking arrangements will be calculated and advised accordingly.
We reserve the right to return your payment and decline to issue a booking
confirmation at our absolute discretion. A binding contract will come into
existence between you and us as soon as we have received payment and
issued to you in writing a booking confirmation that will confirm the details
of your booking and will be sent to you or your tour agent.
For many of our tours sightseeing entrance fees, group tip kitty and local
payments are obligatory, payable upon commencement of your tour. All
prices listed are per person and details of these costs are noted in the
Excluded Section of our tour itinerary/trip notes.
Only monies paid to an agent accredited by us, for tours operated by us, are
held by the agent on our behalf.
Auto-generated e-mails are sent immediately after payment is made to confirm payment has been received. Online bookings are not confirmed until a personalised e-mail detailing that a booking is confirmed is sent by a member our reservation team.
Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking e.g. diet, room location, room type i.e. twin/double, a particular facility at a hotel etc. i.e. swimming pool, gym, etc. You also need to confirm your requests in writing. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation itinerary or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part and we do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.
We want to ensure that you and all persons in your booking party enjoy
their tours/holidays to the fullest. It is in the interests of all members of the
group that everyone is capable of fully participating in the activities of the
tour. We ask that you carefully consider whether you are physically and
mentally able to complete the itinerary you have chosen, recognising that
on many trips you will be required to carry your own bags, make use of
public transport, walk at a moderate pace, and be able to look after yourself
without your guide's supervision - both in scheduled free time and during
included activities and meals.
To help ascertain if a tour or private itinerary is suitable, persons indicated
below are required to complete our Tour Suitability Form within 14 days of
making a booking.
You MUST take out adequate and suitable travel insurance in order to take
part in a tour organised by us and this is a condition of your contract with
us. You are wholly responsible for arranging your own insurance. We
reserve the right to request a copy of your insurance policy and/or a receipt
showing payment of the premium, although we will not check this policy for
suitability, and it will remain your responsibility at all times to ensure that
you’re adequately insured.
You should ensure that there are no exclusion clauses limiting protection for
the type of activities you will be undertaking during your tour. You should
also ensure that your insurance policy will cover you for any independent
arrangements, excursions, or other activities that you may book to take part
in during your tour and which do not form part of your booking or contract
with us. You should satisfy yourself that any travel insurance arranged is
what you require and should arrange supplementary insurance if needed. It
will remain your responsibility at all times to ensure that you’re adequately
insured both prior to and during your holiday. We recommend you take out
insurance as soon as your booking is confirmed. You are strongly advised to
insure yourself against any possible risk that may occur and in particular to
ensure that you have sufficient insurance in respect of dependent relatives
and force majeure events. You are required to carry proof of insurance with
you. A suitable insurance policy should also provide adequate cover for
medical expenses arising through illness or accident prior to or during the
holiday and loss of holiday monies through cancellation and curtailment of
the holiday for insurable reasons. You must be satisfied that your insurance
fully covers all your personal requirements including pre-existing medical
conditions.
We reserve the right to cancel the booking, without any liability for refunds,
of any customer who cannot satisfy us that they have purchased suitable
travel insurance in accordance with this clause. Furthermore, if you choose
to travel with inadequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any
losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover would
otherwise have been available.
| Period before departure | Cancellation fee per person |
| 60 days or more | Deposit only (unless eligible for Lifetime credits) |
| 31 - 59 days | 50% of total holiday cost or deposit - whichever is greater. |
| 30 days or less | 100% of total holiday cost |
If you or any member of your party misses your tour bus, flight or other
transport arrangements, it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over
3 hours for any reason, you must contact us, or any other transport supplier
concerned immediately. We advise all persons on tour with us to be on time
and present if possible to avoid any delays or missed arrangements. We may
not be able to provide alternative travel or tour arrangements at no cost
should a party member miss any tour arrangement.
If you cut short your tour and return home early in circumstances where
you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of the travel
services provided, we will not offer you any refund for that part of your tour
not completed or be liable for any associated costs you may incur.
Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for
curtailment. It is your responsibility to contact your insurer at this time for
their instruction and to obtain any receipts locally that are required for your
claim.
We aim to operate all tours as advertised but as we plan the tours many
months in advance, we may need to make changes or cancel your booking
and we reserve the right to do so at any time.
We may cancel your tour due to a force majeure if, e.g., the minimum
number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not
reached.
If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as
possible and at least one of the following options will be made available to
you:
Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Booking Conditions we
are not obliged to provide a full refund (partial refunds may be given after
deducting unrecoverable costs such as deposits, flight tickets, train tickets,
park fees, wildlife permits, and others) or pay you compensation if our
contractual obligations to you are affected by “Force Majeure”. For the
purposes of these Booking Conditions, Force Majeure means any event
beyond our or our supplier’s control, the consequences of which could not
have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
Examples include warfare and acts of terrorism (and the threat thereof),
civil strife, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious
disease, or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, or weather
conditions that make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination
or remain at the travel destination, the act of any government or other
national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial
dispute, labour strikes, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire,
chemical or biological disaster, unavoidable technical problems with
transport and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) control. Check
with your travel insurance provider as you may be able to reclaim these costs.
If, whilst you are on tour with us, you find yourself in difficulty for any
reason, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is appropriate in the
circumstances. In particular, we will provide you with appropriate
information on health services, local authorities, and assistance with
distance communications, and finding alternative travel arrangements.
Where you require assistance which is not owing to any failure by us, our
employees or sub-contractors we will not be liable for the costs of any
alternative travel arrangements or other such assistance you require. Any
supplier, or other transport supplier may however pay for or provide
refreshments and/or appropriate accommodation and you should make a
claim directly to them. Subject to the other terms of these Booking
Conditions, we will not be liable for any costs, fees, or charges you incur in
the above circumstances, if you fail to obtain our prior authorisation before
making your own travel arrangements. Furthermore, we reserve the right to
charge you a fee for our assistance in the event that the difficulty is caused
intentionally by you or a member of your party, or otherwise through your
or your party’s negligence.
We make every effort to ensure that your tour arrangements run smoothly
but if you do have any problems during your holiday, please inform your
tour guide/leader/hotel manager immediately.
If, the tour guide/leader is unavailable, please contact our local support
team (contact details are listed on your Tour Itinerary). If the matter is still
unresolved by our local support team, please contact your booking
consultant or our office, (note there may be a delayed reply based on time
zones).
If you wish to complain after completion of your holiday, you must send
formal written notice of your complaint to our Customer Care Team, in your
own words, within 30 days of the end date of your holiday with us and
provide in the letter your booking reference, tour name and start date and
all other relevant information to your grievance. Please keep your letter
concise and to the point, this will assist us to quickly identify your concerns
and speed up our response to you. We will reply to your grievance within 28
days of its receipt.
Please note that privacy laws exclude us from commenting on any members,
not within your own booking party.
Failure to inform your guide or local team at the time, or follow the
procedure set out above will affect your rights under this contract.