Terms & conditions

We design your journey and arrange it with independent suppliers — lodges, hotels, camps, airlines, charter operators, guides, transfer and excursion providers. We act as an agent on behalf of those suppliers. Each supplier is responsible for the services it provides, and its own terms and conditions also apply to those services.

We select suppliers with care and take responsibility for doing our own part of the arrangements with reasonable skill and care.

Proposals and quotes are offered in good faith but are subject to availability and are not a reservation. Prices are only held once a booking is confirmed in writing and any required deposit has been received.

A booking becomes binding when we issue a written confirmation. Please check it carefully, including names as they appear on passports, and tell us of any error straight away. Changes to names after tickets or permits are issued may not be possible, or may carry a charge.

• A deposit is payable to confirm your booking, and the balance is due by the date shown on your invoice. The amounts and dates are set out in your proposal or confirmation, and reflect the requirements of the suppliers involved.
• If the balance is not received by the due date, we may treat the booking as cancelled by you and apply the cancellation charges below.
• Prices are quoted in the currency shown on your proposal. Many supplier costs are set in South African Rand or US Dollars, so we reserve the right to adjust a confirmed price before the balance is paid if exchange rates, fuel surcharges, park and conservation fees, government taxes or levies change. We will tell you of any change and the reason for it.
• Bank charges and card fees on payments to us are for your account, unless we agree otherwise.
• Prices include only the services listed in your confirmation. Gratuities, visas, travel insurance, personal expenses and items marked as excluded are not included.

If you ask to change a confirmed booking, we will do our best to help. Changes depend on availability and may carry supplier charges, any difference in price, and a reasonable administration fee, all of which we will confirm before making the change.

You may cancel your booking by notifying us in writing. Cancellation takes effect on the day we receive your notice.

Because lodges, airlines and other suppliers apply their own cancellation charges — which become stricter closer to travel — the charges that apply to your journey are set out in your booking confirmation. They will not exceed the costs we cannot recover from suppliers plus a reasonable fee for the work already done. Deposits are generally non-refundable once suppliers have been paid.

No refund is due for unused services, such as a missed activity or a night not taken. We strongly recommend insurance that covers cancellation.

Occasionally we or a supplier may need to change part of your journey — for example, a change in flight times, or moving you to a comparable camp. We will tell you as soon as possible and offer suitable alternatives.

If we must cancel your journey for a reason within our control, or make a significant change you do not accept, we will offer a comparable alternative or refund what you have paid us for the affected services.

We are not liable for any failure, delay or change caused by events beyond our or our suppliers’ reasonable control, including natural disasters, extreme weather, fire, epidemics, war, civil unrest, terrorism, government action, industrial action, airline failure or airspace closure. In such cases we will help you make alternative arrangements and pass on any refunds we recover from suppliers, less costs already incurred.

You are responsible for holding a valid passport, with the validity and blank pages the countries you visit require, and for obtaining any visas, permits and health documents. We can provide general guidance, but requirements change and you should confirm them with the relevant embassy or authority before you travel.

Please take medical advice before travelling, including on vaccinations and malaria prevention, and tell us about any medical condition, mobility need or dietary requirement that may affect your journey. Some lodges, light aircraft and activities have age, weight or fitness restrictions.

Comprehensive travel insurance is a condition of travelling with us. It should cover cancellation, curtailment, medical treatment, emergency evacuation and repatriation, and personal belongings, for the full length of your journey and the activities you will take part in.

Travel in Africa involves wild animals, remote locations and natural hazards. Wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed. Please follow the instructions of guides, rangers, pilots and lodge staff at all times; they are given for your safety.

Suppliers may refuse service to anyone whose behaviour puts others at risk or causes serious disruption, without refund. You are responsible for any damage you cause.

We are responsible for the arrangements we make, carried out with reasonable skill and care. We are not liable for the acts or omissions of independent suppliers, or for loss, injury or damage that is caused by you, by an unconnected third party, or by events beyond our control.

To the extent the law allows, our total liability to you for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us for the journey concerned, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss. Where international conventions apply to air, sea or rail travel or to hotel stays, our liability is limited in the same way as the supplier’s. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including your rights under South Africa’s Consumer Protection Act where it applies.

If something is not right during your journey, please tell your guide, the lodge or your Amara consultant straight away, so it can be put right on the spot. If you are still not satisfied, write to us at reservations@amarafrica.com within 28 days of your return, and we will respond within 14 days.

The content of amarafrica.com — including text, photographs, design and branding — belongs to us or our licensors and may not be copied or reused without permission. Information on the site is general and may change; it is not an offer to book.

Our online concierge offers general guidance only. Its replies are not a confirmation of price, availability or travel requirements, which we confirm in writing.

How we handle your personal information is explained in our privacy policy.

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and the courts of South Africa have jurisdiction over any dispute. If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. We may update these terms from time to time; the version in force when you confirm your booking applies to that booking.

Amara Travel Group, trading as Amara Africa · Foreshore, Cape Town, South Africa · reservations@amarafrica.com