By paying a deposit, confirming a booking, or travelling on an Olive Safari Uganda itinerary, the client accepts these terms in full, on behalf of every person named on that booking. These terms form part of the contract between Olive Safari Uganda (“we”, “us”, “the company”) and the client (“you”).
Payment Terms
- Once a booking is confirmed, we issue an invoice setting out the full itinerary cost and payment schedule.
- A 40% deposit is required to confirm any reservation. The balance is due 15 days before the itinerary start date.
- Bookings made within 30 days of departure require full prepayment at the time of confirmation.
- Deposits are non-refundable. They cover costs we commit to on your behalf immediately on booking, including provisional lodge holds, permit applications, and staff planning time.
- If the balance is not received by the due date, we may treat the booking as cancelled by the client and apply the cancellation terms in Section 6, and may release any held permits, rooms, or vehicles without further notice.
- All payments are due in the currency and to the bank account stated on the invoice. The client bears all bank charges, transfer fees, and currency conversion costs on both payment and refund.
- Quoted prices are based on exchange rates, park fees, and supplier rates at the time of quoting. We reserve the right to pass on any increase in these costs that occurs before full payment is received, and will notify you of any such change before it is applied.
1) Gorilla & Chimpanzee Permits
- All primate permits are issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
- Once purchased and issued, permits are non-refundable. UWA and RDB do not refund permits under any circumstances, including illness, missed flights, or change of mind.
- If a client cancels after a permit has been secured, the full permit cost is forfeited regardless of the general cancellation schedule in Section 6.
- Where rescheduling is possible, we will assist, but it depends on permit availability and UWA/RDB approval, is not guaranteed, and may carry additional fees.
- Permit allocation (which day and which group) is decided by UWA/RDB, not by Olive Safari Uganda. We cannot guarantee a specific date, time slot, or gorilla family, and we are not liable if a client is reassigned by the authority.
2) Flights (Domestic and Internal)
- Domestic flights are subject to the operating airline’s own cancellation, amendment, and refund rules, not ours.
- Cancellation fees may apply, and any refund depends entirely on the fare type purchased.
- Non-refundable tickets are forfeited on cancellation.
- We are not liable for delays, schedule changes, or cancellations made by the airline, or for any knock-on cost this causes to the rest of the itinerary (missed connections, an extra night’s accommodation, and similar).
3) Accommodation & Lodges
- Accommodation cancellations are governed by each lodge’s or hotel’s own policy, which may be stricter than ours, particularly for high-season and festive-period bookings.
- As a general guideline where the lodge has no stricter policy:
- 60+ days before travel: refund possible, less bank charges and any non-refundable deposit already paid to the property
- 30–59 days before travel: partial refund may apply
- 15–29 days before travel: higher cancellation charges apply
- 0–14 days before travel, or no-show: no refund
- Where a lodge’s own terms are stricter, the lodge’s terms apply and override the guideline above.
- We book accommodation as agent for the property. We are not the supplier of the room, and we are not liable for the standard of the room, service failures, overbooking by the property, or closures beyond our control.
4) Changes Requested by the Client
- Date changes, name changes, and itinerary changes are subject to availability and may attract supplier amendment fees, plus an Olive Safari Uganda handling fee.
- Any increase in supplier rates arising from a change (seasonal lodge rates, revised flight fares, permit re-issuance, and similar) is billed to the client in full.
- Requests to change or cancel a booking must be made in writing (email or WhatsApp) to be treated as received. Verbal requests are not binding until confirmed in writing.
- We reserve the right to amend an itinerary before or during travel where necessary for client safety, park regulations, weather, road conditions, or supplier availability. We will offer a reasonably equivalent alternative wherever possible; this does not entitle the client to a refund.
5) Force Majeure
Olive Safari Uganda is not liable for cancellations, delays, or changes caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to extreme weather, pandemics or public health measures, government or park authority restrictions, airline disruptions, civil unrest, strikes, or security incidents.
- In these cases, we will make reasonable efforts to rebook or reschedule your trip, but any refund remains subject to what our suppliers (lodges, airlines, UWA/RDB, and others) actually return to us.
- Any additional cost of rebooking caused by a force majeure event, including new permit fees, is the client’s responsibility.
- Olive Safari Uganda is not liable for any loss, cost, or consequential damage the client incurs as a result of a force majeure event, including but not limited to missed onward travel, lost income, or additional accommodation.
6) Our Cancellation & Refund Policy
- 60 days or more before arrival: 100% refund, no cancellation fee
- 59–31 days before arrival: 70% refund, 30% cancellation fee
- 30–16 days before arrival: 40% refund, 60% cancellation fee
- 15 days before arrival, or no-show: no refund, 100% cancellation fee
This schedule is calculated on the total itinerary cost and applies in addition to, not instead of, the non-refundable items in Sections 1 and 2 (permits and non-refundable flights), which are forfeited in full regardless of when the cancellation is made.
- Cancellations are effective from the date we receive written notice, not the date the client stops travelling or intends to cancel.
- We may, at our sole discretion, review a cancellation on a case-by-case basis. Any exception granted in one case does not set a precedent or obligate us to grant the same exception again.
7) Unused Services
No refund, credit, or compensation is given for any service included in the itinerary that the client chooses not to use, arrives late for, or leaves early from, including meals, activities, transfers, and accommodation nights, once the itinerary has started.
8) Refund Processing
- Eligible refunds are processed only after the relevant supplier (lodge, airline, permit authority, or other partner) confirms and returns the applicable amount to us.
- Refunds are paid to the original payer, by bank transfer only.
- Bank charges and transfer fees on the refund are non-refundable and are deducted from the amount returned.
- Refunds are processed within 7–14 business days of the supplier confirmation, not from the date of the cancellation request.
- Service and administrative fees charged by Olive Safari Uganda are non-refundable in all cases.
9) Travel Insurance
Comprehensive travel insurance is mandatory for every traveller on an Olive Safari Uganda itinerary. Cover must include trip cancellation and curtailment, emergency medical treatment, and emergency evacuation, including air evacuation for gorilla and chimpanzee trekking activities.
- Proof of valid travel insurance may be requested before departure.
- Olive Safari Uganda is not liable for any cost arising from a client’s failure to hold adequate insurance, including medical costs, evacuation costs, or losses that a valid policy would have covered.
10) Health, Safety & Assumption of Risk
Safari activities take place in a natural environment involving wild animals, remote terrain, variable weather, and locations with limited medical infrastructure. Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in particular can involve strenuous hiking at altitude over several hours.
- The client confirms they are medically fit for the activities booked and will inform us in writing, before booking, of any condition (physical, medical, or mobility-related) that may affect their ability to safely take part.
- The client participates in all activities at their own risk. Olive Safari Uganda, its guides, drivers, and partners are not liable for injury, illness, or death arising from the inherent risks of wildlife encounters, trekking, road travel, or other safari activities, except where caused by our proven negligence.
- Guides and rangers have final authority on-site over safety decisions, including whether a client may continue, and their instructions must be followed.
- We strongly recommend all applicable vaccinations and antimalarial precautions, in line with current guidance for Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania, taken on the advice of a travel health professional.
11) Client Travel Documents
The client is solely responsible for holding a passport valid for at least six months beyond the return date, all required visas, and any permits, vaccination certificates, or entry documents required by Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, or any transit country.
- Olive Safari Uganda is not liable for denied boarding, denied entry, missed activities, or any related cost caused by a client’s incomplete, invalid, or missing travel documents.
12) Conduct
We reserve the right to remove any client from an activity or itinerary, without refund, where their conduct endangers themselves, other travellers, guides, staff, or wildlife, or where they are in serious or repeated breach of the rules of a park authority, lodge, or airline. Any resulting cost, including return travel, is the client’s own responsibility.
13) Our Role & Limitation of Liability
Olive Safari Uganda arranges and coordinates third-party services on the client’s behalf, including accommodation, permits, domestic flights, vehicle transport, and guiding. Except where we are the direct supplier of a service (such as our own guiding and ground transport), we act as agent for these third parties, and the contract for that specific service is between the client and that supplier.
- We select suppliers with reasonable care, but we are not liable for their acts, omissions, insolvency, or failure to deliver a service to the standard promised.
- To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability to a client for any claim arising from a booking is limited to the amount that client paid to Olive Safari Uganda for that booking, and excludes indirect or consequential loss.
- Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including liability for death or personal injury caused by our proven negligence.
14) Group Bookings & Minimum Numbers
Where an itinerary or its pricing depends on a minimum group size, we will notify the client as soon as reasonably possible if that minimum is not met. In that case we may offer a revised price for the smaller group, an alternative departure date, or a full refund of amounts paid for that specific itinerary.
15) Photography & Media
Photos and video taken by our guides or staff during a trip may be used by Olive Safari Uganda for marketing, including our website and social media, unless the client tells us in writing, before or during the trip, that they do not consent.
16) Complaints
Any issue with a service should be raised with your guide or with our office as soon as it arises, so we have the chance to put it right during the trip. If unresolved, written complaints should reach info@olivesafari.com within 14 days of the trip ending; we will not consider complaints raised for the first time after that date.
17) Data Protection
Personal information (including passport details, payment information, and health information disclosed for trip planning) is collected only to plan, book, and deliver your itinerary, and is shared with suppliers (lodges, airlines, park authorities) only as needed to do so. We do not sell client data to third parties.
18) Governing Law
These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Uganda. Any dispute that cannot be resolved directly will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Uganda.
19) Contact Us
For any questions or concerns:
- Email: info@olivesafari.com
- Phone / WhatsApp: +256 786 200 989
- Website: www.olivesafari.com
