Terms and Conditions
1. GENERAL TERMS
Please read the following booking conditions carefully. All holidays are sold by us subject to these booking conditions and the other general information provided to you in our brochures, quotations, and on our website. Tembea Africa Tours & Travel (‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’) offers several products, and the trading names we use are ‘Tembea Africa’, and ‘Tembea Africa Tours & Travel’. In these booking conditions, ‘you and ‘your’ means all persons named on the booking, or any of them as the context requires (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date). References to “departure date” mean the start date of the holiday arrangements you have booked with us.
1. Paying for your holiday
(i) The procedure for making a booking is shown in your itinerary quotation and on our website. All bookings are subject to these booking conditions and by asking us to confirm your booking, and by paying a deposit, the person who makes the booking is taken to have accepted these booking conditions on behalf of all persons named on the booking. Once we have received the applicable payment(s) due at the time of booking (see below), we will, subject to the availability of the requested arrangements, send you your booking confirmation/invoice. Please check your booking confirmation and all tickets/documents carefully as soon as you receive them and contact us immediately if you think any details are incorrect. We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within ten days of our sending it out. We will do our best to rectify any errors notified to us after this, but you must meet any costs involved in doing so.
(ii) The deposit is part payment of the holiday cost. The deposit required will be shown on the quotation page of your itinerary. In addition to the deposit, full or part payment of certain elements of your holiday (such as flights) may be required at the time of booking or at some point between booking and balance due date (all such other payments individually and together referred to as “Advance Payment” in these booking conditions). Also, see section 1(iv) for other situations in which an Advance Payment may be required. The balance must be paid not later than the date specified on the booking confirmation/invoice. This is normally no less than 90 days before the departure date. If we do not receive all payments due in full and on time, we will remind you that payment is due before treating your booking as canceled by you. In the event that further time for payment is agreed at your request but payment is still not received, you must pay the cancellation charges shown in section 3 based on the date we treat your booking as canceled by you.
(iii) Full payment is required at the time of booking for all bookings made after the balance due date as above.
(iv) On occasions, we may be asked by suppliers to make payment to them earlier than normal. Such requests may, for example, be made in order to secure accommodation and other services during periods of peak demand. Whilst suppliers may have no contractual right to make such requests, failure to comply with them may result in the loss of confirmed arrangements. Where this situation arises, we reserve the right to ask you to make an Advance Payment within a stipulated period and prior to the balance due date. We will of course endeavor to avoid doing so if we can. Any such early payment will be non-refundable except as set out in section 4.
(v) If you are booking your holiday through one of our authorized travel agents the balance must be paid to the agent two weeks (but no sooner) prior to the applicable balance due date as specified on the booking confirmation/invoice and quotation. You must not pay the balance to the travel agent earlier than this even if you are specifically asked to do so. All payments made to one of our authorized travel agents for the arrangements we have contracted to provide for you which do not include flights will be held by them on our behalf.
2. If you change your holiday
If, after the contract between us has come into existence, you want to change your holiday we will pass your request to the relevant supplier, however, we cannot guarantee that such changes can be made. Where a change can be made, we will charge for any additional costs incurred including any costs imposed or incurred by any of our suppliers and including for example cancellation charges that may be incurred for sectors or services canceled. You should note, for example, that a change of name or other alteration to an airline ticket will usually incur a 100% cancellation charge and the full applicable cost of rebooking the flight at the time the change is made. For booking transfers, see section 5.
Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services, or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.
3. If you cancel your holiday
You may cancel your confirmed booking at any time prior to departure. Where you wish to do so, written notification must be sent to us by recorded delivery post or by email. If your notification is provided by email, as proof of receipt you must ensure you receive and retain written acknowledgment from Tembea Africa Tours & Travel. If you wish to cancel your booking, you will be charged a cancellation fee calculated as a percentage of the total holiday cost as shown below. The percentage payable depends on the date your written notification is received by post, or your email notification is acknowledged by Tembea Africa Tours & Travel. In the event of cancellation, please note that any Advance Payment made as referred to in sections 1(ii) and (iv) above is non-refundable unless such amounts are recovered from suppliers. We shall endeavor to mitigate these to the extent we can reasonably do so. In calculating cancellation fees, we have taken account of the costs incurred by us in arranging and booking the holiday, as well as any cost savings and the generation of income from other bookings which may be able to offset our loss from canceled services, but please be advised that this may not be achievable due to the tailor-made nature of our holidays. In the event of cancellation of part of your booking, the cancellation charge payable by you will comprise any direct costs and charges we incur as a result of such cancellation, our reasonable administration costs of dealing with the cancellation arrangements, plus an Advance Payment which relates to the canceled part of the holiday. We will endeavor to mitigate these costs to the extent we can reasonably do so.
Alterations or cancellations by you after commencement of travel and unused services
We will do our best to implement any changes to the arrangements you request once they have commenced, but we cannot guarantee this will be possible. In the event of such amendments being made, you will be liable for any cancellation charges that may be applied in respect of the services originally booked, and for the costs involved in booking the revised arrangements as well as for the cost of the new arrangements themselves. It is unlikely that refunds will be paid to clients who do not complete a tour/holiday. However, where we ourselves are able to obtain a refund from hotels or principals for services not used, we will pass this on to you, less any reasonable administration charges.
Calculation of cancellation charges
The cancellation charges are calculated as follows:
Plus any Advance Payment made as referred to in
sections 1(ii) and (iv) above, unless such amounts are recovered from suppliers. To the extent we can mitigate these losses, the cancellation fee will be adjusted accordingly. Note in the case of a cancellation notification date which is 14 days or less prior to the departure date, the cancellation charge will be a flat 100% of the total holiday cost given the close proximity to travel and the very high likelihood that we will be unable to mitigate any costs at this point. The cancellation fee will be capped at the total cost of your holiday and will never exceed this amount.
The importance of travel insurance
It is a condition of our acceptance of your booking with us that you have suitable travel insurance for your trip. Depending on the details of your policy, you may be able to recover the cancellation charges from your travel insurer (you must pay these charges to us first) less any excess on your travel insurance policy. Never travel without suitable insurance, the unexpected can always happen. It is your responsibility to ensure you are adequately covered by insurance for all elements of your trip. Please read your policy and take it on holiday with you. Please be aware that advice against non-essential international travel (including as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic) issued by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (or equivalent authorities outside the UK for citizens of those countries) may have an impact on your travel insurance. You must check the policy terms prior to purchasing your insurance
4. If we change or cancel your holiday
a) Changes to confirmed holiday arrangements sometimes have to be made. Most changes will be insignificant, and we have the right to make these. Where an insignificant change is made before departure, we will notify you in writing. No compensation is payable for insignificant changes.
(b) Occasionally, before departure, we may be constrained by circumstances beyond our control to make a significant alteration to any of the main characteristics of the travel services which form part of your confirmed booking or to any special requirements which we have accepted as referred to in section 11. Where we have to do so, sections 4(d) and (e) will apply. All other alterations will be treated as insignificant changes. Significant changes are likely to include the following changes when made before departure; a change of accommodation to that of a lower official classification or standard for the whole or a major part of the time you are away*, a change of accommodation area for the whole or a major part of the time you are away.
*Please note: A change affecting a stay in a hotel during a tour where the hotel itself is not the focus of the tour, does not constitute a significant change.
(c) Please bear in mind that Covid-19 and the measures and other action being taken by governments, public authorities, and businesses to manage its effects (including implementation of mandatory social distancing, face masks/coverings, hand sanitization, and temperature checks) is likely to have an impact on holiday arrangements for a considerable period of time.
We may, for example, be unable to provide certain advertised services or facilities as a result. Such measures/actions may be introduced or changed with little or no prior notice. Greater flexibility is therefore likely to be required for the foreseeable future which we would ask you to bear in mind at all times, both before and after departure. Any impact which such measures/action has on your holiday will not constitute a significant alteration to your contracted arrangements and will not entitle you to cancel without payment of the applicable cancellation charges or to receive a full or partial refund in respect of services that are not available as a result.
(d) In the event that we have to significantly alter any of the main characteristics of your confirmed arrangements or accepted special requirements, we will provide you with the following information in writing as soon as possible: (i) the proposed alteration(s) and any impact they have on the price; (ii) in the event that you do not wish to accept the alteration(s), details of any substitute package we are able to offer (and any price reduction where this is of a lower quality or cost); (iii) your entitlement to cancel your booking and receive a full refund if you do not want to accept the alteration(s) or any substitute package offered; and (iv) the period within which you must inform us of your decision and what will happen if you don’t do so.
(e) If you choose to cancel your booking in accordance with section 4(d), we will refund all payments you have made to us within 14 days of the date the cancellation takes effect and terminates your contract (which is usually the date we send you a cancellation invoice following receipt of your written cancellation notification). If we don’t hear from you with your decision within the specified period (having provided you with the above-mentioned information for a second time), we will cancel your booking and refund all payments made to us within 14 days of the effective date of cancellation as above. No compensation will be payable or other liability accepted where a change results from unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (see section 6).
(f) In the event that unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (see section 6) occur in the place of destination of your holiday or its immediate vicinity and significantly affect the performance of the contracted arrangements or the carriage of passengers to that destination, you will be entitled to cancel prior to departure without payment of cancellation charges and receive a full refund of all monies you have paid to us (except for any previously incurred cancellation or amendment charges). Where applicable, you must notify us of your wish to cancel for this reason in writing. Providing we are in agreement that you are entitled to do so in accordance with this clause, we will send you a cancellation invoice to confirm the cancellation. Any refund then due will be paid in accordance with section 4(e) above. We will notify you as soon as practicable in the event of this situation occurring.
(g) Occasionally, it may be necessary to cancel confirmed holiday arrangements. We have the right to terminate your contract and cancel your holiday in the event we are prevented from performing your confirmed arrangements as a result of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (see section 6) and we notify you of this as soon as reasonably possible. Where we have to cancel your holiday in these circumstances, we will refund all monies you have paid to us within 14 days of the effective date of cancellation (see section 4 (e)) but will have no further or other liability to you including in respect of compensation or any costs or expenses you incur or have incurred. We will of course endeavor to offer you comparable alternative arrangements where possible which you may choose to book in place of those canceled. We also have the right to cancel if you fail to make payment in accordance with the terms of your contract in which case sections 1(ii) and 3 will apply.
(h) If we have to make a significant alteration or cancel, we will, subject to the exceptions referred to in sections 4(e) and 4(g), pay you such compensation (if any) as we reasonably consider appropriate in the circumstances. Compensation may not be appropriate where, for example, any alternative arrangements offered are of a higher standard to those originally booked.
(I) Please note, a full refund entitlement only arises where we are prevented from performing your contracted holiday arrangements as a result of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances in accordance with section 4(g) and we exercise our right to cancel as a result. Without limitation, you will not be entitled to a full refund and cancellation charges are likely to apply where such circumstances affect your ability to travel on your holiday rather than our ability to perform or provide the contracted arrangements.
5. Transfers
You may transfer your place on your booking to another person (introduced by you) provided the person to whom the place is to be transferred satisfies all conditions which form part of your contract with us. Requests for a transfer must be made not less than 7 days before departure and must be accompanied by the name and other applicable details of the person(s) who will replace you. Where the transfer can be made, all reasonable costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers, as a result, must be paid before the transfer can be effected. Any overdue balance payment must also be received. For flight inclusive bookings, you must pay the charges levied by the airline concerned. As most airlines do not permit name changes after tickets have been issued for any reason, these charges are likely to be the full cost of the flight for the person concerned.
6. Unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances
Except as expressly set out in these booking conditions, we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation or other sums where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected, or you otherwise suffer any loss or damage (as more fully described in section 7 (I) below) as a result of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances. In these booking conditions, unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances mean a situation which is beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Such situations are likely to include, whether actual or threatened, war, insurrection, riots, strikes, civil action, decisions by governments or governing authorities, technical or maintenance problems with transport, changes of schedules or operational decisions of air carriers, terrorist activity, industrial action, natural or nuclear activity, epidemics/pandemics, adverse weather conditions, and fire. Unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances include the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts such as travel restrictions and the measures and other action being taken by governments, public authorities, and businesses to control and manage its effects (such as the implementation of social distancing). When we refer to the Covid-19 pandemic in these booking conditions, we mean the pandemic resulting from the illness or disease caused by the novel coronavirus which is now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and any mutations or variants of the same and/or any other coronavirus (and its mutations and variants) which is treated as part of the same pandemic and/or another pandemic however described.
7. Our responsibility
(I) We promise to make sure that all parts of the holiday we have agreed to arrange, perform or provide as part of our contract with you are arranged, performed, or provided with reasonable skill and care. This means that subject to these booking conditions, we will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury or your contracted holiday arrangements are not provided as promised or prove deficient as a result of the failure of ourselves, our employees, agents or suppliers to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing, as applicable, your contracted holiday arrangements. Please note, it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us. In addition, we will only be responsible for what our employees, agents, and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for agents and suppliers). We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (including loss of enjoyment or possessions), damage, expense, cost, or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following: – (a) the fault of the person(s) affected; or (b) the fault of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday which we could not have predicted or avoided; or (c) unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances as
defined in section 6. In addition, we will not be responsible where you do not enjoy your holiday or suffer any problems because of a reason you did not tell us about when you booked your holiday.
Please note: we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised by us as forming part of your holiday and we have not agreed to arrange them as part of our contract and any excursion or activities you purchase during your holiday.
(ii) The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of our contract, and the laws and standards of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred, will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint were provided in compliance with the applicable local laws and standards, the services will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the services did not comply with the laws and standards of Kenya which would have applied had those services been provided in Kenya. The exception to this is where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature that might lead a reasonable traveler to refuse to take the holiday in question. Please note, however, our obligation is to exercise reasonable skill and care as referred to in section 7(I). We do not make any representation or commitment that all services will comply with applicable local laws and standards and failure to comply does not automatically mean we have not exercised reasonable skill and care.
(iii) Except as set out in section 7(iv) or otherwise permitted by Kenyan law, we do not limit the number of damages you are entitled to claim in respect of personal injury or death which we or our employees have caused intentionally or negligently. For all other claims, if we are found liable to you on any basis, the maximum amount we will have to pay you is three times the total cost paid to us for your package (excluding any insurance premiums) by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total, unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under section 7(iv). This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday.
(iv) Where any claim concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including without limitation, the process of getting on and/or off the transport concerned) provided by any air, sea, or rail carrier to which any international convention or EU regulation applies where we have arranged that travel as part of our contract, our liability (including the maximum amount of compensation we will have to pay you, the types of claim and the circumstances in which damages/compensation will be payable) will be limited as if we were the carrier in question as referred to in this section 7(iv). The most we will have to pay you for that claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the most the carrier concerned would have to pay under the international convention or EU regulation which applies to the travel arrangements in question. Such conventions and regulations include the Warsaw Convention as amended or un-amended and the Montreal Convention 1999 for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating license granted by an EU country, the EC Regulation on Air Carrier Liability No 889/2002 for national and international travel by air, EC Regulation 392/2009 on the liability of carriers of passengers by sea in the event of accidents and the Athens Convention relating to the carriage of passengers and their luggage by sea 1974 for international travel by sea (as amended by the 2002 Protocol), the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims as amended by the 1996 protocol and the Convention of 1980 concerning International Travel by Rail (COTIF) as amended).
Where a carrier would not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable international convention or EU regulation (including where any claim is not notified and issued in accordance with the stipulated time limits), we, similarly, are not obliged to make a payment to you for that claim. When making any payment, we will deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the carrier for the claim in question. Copies of the applicable international conventions and EU regulations are available from us on request. Please note that strict time limits apply for notifying loss, damage, or delay of luggage to the airline. Any proceedings in respect of any claim (including one for personal injury or death) must be issued within 2 years of the date stipulated in the applicable convention or EU regulation.
8. Complaints
Should you have any complaints about any aspect of your holiday arrangements, you must inform our local representative or tour leader immediately and the supplier of the arrangements concerned. Problems can most easily be dealt with on the spot. Please note, if you do not report a problem or complaint straight away which, if it had been reported at the time it occurred, could have been quickly resolved, we cannot accept any liability in respect of that problem or complaint. It is sensible to expect a client traveling in the developing world to be reasonably resourceful if things go wrong. If you experience any difficulties, please follow the steps shown in your Travel Organizer.
In the unlikely event that an acceptable solution cannot be found, you should then write to us within 28 days of your return with full details of your complaint. If you fail to follow this simple complaints procedure, we are unlikely to be in a position to properly investigate the matter and may have been deprived of the opportunity to remedy it during your holiday. Subject to section 7(iii), your right to claim any compensation you may otherwise have been entitled to may be affected or even lost as a result. If we cannot reach an amicable solution to any dispute, you have the right to refer it to the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) which operates an Independent Dispute Service (details on request) for resolution of the dispute by a mediator provided the claim does not involve a personal accident, injury or illness
9. Special requests and Reduced Mobility/Medical
Conditions/Disabilities
If you have any special requests, you must advise us in writing at the time of booking. Although we will endeavor to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant supplier, we regret we cannot guarantee any request will be met. For your own protection, you should obtain confirmation in writing from us that your request will be complied with (where it is possible for us to give this) if your request is important to you. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed on to the supplier or the inclusion of the special request on your booking confirmation or any other documentation is not a guarantee that the request will be met by the relevant supplier. All special requests are subject to availability. Special requirements we have accepted will be specifically confirmed as accepted on your confirmation. Before you make your booking, we will advise you as to whether the proposed arrangements are generally suitable for someone with reduced mobility or certain medical conditions. However, reduced mobility of course means different things to different individuals as we fully appreciate that individual capabilities, restrictions, and requirements are likely to vary considerably. When we refer to reduced mobility, this means any material reduction in mobility whether this is permanent or temporary, and whether caused by age or by physical or mental disability or impairment or other cause of disability. Where you provide us with information in respect of any reduced mobility, disability, or medical condition, we may also ask you to complete a health questionnaire. All information relating to your health is treated as sensitive personal data for the purposes of data protection which means we need your explicit consent to enable us to share this with any third party such as suppliers.
10. Excursions and activities
Please note that we do not provide or arrange excursions or activities other than those listed in your itinerary and forming part of the arrangements booked and paid for prior to your departure date. Our local representatives or guides may put you in touch with local organizers of excursions or activities if you request but we can have no liability for such excursions or activities. Your contract for them will be with a local company providing the
services and not with us and they are not operated, supervised, controlled or endorsed by us in any way
11. Prices and brochure accuracy
Please note, the information and prices shown on our website, in our brochures and/or quotations may have changed by the time you come to book your holiday. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the
website, brochures, quotations, and prices at the time of publication/printing or when they are given to you, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) with us at the time of booking.
12. Your Contract with Us
Your contract with us and all matters arising out of it or your holiday arrangements (including contractual and non-contractual disputes and claims) are governed by Kenyan law. We both irrevocably agree that any dispute, claim, or another matter which arises out of or in connection with this contract or your holiday arrangements (including non-contractual disputes and claims), will be dealt with by the AITO dispute resolution scheme providing this is available for the dispute or claim in question – see section 8). If this scheme cannot be used (for example, because the value is too high), we both irrevocably agree that the claim will be exclusively dealt with by the courts of Kenya.
13. Assistance during your holiday
In the event you end up in difficulty (of any sort) during your tour, we will provide you with appropriate assistance as soon as reasonably possible including by the provision of appropriate information on health services, local authorities, and consular assistance and by assisting you to make distance communications and to find alternative travel arrangements as may be applicable. Where you are in difficulty as a result of your negligence, we may charge you a reasonable fee for this assistance which will not exceed the costs we actually incur.
14. Passport, visa, and health requirements
General information on the passport and visa requirements applicable to your holiday will be provided by us prior to booking. You must check entry and other official requirements for all countries to or through which you are traveling as well as any requirements applicable on your return to your home country, at the time of booking, and in good time before and close to departure. Requirements are likely to change and travel restrictions may be imposed (which could be at no or very short notice prior to departure) as a result of the Covid-19 situation. You must also keep up to date with this information while you are away