Terms and Conditions

Important Information

Please carefully read and make sure you fully understand the following information before completing your booking. To book a tour please read the itinerary on the respective tour webpage and or all of the information provided by Royle Safaris in conjunction with the tour and send over a deposit (as discussed) to complete the booking of that tour. Your ability to participate on the tour will be dependent on your completion and signing of our Guest Details Liability Waiver. Further information on the booking process is explained below.

DEFINITIONS

The below information (defined as terms and conditions and sometimes called booking conditions), individual tour information (defined as the itinerary) and the information sent to you after booking (defined as the Booking Confirmation Letter, Invoices & Pre-departure Pack) and the Guest Details Liability Waiver (which has to be completed and signed at least 30 days before departure and sent back to Royle Safaris to confirm your participation on the tour; a copy will be sent to you on booking and a copy can be provided in advance of booking on request) constitute your contract with Royle Safaris. They set out all your respective rights and obligations so please read and fully understand them.

Our office is 5 Chatsworth Mews, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire, SK7 3JP.

In these terms and conditions ‘you’ and ‘your’ mean all persons named on the booking (including all persons added or substituted at a later date). ‘Party leader’ means the person on the booking who is responsible for the other persons on the booking. ‘We’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ mean Royle Safaris.

Please understand that these terms and conditions act only as an outline of what is included in the price of your holiday. On payment of your deposit to secure the tour you will receive the booking confirmation letter and Guest Details Liability Waiver form. If, when this information (deposit invoice, booking confirmation letter and Guest Details Liability Waiver) is received by you, you are not satisfied with any of the details of the holiday and on discussion with us we cannot come to a common agreement; we will cancel your holiday and issue a full refund, provided that we receive written notification within two weeks (14 days) of the date on the invoice and provided you have booked more than 90 days prior to departure – for tours booking within 90 days of departure the terms of the money refunded will be as explained in clause 3 of the below Terms and Conditions. For full details regarding the holiday you will be sent the Pre-departure Pack around 30 days of departure; advanced information will be available on request; it is your responsibility to request information further to what is available on our website and has been discussed (either on the phone, letter or email) with our representatives from your initial inquiry to the confirmation of the booking.

Please read the two sections below, the first section ABOUT THE TOURS contains technical details and the TERMS AND CONDITIONS are our terms of booking and outline our obligations to you and your obligations to us.

About the Tours

ROYLE SAFARIS TOUR LEADERS

All our tour leaders are expert naturalists. They will be able to show you, and help you to identify, many of the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates and plants that occur in the region that you are visiting. Many of our leaders have quite exceptional backgrounds in the country to which they are taking you. Often they have lived there for several years; inevitably their knowledge and interests extend beyond just the area’s natural history. We have a team of tour leaders that work in conjunction with local guides and experts in the country we are visiting, this combination not only allows for a higher quality of guiding and a wider knowledge base, it is essential in coping with the inevitable hiccoughs that find their way into all third world travel arrangements! Please note however, that whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary. Tour leaders’ biographies are available on our on request and or are available on our website, or we would be pleased to post you a copy on application. Some of our tours are run with local guides only and in these cases they will act as tour leaders.

TOUR GRADING

Each holiday is graded 1 to 5. 1 is Easy — for anyone with very little walking and most safaris are from a vehicle; 2 is Light — for anyone of any age used to some regular walking; 3 is Medium — for those with a measure of fitness or the unfit who are prepared to feel tired at times! 4 is Increased Ability — for the keen walker and 5 is Difficult – for experienced walkers, trekkers and people who like to spend many hours everyday in the field determined to find the wildlife. Some of our tours are classed as 5 even though the physical toll is not as much as other lower classed tours – this is when the environment in which we are going is extreme (extreme cold, heat or altitude for example).

These grades are not based just on the length of each day’s walk: the nature of the terrain, the altitude, average temperature and humidity, and the overall length of the trek are all taken into account.

ACCOMMODATION

This cost is always part of the stated price, whether it is in hotels, guest houses, bed & breakfasts or camping. Hotels used in larger towns are at least tourist class with all modern conveniences, and are always between 3-5* (however some of these classes are judged using the individual countries standards). We try to choose the hotel that offers the best combination of convenient location, atmosphere, friendliness and facilities as well as allowing us a place to relax in the evening and enable us with wildlife viewing from the accommodation (where possible). We provide single rooms (with the single supplement being applied), most with private bathrooms, unless a double, twin or family room is requested. Hotels in smaller places are the best available but maybe of a standard which is lower compared to hotels in large towns and cities. There are some locations which we visit which have no hotels and we use the best guesthouses and lodges in the area. Where camping is offered our tents are well maintained, often permanent tents which offer as much protection from the elements as many hotel rooms.

HEALTH & VACCINATIONS

We strongly recommend that you have a medical and dental check before you go and, for some of our trips, we advise immunisation against typhoid, TB, polio, tetanus and hepatitis A & B, and that you take anti-malarial tablets if advised by your doctor. Immunisation against rabies and meningitis A & C is also wise if you are going to the Himalaya or Africa, and against yellow fever if you are going to East Africa or South America. Being vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis is also a good idea if you planning on staying in countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and India for a few weeks either side of one of our tours. However information on recommended vaccinations and medication will be provided in the booking confirmation letter and is also available on the tour itinerary webpage. On all our trips we carry a comprehensive medical kit to deal with minor accidents if any occur. But we do not always have a doctor on call, some of the locations we visit are remote and advanced medial care can be several hours (or days) away. Please note that Royle Safaris takes no responsible for medical care taken when on our tours; in case of an emergency you will have to arrange with your insurance provider over the standard of care and any costs incurred, we will endeavor to get to you as good a hospital, clinic or doctor as is available where we are.

In the post covid-19 pandemic world it is highly likely that many if not all countries and airlines will insist on proof of either vaccination or negative test before you can enter a country or board a plane. As of the writing of this (April 2021) it is still too early to make any definitive judgements on this, however we will do our best to make sure that the current entry information for each country you will visit on your booking, but we do recommend you check with your home government’s travel advice website and that of the country you are due to visit for the latest information.

VISAS

Basic details of the visa application process are included on the itinerary pages but more details will be given to all British passport holders on booking, we will also provide some basic information to foreign (non-British) passport holders. We regret that we are unable to obtain your visa for you; and we accept no responsibility for the information we provide regarding the application process or any failure of you to receive your visa; but we can aid you to an extent in terms of special documents that may need to be provided from us. All people who have booked on one of our tours, whether British or Non-British nationals must be responsible for their own visa and other entry requirements. Please make sure you have made all provisions for obtaining a visa (if required) as early as possible as some may take 3-4 weeks (or longer) to obtain. You will be provided with basic information and any supporting documents needed from the us for the application process at the time of your booking, if you have booked a private tour you will be advised to apply for your visa at this stage. If you are booked on a small group tour and the minimum number of bookings has not been met yet, you will be asked to refrain from applying for a visa as no refunds will be given for visas that cannot be used if the tour does not reach the minimum number of people needed for the tour to run. Once the minimum number of bookings has been met you will be informed and advised to apply for the visa at this stage. It is highly recommended to start the application process as soon as it is advised by us.

ITINERARIES

A detailed itinerary will be sent to you around 30 days before departure, or on special request. This will include cultural, historical and natural histories of the areas we are visiting as well as detailed daily plans. For all holidays we will include information on local weather, politics, transport as a host of other uncontrollable factors can mean a change in itinerary. It is very unlikely that an itinerary would be substantially altered, but if this is necessary your tour leader will decide the best alternative in consultation with the group before departure or whilst on the tour.

PERSONAL SPENDING MONEY

All meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) are included in the price (unless specifically stated in advance of you confirming the tour – some itineraries do not include all meals and these are mentioned on the itinerary webpages) so you will only need money for any food outside of these three meals as well as any drinks (soft or alcoholic) which are not given to you by your tour leader. The tour leader will provide bottled water everyday on all tours outside of the UK, Europe and developed ‘Western’ countries where tap water is deemed acceptable for drinking. The only other costs which are excluded in the price are airfares, airport taxes, souvenirs, laundry, tips and other items of a personal nature. The average person might spend £100 on these items.

DELAYS/ROUTE CHANGES

Naturally every effort is made to avoid delays and changes to the itinerary, but inevitably there will be occasions when they do happen. There is no guarantee that flights will depart at the time specified, and we do not have any liability to you for any delay which may arise. Where such a delay does arise, we will use our best endeavours to arrange for the air carrier to provide appropriate meals, etc. but we ourselves will not make any such provision. We will also try our hardest to accommodate all the activities on the itinerary even if you are delayed and miss a day of the tour although this is not always possible.

FLIGHTS

We do not provide flights to the start or from the end of any of our tours, but we will provide links to websites of booking agents which offer great fares with great providers if requested. In this case you will only have to enter your personal details and payment to confirm the tickets which will be sent direct to you via email or post. We hold no responsibility for the booking of flights or collection of tickets, but will insist on a flight number 60 days before departure so we can make arrangements to pick you up from the airport.

INSURANCE

We are unable to provide travel insurance but we will let you know everything that you have to be insured against for each tour. We do require you to provide us with an insurance policy number no less than 30 days before departure so we can confirm that you are fully insured for the tour. Our tour leaders are insured by Insure & Go under the Annual Black with global coverage; this is a very comprehensive insurance policy.

GROUP SIZE

Our trips are priced on a minimum of 4 participants (unless otherwise stated) and a maximum of 20 for some cruises. Although usually we operate tours with around 6-8 people. Sometimes, to prevent disappointment, we are able to offer holidays for smaller groups than 4 people but we reserve the right to add a small group surcharge to the cost (usually 10-20% but this is dependent on the tour and we may have to make certain alterations to the way the trip is run (most likely using local guides instead of zoologist escorts). If this happened, we would advise you as early as possible.

SMOKING

The overwhelming majority of Royle Safaris clients are non-smokers. To enable them to enjoy their holiday in comfort (and fresh air!), we insist that smokers refrain from smoking in the proximity of all other group members, and whilst watching wildlife, at all times. In particular, smoking in any confined space — be it the lounge, dining room, minibus, bedroom (if shared with a non-smoker) or at any other group gathering — cannot be permitted and, in signing our booking conditions, you agree to accept these guidelines and the right of all our tour leaders to dismiss from a tour any participant failing to respect them.

OUR CANCELLATION

Due to the special nature of our trips, we cannot guarantee the departure of every holiday, though we do try very hard to ensure that each one runs. Should a trip seem to be attracting insufficient numbers for a departure, we will let you know at least two months before its departure date, in case you wish to cancel then — with a full refund of your deposit and other payments to us — and make other holiday arrangements.

EXTENSIONS & PRIVATE PARTIES

Should you wish to extend your Royle Safaris holiday by visiting areas additional to those in our programme, we should be happy to help you with your arrangements. Further, we are always pleased to organise tailor-made wildlife holidays for private parties of any size.

SINGLE ROOMS & SUPPLEMENTS

We regret that nearly all of the lodges, hotels and other accommodation types we use charge single supplements, as they are usually small establishments needing to fill all beds. If you particularly wish for a single room, we are normally able to provide one for you at the supplement price listed for each tour. If you wish to share (to avoid this supplement) we can usually match you up with someone else of similar age and sex, also wishing to share. If we are unable to do this, we regret that the single supplement must be charged (though sometimes at a reduced, negotiated rate) unless your booking was received by us at least 6 months prior to the holiday’s departure.

Due to the nature of some of our specialist small group tours we require single supplements to also include more costs (than just the room costs) which would usually be shared between more people, if the booking of a single place reduces the capacity of the trip. In these cases single supplements will not be offered as standard, but on request we can look to accommodate them and inform you of the price.

N.B. We regret that this offer does not apply to those booked on our Special Offers page and Late Availability page.

ACTIVITIES

All our activities are either carefully coordinated and run by experienced tour operators in the country we are in or are run by the tour leader employed by Royle Safaris. In the case of activities which are supplied by other companies we run vigorous checks to make sure that the tour and the activity is run to the highest standards and that no one is put in any danger; however some of the activities are inherently dangerous in nature (shark diving, elephant-back safaris, tracking tigers on foot etc) and Royle Safaris takes no responsibility for any problems, injuries, accidents or deaths that occur on any of the activities included on Royle Safaris tours and holidays. As a result of some activities being sourced outside of Royle Safaris we have to abide by their company terms and conditions and often have to sign disclaimers for their company as well as agreeing to the terms and conditions of Royle Safaris and any disclaimers and waivers you have been asked to sign with us.

Please also be aware that the hire cars, jeeps, boats, canoes and other vehicles we sometimes use when in poorer or less developed countries are often at a lower standard to what you may expect to find in at home. It is therefore vital that your travel insurance covers you for any problems arising by using these vehicles.

HOW FAR DO YOU WALK EACH DAY?

This question is best answered in terms of time not kilometres, as the altitude, terrain and programme vary to such an extent each day. For example, a day’s walk at 2,000 metres above sea level, along a flat trail, through an area devoid of interesting natural history, might cover 18 or more kilometres. A day’s walk uphill, through a bird filled rhododendron forest at 4,000 metres, might cover just eight or nine kilometres. Both walks might take the same time: perhaps seven hours or so. Walking time probably varies between 4-5 hours on a grade 2 or 3 trek and 7-9 hours on a grade 4 or 5 trek, but there is no hard and fast rule; much depends on what we see!

ALTITUDE

This is one of the most important considerations in trekking, so we indicate against each trek the maximum altitude reached when requested. There is no real need for you to worry about altitude, as all the worrying is done in our planning stages. No one can foretell how he/she will react at high altitude; age, fitness and previous high altitude experience have no bearing at all in the matter. The vital factor is acclimatisation. Our treks are planned to allow the maximum time for you to acclimatise, with the result that very few of our trekkers have ever had serious problems.

BAGGAGE & PORTERAGE

These are not backpacking tours. All your trek baggage will be carried by pack animals or porters. You need carry only a small day-pack for your camera, waterproofs, water bottle and other essentials, and even this is often carried for you by a friendly porter! You are restricted to around 20 kg of baggage on your international flights, and we recommend you take rather less than this to allow for souvenirs that you may collect. Don’t bring a smart suitcase if you want it to stay smart! On-trek baggage should be restricted to around 12 kg and packed in a soft kit-bag; any belongings not needed on trek can be left in your suitcase in the hotel. Baggage must not be left unattended in any vehicles or hotel (any accommodation) receptions or common areas. Royle Safaris accepts no responsibility for luggage and personal belongings that may go missing or are stolen whilst on any of tours or holidays.

TREK STAFF

On all our Himalayan treks we take an experienced team of guides, cooks, and porters or animal drivers, managed by a local ‘sirdar’. The guides will assist trek members at all times, and will encourage group members to walk at their own pace rather than feel obliged to keep up with faster members of the group. One guide will always bring up the rear. On all our other treks similar, if sometimes less experienced, staff will look after us.

REMOTENESS

All the areas in which we trek are remote. Consequently the lifestyle on tour is necessarily very different from that on an ordinary holiday. If you are not willing to accept this you should not travel with us.

FOOD

When trekking, and normally when camping, food is included in our price. Provisions are normally based on fresh local food and supplemented by ‘luxuries’ that we import. It is designed to be nutritious, but in some areas it is not always possible to make it gastronomically very interesting. In the larger towns, when staying in hotels, we normally provide only breakfast so that you may explore the local restaurants to suit your own taste.

PAYMENTS

We accept two forms of payment, our preferred method is with a direct bank transfer and we provide our bank account details on request and we also accept credit and debit card payments, however due to a ban in surcharges we are unable to offer credit and debit card payments as a form of payment from UK and EU citizens. These can be made either direct on our website using our payment processing system or by sending your card information to us direct. For all card payments (from non UK & EU citizens) there is a 3.5% surcharge which will either be processed as part of the same transaction or as a secondary transaction. These surcharges will be included on your invoice.

EQUIPMENT

All basic communal camping equipment is supplied by Royle Safaris. This includes all cooking and eating utensils, 2-man tents, and in most areas stools, dining tents and toilet tents. You will normally need to bring a sleeping bag, foam mat or lilo, walking boots, a day-pack and other personal items. On some European tours a picnic set may be required for lunches in the field. However, a full clothing/equipment list will be sent out to you on request or when your Pre-departure Pack is sent out, as well as a reading and map list.

COVID-19 UPDATE

The world has changed forever as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic and as a result travel has been severely impacted. Royle Safaris has made some changes to make sure we can accommodate our clients needs as safely and soundly as possible. Your health and safety is our top priority, and so we are pleased to publish these guidelines to provide insight on what we will be doing on every Royle Safaris tour to keep you safe. At all times we will be closely monitoring and adopting government advice and guidelines, and industry best practice, and regularly updating this policy accordingly. Of course, the vast majority of our holidays visit remote areas, well away from crowds of people, and once we have negotiated airports and got out of the cities, we rarely see many people at all!

Will my tour go ahead as planned?

Following the latest Government announcement on 5^th January, Royle Safaris very much welcomes the move to abolish pre-departure testing to travel to England, and the switch from day 2 PCR testing to the much less expensive lateral flow test. See full details here.

We do now anticipate operating the vast majority of our planned holidays.

Tours to any country to which i) the FCDO advises against non-essential travel, or ii) in which quarantine is mandatory upon arrival or is otherwise closed to British tourists, will be postponed in due course and participants will be offered a moved to our new dates – most likely in 1 year time.

Each country has its own entry criteria which can be studied on the FCDO website.

If you are booked on a tour overseas, please do not send in your final balance until contacted by our operations team to advise that your holiday is going ahead.

If you are booked on a tour to a country which has restrictions imposed on tourism there, we will write to you before your balance is due to update you on the situation. We are aiming to make final decisions on whether to operate each tour around 3 – 4 weeks or so prior to departure at the absolute latest, though this will vary according to the destination in question, flights, specific ground arrangements and the developing situation both here in the UK and overseas. During this period, please feel free to contact us if you have an urgent query but, otherwise, we ask you to please be patient, bearing in mind these five quick points of reassurance and clarification:

Please be assured that if we ultimately have to cancel a tour due to FCO Travel Advice, we will hold your payment (deposits and balances) in full and without penalty for you to use towards the itinerary once it can be safely run (we also only run our trips during the best time of year for the specific wildlife we aim to see – so any deferred trips will be run in equally good times of year as the original trip was planned for).
Unfortunately due to the fact that many of our trips are run in very remote places and in countries where obtaining payment back from their economy is difficult we will not be able to refund any payments due to deferring trips. But you will not loose any payment, we will either (1) hold the payment in the host country and use that towards the same itinerary once we can run the trip without restrictions (2) transfer your payment to another itinerary we are operating (where possible) (3) provide a credit note for your total payment to be used within the next 12 months (where possible).
If you choose to cancel your holiday before we officially cancel a tour, our booking conditions will apply, although you may be able to claim back our cancellation charge from your insurer.
In some cases we have already paid for internal flights and these flights may operate (even if we cannot get there and travel on that flight) as a result we are unable to obtain a refund or credit note from that airline. In these cases we will have to ask for the payment of the internal flights for the new dates of the deferred trip. You may be able to claim the amount lost from the internal flights with your insurance provider.
We are not cancelling any trips, instead our policy is to defer the trip until a date that is both (1) suitable for the wildlife we wish to see and (2) has no covid-19 related restrictions in place.

Prior to departure…

Prior to travel, we will let you know of any specific requirements for travel or in your destination country. We will also let you know of expected screening requirements at arrival and departure airports, and of any specific health requirements relating to Covid-19 in your destination. If you, or someone that you have been in close contact with, is displaying symptoms of Covid-19, or if you receive an alert from NHS Track and Trace, you MUST NOT TRAVEL under any circumstances. This applies in the 14 days prior to departure. Please contact us as soon as possible to discuss your booking.

Travel insurance – Covid-19 cover now available!

By the end of March, most insurance providers were specifically excluding from their policies’ cover any claim relating to Coronavirus (COVID-19), or any mutation of the disease, when renewing or issuing new policies. However, we are delighted to announce that new Covid-19 travel insurance cover will be included in a new policy offered by many insurers, including our recommended insurer Campbell Irvine, from the first week of July 2020. The policy will provide Covid-19 cover for cancellation prior to travel, for curtailment of your trip and medical expenses whilst overseas. Any of our clients who have purchased a Campbell Irvine Direct policy after 17th March 2020 will be contacted by Campbell Irvine with the offer of changing the policy to include the new Covid-19 cover. This is excellent news for those wanting to book holidays overseas in the future and also a relief for those of us operating the tours!

Adaptations on Royle Safaris Tours

We have been working closely with our accommodation providers around the world, and you will see many adaptations in place as a result, including amended arrival and check-out processes, enhanced cleaning measures, and changes to restaurant set ups. We will adhere to government regulations and guidance in our destination at all times, as well as respecting local etiquette.
When travelling by minibus, we will endeavour to keep non-cohort passengers from sitting next to each other.
You will be asked to keep to the same seat during the course of each day and to then rotate the following day. Your leader will clean the vehicle thoroughly at the end of each day (as well as sanitising door handles etc. during the course of the day). Social distancing requirements at the time of travel may mean that you will be required to wear a face covering during minibus travel.
Whenever our leaders are preparing and handling food, utmost care will be taken with regard to hygiene. Meals will be eaten outside wherever possible. If we eat inside, we will ensure that there is sufficient space between place settings.
Hand sanitiser will be available throughout all of our tours (though please ensure you bring a good supply yourself too), and we will enable regular hand-washing during the course of the day wherever possible.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide room shares on our tours for the moment, although two friends who book together will still be able to share a room.
We ask you to respect minimum social distancing AT ALL TIMES (currently 2m where possible between households at the time of writing, but could be updated at any time). To help ensure this, we ask group members not to share optics, field guides or any other equipment.

What to expect during air travel

For detailed guidance, please visit the FCO’s safer air travel guidance for passengers web page prior to departure. Do remember that this way of travel will be new to everyone! If you are unsure about anything or feel uneasy, just ask your tour leader or a member of the airport staff. They are there to help.

A final word…

During this period of uncertainty, future holidays might be further from our minds than usual, but thoughts of our network of wonderful guides and lodge/hotel owners around the world, spell-binding wildlife, stunning scenery, and friendships made while on tour will continue to keep our spirits up. Far from ceasing communication online and in print, we continue to work as normal and stay in touch with all of you who would like to hear from us, hoping that your day might be brightened with a beautiful image, or an exciting tale from a tour. Do check our Twitter feed, Instagram and Facebook page, for our latest news, views and images, and do please sign up to our e-news from the link on our homepage here if you do not already receive it.

While we have been working our way through the deferred tours, we have been touched by so many messages of solidarity and support from Royle Safaris clients and friends. We thank you all so much for your kind and supportive words at this time.

Many of our clients are over 60 in age, either in a vulnerable group, with background health issues, or caring for elderly relatives. Our thoughts are with you all during this time, and with our NHS staff and emergency services, and with all those showing the caring side of humanity during this crisis. We’ll be here for you, privileged as ever to be asked to help with your wildlife travel plans, once this is all over.

With very best wishes from all the team here in Cheshire,
Martin Royle and the Royle Safaris team

Our Terms & Conditions

1. MAKING YOUR BOOKING

To confirm your participation on your booking, you or the party leader must complete and sign our Guest Details Liability Waiver (all members of the party (and someone who is taking responsibility for all under 18 year olds on the booking) must sign this form). He/she must be authorised to make the booking on the basis of these Terms & Conditions by all persons named on the booking and their parent or guardian for all party members who are under 18 when the booking is made. By signing and complying the Guest Details Liability Waiver, you or the party leader confirms that he/she is so authorised. The party leader is responsible for making all payments due to us. The party leader must be at least 18 when the booking is made. All persons named on the booking must be a minimum age of 16 years old; unless where agreed beforehand after consultation with a member of our staff. All bookings are subject to our Terms & Conditions and the Guest Details Liability Waiver (which is completed and signed at least 30 days prior to the tour start date), a copy is sent at the time of booking and can be provided in advance of booking on request.

All bookings are subject to these terms and conditions.

The completed Guest Details Liability Waiver and appropriate deposit payments (or full payment if the booking is within 90 days of the departure date) must be sent to us to confirm the booking and your participation on the tour.

Once the completed Guest Details Liability Waiver and appropriate payments have been received by us, we will, subject to availability, confirm your participation on the holiday by issuing the pre-departure pack and final invoice. The pre-departure pack and confirmation invoice will be sent to the party leader or your travel agency where applicable. As soon as receive the pre-departure pack and confirmation invoice please check them carefully and contact us immediately if there is any incorrect or incomplete information as it may not be possible to make any changes at a later date.

If we do not receive all payments (and any surcharges where applicable) in full and on time, we will be entitled to treat your booking as cancelled by you and retain all deposits and monies paid or due at that date. If we do not cancel your holiday immediately because you have promised to make payment, you must pay the cancellation charges as shown in clause 3 depending on the date we reasonably treat your booking as cancelled by you.

2. YOUR CONTRACT

A legally binding contract between us and you comes into existence as soon as we dispatch your deposit invoice (usually after receipt of your deposit payment), booking confirmation letter and Guest Details Liability Waiver to the party leader or travel agent. Both you and us agree that English Law (and no other) will apply to your contract and to any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us (except as set out below). We both also agree that any dispute, claim or other matter of any description (and whether or not involving any personal injury) which arises between must be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only unless, in the case of Court proceedings, you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland. In the case of your living in Scotland or Northern Ireland proceedings must either be brought in the Courts of your home country or those of England and Wales. If proceedings are brought in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may choose to have your contract and any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us governed by the law of Scotland or Northern Ireland as applicable (but if you do not so choose, English Law will apply).

In some rare circumstances (where additional costs are incurred by you during a trip), such as internal flight cancellation (more of this is explained in clause 12.8), extra meals, drinks being consumed by you in addition to those provided by us in the itinerary of the holiday, we reserve the right for our agents, suppliers, accommodation providers etc to bill you direct for these services. In these instances these costs are extra to the contract you have with us and any issues with these costs will have to be brought to the supplier, agent, accommodation provider etc direct and not with ourselves.

3. CANCELLATION BY YOU

You may cancel your booking at any stage, provided you do so in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only be effective when it is received in writing by us at our offices. To protect yourself against this eventuality you should ensure that you purchase travel insurance at the time of booking. As we incur costs from the time we confirm your booking your deposits and balance payments are non-refundable. However we recommend you take out travel insurance which allows you to claim for cancellation of the trip by you for any reason (or at least for medical reasons) and we will provide any and all information needed by the insurers to process any claims for you.

You may transfer your booking up to 30 days from the departure date to another person if you are unavoidably prevented from travelling, and the transferee meets all the conditions which apply to the booking. This transfer is subject to a £50 administration fee per person being transferred as well as any costs and fees imposed by the relevant suppliers providing any components of the holiday, which you will be informed of as soon as we receive notice of any extra costs and fees.

In the case of your death after booking of your trip up until the trip is due to commence, the balance will be due by the executors of your Last Will and Testament or the beneficiary(ies) of your estate and assets.

4. CHANGES BY YOU

Should any changes to your confirmed booking be made by you, you must notify us in writing as soon as possible. We cannot guarantee any changes will be possible to meet your demands; however we will endeavour to assist you wherever possible. Any changes which can be implemented by us will incur a £25 administration fee per person (with transfer costs as stated in clause 3). Any costs and fees imposed by the relevant suppliers providing any components of the holiday will also be payable by you.

5. CHANGES AND CANCELLATION BY US

N.B. SUBCLAUSE 5.1 IS SUBJECT TO SUBCLAUSE 5.2

5.1 All our holidays are planned many months in advance. As a result occasionally we have to make changes and correct inaccuracies in the brochure, itinerary, pre-departure pack and website both before and after bookings have been confirmed. We occasionally need to cancel holidays before and after the booking has been confirmed. We always endeavour to avoid making changes and cancellations both before and after bookings have been confirmed but we must reserve the right to do so.

If a change or alteration has to be made to your itinerary after the booking has been confirmed, we class the changes and alterations as minor or major. A minor change is any change or alteration which is not a major change. Most changes are minor but occasionally, we may have to make a major change. Minor changes will be dealt with by ourselves with no obligation to inform you before departure or pay compensation; although we do endeavour to inform you before departure. Major changes are such changes as an alteration to the start/end time by more than 24 hours, a change in accommodation to one below the classification stated in the itinerary, website, brochure or pre-departure pack. If we have to make a major change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible and, if there is time to do so before departure, we will make one of the below offers available to you to except (in some cases we are able to offer more than one option and you are able to accept one and only one of the options; not all of the below options will be available in every case, sometimes only one options is available for you). Major changes that are forced upon us (Royle Safaris) by force majeure (force majeure is defined in clause 6 of these terms and conditions) the following options (listed below (i, ii, iii)) will not be applicable; please read further for more on our terms and conditions regarding force majeure events. In force majeure cases the most likely proposal from Royle Safaris will be to postpone the trip and move your booking and all monies paid to the new dates, it is conversely unlikely Royle Safaris will offer refunds for force majeure events.

Covid-19 (coronavirus) is included as a force majeure event. For more on our policy when trips are affected by covid-19 related restrictions please see our Covid-19 Update as details above on this page.

i- (for major changes) accepting the proposed change (which will most often be deferment of the tour to a later date) or alteration or

ii- Purchasing alternative arrangements from us, of a similar standard to those originally booked if available (if the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original one, we will refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we will ask you to pay the difference) or

iii- Cancelling and accepting the cancellation and accepting a refund to be discussed.

When the change is a minor change the above options are not applicable.

If a major change or alteration has to be made and you chose to accept the change you may be eligible for compensation from us on the below scale.

The above options, refunds and compensation will not be applicable or payable and no liability beyond offering an alternative date for the booked tour or an alternative tour with Royle Safaris of the same value where we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual or unforeseen circumstances beyond our control (classed as force majeure) occurring before the departure date. This includes (but is not limited to) instances where the circumstances and consequences could not have been avoided even if all due care and attention was paid to the holiday and itinerary. No compensation will be paid if we fail to reach the minimum number of people booked on the tour which is needed for the tour to run. In this event you will be informed by the deadline (usually 60 days before departure) and a full refund of paid monies will be made.

No compensation or the options above will be available if the cancellation is due to your failure to comply with any requirement of these terms and conditions and thus entitling us to cancel (such as failure to pay on time, provide the necessary documents (completed and signed) or cancellation due to a minor change).

Due to the unpredictability of force majeure events we shall not be liable for any changes either before departure or during the holiday, which in our opinion are necessary to protect your safety. In this event, we will offer you suitable alternative arrangements but we will not pay you compensation.

In all cases, except where the major change arises due to reasons of force majeure and subject to the exceptions below, we will pay you the following compensation as detailed below:

Period before departure within which a major change/alteration notification is made to you	Compensation per person
56 days or more from the departure date	£0 (nil)
56-43 days from the departure date	£10
42-29 days from the departure date	£20
28 days or less from the departure date	£30

Please note that the above payments are per full fare-paying passenger (excluding infants). For children invoiced at reduced rates, compensation will be paid on a pro-rata basis of the adult rate.

We will not pay you compensation and the above options will not be available if we make a minor change or cancel as a result of your failure to make full payment on time. We regret we cannot pay any expenses, costs or losses incurred by you as a result of any change or cancellation.

We will not pay you compensation where we make a major change or cancel more than 12 weeks before departure or in the event of force majeure.

Very rarely, we may be forced by force majeure to change or terminate your arrangements after departure, but before the scheduled end of your time away (holiday). If this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any from our suppliers), pay you compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result. In this rare event none of the above offers (i, ii or iii listed in clause 5.1), compensation amounts or refunds would be available to you.

N.B. If your flight is cancelled or delayed, your flight ticket is downgraded or boarding is denied by your airline in circumstances which would entitle you to claim compensation against the airline under EC Regulation No 261/2004 – the Denied Boarding Regulations 2004, you must pursue the airline or agent you booked the flights with for the compensation due to you. All sums you receive or are entitled to receive from the airline concerned by virtue of these Regulations represent the full amount of your entitlement to compensation or any other payment arising from such cancellation, delay, downgrading or denied boarding. This includes any disappointment, distress, inconvenience or effect on any other arrangements. The fact a delay may entitle you to cancel your flight does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight. We have no liability to make any payment to you in relation to the Denied Boarding Regulations or in respect of any flight cancellation or delay, downgrading of any flight ticket or denial of any boarding as the full amount of your entitlement to any compensation or other payment (as dealt with above) is covered by the airline’s obligations under the Denied Boarding Regulations. If, for any reason, you do not claim against the airline and make a claim for compensation from us, you must, at the time of payment of any compensation to you, make a complete assignment to us of the rights you have against the airline in relation to the claim that gives rise to that compensation payment. If your airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Air Transport Users’ Council on 020 7240 6061 www.auc.org.uk.

Any delay, cancellation or any change/alteration which entitles you to compensation or a refund with your flight providers does not entitle you to any compensation or refund with us regarding your holiday. We have no liability to make any payment to you in relation to delay, cancellation or Denied Boarding Regulations 2004 or any other change/alteration which affects your flights.

5.2 As Royle Safaris is a specialist package tour operator and not an ordinary package tour operator. Royle Safaris specialises in holidays to remote countries and areas. As a result of the remote countries and areas which we run tours to are often inherently dangerous, relatively underdeveloped, subject to instabilities in local bureaucracy, transportation and national park closure. Consequently we must be flexible and as a result of that flexibility we are contracted only to aim towards the suggested itinerary, not to necessarily adhere to it all rigidly and fully. We reserve the right to change or alter any part of the itinerary at any time, and will not be held responsible for any loss whatsoever caused as a result of any change or alteration to the itinerary.

6. FORCE MAJEURE

6.1 Force majeure in these terms and conditions is defined as any event in which us or a supplier of a service we use cannot, with all due care and attention, foresee or avoid. These events include (but are not limited to) war, threat of war, riot, civil strife, actual and threatened terrorist activity, industrial dispute, border closures, natural and nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside of our control.

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these terms and conditions, we cannot accept any liability or pay compensation or refunds where the performance or prompt performance of our obligations under our contract with you is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss (inclusions are described in more detail in clause 12.1) as a result of force majeure.

6.2 We strongly recommend everyone booking a trip with us is fully insured privately for the full cost of their holiday in case force majeure forces us to make changes or postponements to your booking before travel. Any recommended travel insurance policy should also cover the costs of the holiday in full in case you have to cancel the trip for personal reasons.

7. THE COST OF YOUR HOLIDAY

Before your holiday has been confirmed we reserve the right to make changes and correct any errors in prices advertised on this website, brochures or any other advertisement authorised by us. We will advise you of any error of which we are aware and of the then applicable price at the time of booking.

The total cost of the holiday needs to be paid in full and received by us and confirmed by us in the form of an invoice sent to you no less than 90 days before the scheduled departure date of your holiday.

Once the price of holiday has been confirmed at the time of booking, we will only increase or decrease the price in the following circumstances; increases or decreases in the cost of fuel, due taxes, fees payable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports, changes to park entrance fees and other tourism related taxes attributed to activities that are integral to your holiday or significant changes in the exchange rates which have been used to calculate the cost of your holiday. Significant changes are described as changes which change the cost of the holiday by more than 2% of the total cost.

If any increases in price changes the price by more than 25% of the total cost of the holiday, you will be entitled to cancel your holiday; and receive a refund of any monies paid to us or to change to another similar tour offered by us (as stated in clause 5.1).

Please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.

Refunds due to decreases in the price of your holiday will only occur when the decrease exceeds 10% of the total price of the holiday. Where a refund is applicable we will issue the full amount of the refund to the party leader.

You will receive a surcharge invoice in the event of an increase in the price as stated above; and have 14 days from the date printed on the surcharge invoice to inform us in writing if you which to cancel or purchase another holiday. If there is any failure to inform us in writing of a cancellation or change of holiday within 14 days of the printed date on the surcharge invoice we will assume you will pay the stated surcharge on the surcharge invoice. Any surcharge is due in full on the date the balance of the holiday is due or in 14 days from the printed date of the surcharge invoice (which ever is later).

No surcharge will be levied within 30 days from the departure date.

Because errors and changes do occasionally occur please check the price advertised is correct at the time of booking to avoid any future problems.

8. INSURANCE

All members of the party booked in a holiday with us must be fully covered by travel insurance before setting out on the holiday. This must cover you fully for cancellation by you, medical care and repatriation should you become too ill to continue your holiday, and must above all cover you against the cost of evacuation from mountainous areas if you become too ill or injured to continue. You should also note that passenger liability insurance covering the vehicles that we hire, particularly in Third World countries, may be inadequate; therefore it is important that your insurance cover makes sufficient provision for your dependants in the event of an accident. Each tour has individual activities which may require specialist insurance cover (such as elephant back rides, shark cage diving and scuba diving) so please confirm what is required before buying travel insurance.

Once travel insurance has been purchased you must inform us as soon as possible so we can confirm the policy covers all the activities offered. A photocopy of the policy should be sent to us as soon as possible so we have a record of your insurance. No one will be allowed to participate on the holiday without a valid insurance policy number being provided to us and the insurance being adequate.

Please be aware that we have no control over the availability or standard of medical and repatriation services and facilities in the areas we visit and these do not form any part of our contract with you. Because many of the areas we visit are not as developed as the UK the standard and availability of such services may well be lower.

We recommend taking out cover that specifically covers Covid-19 related restrictions and changes imposed on trips.

9. SPECIAL REQUESTS

If you have any special requirements or requests, you should inform us of them in full as soon as possible before departure. We will then inform all of our suppliers of such special requirements and requests but we cannot guarantee any of such requirements and requests will be met. Furthermore we have no liability to you if such requests are not met.

Any confirmation that any special requirement or request has been passed on to suppliers or included on the confirmation invoice, does not confirm that the said requirement or request will be met.

If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your holiday, please tell us before you confirm your booking so that we can advise as to the suitability of the chosen arrangements. In any event you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. We reserve the right to decline any reservation at the time of booking and cancel an existing booking (which will be treated as a Cancellation by You and outlined in clause 6) when we become aware of any medical problems or disability which we feel will hinder your involvement on the holiday.

10. BEHAVIOUR

When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment of any such damage or loss must be paid for in full direct at the time to the accommodation owner, manager or other supplier. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us (together with our own and the other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions.

We expect certain behaviours from all people who book with us. These are that everyone is considerate of other people. Most people who book with us are non-smokers and we expect that any smokers refrain from smoking in the direct proximity of non-smoking guests and guides. Smoking is not allowed when viewing wildlife at any time. If in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, you or any member of your party behaves in such as way as to cause or to be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party or damage to property or fauna (including the collecting of any specimen from the natural world (such as plants and insects)), we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate the holiday of the person(s) concerned. In this situation, the person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other service. We will have no further responsibility toward such a person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

11. COMPLAINTS

Should any part of your holiday fall below your expectations, you must immediately inform your tour leader/escort and or the supplier of the service in question. In response we/they will do our/their best to rectify the situation to the best of our/their abilities. If for some reason the problem cannot be rectified please make the complaint known to us in writing within 14 days of your holidays scheduled return to the UK; we will then do our best to reach a settlement with you regarding the complaint. In the unlikely event that you are still unhappy with the original complaint then you may take your complaint up with the Court (see clause 2) in order to bring the matter to a speedy and amicable solution. This does not apply to claims of more than £2,500 per person or £10,000 per booking form, nor for claims which are solely or mainly in respect to physical injury or illness or the consequences there from.

12. OUR LIABILITY TO YOU

12.1 We promise to make sure that the holiday arrangements we have agreed to make, perform or provide as applicable, as part of our contract with you, are made, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. This means that, subject to these Terms and 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 or 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 that it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you which 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).

12.2 We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following:-

i- the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or

ii- the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or

iii- ‘force majeure’ as defined in clause 6 above.

12.3 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 your where the services or facilities are not advertised in our brochure and we have not agreed to arrange them and any excursion you purchase whilst overseas. Please also see clause 13 “Excursions, activities and brochure information”. In addition, regardless of any wording used by us on our website, in any of our brochures or elsewhere, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any greater or different liability to you.

12.4 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 regulations 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 complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, 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 regulations of the UK which would have applied had those services been provided in the UK. The exception to this is where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature which might lead a reasonable holiday maker to refuse to take the holiday in question.

12.5 Where any claim or part of a claim (including those involving death or personal injury) concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including the process of getting on and/or off the transport concerned) provided by any air, sea, rail or road carrier or any stay in a hotel, the maximum amount of compensation we will have to pay you will be limited. The most we will have to pay you for that claim or that part of a claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the most the carrier or hotel keeper concerned would have to pay under the international convention or regulation which applies to the travel arrangements or hotel stay in question (for example, the Warsaw Convention as amended or unamended and the Montreal Convention for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EC Regulation on Air Carrier Liability No 889/2002 for national and international travel by air, the Athens convention for international travel by sea). Please note: Where a carrier or hotel would not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable International Convention or Regulation in respect of a claim or part of a claim, we similarly are not obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question. Copies of the applicable International Conventions and Regulations are available from us on request.

12.6 Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description (1) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you or (2) which did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees or, where we are responsible for them, our suppliers. Additionally we cannot accept liability for any business losses.

12.7 You must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require. You must also tell us and the supplier concerned about your claim or complaint as set out in clause 11 above. If asked to do so, you must transfer to us or our insurers any rights you have against the supplier or whoever else is responsible for your claim or complaint (if the person concerned is under 18, their parent or guardian must do so). You must also agree to cooperate fully with us and our insurers if we or our insurers want to enforce any rights which are transferred.

12.8 During some of our tours we include internal flights as part of the itinerary, on rare occasions these flights can be delayed and or cancelled. When they are delayed we wait at the airport for the flight to take off and any compensation or complaints must be brought forward direct to the airline and not with us. In the event of a cancellation, we will do our utmost to provide seats on the next available flight, this will be at the discretion of the airline. However if the next available flight is not on the same day as the original cancellation then you will be liable (not us) for any costs incurred such as for accommodation and food etc. We will make arrangements for your accommodation and food etc and you will be made aware of the total cost of such arrangements at the time that the arrangements are agreed and made. These costs will be due before the completion of the tour, they will either need to made direct to the agent, supplier, accommodation provider etc or to our tour leader (the exact circumstances of who will be paid will vary from tour to tour and will be made aware to you at the time). We therefore recommend that you request that any costs incurred due to flights being cancelled by the airline can be claimed for and recovered by and through your travel insurance provider. Please make sure of this before booking and participating on the tour. In this event, Royle Safaris accepts no responsibility for these extra services and any complaints that arise from these alternative arrangements will have to be made direct to the agent, supplier, accommodation provider etc.

13. EXCURSIONS, ACTIVITIES AND BROCHURE INFORMATION

The information contained in our brochure, website or any other paper work sent from us to you is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of the information going to print or publication online. We may provide you with information (in our brochure and/or when you are on holiday) about activities and excursions which are available in the area you are visiting.

We have no involvement in any such activities or excursions which are neither run, supervised nor controlled in any way by us. They are provided by local operators or other third parties who are entirely independent of us. They do not form any part of your contract with us even where we suggest particular operators/other third parties and/or assist you in booking such activities or excursions in any way. We cannot accept any liability on any basis in relation to such activities or excursions and the acceptance of liability contained in clause 12 of our Terms and Conditions will not apply to them. We do not however exclude liability for the negligence of ourselves or our employees resulting in your personal injury.

We cannot guarantee accuracy at all times of information given in relation to such activities or excursions or about the resorts/area you are visiting generally (except where this concerns the services which will form part of your contract) or that any particular excursion or activity which does not form part of our contract will take place as these services are not under our control. If you feel that any of the activities mentioned in our brochure which are not part of our contract are vital to the enjoyment of your holiday, write to us immediately and we will tell you the latest known situation. If we become aware of any material alterations to resort/area information and/or such outside activities which can reasonably be expected to affect your decision to book a holiday with us, we will pass on this information at the time of booking.

14. PASSPORT, VISAS AND HEALTH REQUIREMENTS

The passport, visa and health requirements applicable at the time of printing to British citizens for the holidays we offer are shown in our Pre-departure Pack; foreign (non British) passport holders will be provided some basic information (details of our responsibilities are detailed above in the VISA section of the ABOUT OUR TOURS information). A full British passport can take approximately six weeks to obtain. If you or any member of your party have not yet got a passport, our recommendation is that you should apply for one at least six weeks before your holiday. The UK Passport Service has to confirm your identity before issuing your first passport and from October 2006 will ask you to attend an interview in order to do this.

Requirements may change and you must check the up to date information in good time before departure with the Embassy or consulate of the country(ies) you are travelling through and to. Information on health is contained in the Department of Health leaflet T6 (Health Advice for Travellers) available from your local Department of Health office and most Post Offices. For holidays in the EEA you should obtain an EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) prior to departure. N.B this card replaced the E111. From January 2006 E111 forms have not been valid.

It is the party leader’s responsibility to ensure that all members of the party are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure. All costs incurred in obtaining such documentation must be paid by you. We regret we cannot accept any liability if you or any member of your party are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry correct documentation or failure to obtain the visa either before departure or on arrival. Whilst we will provide some basic information, advice and supporting documents needed for your application we accept no responsibility for the approval or denial of a visa. You should obey and follow the regulations provided by the Embassy, consulate or official third-party visa application company, as information changes and the advice you receive from us may be out of date or no longer relevant. It is your responsibility (not ours) to make sure that your passport (whether British or non-British) is valid and the necessary visa requirements are correct and up to date with the Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies) to or through which you are intending to travel. If failure to have any necessary travel or other documents results to fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed on us, you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly. If your failure to obtain a visa or entry to the country in question occurs then you will not be entitled to any refund or compensation from us outside of what is stated in the Cancellation By You (clause 3) of our terms and conditions.

Basic information regarding the applicable visas, documentation and health requirements are provided in the pre-departure pack; however please be aware that we have no responsibility for the accuracy of this information as regulations change in the UK and the country(ies) in question. Please conform to the above paragraph in addition to reading our information.

15. FINANCIAL SECURITY

In accordance to the The Package Travel and Linked travel Arrangements Regulations 2018; all monies paid by you to us for the cost of your holiday will be held in a trustee account until after the scheduled return date of your holiday. This means that in the unlikely event of our insolvency your money will be refunded back to you, or offered as payment towards another holiday with another supplier or used to ensure safe return to where the tour started from, from your current location if you are on a holiday whilst the insolvency occurs. However as we do not sell or provide international flights to and from our tours and your home country we will only be liable to provide you safe transport to the first port of call on your arrival in the country of the tour (or the location where the tour started if these locations differ).

We do not provide flights direct with ourselves. Any international flights booked on recommendation by us or sourced independently by you are not in any way provided by us and we accept no responsibility for any problems incurred during the booking or the actual flight. Any problems thus incurred of any kind whatsoever will have to be taken up with the provider recommended or sourced independently by you, in accordance to their complaints procedure. Any internal or domestic flights included in any package are booked and paid for in full, direct by a tour provider in the country where the flight and holiday takes place. By booking with any of our recommended providers you will be covered by their Air Travel Organiser’s Licence issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (ATOL number 2962.). This means that your flights are ATOL protected. ATOL Protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom. In the unlikely event of the provider’s insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not left stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. If you have found and booked your flights completely independently from our recommendations you will have to use your own due diligence in ensuring that the provider of the flight is ATOL protected so you are protected in accordance with the above mentioned legislation.

16. PRICES AND BROCHURE ACCURACY

Please note, the information and prices shown in this website, brochure or any information provided to you by verbal communication, email or letter may have changed by the time you come to book your holiday. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the website, brochure and any other means of communication with you and prices at the time of writing / printing, 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.

This brochure / website is our sole responsibility. It is not issued on behalf of and does not commit any independent organisation/carriers whose services are featured in it.

17. CONDITIONS OF SUPPLIERS

Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions (see clause 12(5)).

18. DELAY

We regret we are not in a position to offer you any assistance in the event of delay at your outward or homeward point of departure. Any airline concerned may however provide refreshments etc.

19. SAFETY STANDARDS

Please note, it is the requirements and standards of the country in which any services which make up your holiday are provided which apply to those services and not those of the UK. As a general rule, these requirements and standards will not be the same as the UK and may often be lower.

20. SINGLE ROOMS AND SUPPLEMENTS

We regret that nearly all the lodges and hotels we use charge single room supplements, as they are usually small establishments needing to fill all beds. If you particularly wish for a single room, we are normally able to provide one for you at the supplement price listed for each tour. If you wish to share (to avoid the supplement) we can usually match you up with someone else of similar age and sex, also wishing to share. If we are unable to do this, we regret that the single supplement must be charged (although sometimes at a reduced, negotiated rate) unless your booking was received by us at least 6 months prior to the holiday’s departure.

N.B. We regret that this offer does not apply to those booked on our Special Offers page and Late Availability page.

21. PRIVACY POLICY & GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (GDPR)

For our full privacy policy and information about how we adhere to the GDPR you can visit our privacy policy webpage (https://www.royle-safaris.co.uk/privacy-policy/) or request a copy of this sent to you.

22. USE OF PICTURES AND IMAGE RELEASE

By completing our Guest Details Form and Waiver Release in conjunction with booking any of our trips you agree that your image and likeness can be used for our social media and advertising campaigns and posts. Any images you present to us from your trip can also be used by us in publications, posts and advertisements. We will provide credits where needed and requested.