TERMS & CONDITIONS

All trips operated by VICTORIA EXPEDITIONS TANZANIA are covered by the following Terms and Conditions.

For all Tour package prices the following is included in the tour: park’s entrance fees if the tour goes into parks, etc., Camping fees, Full-board accommodation in camps/Lodges/hotels, etc., English-speaking guides (French or Spanish guides can be supplied), cook (for mountain trekking, etc.), 4×4 vehicles, Flying Doctors Society of Africa emergency Rescue and evacuation, Other Accommodation outside parks as specified, Beverage such as Water and juice is supplied on the tour.

For all other bookings, it is the singular booking of hotels, transport, activities, etc., that determines what is included in the price.

Tipping and personal requirements (e.g. special alcoholic and other beverages required by the client) are not included in the price.

  • If the client shortens the program on his/her own accord, there is no refund made.
  • Upon extension of a safari program after arrival, payment should be made in the office before the extension can be approved.
  • If the car breaks down and the client loses a day (more than 3 hours), an extra day is compensated.
  • It is the client’s responsibility to sign up for travel insurance while travelling with VET (see conditions below).
  • The Flying Doctors Society of Africa emergency Rescue and evacuation service is included in the tour price.
  • The company will not be responsible for the loss or damage of the client’s property on the tour.

Clients receive a detailed itinerary describing the different places they will go and things they will see, so they know what to expect. The safari services agreed upon with the client are what will be provided, except in the event of unforeseen circumstances, such as road closures, bad weather, problems or security considerations. In such cases the itinerary may be changed, at the discretion of the company, clients informed, and alternative arrangements made as circumstances permit. Victoria Expeditions Tanzania will make every reasonable effort to ensure the same quality and character of the itinerary.

Clients must accept that conditions in Tanzania are not the same as those in developed countries. In Tanzania, we are exposed to unannounced and sudden changes in government-regulated fees and taxes, such as national park fees and taxes. Victoria Expeditions Tanzania has the right to pass these local taxes/fees on to their customers.

Payment terms

After clients confirmed their booking, they will receive a booking confirmation via email, and we will communicate with them to confirm all details of their booking and when they and if they have a balance to pay.
In order to confirm our clients’ reservations, we require a minimum of 33% deposit payment of the itinerary cost (for some itineraries it is 50%) and 100% upfront payment for airline tickets and other bookings such as hotel rooms, etc. The balance of payment is due 90 days prior to the commencement date of your itinerary.
Bookings made within 90 days prior to departure are subject to full prepayment at the time of confirming the reservation. (If booked and the deposit is paid online you will receive a request to pay the balance within 72 hours of receiving the request if there is a balance to be paid.) The payment can be done to our bank or online.)

Methods of Payment

Payments can be made by bank wire/transfer or through our online payment service provider DPO.

Cancellation policy

In the event that you cancel your booking, in full or partially, for any reason whatsoever Victoria Expeditions Tanzania will levy cancellation charges as defined in the section below. (Make sure you have travel insurance in case the cancellation is due to health issues or alike.)

  • 90+ days before departure: deposit non-refundable
  • 60-90 days before departure: 55% of the itinerary cost
  • 0-59 days before departure: 100% of the itinerary cost

After your booking has been confirmed, should you wish to make any changes to your itinerary or wish for an earlier departure date, we will make every effort to accommodate your requests based on availability. However, the extra costs involved in making changes are $150, – however, if you have booked an airline ticket you will also have to pay the difference in the ticket cost with the airline booked and a potential changing fee with them.

Fully accredited member of Tala with a license

With the registered name of VCT Expeditions Safari & Travel Limited license number 010352.

We want to inspire complete confidence in you, so that when you book with us, you know you’re being looked after from beginning to end. Victoria Expeditions Tanzania is fully licensed by the Tanzania Tourist Board and we’re on standby 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can check out our license at their website which you can find here by typing in our license number.

Website pricing

All prices published on victoria-luxury.com are based per person and the price will reflect as you change the number of people booking so that you will get the total price including taxes and are quoted in 3 currencies such as Euro (€), US dollars ($) and British Pound (£).

The cost of obtaining passports or visas, border taxes (if applicable), tips for guide, driver and hotel staff, insurance, additional excursions or personal expenses are not included in the itinerary cost.

Discount rates for children under 16 years of age are 25% and are deducted from the price as you add them to the booking, Infants under the age of 3 are free of charge.

Prices are regulated according to season and prices reflected on the website are the prices you will pay. We are though not responsible for any increase in price from 3rd party suppliers or government taxes that can change at any time. Victoria Expeditions Tanzania cannot be held responsible for any changes or pricing errors. VET will specify all costs in their invoices.

Travel documents

If your holiday has been booked and paid a minimum of 4 weeks before arrival, you will receive some travel documents that are needed for your itinerary (these could be: ID-tag, vouchers, e-tickets, luggage labels and flyers as needed) about 1 to 2 weeks before departure.

Insurances

It is a condition of booking, that the sole responsibility lies with the guest to ensure that they carry the correct comprehensive travel and medical insurance to cover themselves, as well as any dependents/travelling companions for the duration of their trip to Tanzania.

This insurance should include medical expenses and repatriation expenses.

Optional insurances are cancellation or curtailment of the safari, damage/theft/loss of personal baggage, money and goods.

Flying doctors Society of Africa emergency Rescue and evacuation service is included in the tour price (Emergency evacuation expenses from a tour location to Nairobi, + ambulance service from the airport to a hospital of the client’s choice.)

Passports and visas

It is upon the guest to ensure that passports and visas are valid for Tanzania visits. Most nationalities can get a tourist visa on arrival in Tanzania at the border/airport ($50 per person, US Citizens $100 per person). This tourist visa is valid for a period of three months. You can also get your visa in advance at the embassy in your home country or via the e-visa service at https://eservices.immigration.go.tz/visa/ Check the visa rules before you go. (Notice for European travellers, if you pay with Euro, and you pay 50 Euro, you are not refunded the higher value of Euro)

Passports should have at least six months of validity after the final day of travel. VET cannot be held liable for any visas, etc. not held by the guests, nor the cost of visas.

Check names

Please check the names on your booking carefully and make sure they are correct. After your initial booking and deposit, and we have confirmed the booking there will be a service charge of $100, – in case we need to change a name, 3 or more days after the booking is confirmed.

Remember making a booking with VET is taken as the Terms & Conditions are being accepted by the customer.

The holidays featured on our website are operated by VCT Expeditions Safari & Travel Limited under the name of Victoria Expeditions Tanzania (hereinafter called “VET”, “we” or “us”), which is registered in Tanzania under Tanzania Tourist Board under the license 010352 and as a registered company under the company registration with Brela under the registration number 139-321-642 which is also our TIN number.

The following conditions will form part of your contract with VET so please read them carefully before you book. Please note that payment of your deposit signifies acceptance of the below terms and conditions:


  1. Contract:
    Your contract is with VCT Expeditions Safari & Travel Limited. (Hereinafter called “Victoria expeditions Tanzania”, “VET”, “we” or “us”). We draw your attention to the following terms and conditions, which cover all brochures and correspondence and all bookings made with us. Any contract with VET is subject to these terms and conditions from which no person other than a VET director has the authority to depart. Before making a booking with us you must ensure that you have read and understood these booking conditions (raising any queries you may have with us). By asking us to confirm your booking you are liable to be regarded as having had the opportunity to do so and to have actually done so before the contract between us comes into existence.
  2. Booking Procedures
    VET do offer package holidays and will also create a tailor-made holiday to suit your personal needs. A binding contract comes into existence between us when:

    1. We receive a deposit of a minimum of 30% of the quoted price, or;
    2. When we receive full payment of the holiday when the booking is made less than 12 weeks before your departure date;
    3. And the Terms and conditions are considered to have been accepted with the booking.

No contract will exist between the parties until such monies have been received. We require full payment to be made for your holiday a minimum of 12 weeks prior to the departure date.
If full payment is not received (Means on our account) a minimum of 12 weeks prior to the departure date, we reserve the right to cancel your holiday and apply the cancellation charges set out in paragraph 5.
Cancellation will be without penalty to us, and we will have no further liability to you. If however, you have already provided us with your credit or debit card details whether this was to make a payment on account or not, and you do not specifically notify us in writing to the contrary prior to the date upon which any balance becomes payable by you, you agree that we may use such credit or debit card details to obtain payment of any balance due by you under this agreement.
The lead booking name is liable for making full payment for all persons in the booking party and all those in the booking party agree to be bound by conditions (including anyone added or substituted at a later stage). It is the responsibility of the lead booking name responsible for making the booking to ensure all in their party are aware of and have read these terms and conditions. If you accept our prices and/or quote in respect of your holiday you must make a deposit or full payment as stated for that particular booking at the time of the booking or within 72 hours if paying by bank transfer. A delay in acceptance of the quote may result in a variation in the holiday price. Where the proposed departure date is within 12 weeks of the booking and/or quote being given, we require full payment at the time of the booking.

  1. Medical conditions and disabilities
    If you or any member of your party have 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. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned, we must reserve the right to decline the booking or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, the booking will be cancelled when we become aware of these details, and paragraph 5 will come into effect.
  2. Documentation
    Please carefully read the confirmation documentation we send you as soon as you receive them. Contact us immediately if any information appears to be incorrect as it may not be possible to make changes later. We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracy in any documentation within 14 days of our sending it out to your contact information. You will be responsible for any costs and expenses involved in rectifying any inaccuracies except where we made the mistake.
  3. Cancellation by you
    Cancellation of a holiday must be made in writing and is effective from the date we receive the written notification. In all cases of cancellation, the deposit, and any amendment charges will be forfeited. Please note that any costs of international flights are 100% non-refundable. Cancellation charges are expressed at a percentage of your quoted price (excluding international flights) as follows: –

    Period before departure when we receive your written cancellation Cancellation charge per person cancelling
    More than 90+ days Deposit only
    Between 60 and 90 days 55%
    0 and 59 days 100%
  1. Surcharges
    Matters influencing a surcharge would include, but are not limited to, increases in transportation costs e.g. fuel, scheduled airfares and any other airline surcharges, taxes or fees payable for services such as landing taxes, or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports, or increases in park fees, reserve fees or concession fees. The price of your itinerary will be based on known costs at the date of issue of the itinerary.
    We as the organiser have the right to change the travel agreement if it concerns minor changes and if we have informed you in a clear, understandable and prominent manner and in good time. You can not reject this change by regulations. If we as the organiser are obliged to make a substantial change before the start of travel, he shall inform you in a clear and comprehensible manner and ask you whether you wish to accept the proposed changes or cancel the travel agreement. If the changes imply a reduction in the quality or cost of the travel package, we will if the reduction is more than 2% reduce the price of the package with that price. Significant changes are understood to mean changes in the main characteristics of travel services. A change of hotel of the same standard is not considered a significant change. For travel packages commencing 30 days or later after notification of the change as referred to in the previous paragraph, you must inform VET of your decision no later than 48 hours after receipt of the notification. For travel packages commencing within 30 days after notification, you must inform VET of your decision without delay and in any case within 24 hours. If you fail to communicate your decision within the set period, you will be deemed to have accepted the changes. Up to twenty days before the commencement of the travel package, VET may increase the travel sum by no more than 8%, but only if that is due to:
    an increase in fuel costs or;
    •      an increase in the cost price of other energy sources or;
    •      an increase in taxes or; an increase in fees for travel services included in the agreement, charged by third parties not directly involved in its implementation (such as Hotels, ferry, bus companies etc.), including tourist taxes, park fees, landing fees and departure or arrival taxes at ports and/or airports. We as the organiser reserve the right to increase the price even in the event of an increase in the exchange rates which are relevant to the travel package. You are entitled to a price reduction less the administrative costs actually incurred if, for the same reasons, the costs as described in this article decrease. If we increase the travel sum by more than 8% you shall have the right to reject this increase and the right to terminate the travel agreement where only the booking fee will be forfeited.If you do not accept the changes and VET cannot offer you an alternative travel package or if you do not accept this, the organiser shall refund all amounts paid by you without delay and in any case within 14 days of cancellation except the paid booking deposit. If you accept the alternative offer, you are entitled to an appropriate price reduction.At any time before full payment of your holiday has been made VET reserves the right to levy a surcharge where costs have changed since the date of issue of the itinerary. VET will absorb amounts up to 2% of the total holiday price and surcharges greater than 2% are to be paid by you as the client. Should the surcharge exceed 8% of the total holiday price you are entitled to cancel the holiday and receive a full refund of all monies paid minus the booking deposit. We reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in advertised prices at any time before your holiday is confirmed. We will advise you of any errors of which we are aware and of the then applicable price at the time of booking.
  2. Amendments by you
    If you wish to change your itinerary after a deposit has been made, we will do our utmost to make the changes required, provided that notification is received in writing.
    The change fee is $100 per person. We cannot make alterations to your itinerary within 12 weeks of departure and any such request will be treated as a cancellation of the original booking and will be subject to the cancellation charges set out in paragraph 5.
  3. Cancellation by VET
    We reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your holiday for any reason at any time before full payment has been received. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and flight cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so. In these circumstances, we will return to you all monies paid or offer an alternative holiday of a comparable standard. We may cancel your confirmed holiday if you fail to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us to cancel. We cannot accept liability or pay compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by, or you suffer any damage or loss as a result of force majeure. In these booking conditions force majeure means any event which we or the supplier of services in question could not even with all due care foresee or avoid. Such events are likely to include but are not limited to, war, the threat of war, civil strife, riot, civil disorder/unrest, industrial dispute, actual or threat of terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, a breakout of an epidemic or pandemic disease, technical problems with transport, cancellation or amendment to any scheduled flight, closure or congestion of airports or ports, adverse weather conditions and all similar events outside our control. In the circumstances amounting to force majeure, we will not refund any money to you although if we can recover any monies from our suppliers we will refund these to you.
  4. Amendments by VET
    It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your holiday although we reserve the right to make changes at any time. Most of these changes are minor and we will advise you of these in writing at the earliest possible date. When a major change is necessary such as the alteration of your outward or return flights (If it is booked through us) by more than 12 hours or a significant change in the standard of accommodation (We reserve the right to alter an accommodation to a similar standard accommodation without notice if circumstances make it needed. If to a lower standard compensation will be paid), provided it does not arise from conditions amounting to force majeure or as a result of an amendment to a scheduled airline timetable, you will have the choice of accepting the new arrangements, taking another holiday with us or cancelling your holiday and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. Compensation will not be payable and no liability beyond offering the above-mentioned choices can be accepted where we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual or unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care.No compensation will be payable and the above-mentioned options will not be available if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us to cancel, or if the change is a minor one. A minor change is a change which, taking into account the information you give us at the time of booking or which we can reasonably be expected to know as a tour operator, we would not reasonably expect to have a significant effect on your confirmed holiday. No compensation is payable to children aged 3 and under. Please note we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sums of any description, which:(a) 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;
    (b) did not result from any breach of contract or any other fault by ourselves or our employees, or where we are responsible for them through our suppliers. Additionally, we cannot accept liability for any sums which relate to any business losses.
  5. Our responsibilities
    VET accepts responsibility for ensuring your holiday is supplied as described prior to your departure and that services provided will reach a reasonable local standard, however, we draw your attention to paragraph 12. 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 other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised in our brochure, and we have not agreed to arrange them. The information contained in our brochure and website is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time.
    Our brochure descriptions and other information provided or made available in a resort often refer to “other activities and excursions”, which are available in the resort. These activities and excursions are not run nor controlled in any way by VET. They do not form any part of your contract with VET, even where we suggest or recommend particular operators/centres/trips and assist you in booking such activities or excursions in any way. Accordingly, we regret VET cannot accept any liability in relation to these outside activities and excursions. Where we make or take any bookings for or from you in respect of any activity or excursion available, we do solely as booking agents. This is the case regardless of whether the activity is advertised or mentioned in our brochure, resort, on our website or elsewhere. Your contract for any such activity or excursion will be with the supplier or operator of that activity or excursion. VET has no liability for any such activity or excursion or for any acts or omissions of the supplier or operator or for it/their employees or agents or any other persons connected with the activity or excursion. If we are found liable in any respect for any such activity or excursion for example in our capacity as a booking agent, that liability is limited to the cost of the particular activity or excursion concerned. We do not limit or exclude our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence. We would remind customers that the infrastructure in developing countries may not be up to the same standard as developed countries, such as Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, the USA, and similar. Some resorts may experience the occasional power cut or water shortage. Please note that 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:

    1. The fault of the persons affected or any members of their party, or;
    2. The fault of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday, which we could not have predicted or avoided, or;
    3. An event or circumstances which we or the supplier of the services in question could not have predicted or avoided, even after taking all reasonable care (see force majeure), or;
      d) The fault of anyone who is not carrying out work for us (generally or in particular) at the time.

In addition, we will not be responsible where you do not enjoy your holiday or suffer problems because of a reason you did not tell us about when you booked your holiday, or where any problems you suffered did not arise from any breach of our contract, or other faults of ourselves or where we were responsible for them, our suppliers or agents or where any losses, expenses, costs or other sums you have suffered related to any business.

We accept responsibility for the negligent acts of our employees, agents and direct suppliers, which results in death, injury or illness.
Our liability shall be limited to 200% of the holiday price per person for any claim other than those involving injury or death arising from our negligence.
Our suppliers, such as accommodation or transport suppliers, have their own booking conditions or conditions of carriage, and these conditions are binding between you and the supplier.
Some of these conditions may limit or remove the relevant transport providers or other suppliers’ liability to you. You can get copies of such conditions from any offices of the relevant suppliers.
If you or any member of your party is injured, killed or becomes ill as a result of transport by aircraft, ship, train or coach, the amount of compensation we will pay is limited in line with the Warsaw Convention, the Athens Convention, the Berne Convention, and the Geneva Convention.

You should also note that these conditions may limit or remove the carrier’s liability to you and the amount the carrier has to pay you. You should also note the carrier will rely upon its conditions of carriage, which may limit or remove the carrier’s liability to you and limit compensation under international conventions.
VET accepts liability as above only if a claim is notified to us in writing no later than one month after your return.

  1. Carriers
    Carriage by air and sea is subject to the terms and conditions of the carriers with whom you are travelling and to international conventions. VET accepts no liability whatsoever for cancellations, strikes, timetable changes, diversions, technical issues unrelated to VET, lost or mislaid luggage, rescheduling costs, missed accommodation, or delays which result from any operational decision of the carrier concerned.VET accepts no liability for death, injury or illness that derives from carriage by air or sea.
  2. Insurance
    VET requires clients to purchase travel insurance. We reserve the right to cancel your holiday at any time should such a policy not be taken out by you before the start of your holiday.
    Reason being that we can be made responsible by local authorities if you have no such insurance. We, therefore, would need a copy of the travel insurance made for your holiday within 2 weeks before your arrival. Should your holiday be cancelled because the travel insurance has not been made you will be forfeiting the full payment of your holiday.
  3. The law
    The above booking terms and conditions together with all correspondence form part of your contract with VET. This contract and any matters arising from it shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with Tanzanian law and the courts of Tanzania shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear any and all proceedings between us either relating to our contract or arising out of it.
  4. Waiver of Claim against Introducer
    If you have been referred to us by another party (for example a travel agent) you agree to hold them blameless and waive any and all claims against such party.
    Any issues you may have must be directed to us and dealt with under the terms of our contract.
  5. Problems
    If you have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant organiser (camp/hotel manager) immediately and he will endeavour to put things right. If your problem cannot be resolved locally you must send full details to VET in writing within 21 days of your return to your home country.
    If you fail to follow this procedure, we will not accept liability as we have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify the problem.