The Fine Print: Booking Terms & Conditions

PRICES
Cape Insights guarantees that our published prices will not change once your deposit has been received.
Tour prices cover virtually everything – accommodation, transport, the services of expert lecturers and tour leaders, all gratuities, all admissions, all drinks with meals, all breakfasts, most lunches, nominated dinners.
Prices do not include air travel to and from South Africa.
Should you pay by credit card, 3% will be added to offset bank charges.
We charge a single supplement to individual travellers who want to ensure that they have private rooms throughout a trip.
All tours are offered subject to Cape Insights’ Booking Conditions.

MAKING A BOOKING
Our prices are in South African Rands (ZAR). The Value Added Tax (VAT) rate of 14% applies and is included in the tour price. We do not levy surcharges.
To make a provisional reservation, you are asked to contact us first to confirm availability, and then to complete and return the Booking Form, which is available online or offline.
On receiving your booking form and payment, we send you a confirmation of your booking, from which time a contract exists between you and Cape Insights, and after which your deposit is non returnable, except in the circumstances mentioned below.
The ”signatory” is responsible for ensuring that the booking conditions are drawn to the attention of every person on whose behalf s/he has made the booking.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE
To reserve a Small Group tour, we require a deposit of R5,000 per person, per tour. Full payment or the balance of payment is due 10 weeks (70 days) prior to the start of the tour. Eight weeks before a Small Group tour starts, you receive full details of all aspects of the tour. At this stage we require additional information, such as special requirements and your flight details.
To reserve an Add-On tour, we will hold a provisional reservation for an agreed period (usually a week). Full payment is required on confirmation of availability. Should a tour be cancelled within 30 days of the start date, a 25% cancellation fee of the total tour price applies.
To reserve a Custom tour, to commence planning your trip, an initial deposit is required of R5,000 per/trip (50% non refundable). To confirm the booking, 30% of the total tour price is required (at this point the initial deposit becomes fully non refundable). The balance of payment is due 70 days prior to the tour start date. Should a tour be cancelled within 30 days of the start date, a 25% cancellation fee of the total tour price applies.
To reserve a Day tour, full payment is required on confirmation of availability. A 25% cancellation fee applies if cancelled 30 days to 73 hours prior to tour, and a 100% cancellation fee if cancelled 72 – 01 hour(s) prior.

CANCELLATIONS & CONDITIONS
We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive your written / online confirmation of cancellation.
If you cancel a Small Group tour, the terms and fees are as follows:

If we cancel a Small Group tour:
We would advise you eight weeks or more before a Small Group tour and would refund you fully.
We would cancel a tour if there were too few participants, or if the quality of the tour or the safety of the participants is judged to be compromised by circumstances amounting to force majeure, such as civil unrest, hostilities, natural disasters or adverse weather conditions.
We reserve the right to cancel any tour at any time for any reason.

CHANGES
Circumstances sometimes arise which prevent us from operating the tour exactly as advertised – and we would try to devise a satisfactory alternative.
If the change represents a significant loss to the tour, we would offer commensurate compensation, or give a full refund if you decide to cancel because the alternative is not acceptable.
Wherever possible, we would advise you of such changes prior to departure, or we would adjust the itinerary to avoid a risky area, but we would not assume responsibility for any loss incurred.

ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT OPTIONS
Should you prefer to transact offline, simply Contact us and provide us with a number where we can reach you in person, so as to arrange making an alternative payment.
Or else you can make payment via a direct bank deposit.
Download a Booking Form and fax it to us +27(0)86 689 2019.

TRAVEL & HEALTH DOCUMENTS
We count on you to make your own necessary visa arrangements as well as take appropriate health measures.
Participants must have passports valid for six months after the date of return (plus contain at least two unused pages, for endorsements).
Since you are making your own travel arrangements, the only proviso is that it is your responsibility to join your tour on time.

INSURANCE
Before departure you must have appropriate travel insurance to cover such things as medical treatment, repatriation, loss of property and cancellation charges.

ELIGIBILITY & FITNESS
If you are in any doubt about your own suitability, we ask that you make this known to us before you book, and we shall try and advise you.
We require participants to have a level of fitness and mobility which will not spoil other travellers’ enjoyment of the tour by slowing them down.
We reserve the right to decline a reservation without necessarily giving a reason.

AFFILIATIONS & ACCREDITATION
We are a member of Cape Town Tourism, the official representative of  the greater Cape Town area.
We hold public liability insurance with SATIB (Safari & Tourism Insurance Brokers), the established leader in tourism, insurance &  risk management services.
Our secure online payment portal, My Gate, is approved by FNB, a division of First Rand Bank Limited, an authorised financial services and credit provider.
Our insurance policies comply with the European Union Directive 90/314/ EEC relating to the Travel Trade Act, 1995.
Cape Insights offers and operates all tours listed herein. Registration No. 2006/224867/23
We operate some small group tours in association with these companies:
GiltEdge Travel, winner of the World Travel Awards ”Leading luxury tour operator in South Africa”. They are fully accredited with SATSA (Southern Africa Tourism Services Association); ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents);  IATA (the International Air Transport Association) and TRAVEL SMART. GiltEdge Travels holds a ZAR 5 million public liability insurance with SATIB (Safari & Tourism Insurance Brokers), the leaders in tourism insurance & risk management services with over 25 years of dedicated service to the tourism, hospitality & wildlife industries in southern Africa;
Passage to Africa, premier Africa safari specialists with professional Pan African guides, who are similarly accredited.    

REFERRAL REWARD
Our undertaking is that when you refer a friend to us and s/he travels with us for the first time, you receive a tour credit of R2,000 and your friend receives a legendary bottle of wine (Vin de Constance, Klein Constantia), or if preferred, an award-wining  cook book.
This offer applies to parties who do not share the same home address and who book for a Small Group tour or an Add-On tour.
We ask you to let us know this via the Booking Form, which constitutes a contract between you and Cape Insights.

LINKS
Our website contains links to other sites for your convenience and information. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.

LIMITS OF OUR LIABILITY & INDEMNITY
We accept responsibility for most of the ingredients of a tour, though with independent suppliers or third party providers, there may be a failure or improper performance of some services, attributable to unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, and for these Cape Insights may not be liable.
Our responsibilities are also limited where international conventions apply in respect of air, sea or rail carriers.
We are not responsible for any loss incurred on account of non-refundable or non-transferable air tickets or other unrecoverable travel costs.
To indemnify Cape Insights we ask that you read and agree to the Booking Conditions, as well as assume full responsibility for your needs in respect of personal insurance and health insurance, in case of any loss of property or illness, injury or death.

VALIDITY & JURISDICTION
Should any aspect of the tour be regarded as less than satisfactory, you are asked to bring the matter to our attention immediately, or to contact us in writing at the company address within 21 days of the incident.
These conditions form part of your contract with Cape Insights and are governed by the laws of South Africa and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Republic of South Africa.
We choose domicilium citandi et executandi for all communication purposes.
PO Box 15594| Vlaeberg 8018| Cape Town | South Africa