Terms & Conditions

Route Africa Travel & Tours (“RATT”) facilitates the purchase by customers (“Customers”) of travel related services, accommodations, transportation, entertainment, recreation and travel packages (collectively, “Travel Related Services”), which Travel Related Services are provided by providers (“Service Providers”) unrelated to and having no connection to Africa Answers.

In utilizing the services of Route Africa Travel & Tours to book, reserve and pay for Travel Related Services, you, the customer (“Customer”), agree to be bound by these terms and conditions (“Terms & Conditions”) which describe the terms and conditions by which Route Africa Travel & Tours will agree to provide its services to Customer.

AGREEMENT

Acceptance: A deposit for a booking constitutes Customer’s acceptance of these Terms & Conditions.

Deposit: Bookings require a minimum ZAR 2 000.00 per-person deposit to hold reservations for land services. Some tours will require a larger deposit. The Customer will be notified if a larger deposit is required. Deposits are NON-REFUNDABLE. In addition to the land services deposit, airline reservations (where requested) must be paid for in full and ticketed to confirm space and guarantee airfare rate. Airfare payment due dates and ticketing due dates are separate, and in addition to the initial deposit and final payment for land services.

Deposits Air: Airline Reservations, Airfares & Tickets: Airline regulations require that names on tickets match the passport, therefore, customer must provide a copy of each travelers passport photo page. A ZAR 550.00 per ticket change fee will apply for incorrect information due to not having copies of the passport page. Airline reservations cannot be confirmed, nor airfares guaranteed, unless Route Africa Travel & Tours has received payment in full and by the due date. Each fare will have different terms and conditions, please contact us to obtain specific conditions for your fare. Some fares may permit changes upon payment of change fees, penalties and possible additional fare collection. In addition to these fees, Route Africa Travel & Tours reserves the right to assess a R 550.00 ticket re-issue for changes such as, but not limited to, name change, date or flight change and cancellation.

Changes: Once a deposit has been received, a ZAR 550.00 per booking change fee will apply. This fee will be waived if the total value of the booking increases. Other fees are at the discretion of the hotels, tour operators, rental car agencies and other Service Providers.

Payment: Before final payment is made you will receive a final invoice that has been updated to reflect any currency fluctuations. Prices are not locked in until full payment has been made.

Cancellations: Cancellation penalties may vary depending on the products booked. Customer cancellation before the full payment due date will incur loss of the non-refundable deposit as specified above and any charges received from suppliers. Customer cancellation on or after the full payment due date, but more than 60 days prior to departure, will incur a penalty equal to 50% of the total booking cost. Route Africa Travel & Tours will make no refunds for Customer cancellations made less than 45 days before departure or subsequent to travel commencement. Other cancellation fees or refunds for Customer cancellation are at the discretion of the hotels, tour operators, rental car agencies and other Service Providers with which Customer has reserved Travel Related Services. 

Air Cancellation/Change Penalties: In addition to the above mentioned Route Africa Travel & Tours cancellation penalties, Airline tickets, once issued are in total non-refundable. Changes may be made depending on the fare purchased and fees will apply. These fees will be advised when the changes are requested and can vary by airline. Please note it is the passengers responsibility to provide Route Africa Travel & Tours with the correct full name for your airline ticket, if a ticket needs to be re-issued because Route Africa Travel & Tours was not given the correct information a ZAR 550.00 ticket re-issue fee will apply.

Cancellation Fees (Land): Cancellation fees will be levied relative to the amount of notice given (minimum per person ZAR 2500.00).

Travel Protection: We recommend that you purchase a travel protection plan to help protect you and your travel investment against the unexpected. Travel protection plans include coverage for Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, Emergency Medical and Emergency Evacuation/Repatriation, Trip Delay, Baggage Delay and more.

Prior to purchase, you may view/download the Policy for the full coverage terms and details, including limitations and exclusions. Travel Insurance is underwritten by :

Late Bookings: Any booking made (deposit paid) within 2 weeks of departure will incur a ZAR 500.00 per booking fee. This fee is to cover the cost of expediting the confirmation of your booking and to cover the cost of Courier shipment of the documents.

Documents: Route Africa Travel & Tours will send documents via email or using Couriers for the same. The following schedule applies dependent on when final payment is received. Bookings paid in full 60 days or more prior to departure will receive paper documents within 3 weeks of departure date. Bookings paid in full between 31-59 days will receive paper documents within 2 weeks of departure date. Bookings paid in full between 21-30 days will receive e-docs 1 week prior to departure. You may request paper documents for a ZAR 250.00 fee covering travel wallets and postage, to be received 1 week prior to departure. Any bookings paid in full under 21 days will receive edocs only. There is no option for paper documents. E-docs will be sent prior to departure date.

Late Bookings: Any booking made (deposit paid) within 3 weeks of departure will incur a ZAR 250.00 per booking fee. This fee is to cover the cost of expediting the confirmations and e-documents for your booking.

Rush Docs Fee: Any requests for early documents will incur a ZAR 250.00 Docs Rush Fee.

Docs Reissue Fee: If you have made changes to your booking after documents have been sent, and you require a new set of paper documents to be couriered a ZAR 250.00 Reissue Docs Fee will apply.

Prices: Route Africa Travel & Tours quotes prices in ZAR currency based on the exchange rates for the respective foreign currency, as of the date of the quote. Exchange rates fluctuate. Customer’s exchange rate is only fixed when full payment is made, unless otherwise noted on Customer’s itinerary. Any price that Route Africa Travel & Tours quotes is subject to change without notice until full payment is made. All prices are ‘from’ and seasonal surcharges and currency fluctuations apply.

Children: Be aware that some travel products do not allow children below a certain age. If Customer plans to travel with children, Customer must notify Route Africa Travel & Tours when booking and provide a clear copy of the passport page for each traveling child so Route Africa Travel & Tours can verify ages.

Passports/Visas: A passport valid for six months beyond the date of return travel is required for entry into all countries. It is important to check the visa requirements ahead of time.

NOTE: An airline ticket and itinerary does not guarantee you entry into a country. It is the travelers responsibility to divulge any information pertaining to, but not limited to, a criminal record, health records and all other reasons that may impede your entry into a destination. Route Africa Travel & Tours accepts no responsibility for inaccurate or false information. 

Limitation of Liability: Route Africa Travel & Tours shall not be liable for any claims, losses, damages, costs, expenses, delays, sickness, injury, or loss of enjoyment, of any nature or kind whatsoever, resulting from events beyond Route Africa’s or a Service Provider’s reasonable control. In no event will Route Africa’s liability exceed the total amounts Customer paid Route Africa Travel & Tours for Customer’s travel. Route Africa Travel & Tours assumes no responsibility for lost tickets, documents, passes, or coupons.

Relationship of the Parties: Route Africa Travel & Tours shall be deemed to be an independent contractor for all purposes under these Terms & Conditions. Route Africa Travel & Tours is acting solely to facilitate the reservation and purchase of Travel Related Services and is not acting in any other capacity with either the Customers or the Service Providers, including, but not limited to, any partnership, joint venture, co-ownership, or agency relationship of any kind with any Customer or Service Provider. Route Africa Travel & Tours does not have any control over the quality, timing, safety or legality of any Travel Related Service actually reserved or purchased by or for a Customer. Route Africa Travel & Tours does not and can not control whether or not a Service Provider represents its products accurately or fulfills any agreement or obligation with any Customer.

Disputes & Indemnity: As Route Africa Travel & Tours is not involved in providing the Travel Related Services for the Customer, any and all disputes between a Customer and Service Provider are solely between that Customer and that Service Provider, and the Customer and Service Provider should handle all such disputes directly with that Customer or Service Provider. If Service Provider or Customer contacts Route Africa Travel & Tours relating to any dispute between the Customer or Service Provider, Route Africa Travel & Tours may, in its sole discretion, facilitate dispute resolution and reserves the right to take any action that Route Africa Travel & Tours deems appropriate under the circumstances. Customer agrees to release Route Africa Travel & Tours and its agents and employees from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. Furthermore, Customer agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Route Africa Travel & Tours from any liability, loss, claim and expense, including reasonable attorney’s fees, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes.

Validity: These Terms & Conditions are valid until further notice in writing from Route Africa Travel & Tours.

SPECIAL PACKAGE PRICING

Clients purchasing a series package special must adhere to the following terms and conditions:

Payment: Full payment is due at time of booking your holiday. Customer will be notified if earlier payment is required. If the full payment is not paid by the stipulated date, Route Africa Travel & Tours reserves the right to cancel the booking(s) without further notice and without refund of deposit. Prices are not guaranteed until full payment has been made. Packages are 100% non refundable/non changeable once paid for in full.

Package Pricing: A ZAR 550.00 fee will apply if changes are made to the package before deposit.

Cancellation: Once paid in full, all services are NON REFUNDABLE.

E-Documents: All documentation will be sent electronically within two weeks of departure.  Please advise a valid email address at time of booking.

Important

South African law requires travelers to have one (1) blank (unstamped) visa page in their passport to enter the country. In practice, however, travelers may need more than one page as there have been instances in the past of South African immigration officers requiring travelers to have two (2) blank pages. Travelers are advised to have two blank pages; one for the South African temporary residence permit sticker that is issued upon entry to the country, and an additional page to allow for entry and exit stamps for South Africa and other countries to be visited en route to South Africa or elsewhere in the region. Travelers without the requisite blank visa pages in their passports may be refused entry into South Africa, fined and returned to their point of origin at their own expense. South African authorities have denied diplomatic missions access to assist in these cases.

Route Africa Travel  & Tours is a division of Travpaq Tourism Group (Pty) Ltd – Registration number 2012/162516/07