Refund and cancellation policy

1. Purpose and scope

1.1 This policy explains how refunds and cancellations work for the safaris, tours, day trips and other travel services (“the Services”) that Canine Safaris Ltd (“we”, “us”) provides or arranges. It forms part of our Terms and Conditions and applies to every booking.

1.2 It is written to meet our duties to clients under the laws of Uganda, including the Contracts Act, 2010, the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act and the Tourism Act, 2008.

1.3 “The start date” means the first day on which any part of your Services begins, for example the day of pick-up or the day of the first booked activity.

2. If you cancel

2.1 To cancel, please write to us at caninesafarisltd@gmail.com, giving your name and booking details. The date we receive your written notice is the cancellation date. We will confirm in writing that we have received it.

2.2 The refund depends on how many days before the start date we receive your notice:

60 days or more before the start date: full refund (100 percent).

30 to 59 days before the start date: 90 percent refund.

14 to 29 days before the start date: 85 percent refund.

7 to 13 days before the start date: 75 percent refund.

Less than 7 days before the start date: 50 percent refund.

2.3 The percentage is applied to the amount you have paid for the Services we provide, after taking out the amounts described in clause 3, which are paid to third parties and follow their own rules.

2.4 Examples: a group that cancels 45 days before the start date receives 90 percent of the refundable amount. A traveller who cancels 5 days before the start date receives 50 percent of it.

3. Amounts paid to third parties

3.1 To confirm some Services, we pay other organisations on your behalf, for example permits, park and conservation fees, accommodation deposits, and flight, ferry or other transport tickets. These organisations have their own cancellation rules, and the money is often not returned to us.

3.2 We will tell you in your quote or booking confirmation which amounts are paid to third parties in this way. If a third party refunds all or part of an amount, we will pass on the refund to you in full, less any fee that third party or its bank charges us for processing it.

3.3 Gorilla trekking permits and chimpanzee tracking permits issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, and similar wildlife activity permits, are not refundable. They are bought from the Authority for a named person and date, and once they are paid for the money is committed. This applies whatever the reason for cancelling, including illness. If the Authority allows a permit to be moved to another date, we may, at our discretion and at your written request, ask it to do so, but we do not promise that it will agree, and any fee that the Authority or we charge for the change is paid by you. If the Authority cannot host your activity and gives us a new date or a refund, we will pass it on to you.

3.4 The percentages in clause 2.2 do not apply to the amounts in this clause.

4. Medical and exceptional reasons

4.1 If you cannot travel because of illness, injury or a serious family emergency, please tell us as soon as possible and send supporting evidence, such as a doctor's certificate. We will consider each case individually and may agree a refund or a move to a new date. This does not apply to the non-refundable amounts in clause 3.

4.2 Where a refund is paid on medical grounds, we charge a handling fee of USD 30 per traveller.

4.3 Every traveller must have travel insurance that covers cancellation, medical costs and emergency evacuation, as our Terms and Conditions require. Insurance can cover costs that this policy does not, and we are not responsible for any cost that insurance would have covered.

5. Changing your trip instead of cancelling

5.1 If you would like to move your trip to other dates, please ask us as early as you can. We will try to rebook you, subject to availability and to the terms of our suppliers. Any difference in price, and any charge a supplier makes for the change, is paid by you, and we will show you proof of the charge.

5.2 If we cannot rebook you and you decide to cancel, the refund is worked out under clause 2 using the date we received your first request.

6. No-shows and leaving early

6.1 If you do not arrive for the start of your trip, or you cancel on or after the start date, no refund is due. If we can recover part of the cost of an unused service from a supplier, we will refund that amount to you.

6.2 If you leave a trip after it has started, or choose not to use a service that was included, we cannot refund the unused part unless a supplier refunds it to us.

7. If we cancel or change your trip

7.1 We may cancel or change all or part of a trip if a supplier, the Government or the Uganda Wildlife Authority cannot provide the activity or host the event, if conditions such as weather, road or park closures, epidemics or security make the trip unsafe or impossible, or if a change you have asked for would make the trip impractical or uneconomical.

7.2 If we cancel or change a trip for a reason that is not your fault, we will offer you, at your choice: a new date that suits you; an alternative of similar value; or a refund of everything you have paid for the Services that were cancelled.

7.3 If the cause is beyond our reasonable control, we are not liable to pay you anything beyond those options, but we will always provide an alternative where we can and a refund where we cannot.

7.4 If we cancel because a payment is overdue, the cancellation is treated as a cancellation by you under clause 2.

8. How and when refunds are paid

8.1 We pay refunds within 45 days of the cancellation date, or of the date we agree to the refund, to the same account or mobile money number that made the payment, unless you agree another method in writing.

8.2 Refunds are paid in the currency in which you paid. If a conversion is needed, we use the rate that applied to your payment. Bank and mobile money charges that the receiving side deducts are not our responsibility.

8.3 Amounts that depend on a third party's refund are paid within 14 days of the day we receive the third party's payment.

8.4 We keep a written record of every cancellation and refund, and we will give you a statement showing how the refund was worked out.

9. Questions and complaints

9.1 If you are unhappy with a decision about a refund, please write to us at caninesafarisltd@gmail.com within 28 days of receiving it, with your booking details. We aim to acknowledge your message within 5 working days and to give you a full reply within 30 days.

9.2 If we cannot resolve it, you may contact the Uganda Tourism Board, which regulates tour operators, or you may use the dispute process in our Terms and Conditions. Nothing in this policy limits the rights you have under the law.

10. Contact us

10.1 To cancel, change a booking or ask about a refund, please email caninesafarisltd@gmail.com or call +256 700 226975. Our address and other contact details are on the contact page.

10.2 Issued by the management of Canine Safaris Ltd.