This website is operated by Virunga Ecotours. This website is provided solely to assist customers in gathering travel information, determining the availability of travel-related goods and services, making legitimate reservations or otherwise transacting business with travel suppliers, and for no other purposes. The terms we, us,and our, refer to Virunga Ecotours. The term you refers to the customer visiting the website and/or booking a reservation through us on this website, or through our customer service agents.

This website is offered to you conditioned upon your acceptance without modification of all the terms, conditions, and notices set forth below (collectively, the ‘Terms of Use’ or ‘Agreement’). Please read the Terms of Use carefully. By accessing or using this website, booking any travel products or services on this website, or contacting our call centre agents, you agree that the Terms of Use then in force shall apply. If you do not agree to the Terms of Use, please do not use or make bookings through this website or our call centre agents. Virunga Homestay may at any time change these Terms of Use and your continued use of this website is conditioned upon acceptance of the updated Terms of Use.

The Services offered Virunga Ecotours as defined below can only be used by customers who have first read these General Terms and Conditions and accepted them unconditionally by clicking on the appropriate box provided for the purpose. It is not possible to proceed with the booking process without this acceptance. Customers undertake to fulfil the obligations contained within these terms and conditions. The agreement between Customer and Virunga Ecotours comes into force as soon as Virunga Ecotours provides written confirmation of a booking to the customer by email.

Customers are deemed to have read, understood and accepted the following, should save and/or print a copy of these terms and conditions for future reference when making a booking.

PRICE AND PAYMENTS

The default currency on the website is American dollars (USD). Payment through the payment gateway will be processed and charged in USD. Prices in other currencies are indicative and subject to the exchange rate charged by your bank plus any transaction fee determined by the bank or other agency processing the transaction. This means the amount listed on your credit or debit card statement may be a different figure than the figure shown when making your reservations on this website. If you have any questions about these fees or any exchange rate applied to your booking, please contact your bank or credit card issuer.

BOOKING FEES & FINAL PAYMENT PER PERSON

A reservation will be affected upon receipt of your booking fees (and booking/s is/are subject to tour availability.  The booking fee forms part of your final payment.

Balance or full payment must be made 14 days prior departure.  Failure to comply with this may result in an automatic cancellation of your reservation and forfeiture of your deposit.

SERVICE FEES

No service fees shall be charged for self-service bookings made on the website. A service fee of $300 per booking will be charged if assistance is required from our support team to make bookings online.

This fee is to compensate for the time taken by our reservations team to research and plan for your travel. Should you proceed with making the reservations with us, the consultation fee will be used as part payment for your reservations with us.

NAME IN RESERVATIONS

Reservations must be booked in the guest’s name as it is displayed on the passport. Name changes are generally not allowed. The guest will be asked for a passport or ID at the time of arrival. If the name on the reservations and the passport/ID do not match, the guest will be required to make a new reservation.

CONFIRMATIONS

Confirmation of a booking includes the essential elements such as the description of the service booked and the price, which will be sent to the customer by email. If the customer does not receive a confirmation email after 24 hours of placing the booking, he/she should contact the customer support team.

It is expressly agreed that data stored in the information systems of Virunga Ecotours and/or its suppliers shall constitute proof with respect to the bookings made by the customer. Data stored in computers or electronic media are valid proof, and shall therefore be acceptable under the same conditions and with the same evidential value as a physical written document.

CANCELLATION & AMENDMENT

Cancellation and/or amendment to reservations must be made directly with Virunga Ecotours.

CANCELLATION OF TOUR BY COMPANY

The company reserves the right to cancel the tour due to uncontrolled factors that do not allow the conduct of a safe tour or the delivery of services as described in the itinerary, including acts of God, war, transportation or other forms of  strike, civil strike, pandemic, endemic and order from the Government of Rwanda and/or other countries.

The company shall recommend alternative tours preferably to the same destination or other similar tours to you.  Should you decide not to accept the alternative tour, the company shall endeavor to refund all money paid in full, subject at all times to the company’s partner’s refund policy.  The company and/or associated agents reserve the right to alter or modify with or without prior notice the itineraries, travel arrangements and hotel accommodation in anyway necessary, or withdraw the services of an accompanying tour manager, due to circumstances over which the operators have no control.

CANCELLATION OF TOUR 

In the event the guest decides to cancel his/ her tour or travel booking, the booking fee paid by the guest shall be transferred to other tours arranged by the company as requested by the guest.

If, however the guest has made full payment toward the tour or travel fee, the company shall refund the said payment in full subject at all times to penalty charges imposed by the company.

If the customer does not present himself/herself at the departure of the trip, refunds will only be due to the customer in line with the rules and restrictions of the applicable suppliers as notified in the booking process.

We reserve the right to cancel your booking if payment is deemed to be suspicious by the bank or if full payment is not received in a timely fashion

AMENDMENT/ CHANGE OF BOOKING

If after making the booking the customer wants to change the trip with respect to the date of travel, the destination, the place where the trip starts, the accommodation or the means of transport, the customer should contact the Customer Support Team for assistance.

Bookings can be changed, provided space is available.  A change to the entire booking shall be considered as a cancellation and subject to cancellation charges.  You may cancel your booking at any time.  Cancellations must be made in writing to avoid any misunderstanding. No amendment may be made within 7 working days prior to the date of departure.  An administrative fee shall be levied.

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

It is the guests’ responsibility to ensure their travel documents and necessary visas are in order.  The company shall advise you on the documentation required.

As a guest, you must have an international Passport or other recognized travel documents which should be valid for at least six (6) months from the date of the departure from the last destination of your itinerary.  You must have the necessary visas, vaccinations and health certificates as required by the various Government authorities of the countries to be visited.  The company shall whenever possible assist you to obtain the necessary visas.  Service charges and visa fees levied shall be borne by the guest.  The visa approval is subject and at the sole discretion of the respective country’s Immigration Department / Home Office

If for any reason your application for the visa or necessary exit permit is rejected, the relevant cancellation charges shall apply.

The company cannot be held responsible or liable for any expenses, reimbursement, or refund of tour prices if any guest is refused entry by any country on the tour for whatsoever reasons, including lack of necessary visa.

REFUNDS / REFUND OF UNUSED SERVICES

In the event of a refund due to cancellation or changes to the booking, refunds will only be due to the customer in line with the rules and restrictions of the applicable suppliers as notified in the booking process.

No refund can be made in respect of accommodation, meals, sightseeing tours, transport or any other services, which are included in the tour fares and not utilised by the tour member.

Refunds will only be made after Virunga Ecotours received the refunds amount from supplier. Customers should note that refunds from supplier may take up to 6 months.

All refunds shall depend on the exchange rate at the point of refund. Upon receiving the refunds from supplier, the amount (after deductions of administration fee) will be transferred back via the same payment mode of the original booking.

ADMINISTRATIVE & HEALTH REGULATIONS

You are responsible for ensuring that you meet foreign entry requirements and that your travel documents, such as passports and visas (transit, business, tourist, and otherwise), are in order and any other foreign entry requirements are met. Virunga Ecotours has no special knowledge regarding foreign entry requirements or travel documents. We urge customers to review travel prohibitions, warnings, announcements, and advisories issued by the relevant governments prior to booking travel to international destinations.

Health: Recommended inoculations for travel may change and you should consult your doctor for current recommendations before you depart. It is your responsibility to ensure that you meet all health entry requirements, obtain the recommended inoculations, take all recommended medication, and follow all medical advice in relation to your trip. For medical advice regarding your journey, please contact your doctor.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

The prices on the website do not include travel insurance. The Customer is therefore advised to take out insurance that covers the consequences of certain cases of cancellation and that also provides cover for certain special risks such as the cost of repatriation in the event of an accident or illness. It is the Customer’s responsibility to ensure any insurance policy taken out is adequate to cover their requirements.

The risks covered by these policies, as well as the cost and the amount of cover, are shown on the website only for the purpose of illustration. In the event that a policy is bought, the insurer will send the policy to the Customer. Claims must be submitted directly to the insurance company in accordance with the terms and conditions of the policy.

EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY CLAUSE

The information, products and services provided by Virunga Ecotours may include typographical errors. Wholesalers, airlines, hotels and other suppliers providing travel or other services for Virunga Ecotours are independent contractors and not agents or employees of Virunga Ecotours and accordingly. Virunga Ecotours shall not be liable for acts, errors, omissions, representations, warranties, breaches or negligence of any such persons or for any personal injuries, death, property damage or other damages or expenses resulting from acts or omissions occasioned by the aforesaid.

Virunga Ecotours shall make no refund or compensation in the event of any delay, cancellation, overbooking, strike, force majeure, pandemic, endemic or other causes beyond the direct control of Virunga Ecotours and shall have no responsibility for any additional expense, omissions, delays, re-routing or acts of any Government or State authority.

In no event shall Virunga Ecotours and/or their respective suppliers be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special or consequential damages arising out of contract or in Tort whatsoever and howsoever arising.

All claims against the company must be made in writing within 30 days after the completion of the tour.

DISCLAIMER

The company and its agents and representatives are not responsible and expressly exclude liability for any injury, illness, damage, loss, delay, accident or irregularities that maybe caused to a person or property and all bookings are subject to the usual terms and conditions and contract of the owner or operator of the services involved. The transportation companies shall be exempted from all liability in respect of any detention, delay, loss, danger, sickness or injury caused and of whatever kind occurring to the guests at any time whilst the guests are not on board a carrier of conveyance used or operated by transportation by the companies or firms. The company does not accept any liability in contract or in tort for any injury, damage, loss, delay, additional expenses or inconvenience caused directly or indirectly by events which are beyond its control or which are not preventable by reasonable diligence on its part including but not limited to war, civil disturbances, fire, floods, unusually severe weather, acts of god, act of government or of any authorities, accidents to or failure of machinery or equipment or industrial action.

All claims against the company must be made in writing within 30 days after the completion of the tour.

All disputes if any will be subject to the Rwandan High Court of Law.

All terms and conditions mentioned above cannot be altered or waived and enquiries pertaining to this document may be made to Virunga Ecotours Legal Department.

The company shall advise and if needed, assist you with regards to any claims against any party in your tour.