Our Website Terms of Use, Booking Terms & Conditions, and Safety Terms & Conditions for wildlife and adventure travel — combined here in full, because a safari involves real risk and we'd rather you read this before you go than after.
These Terms & Conditions ('Terms') govern your use of the atlasandtide.com website (the 'Website') and your booking of any safari, trekking, island or travel-related service (each, a 'Trip') with Atlas & Tide Safaris Ltd. ('Atlas & Tide,' 'we,' 'us' or 'our'). By browsing this Website, submitting an enquiry, or making a booking, you agree to be bound by these Terms in full. If you do not agree to any part of these Terms, you must not use this Website or book a Trip with us.
Where a booking is made on behalf of other travelers in a party, the person making the booking confirms they have the authority to accept these Terms on behalf of every member of that party, and that every member has been made aware of, and agrees to, these Terms in full, including the Safety Terms set out below.
All content on this Website — including text, itinerary descriptions, photography, graphics, logos, the Atlas & Tide name and mark, page layout and underlying code — is owned by or licensed to Atlas & Tide and is protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. Nothing on this Website grants you any licence or right to reproduce, distribute, modify, publicly display, or create derivative works from that content for any commercial purpose without our prior written consent.
You may view, download and print pages of this Website for your own personal, non-commercial use in researching or booking a Trip, provided you do not remove any copyright or proprietary notice from the material.
You agree to use this Website only for lawful purposes and in a manner that does not infringe the rights of, or restrict or inhibit the use and enjoyment of this Website by, any third party. Specifically, you agree not to:
We reserve the right to restrict or terminate your access to this Website, without notice, if we reasonably believe you have breached this section.
We take reasonable care to ensure that itinerary content, pricing, availability and destination information on this Website is accurate and current at the time of publication. However, travel content — park fees, permit prices, visa requirements, seasonal wildlife patterns — is inherently time-sensitive, and we do not warrant that any information on this Website is complete, error-free, or continuously up to date.
Prices, availability and itinerary details displayed on this Website are indicative and subject to confirmation at the time of booking. The specific terms confirmed in writing in your final quote and booking confirmation take precedence over any general description on this Website.
This Website may contain links to third-party websites, including lodges, airlines, insurers and review platforms, provided for your convenience. We do not control and are not responsible for the content, accuracy, or privacy practices of any third-party website, and including a link does not imply our endorsement of that site or its operator. You access any third-party website entirely at your own risk and subject to that site's own terms and privacy policy.
This Website and its content are provided 'as is' and 'as available,' without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including any implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that this Website will be uninterrupted, secure, or free of errors or viruses.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Atlas & Tide shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss or damage arising from your access to, use of, or inability to use this Website, including loss of data, profit, or business opportunity, even where we have been advised of the possibility of such loss. Nothing in this section excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under applicable law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by our proven negligence, or for fraud.
A binding contract between you and Atlas & Tide for a Trip comes into existence only once we have issued a written booking confirmation and received your deposit as set out below — not upon submission of an enquiry, receipt of a quote, or verbal agreement with a specialist. Every booking confirmation constitutes the entire agreement for that Trip, together with these Terms; any prior representation, whether written or verbal, that is not reflected in your written confirmation does not form part of the contract.
You are responsible for checking your booking confirmation carefully upon receipt and notifying us immediately of any discrepancy between what you booked and what is confirmed. We accept no liability for errors not reported within 7 days of the date of your booking confirmation.
All prices are quoted in United States Dollars per person, on a land-plus-specified-flights basis unless stated otherwise, and are valid only for the specific dates, party size and inclusions set out in your written quote. Prices may change after a quote is issued due to currency fluctuation, park fee or permit price changes, or supplier rate changes, and we will notify you of any material price change before you pay your deposit. Once your deposit is paid and your booking is confirmed in writing, your price is locked, save for changes arising from government-imposed taxes, park fees, or fuel surcharges that suppliers apply retroactively and beyond our control.
Final balance payment is due 60 days before your Trip departure date, or as otherwise stated on your booking confirmation. We reserve the right to treat a booking as cancelled by you, subject to the cancellation terms below, if final balance payment is not received by the due date.
A booking is confirmed with a deposit of 20 percent of the total Trip cost, which remains fully refundable for 14 days after payment as described in our Fully Refundable Deposit policy. After that 14-day window, the following cancellation charges apply as a percentage of the total Trip cost, calculated from the date we receive your written cancellation notice:
These bands do not apply to components with their own, earlier supplier deadlines — including gorilla and chimpanzee trekking permits, certain fixed-departure camps, and scheduled charter flights — which may be non-refundable from the date of booking regardless of how far out you cancel. We disclose any such supplier-specific deadline on your written quote before you pay a deposit. We strongly recommend travel insurance with cancellation cover, as described in our Safety Terms below, to protect against these charges.
We plan every itinerary in good faith based on availability and information known to us at the time of booking. Occasionally, circumstances beyond our reasonable control require us to change a confirmed itinerary — a camp closure, a permit reallocation, a road or flight schedule change. Where we must make a minor change, defined as one that does not materially affect the overall character of your Trip, we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and are not liable for any resulting cost or inconvenience beyond arranging a reasonable substitute of equivalent standard.
Where we must make a significant change or cancel your Trip entirely for reasons other than your default or force majeure, we will offer you a choice of: an alternative Trip of comparable standard at no extra cost where available, an alternative Trip of lower standard with a refund of the price difference, or a full refund of monies paid. This is the extent of our liability for a change or cancellation we make; we are not liable for consequential losses such as connecting flights booked independently of us, or non-refundable travel arrangements made outside your Atlas & Tide booking.
You are solely responsible for ensuring you hold a passport valid for at least six months beyond your return date, any required visas, and any health documentation (including yellow fever vaccination certificates where required) for every country on your itinerary. We can advise on general requirements as a courtesy, but published requirements change, and we do not warrant the accuracy of any visa or health guidance beyond referring you to the relevant embassy or consulate as the authoritative source.
You are responsible for disclosing to us, at the time of booking, any pre-existing medical condition, mobility limitation, or dietary requirement relevant to the safe planning of your Trip. We are not liable for any denial of entry, missed connection, medical complication, or other consequence arising from your failure to hold correct documentation or to disclose a relevant condition.
Atlas & Tide shall not be liable for any failure to perform, or delay in performing, our obligations under a booking where that failure or delay results from circumstances beyond our reasonable control ('Force Majeure'), including but not limited to natural disaster, extreme weather, pandemic or epidemic, war, civil unrest, terrorism, government action, border closure, airline or airport disruption, strike, or park or reserve closure by the relevant authority.
Where a Trip is affected by a Force Majeure event, we will work with you in good faith on rescheduling or crediting payments already made toward a future Trip, to the extent our own suppliers allow, but we are not obligated to provide a cash refund beyond what we are able to recover from those suppliers on your behalf.
Many elements of your Trip — flights, lodges, ground transport, permits, optional excursions — are provided by independent third-party suppliers under their own terms and conditions, which may limit or exclude their own liability. While we select and vet every supplier in our network with care, Atlas & Tide acts as your booking agent for these third-party elements and is not the direct provider of, and does not guarantee the performance, safety standards, or solvency of, any independent supplier. Our liability in connection with a third-party supplier's own act, omission, or default is limited to the care we exercised in selecting that supplier, except where we are found to have been negligent in that selection.
If any aspect of your Trip does not meet your expectations, you must report it to your in-country guide, lodge manager, or our 24/7 emergency contact immediately, so we have a genuine opportunity to resolve the issue while you are still traveling — most concerns can be addressed on the spot when raised promptly. If your concern is not resolved to your satisfaction during your Trip, submit a written complaint to us within 28 days of your return date, with as much detail as possible, and we will investigate and respond within 21 days. Complaints raised after this window may be more difficult for us to properly investigate with our suppliers, which may affect our ability to resolve them.
You acknowledge that safari, trekking, and adventure travel in East Africa and the Indian Ocean islands involves inherent risks that cannot be entirely eliminated by any level of care on our part or our suppliers' part, including, without limitation:
By booking a Trip, you voluntarily assume these inherent risks for yourself and, where you are booking on their behalf, for every member of your party. You confirm that you are (or the relevant travelers are) in a fit state of health to participate in the specific activities included in your itinerary.
Some activities we arrange — including gorilla and chimpanzee trekking, which can involve several hours of strenuous hiking at altitude — have minimum fitness expectations and, in the case of gorilla permits, are subject to park-authority rules that may exclude travelers with certain communicable illnesses on the day of trekking to protect the health of the gorilla population itself. You agree to disclose any condition that may affect your ability to safely participate in your booked activities at the time of booking, and to follow the on-the-day health screening conducted by park rangers and guides, whose decision on fitness to trek on a given day is final and non-refundable by us where it is made in the interest of guest or animal welfare.
Comprehensive travel insurance, including medical treatment and emergency evacuation cover valid for every activity and destination on your itinerary, is a mandatory condition of travel with Atlas & Tide, not an optional recommendation. You must hold a valid policy before departure and provide us with your policy and emergency assistance contact details prior to travel. Atlas & Tide is a tour operator, not a licensed insurance broker, and does not sell or underwrite insurance; you are solely responsible for arranging a policy independently and for ensuring it is adequate for your specific itinerary, including any adventure-activity exclusions a standard policy may carry. We accept no liability for any cost, loss, or consequence arising from your failure to hold adequate insurance.
In consideration of Atlas & Tide arranging your Trip, and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you release and agree not to hold Atlas & Tide, its directors, employees, guides, and affiliated suppliers liable for any injury, illness, death, or loss of or damage to property arising from the inherent risks described in the Assumption of Risk section above, except to the extent that injury, illness, death, or loss is caused by our proven negligence or willful misconduct. This waiver does not limit any right you have that cannot lawfully be waived under the law of the jurisdiction governing these Terms.
Your safety on activities such as game drives, guided treks, and water excursions depends significantly on following the real-time instructions of your guide, ranger, or vessel operator, who are trained to read animal behavior, terrain, and weather conditions that may not be apparent to you. You agree to follow all safety instructions given during your Trip, including instructions on vehicle conduct around wildlife, minimum distance rules during gorilla and chimpanzee trekking, and the use of any provided safety equipment. Atlas & Tide and our guides reserve the right to modify, shorten, or curtail any activity, or to require a guest to withdraw from an activity, where continuing is judged to present an unacceptable safety risk, without liability for any resulting disappointment or partial refund beyond what we can recover from the relevant supplier.
Our in-country teams maintain relationships with flying-doctor and medical evacuation services across our five destinations and will coordinate emergency response to the best of our ability in the event of a medical emergency during your Trip. However, evacuation timing in remote park and island locations is genuinely dependent on weather, aircraft availability, and distance, and we cannot guarantee a specific evacuation timeframe. The cost of emergency evacuation and medical treatment is your responsibility, or your insurer's, not ours — which is why mandatory evacuation-inclusive insurance, described above, is a condition of travel with us.
Where your party includes a traveler under 18, the accompanying adult confirms they hold parental responsibility or equivalent legal authority for that minor and accept these Terms, including the Safety Terms, on the minor's behalf. Certain activities and camps carry minimum age restrictions set by park authorities or individual properties, which we will disclose during itinerary planning; these restrictions exist for genuine safety reasons and are not waivable by us.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Atlas & Tide, its directors, employees, and affiliated suppliers from and against any claim, liability, damage, loss, or expense, including reasonable legal fees, arising out of or connected with your breach of these Terms, your violation of any law, or your willful misconduct or gross negligence during your Trip, except to the extent such claim arises from our own negligence or willful misconduct.
These Terms, and any booking made with Atlas & Tide, are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Kenya, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms or a booking that cannot be resolved through our complaints procedure above shall first be referred to good-faith mediation, and failing resolution within 60 days, shall be finally resolved by arbitration in Nairobi, Kenya, in accordance with the rules of the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration, with the arbitration conducted in English. Nothing in this section prevents either party from seeking urgent injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction where necessary.
If any provision of these Terms is held by a court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions of these Terms shall remain in full force and effect. These Terms, together with your written booking confirmation, constitute the entire agreement between you and Atlas & Tide with respect to your Trip and supersede any prior agreement, representation, or understanding, whether written or oral.
We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our operations, our suppliers, or applicable law. The Terms in effect at the time you pay your deposit apply to your booking; any later revision to these Terms applies only to bookings made after the revised Terms are published on this Website. We will note the 'last updated' date at the top of this page whenever a revision is made.
If you have questions about these Terms & Conditions, contact us at:
Atlas & Tide Safaris Ltd.
Karen Road, Nairobi, Kenya
hello@atlasandtide.com
