Booking Terms
Cancellation policy
Plans change, and we would rather you understood exactly where you stand before you book than discover it afterwards.
Why our terms look like this
When you book with us, we immediately book and pay for your camps, your vehicle and your park permits. Those payments are made under contracts the camps set, and most of them are non-refundable from the moment we confirm.
So our cancellation terms are shaped by the terms our partners hold us to. We keep back only what the camps have genuinely taken from us, never a penny more. When a camp releases money to us, you get it back. When it does not, we cannot conjure it.
The terms for your specific camp always win. Every camp we work with sets its own tiers, and a few are stricter than the standard below, particularly over Christmas and the July-to-October migration season. You will always see the exact policy for your chosen camp before you pay, and it is repeated on your booking confirmation.
Your Flexibility
You have more room than you might think
Most people book several months ahead. For nearly all of that time, changing your mind costs you only a fifth of what you paid.
From booking until 30 days before
80% refundedChange your dates or cancel outright and four fifths of what you paid comes back to you. We keep 20% to cover what your camps have already taken from us.
15 to 30 days before
40% refundedYour camps have held rooms out of sale for you by this point, and charge us for part of them.
The final 14 days
No refundCamps, vehicles and park permits are paid for in full and can no longer be released.
Counted from when your written cancellation reaches us. A few camps are stricter over Christmas and the migration season. If that affects your dates, we will say so plainly before you pay.
How paying works
You have three choices at checkout. Which ones you see depends on how far off you are travelling — the two that defer payment are only offered while there is still time to settle up.
Pay in full
Settle the whole trip at booking by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or M-Pesa. Your camps and vehicle are confirmed straight away, and the refund scale above is what applies if you later cancel.
Reserve my booking
Pay your first night at each camp now and the rest no later than 14 days before you travel, through My Bookings. Cancel before then and we return 90% of what you paid, keeping 10%. Miss the deadline and the booking is released, with everything you paid returned as safari credit valid six months.
Hold my spot
We hold your safari for three days without taking any payment while you sort out flights. Nothing is charged, so there is nothing to refund. We remind you a day before it lapses; after that the hold is released and it costs you nothing.
Reserve and Hold are shown only when you are booking more than 14 days ahead. Inside that window a safari is paid in full, which is also the point at which the refund scale above stops returning anything.
If you have paid a deposit and not the balance
The scale above applies to safaris paid in full. A reservation that has paid only its first nights refunds 90% of what you have paid, whenever you cancel — we keep 10% towards what the camps have already charged us. There are no date bands here, because a part-paid booking only exists while you are still more than 14 days from travelling.
Never refundable, whenever you cancel
- Kenya eTA and any visa fees, which are paid to the government rather than to us
- International and domestic flights, which follow the airline’s own rules
- Travel insurance premiums
- Bank, card or M-Pesa transaction charges already incurred
A Better Option
Take a safari credit instead
If you have to cancel but still intend to come to Kenya, ask us for a safari credit rather than a refund. We will issue you a credit voucher for the value we can recover, valid for 24 months and usable against any trip we offer.
We can often recover more from a camp as a future credit than as cash, so this usually leaves you meaningfully better off than a straight refund would. Just tell us when you cancel, and the code arrives by email.
How to cancel or change a booking
Tell us in writing
Email info@entonai-safaris.com with your booking reference, or cancel directly from My Bookings on the site. Cancellation charges are calculated from the moment your message reaches us, so send it as early as you can. A phone call alone does not stop the clock.
We confirm the position
We will come back to you within 3 working days with what your camp’s terms mean for your booking, what is recoverable, and what a safari credit would be worth if you prefer one.
Refunds are processed
Approved refunds are returned to the original payment method within 14 working days of our suppliers confirming their position. Card and PayPal refunds can take a further few days to appear; M-Pesa reversals are usually same day.
The rest of the detail
Changing your dates
Moving your trip is almost always cheaper than cancelling it. If you tell us more than 30 days ahead we will not charge you an amendment fee, subject to the camp having space. Any charge the camp itself makes, and any difference in seasonal rates, will still apply. Inside 30 days a date change is treated as a cancellation, because that is how the camps treat it.
Changing your group size
Reducing the number of guests after a booking is confirmed counts as a partial cancellation and is charged on the same scale above. Adding guests is usually straightforward, subject to availability.
Leaving early
Unused nights are not refundable once your safari has started. Camps charge us for the full confirmed stay whether or not the rooms are occupied.
If we have to cancel
If we cancel your safari for a reason within our control, we will first offer you alternative dates or a comparable camp. If neither suits, we will refund everything you have paid us.
Events outside anyone’s control
Extreme weather, civil unrest, epidemics, border or airport closures and similar events are outside both our control and the camps’. Where a camp offers us a credit or a partial recovery in these situations we pass every shilling of it on to you, but we cannot refund money the camps will not release. This is the single strongest reason to hold travel insurance.
Travel insurance
We strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance taken out at the time you book, covering cancellation, curtailment, medical treatment and emergency evacuation. Some conservancies require proof of evacuation cover before arrival. Insurance is what turns a non-refundable cancellation into a recoverable one.
Reserve Now, Pay Later bookings carry no charge if you cancel before paying. The spot is simply released. This page sets out our general terms; where a camp’s own contract differs, the terms shown on your booking confirmation apply.
Not sure where you stand?
Send us your booking reference and we will talk you through your options honestly, whether or not that ends in a cancellation.