Terms & Conditions

Last updated: August 27, 2026

These Terms & Conditions explain how we arrange private Uganda safaris and what we each can expect from a booking. They are written to help travelers and travel trade partners plan with confidence while recognising the practical realities of permits, wildlife activities, remote travel and supplier commitments.

1. Introduction & Acceptance of Terms

These Terms apply to this website and to every safari enquiry, quotation, booking, payment and related service provided by Gamba Uganda Safaris, a trading brand of GUS Signature Expeditions Limited, registered in Uganda.

By using the website, asking us to arrange services, paying a deposit or balance, or confirming a booking, you accept these Terms on your own behalf and, if you are the lead traveler or travel agent, for every traveler named in the booking. Please make sure all travelers receive and understand them before payment.

These Terms are read with your written quotation, invoice, booking confirmation, itinerary and our Cancellation & Refund Policy, Health & Safety Policy, Travel Insurance Guide and Privacy Policy. If a written booking confirmation or signed travel-trade agreement sets out a specific term for your itinerary, that term applies to the extent of any conflict.

Uganda Tourism Board licensing

Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) maintains a public register of licensed tourism operators. When our UTB tourism operating licence has been issued and verified, we will publish the licence details on our official channels. Until then, no statement on this website should be read as a representation that a UTB licence has already been issued.

2. Definitions

• Company, we, us or our: Gamba Uganda Safaris, operated by GUS Signature Expeditions Limited.
• Client, traveler, you or your: the person making an enquiry or booking and every person travelling under that booking.
• Lead traveler: the person authorised to communicate and make decisions for a group booking.
• Travel trade partner: a travel agent, wholesaler, destination management company or other intermediary that books with us for a traveler.
• Booking: the safari arrangement we have confirmed in writing after receiving the required payment.
• Services: the accommodation, transport, permits, guiding, activities and other arrangements shown in your confirmed itinerary.
• Supplier: an independent third party that provides a service, including a lodge, camp, airline, transport provider, park authority, guide or activity operator.
• Force majeure: an event outside a party's reasonable control that prevents or materially affects travel or the operation of the safari.

3. Booking & Reservations

1. Quotation: our quotation is based on availability, rates, park rules and supplier information available when it is issued. It is not a reservation or promise that services remain available.
2. Review: before payment, check the itinerary, traveler names, dates, inclusions, exclusions, price, payment dates and permit requirements. Tell us promptly if anything is incorrect.
3. Deposit and confirmation: a booking is confirmed only after we receive the required payment and issue written confirmation. Until then, rooms, permits, vehicles and activities remain subject to availability.
4. Lead traveler and agents: the lead traveler or travel trade partner confirms they have authority to accept these Terms and provide booking information for every traveler. They must pass on material information, including health, permit and cancellation conditions.

Custom itineraries are planned around your preferences, but wildlife sightings, specific rooms, road conditions, weather and activity timing cannot be guaranteed.

4. Payments, Deposits & Pricing

Deposit and balance

• A 30% deposit of the total safari price is normally required to begin securing permits, lodges, vehicles, guides and other services, unless your invoice states a different amount because of supplier or permit requirements.
• The balance due date is stated on your invoice and booking confirmation. It may be earlier where a lodge, airline, permit issuer or peak-season service requires earlier payment.
• Late payment may result in the release of unsecured services, cancellation of the booking, supplier penalties or a revised price. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you, but cannot guarantee suppliers will hold space after their deadlines.

Prices and payment costs

• Prices and currency are those stated in your written quotation or invoice. Before confirmation, prices may change because of exchange rates, taxes, government levies, permit charges, fuel costs or supplier rate changes.
• After written confirmation, we will not increase the confirmed price except where you request a change, the itinerary includes a variable government or supplier charge disclosed in writing, or a change is required by circumstances outside our reasonable control.
• Bank, card, intermediary transfer and currency-conversion charges are the client's responsibility unless we agree otherwise in writing.
• Online payments may be processed by a third-party payment provider. Its security, verification and platform terms also apply to that transaction.

5. Cancellation, Refunds & Amendments

Our Cancellation & Refund Policy forms part of these Terms. It contains the cancellation schedule, refund calculation, amendment fees and process. All cancellations must be made in writing.

• Gorilla and chimpanzee permit costs may be non-refundable once issued. Any cancellation, change, transfer, or refund is subject to the Uganda Wildlife Authority's current rules and approval, which may allow limited remedies in specified circumstances. Park fees and other permits may also be non-refundable under the issuer's terms.
• Prepaid lodge nights, domestic flights, transport, activity fees and supplier deposits may be non-refundable or subject to their own cancellation terms.
• We will first apply the cancellation charge in the Cancellation & Refund Policy. Non-refundable permits, supplier commitments and applicable bank or payment charges may reduce the remaining refund only to the extent they are not already covered by that charge or another documented deduction. The same cost will not be deducted twice, and refunds cannot exceed the amount we have received from you.
• Requested changes to names, travel dates, accommodation, routing, activities or group size are subject to availability, supplier and permit approval, repricing and amendment fees. A late change may be treated as a cancellation and new booking.

6. Itinerary Changes & Force Majeure

Changes needed to operate a safe safari

We plan carefully, but Uganda safaris can be affected by circumstances that cannot be predicted or controlled. We may change the route, accommodation, transport, order of activities or timing where reasonably necessary for safety, operational practicality or the quality of the experience.

Examples include heavy rain, flooding, road closures or poor road conditions; park, conservation or permit restrictions; wildlife movement; illness or unavailability of a guide; supplier failure; flight disruption; security advice; and the availability of an equivalent lodge or activity. Where practical, we will consult you, explain the impact and offer a reasonable alternative. An alternative may involve a change in price, which we will discuss before confirmation where reasonably possible.

Force majeure

Force majeure includes events beyond our reasonable control, such as pandemic or epidemic, quarantine, border closure, war, terrorism, serious political unrest or instability materially affecting travel, strike, natural disaster, fire, severe weather, government action, road or park closure, major transport disruption outside our reasonable control, or a serious safety event.

Force majeure does not automatically cancel the booking or create an automatic right to cancel or receive a full refund. We will use reasonable efforts to offer a revised itinerary, postponement, credit or cancellation where appropriate. If the safari or an affected service must be cancelled, any refund is limited to amounts we can recover after applicable non-refundable permits, supplier commitments and costs already incurred, subject to applicable law and the no-double-deduction rule in the Cancellation & Refund Policy. These options depend on the applicable permit and supplier terms for the affected service. We are not liable for losses that arise from force majeure, including international flights, visas, personal expenses, lost enjoyment or insurance excesses, except where liability cannot lawfully be excluded.

7. Travel Documents, Visas, Health & Insurance

1. Documents and visas: you are responsible for valid passports, visas, transit permissions, entry or exit forms, vaccination certificates and other documents required for the countries on your itinerary. Requirements can change, so check with the relevant embassy, airline and official authority before travel.
2. Health and fitness: obtain independent medical advice where appropriate and tell us before confirmation about relevant medical, mobility, dietary or accessibility needs. Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking can involve steep, muddy, uneven terrain, altitude, variable weather and extended walking. Park authorities and guides may refuse participation where fitness, health or safety requirements are not met.
3. Insurance: comprehensive travel insurance is a condition of booking for every traveler. Arrange it immediately after your first payment and ensure it covers the full prepaid trip cost, cancellation, curtailment, medical treatment, emergency evacuation and repatriation, personal liability, travel delay, baggage and every activity on your itinerary.

Please read our Health & Safety Policy and Travel Insurance Guide. We do not sell insurance or decide insurance claims.

8. Liability, Safari Risks & Disclaimer

Safari travel has inherent risks. By booking, you acknowledge that risks may include close proximity to wildlife; bites, stings or animal-related injury; trekking on steep, slippery or uneven terrain; falls; altitude, heat, rain and other weather conditions; road travel on remote or unpaved routes; water activities; limited medical facilities; and delayed evacuation or emergency response.

We take reasonable care in planning and operating the services we arrange. However, to the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for:

• injury, illness, death, loss, damage, delay or expense caused by inherent safari risks, your own acts or omissions, or your failure to follow safety instructions;
• losses arising from wildlife behaviour, weather, road conditions, border or government action, force majeure, or events outside our reasonable control;
• indirect, special or consequential loss, including loss of enjoyment, lost opportunity or missed international connections; or
• services, acts or omissions of independent suppliers, except to the extent caused by our own failure to exercise reasonable care in selecting or arranging those services.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. Your travel insurance is an important protection against the risks and costs described above.

9. Conduct of Clients & Third-Party Suppliers

Your responsibilities

• Follow the lawful instructions of guides, park rangers, lodge staff, drivers and other authorised personnel.
• Observe park rules, wildlife-distance rules, lodge policies and the laws and customs of the places you visit.
• Do not endanger yourself, other travelers, wildlife, local communities or property; do not harass wildlife or attempt prohibited activities.
• Provide accurate booking, passport, health and emergency-contact information and notify us promptly if it changes.

We may refuse participation, alter an activity or remove a traveler from services if their conduct is unsafe, unlawful, abusive, seriously disruptive, or breaches a guide or authority's safety instruction. In that case, no refund is due for unused services and the traveler is responsible for resulting costs.

Independent suppliers

Lodges, camps, airlines, charter operators, vehicle providers, park authorities, guides and activity operators are independent suppliers. Their own conditions, safety rules, schedules, eligibility rules, cancellation terms and liability limits may apply specifically to the service they provide in addition to these Terms. Any cancellation or refund calculation remains subject to the no-double-deduction rule in the Cancellation & Refund Policy. We select and coordinate suppliers with reasonable care, but they remain responsible for delivering their own services.

10. Intellectual Property & Marketing

Our website, quotations, itineraries, photographs, video, logos, written content, branding and other materials are owned by or licensed to us unless stated otherwise. You may use them only for personal travel planning or, for travel trade partners, for the agreed purpose of selling or administering our safari. You must not copy, publish, alter, resell or use them commercially without our written permission.

We may ask permission to use photographs, video, testimonials or feedback that feature you for marketing. We will not use an identifiable image or testimonial for promotional purposes without appropriate permission, except where use is otherwise lawful. Tell us if you prefer not to be photographed during the safari, and we will make reasonable efforts to respect that preference.

11. Dispute Resolution & Governing Law

1. Raise concerns early: if something goes wrong during travel, tell your guide or our operations contact as soon as possible so we have a fair opportunity to help.
2. Written complaint: if the issue remains unresolved, send us a written complaint with your booking reference and supporting details as soon as reasonably possible after the safari. Our Customer Compensation Statement explains how we assess practical remedies, recoverable refunds, credits and goodwill reviews.
3. Good-faith resolution: we will try to resolve a dispute by direct, good-faith discussion before either party starts formal proceedings.

These Terms and any non-contractual matters arising from them are governed by the laws of Uganda. Subject to any mandatory law that gives you rights elsewhere, the courts of Uganda have jurisdiction over disputes that cannot be resolved amicably.

12. Severability & Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the documents specifically incorporated into them and your written booking confirmation, are the entire agreement between you and us for the booked services. They replace prior discussions or representations about those services, except where fraud or law prevents that result.

If any part of these Terms is found invalid or unenforceable, that part will be limited or removed only to the extent necessary. The rest of the Terms will continue in effect. A failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of that right.

13. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms, your booking or a legal matter, please contact:

Gamba Uganda Safaris
Email: info@gambaugandasafaris.com
Phone/WhatsApp: +256 701 943 760
Location: Kampala, Uganda

14. Last Updated

These Terms were last updated on August 27, 2026. We may update them to reflect changes in law, supplier requirements or our operations. The version published on this page at the time of your booking applies, unless a later change is required by law or agreed with you in writing.