QUOTING, PRICING, INVOICING & FOREIGN CURRENCY POLICY
Our quoting policy is based on the principle that the bulk of your costs are pre-paid, meaning there will be minimal costs on the ground once you are travelling. Consider this when reviewing the quote as the total inclusions are comparable and on par with that of a quality holiday anywhere else in the world.
Extras tend to be visas, items of a personal nature, gratuities, activities not pre-booked, drinks (unless specified) and additional meals when accommodation is based on a bed and breakfast basis.
Your quote/invoice is broken down into several section as follows:
LAND ARRANGEMENTS
This section details any activities, accommodation, transfers, charter flights, park fees and flying doctor services that are included. In Africa accommodation in our preferred camps and lodges (apart from the city hotels) is normally quoted on an all inclusive basis (accommodation, meals, local drinks, game activities & services of professional guides, park fees, and often laundry). Furthermore, road and charter transfers to and from the camps are also included as these can be substantial especially if you are flying between camps. Often the only access to the wilderness is by plane as the road infrastructure is not always suitable for timely travel.
AIR ARRANGEMENTS
This section details the international & regional flight sectors required to undertake your travel arrangements. Any applicable prepaid airport & airline taxes are included but are subject to change, prior to, or at the time of ticketing.
EXTRAS
This section details such items as travel insurance, accessories and so forth.
SUMMARY & PAYMENT SCHEDULE
A summary of the total costs and a payment schedule is located at the very bottom of the Quote/Invoice. To confirm a booking we require a 30% non-refundable deposit of the total land arrangements. To this we add the cost of insurance and gorilla permits (if applicable) as these have to be paid for at the time of confirmation. The Quote/Invoice also highlights the inclusions and exclusions, along with the important conditions attached to your itinerary and booking a safari. Your final payment will be due 75 days prior to your departure. Payment made after this deadline will be deemed late payment and a surcharge of 2% of the outstanding balance will be incurred. If payment is not received 60 days prior to your departure, any arrangements with payment outstanding will be cancelled.
Payment will be accepted by credit card, cash, cheque or direct deposit. Payments made by Visa incur a fee of 1.5%, Mastercard will incur a fee of 1.8% and American Express a fee of 2.8%.
Please note: All land based quotes are valid for a 14 day period from the date of quotation and air fares are subject to change until paid in full and ticketed.
PRICING, CURRENCY FLUCTUATIONS AND CONVERSIONS
The Classic Safari Company is invoiced in foreign currency for your land and/or air arrangements. To determine the Australian Dollar value of your arrangements, in order to calculate the deposit required to secure arrangements, the applicable exchange rate at the time of quoting will apply.
Australian Dollar payments to The Classic Safari Company will then be converted to foreign currency on receipt of payment at the exchange rate on the day payment clears in our bank account.
Any further US Dollar balance due will then be recalculated from US Dollars to Australian Dollars at the applicable exchange rate at the time of further payment.
Should there be further fluctuations between advising the Australian Dollar payments due and receiving the monies in The Classic Safari Company’s bank account, the invoice will be adjusted to reflect such fluctuations.
When purchasing currency, the Bank Sell rate is used – i.e. the bank is ‘selling you USD’. This is a different figure to that quoted in the press which is the Bank Buy rate.
The Classic Safari Company does have a United States Dollar account should you prefer to make payment by direct deposit into this account. Note we do not accept USD cheques.
Signing the company Booking Form and/or payment of your deposit indicates acceptance of this process.