Terms and Conditions
1. Tour Contract
1.1 Travel Confirmation
1.1.1. On initiating a booking with www.loftysafari.com or www.loftytours M/S Valentin Investment Co (Msa) Ltd. (the “Company”), the customer (“You”), will receive a Safari confirmation from our Safari consultant. This Safari confirmation will include all details of your Safari arrangements and may also contain additional terms and conditions issued by the Company or policy statements along with an invoice for the trip, in addition to a booking form sent by the Company to You.
1.1.2. Once You confirm the booking, thereby accepting the Safari confirmation, the contract shall come in to effect (“Safari Contract”).
1.1.3. You shall be bound by the terms of the Safari Contract as well as these General Business Conditions (“Conditions”) and any additional terms that are set out in the Safari confirmation.
1.2 Mode of Confirmation
You may confirm a booking by completing and submitting the online booking form provided to You with the travel confirmation. Or by email an
Detailed Safari Confirmation by the Safari consultant.
1.3 Confirmation on behalf of other travelers
1.3.1. You may also confirm a booking on behalf of all the travelers listed in the Safari Contract, for whom You will then take the contractual responsibility just as for yourself.
1.3.2. In such cases, it shall be deemed that You are authorized to accept the Safari confirmation on behalf of all those travelers and any and all such other people shall also be bound by the terms and conditions enumerated in the Safari Contract, these Conditions and any additional terms that are set out by the Company in the Safari confirmation.
1.4 The Company
1.4.1 MS Valentin Investment Co (Msa) Ltd., a Limited Company Incorporated under the Companies Act Cap 486 of the Laws of the Republic of Kenya, and a Class A Tour Operator licensed under the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Kenya, provides tourist services (hotel accommodation, transfers, itineraries, programs, visa support) to tourist groups and F.I.T, and undertakes to sell out tours to East Africa, arranging at its own expense the necessary advertising on its territory. The company has been operating since 1987 and is a direct sister company of Special Lofty Safaris Ltd. Which was operating since 1978.
1.4.2 MS Valentin Investment Co (Msa) Ltd is a member of KATO (Kenya Association of Tour Operators and the customers protected under the KATO Bond scheme
2. Payment
2.1 Safari Price
2.1.1. The Company will send You a Safari confirmation along with an invoice for the trip, which shall become effective once You confirm the booking.
2.1.2. The invoice shall contain details of the costs associated with the Safari (“Safari Price”) which shall include the cost of the products and services You will be availing of during your Safari/ travel/holiday, other related expenses and all applicable taxes.
2.1.3. The Company may either send the confirmation to You by email, post or facsimile depending on your preference at the time of booking and You shall make payments on following schedule, and through the method of payment indicated in the Safari Contract:
2.1.3.1. On receipt of the Safari confirmation and invoice from the Company, twenty percent (20%) of the total invoiced price of the trip must be paid as an advance to confirm the booking.
2.1.3.2. The remaining eighty percent (80%) of the invoiced price must be paid at least four (6) weeks prior to start of the Safari.
2.1.3.3. If the booking is made and confirmed within thirty (30) days of the proposed date of departure, clauses 2.1.3.1 and 2.1.3.2 above shall not apply and You shall pay the entire amount, i.e., hundred percent (100%) of the invoiced price of the trip upon receipt of the Safari confirmation and invoice from the Company, before Safari start.
2.2 Delivery of Relevant Travel Documents by the Company
Upon receiving the final payment, the Company will send You all the hotel vouchers and other travel documents for the booked separately, in case of a Safari Tour inclusive accommodation the vouchers will be with the Driver guide and you will receive a reconfirmed Itinerary.
2.3 Revision of Prices; Exchange Rates
2.3.1. It is possible that the prices quoted in the invoice accompanying the Safari confirmation are required to be revised due to an error or miscalculation – human or technical. In such an event, the Company may charge or claim the additional payment from You or refund the excess amount to You within a reasonable period of time.
2.3.2. Please also note that the estimated prices of Safari itineraries mentioned on the Company website(s) at www.loftysafari.com or www.lofty-tours.com or any other websites owned and operated by the Company (“Company Website(s)”) are subject to change without notice.
2.3.3. It is clarified that the Safari Price is calculated based on the then current exchange rate on the date of the Safari Contract and once You accept the Safari confirmation, there shall be no revision in the Safari Price, including but not limited to any refunds or reductions, regardless of fluctuations or variations in the exchange rate of the relevant currencies.
3. Services
3.1 Details of Services Provided
The Company agrees to provide to You the services that are mentioned in the service description as part of the trip/safari proposal. The details related to such services shall be given in the Safari confirmation.
3.2 Applicability of Local Laws to the Services provided
In addition, all the Safari and services provided by the Company are subject to the enacted laws, rules and regulations of the Governments of the countries of travel and the Company is thus bound to operate as per the prevailing regulations, permissions and sanctions that are granted for such Safaris and services.
4. Change in Safari Contract by the Company
4.1 Right to Change in Services
4.1.1. The Company reserves the right to modify, change, alter, amend or deviate from the Safari services mentioned in the Safari confirmation after your acceptance of the Safari Contract but before the commencement of the Safari.
4.1.2. These changes may be carried out by the Company on account of cancellation of certain bookings and reservations by third party service providers, non-availability of certain features, packages or other services requested by You, or the inability and incapacity of third party service providers due to cessation of business, insolvency, death, infirmity or any other reason whatsoever or on account of any unforeseen and unpredictable circumstances.
4.1.3. The Company will make a reasonable effort to notify You of such developments in advance of your Safari.
4.1.4. The Company, however, assures You that the changes made as a consequence of these aforementioned events, will be effected in good faith keeping in mind your interests and preferences and will be in line with the overall plan of the tour.
4.1.5. If required, the Company may at its sole discretion offer You the option to either a change in booking at no extra cost or in the event of any material change to the Safari as a result of the above, cancellation of the entire Safari package.
4.2 The ‘New Safari Contract’
If You choose to continue with the altered/modified/changed itinerary as provided in clause 4.1.5 hereinabove, the Company shall draw up a new Safari confirmation incorporating the changes. In addition, if availing of the alternate services requires You to make any additional or further payments, the Company shall also issue a new invoice incorporating such changes.
4.3 Acceptance of the ‘New Safari Contract’
4.3.1. You are not under an obligation to accept the altered/modified/changed travel confirmation.
4.3.2. Should You choose to accept the altered/modified/changed travel confirmation and the revised charges associated therewith, the new ‘Safari Contract’ and the new invoice shall replace the old Safari Contract and invoice, and will be the contract that binds You.
4.3.3. You may choose to terminate the original Safari Contract and not accept the new contract, in which case You will be entitled to a refund of the costs already tendered by You to the Company after deduction of all rightful and lawful service, consultancy and advisory charges including all expenses incurred by the Company in providing these services and all other cancellation charges (if any) for the bookings and reservations of third party services and products, including but not limited to flight tickets and hotel reservations.
5. Cancellations, changes to booking and applicable charges and refunds
5.1 Cancellation of or Changes to the Safari Contract by You
5.1.1. You may cancel or change the Safari Contract any time before the start of the Safari by providing written notice to the Company, subject to the cancellation policy provided in clause 5.2 below.
5.1.2. The date of cancellation or change is the date on which the company receives notice of your cancellation or change request.
5.1.3. It is clarified that any alterations to the Safari requested by you, including advancements or postponements of Safari dates, shall constitute a change to the Safari and will be subject to the cancellation policy in clause 5.2 below to the extent of the changes only.
5.2 Charges relating to Cancellation or Change
5.2.1. All refunds in the event of cancellation or change of a Safari Contract shall be subject to the cancellation charges as follows:
• For cancellations made 61 or more days prior to the start date of the Safari 20% of the value of the trip will be charged
• For cancellations made 31-60 days prior to the start date of the Safari 50% of the value of the trip will be charged
• For cancellations made 15-30 days prior to the start date of the Safari 80% of the value of the trip will be charged
• For cancellations made 14 days or less prior to the start date of the Safari 90% of the value of the trip will be charged
• For cancellation / shortening / unused portion of Safari after start of trip (including date of commencement of the trip) 100% of the total value of the trip will be charged
5.2.2. The cancellation of or changes to international flights booked by the Company as part of your Safari may be subject to different terms and conditions from those provided above and any and all such fees or charges must be borne fully by You.
5.3 Disbursement of Refund Amount
The Company shall disburse any applicable refund amount within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the request/instruction to cancel or change the Safari.
6. Cancellation of Change of the Safari Contract due to Circumstances Beyond Control of Company
The Company shall not be responsible to You for any loss, injury or damage to person, property, changes in Safari itinerary, or otherwise in connection with any accommodation, transportation or other services, resulting – directly or indirectly – from any Act of God, dangers, weather conditions, volcanoes, floods, fire, accident, breakdown in machinery or equipment, breakdown of transport, wars, civil disturbances, strikes, riots, thefts, pilferage’s, epidemics, medical or custom department regulations, defaults, exigencies or any other causes beyond our control (“Force Majeure Event”). Either You or the Company may choose to terminate the Safari Contract due to any Force Majeure Event. On termination of the Safari Contract as specified in this clause, the Company shall, where possible, make a commercially reasonable effort to refund the amount paid by You, less the amount already spent on You by the Company during the Safari and any other non-refundable fees and charges. However, please note that the Company shall not be obligated to and does not guarantee that You shall receive a refund. You shall be liable to pay costs for the services and products utilized until the date of termination. In the event of termination due to a Force Majeure Event, the Company shall not be liable to pay any compensation, interest or damages to You. The Company has the obligation to take reasonable measures to bring You back to your origin if the Safari Contract includes a return journey. However, any additional costs for the return journey must be borne solely by You. In case of a Force Majeure Event, the Company reserves the right to change / modify / vary / alter the Safari itinerary and/ or Safari Price accordingly. Any such change shall be intimated to You, prior to the start of the Safari or on Safari, as the case may be. Additional charges, if any, due to such changes may be charged to You. In the event of a Force Majeure Event, where You choose to continue with the Safari, You shall not be entitled to any refunds from the Company for limitation and/or non- availability of certain services including museums, restaurants, sightseeing, shopping etc. even though included in Safari itinerary.
7. Liability of the Company for third party acts
The Company takes no responsibility for and the Company is not liable for, any loss of life/limb, property, money, sickness, delay, discomfort or hardships sustained by You on account of any act or omission of any third party not associated with or engaged by us. In addition, we also take no responsibility for any act or omission of any of your co-travelers, if it results in any injury, damage, danger to the life/limb or property, delay or hardships to You.
8. Guarantee and Financial Protection
8.1 Remedial Measures
If the Company fails to perform its promises substantially in accordance with the Safari Contract, You are entitled to request the Company to remedy the deficiency in services. If the Company fails to remedy a material breach of the Safari Contract, You may terminate the Safari Contract as provided below. However, the Company can refuse to undertake remedial measures if it entails disproportionate, additional or anticipated expense and/or damages.
8.2 Termination of the contract by You for breach by the Company
If the Safari is hampered significantly due to a deficiency of service on the part of the Company and the Company does not offer any remedial measure within a reasonable period of time, then You can terminate the Safari Contract in accordance with these Conditions through a written notice to the Company. However, in such a situation, you are bound to pay the Company the portion of the Safari Price for such services that You have already availed of.
8.3 Company’s Insurance under KATO Bonding scheme
The Company is covered by an insurance policy which guarantees and protects your payment to the Company against any potential risk associated with the Company and your payment, in the unlikely event of the Company’s bankruptcy or insolvency. The insurance cover entitles You to a refund of the Tour Price paid by You to the Company if the Company is unable to provide travel services as a result of liquidation of the Company or the initiation of insolvency proceedings on the assets of the Company.
9. Limitation of liability
9.1 The contractual liability of the Company for damages is limited to three times the Tour Price paid by You as of the date on any claim brought by You against the Company or US $ 4100, whichever is higher, subject to clauses 5 and 6 above and applicable law.
9.2 A claim for damage compensation against the Company is restricted insofar as a claim for damage compensation can be made against the service provider only under certain preconditions or is excluded under certain preconditions due to applicable contractual or legal regulations, which are applicable to the services provided by the service provider.
10. Obligation to cooperate
10.1 Cooperation with third party service providers
10.1.1. You must at all times cooperate with the personnel of third party service providers, airlines staff, hotel staff, adventure activities instructors, tour guides, the local tour management etc. during your holiday/trip within the framework of legal regulations.
10.1.2. You shall also co-operate and assist them to mitigate or avoid any damages or keep such damages at a minimum in case there is any disruption of services.
10.1.3. If You have any complaints or grievances in this regard, You must immediately inform the Company, who shall take necessary action for salvaging the situation at its sole discretion.
10.2 Transactions entered into by You as an individual
10.2.1. In addition, You alone are responsible for all the transactions and purchases made by You on your holiday and the Company shall not be liable for any of them unless they are made through the Company.
10.2.2. The Company will also not censor, screen or otherwise control any of these transactions and evaluate whether these transactions are legal and valid as per the law of the country You are a citizen of or reside in.
10.2.3. All these are your sole responsibility and You alone shall bear any associated liability.
10.3 Compliance with applicable laws
10.3.1. You agree to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations and codes of conduct regarding use of the services, products and other facilities in any country, state or locality You visit as part of a tour.
10.3.2. In the event of any violation, non-observance or breach of any applicable laws, rules, regulations and codes of conduct of any country, state, city or locality You visit, You alone shall be liable for any acts or omissions that attract any prosecution, penalties or any other disadvantage, the Company shall bear no responsibility or be liable in any manner for these.
10.4 Accuracy of Information provided by You
You shall also provide the Company only accurate and valid information while requesting for any services under these Conditions, and shall refrain from providing inaccurate and fallacious information or misrepresenting or concealing any relevant facts.
10.5 Competence to contract
10.5.1. You must be an adult and of legal age to enter into a binding agreement with the Company and should not fall under any of the categories of persons disqualified from or incompetent to enter into binding contracts.
10.5.2. You must also not be barred from using or availing of any services under the laws of any country You wish to travel to, or other applicable laws.
11. Passport and Visa
11.1 Passport and Visa Requirements
11.1.1. It is your responsibility to ensure that You hold a passport which is valid for a minimum period of six (6) months from the date of return of your trip.
11.1.2. You should acquaint yourself with all requisite information and details relating to visa requirements and the rules and norms governing travel in the country You wish to visit.
11.1.3. You shall be required to obtain the visa yourself. However, in limited circumstances, the Company shall facilitate procuring of the visa on your behalf.
11.1.4. Please note that the cost of visas is not included in the Safari Price stated in any proposals or trip itineraries sent to You by the Company.
11.2 Liability of the Company in the event of Delegation to obtain your Passport or Visa
11.2.1. In the event the Company agrees to acquire these documents on your behalf, the Company shall not be responsible for the non-issuance of such documents or liable for any delay or other related act/omission or for any loss, expense, damage or cost resulting there from, as the Embassies, Consulates, High Commissions or the sovereign governments of countries have the sole sanctioning power and ability to issue and grant visas, immigration clearances and other official permits.
11.2.2. It is your responsibility to not only submit the application in the prescribed format and accurately filled along with the necessary and relevant documents and photographs, within the specified time to the Company to enable it to secure your visa and other possible permits, but also to peruse the same after issuance so as to check for irregularities and errors.
11.2.3. In the event that the application for a visa made by You or the Company on your behalf is rejected by the concerned Embassy, Consulates, High Commissions or Authorities due to insufficient and /or inaccurate supply of documents furnished or due to any other reason whatsoever, the Company shall not be liable for the same.
11.2.4. The Company in addition shall also not be responsible for any typographical error, misprint or mistake in the name, type of visa, duration of the visa and other details contained therein.
11.2.5. The Company shall not be responsible for timely issuance of and access to the necessary visa by the relevant diplomatic agency, if You have authorized the Company to get the same, unless the Company is solely and directly responsible for the delay.
11.2.6. However, in the event that You are unable to travel on the tour booked by You, due to rejection or non-issuance or issuance of a defective visa by the concerned Embassy, You may choose to cancel or postpone the Safari or terminate the Safari Contract, and the amount of refund You may be entitled to shall be in accordance with clause 5 or as specified by the Company.
12. Jurisdiction
12.1 These Conditions, the Safari Contract and any other documentation provided to You by the Company shall be governed by the laws of Germany.
12.2 Subject to any mandatory laws, You hereby irrevocably agree that the relevant courts of Mombasa, Kenya shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any claim, dispute or difference concerning these Terms and any matter arising there from and no other courts shall have any jurisdiction whatsoever in respect of such disputes.
12.3 You irrevocably waive any right that You may have to object to an action being brought in those courts, or to claim that the action has been brought in an inconvenient forum, or that those courts do not have jurisdiction.
13. Indemnification
13.1 You (“The Indemnifying Party”) agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless, the Company, its directors, executives, employees, agents and other officers, its lawful successors and assigns and/or the Company’s affiliates, their websites and their respective lawful successors and assigns (“the Indemnified Party”), from and against any and all losses, liabilities, claims, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees and disbursements in connection therewith and interest chargeable thereon) asserted against or incurred by the Indemnified Party that arise out of, result from, or may be payable by virtue of any breach or non-performance, of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement made or obligation to be performed by You pursuant to these Conditions or the additional terms set out in the Safari Contract.
13.2 The indemnity contained in the above sub-clause is without prejudice to and in addition to any remedies or other rights provided by law and/or statute and/or under any other provision of these Conditions.
14. Intellectual Property Rights – Company Website(s)
14.1 The Company Website(s) include a combination of content created by the Company, its partners, licensors and associates.
14.2 The intellectual property rights in all software underlying the Company Website(s) and services and material published by the Company on the Company Website/s or otherwise, including (but not limited to) written content, photographs, graphics, images, illustrations, advertisements, marks, logos, audio or video clippings and Flash animation (“Intellectual Property Rights”), are owned by the Company, its partners, licencors and/or associates.
14.3 You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce, create derivative works of, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or in any way exploit any of such materials either in whole or in part without the Company’s express authorization or consent.
15. Insurance
15.1 Company has no liability
Unless explicitly provided by the Company in any specific service or product, obtaining sufficient insurance coverage is your obligation/option and the Company doesn’t accept any claims or liability arising out of such scenarios.
15.2 Insurance provided by third party
Insurance, if provided as a part of the service/ product by the Company, shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the insuring company and You shall contact the insurance company directly for any claims or disputes and the Company shall not provide any express or implied undertakings for acceptance of the claims by the insurance company.
15.3 Travel Insurance
You are strongly advised to obtain travel cancellation insurance and travel insurance prior to the period of travel. This may, without limitation, protect You (depending on the nature and terms of the travel insurance policy) from having to personally bear the fees resulting from any cancellation or change to the Tour Contract as specified in clause 5 above.
16. Warranty
The services of the Company are provided on an “as is” basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of title or implied warranties of merchantability for a particular purpose, other than those warranties which are implied by and incapable of exclusion, restriction or modification under the laws applicable to these Conditions.
17. Miscellaneous
17.1 Communication with the Customers/Clients
17.1.1. The Company may ask for your contact details in the form of telephone number, email address, or others, to communicate with You and inform You of the status of your booking and reservations, to procure from You or provide You with additional information regarding the Safari, change in schedule or itineraries, payments, cancellations, refunds and other Safari related information.
17.1.2. If You are comfortable with a particular medium of communication only or do not want the Company to communicate with You via any particular medium, You can register a request with the Company to that effect. The Company shall thereafter communicate with You only via the medium selected and authorized by You.
17.2 Collection, protection and sharing your information with third parties
17.2.1. In order to make your Safari reservations and other bookings, we will collect certain information from You including certain personal details such as age, gender, vocation, etc., and may share it with third parties including, but not limited to government agencies, hotels, and other third party service providers on an as-needed basis only.
17.2.2. However, we assure You that we maintain complete privacy of the information provided by our customers and will share only such information with the third parties as is necessary for the purposes of your travel booking, reservation compliance with law and other Safari related purpose.
17.2.3. In addition, we may also collect your credit card, debit card and other bank account details if You choose any of these mediums to make payments to the Company.
17.2.4. We reiterate that such sensitive information will not be shared, transferred or sold by the Company to any third parties except for reasons or purposes provided in this clause.
17.2.5. We may also request You to give us your feedback and share your experiences on the tour/holiday by providing us with testimonials. These accounts or information may be published or displayed on the Company Website(s) and on brochures, presentations and other documents and can be viewed by anyone who visits, browses or reads these. This information may also appear in search results on the internet.
17.2.6. We assure You that the Company does not provide or share your personally identifiable or other information to third parties except as expressly provided in these Conditions or otherwise after having obtained your definitive consent and permission.
17.2.7. However, please note that we may disclose and share your information including personal information to comply with legal processes, in response to legal notices and inquiries including but not limited to civil and criminal proceedings, court orders, and other compulsory disclosures, when we in good faith believe that the information is required by the law or in order to assist government/legal enforcement agencies in their investigation and preventive actions against any suspected or actual, illegal or unlawful activity or conduct.
17.2.8. We may also use your personal information to enforce these Conditions and safeguard the rights, interests, property and personal safety of the Company, its customers/clients and the public in general.
17.2.9. All data and information gathered from You by the Company shall be subject to the Company’s privacy policy (available at www.lofty-tours.co), as may be updated and modified from time to time.
17.3 Non- Commercial and Personal Use
Unless otherwise specified, the Company’s services are for your personal and non – commercial use only. You may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any information, software, products or services obtained from the Company Website/s or from the Safari consultants and advisors without the express written approval/consent from the Company.
17.4 Revision/modification of the terms of these Conditions
17.4.1. The Company endeavors to regularly update the information provided to You, so that You may not face any inconvenience, difficulty or disadvantage while accessing any information.
17.4.2. However, there is a possibility that the information, software, products, services, images on the Company Website(s) or other documentation may contain certain typographical and other errors on account of the oversight or lapse on the part of the Company and its employees.
17.4.3. These inaccuracies will be rectified immediately once brought to the attention of the Company and its employees or other officers.
17.4.4. We strongly recommend that You do not rely upon or act in accordance with any advice/suggestions received from any person except an authorized representative/employee/officer of the Company.
17.4.5. The Company may make any improvements, additions, changes, rectifications, alterations to the content of the Company Website(s) at any time.
17.4.6. The Company reserves the rights to alter the terms of these Conditions, without notice. We recommend that You read these Conditions regularly to avoid any inconvenience.
17.5 Severability
The invalidity or unenforceable of one provision of these Conditions and/or of the Tour Contract shall not affect the validity, legality or enforce ability of the remainder of these Conditions and/or of the Safari Contract.
17.6 Further Assistance
We at the Company believe in serving our clients with sincerity and honesty and therefore You can contact our travel consultants via telephone or write to us with your queries and we will be delighted to answer any query that You may have or provide any clarification that You may seek.