Booking a tailor-made itinerary with Sovereign Safaris
All of Sovereign Safaris’ trips are customizable and designed to meet the individual preferences of our travelers. We prioritize providing comprehensive and detailed information about the available options so you can make informed decisions.
Many of our travelers choose to book a complete “tailor-made itinerary” with us. This arrangement typically covers the entire duration of your vacation, from beginning to end, ensuring every aspect of your trip is seamlessly coordinated.
Booking your entire holiday with us offers several benefits:
- Guaranteed no currency surcharges: Once you book, the price is locked in, unaffected by any future fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
- Unbiased expert advice: We don’t own any properties, allowing us to offer unbiased guidance to help you make the best choices for your trip.
- Fully-bonded trips: We provide full bonding to give you peace of mind. Even in the unlikely event of our failure, your holiday plans are secure (see our Guarantee page for bonding details).
- Global support network: With offices in Kenya, providing continuous support to our travelers throughout their stay in Africa.
We define a “tailor-made itinerary” as any travel plan that includes multiple components such as transfers, accommodations, car hire, and flights, typically extending over more than five nights.
Alternatively, if you’re looking to book just a few nights, possibly with one or two transfers. For more details on booking shorter stays or specific services, please fill out our “Enquiry Form with Sovereign Safaris.”
Planning your Safari/Tour/Holiday itinerary
When initiating a tailor-made itinerary, we typically begin by understanding your travel preferences, possibly referencing our brochure or website. Using our specialist knowledge, we guide you towards the best options, including some of our Safari Options if they align closely with what you’re envisioning.
To fine-tune your travel plans, we engage in thorough discussions with you about the advantages and disadvantages of the suggested options. We take our time during these conversations, as gaining a clear understanding at this stage is crucial for making informed decisions about your trip.
Itineraries and free quotes
Once we’ve developed an itinerary that seems like a good fit, we’ll provide you with a complimentary quote. This quote will outline your proposed trip and any discussed flights, clearly stating what’s included and excluded along with a precise cost in your choice of US dollars, GB pounds, Kenyan Shillings, or euros. We’ll give you some time to consider this information without any pressure from us.
After you’ve had the opportunity to reflect on the proposal, we encourage you to discuss the trip further with us, exploring any possible adjustments that might better meet your needs. Should you wish to modify the travel plan or budget, we’ll gladly provide additional free written quotes for the revised itineraries. We’re happy to revise this as many times as necessary, with the goal of crafting a final plan that you’re completely satisfied with!
Exchange rates
Our quotes can be provided in the currency you prefer—GB pounds, US dollars, KES, or euros—based on the current exchange rates at the time the quote is generated. We guarantee the validity of each quote for seven days. Once you confirm a booking, the price is locked in, and there will be no cost adjustments due to currency fluctuations.
Making a booking
When you’re ready to proceed with a trip and have a quote that meets your approval, we’ll need you to fill out and send us a completed booking form along with a deposit. (Before making your deposit, please ensure you review the information on our Make a Payment page.) We typically hold this deposit unprocessed while finalizing your reservations.
Due to the time required to coordinate with various suppliers in East Africa, we require both a signed booking form and a deposit before we can confirm overseas bookings.
Confirming your booking
We’ll put in our best effort to lock in your bookings and sort out all the specifics. Communication speed can fluctitate, especially with suppliers stationed at far off places. It may range from a day to a couple of weeks. Should there be a hiccup, and any part of your journey be impossible to arrange, we will reach out to you swiftly. In such a situation, we can consider other alternatives. Choosing pricier alternatives will up the cost of your travel but if you go for cheap ones, your travel cost will go down. We are here to explain your choices crisply and point out its pros and cons. Given our knowledge of African voyage and your likings, we believe in tailor-making an outstanding trip just for you. But, if our ideas do not match your expectation, you have total freedom to call off your booking anytime before final approval and get a complete refund of your deposit. Your paid deposit gets into action and confirms your booking only when you are thoroughly satisfied with every bit of your trip’s arrangement.
Changes after booking
Once we’ve issued your confirmation invoice, we’ll cover most potential price increases, with the primary exceptions being airline fees and government actions. This ensures that, unlike many travel companies, we won’t adjust our prices due to fluctuations in currency, offering you stability in what you pay.
Should the unexpected occur and changes to your itinerary become necessary—for example, if a hotel or lodge is unavailable or a flight is cancelled—we’ll promptly get in touch to discuss alternatives and make the necessary arrangements on your behalf.
Please be aware that any changes or cancellations to this booking will be governed by our standard Booking Conditions.
Final Payment, Ticket Distribution, and Last-Minute Reservations
The remaining balance for your trip is due 2 weeks prior to your departure OR upon arrival. If you make a booking less than 2 weeks before your travel date, we will require the full payment at the time of confirmation. We encourage you to review our ‘Make a Payment’ page before processing any payments.
Approximately one week before your departure, we will send your tickets, vouchers, and a final information pack. Please ensure that the address listed on your invoice is accurate. If your address changes after booking but before you travel, it’s important to notify us right away.