Deposit amounts requested - The deposits requested are relative to the amount of money that we need to put out before your trip begins. For a Mt Kilimanjaro treks or Mt Meru treks a 10% deposit is requested. For safaris a 50% deposit is requested. For domestic flights (to Zanzibar or Serengeti for example) and for hotels outside of Moshi (Zanzibar, Arusha, etc.) 100% of the flight amount is requested. It does not matter to us whether one payment is made for your entire group, or if each individual makes a payment.
Payment schedule - There is no deadline for the deposit, but we will not reserve accommodations, flights or put your trip into our schedule until a payment has been received. For flights, lodges, and tented camps these often fill quickly so making a deposit as soon as possible is strongly suggested. The remaining balance is not due until you arrive in the country.
Payments are refundable in the event of cancellation with some conditions. In the event of postponement/cancellation from your end, an amount can be applied to future tours through Gladys Adventure for a period of 12 months. Payments may be applied towards others traveling through Gladys Adventure and Safaris at your request. Accommodations and flights will have more strict cancellation policies that may reduce the amount applied to future tours. 100% of amounts recoverable by Gladys Adventure and Safaris will be availaible for your use. Additional details are given further down this page.
Online payment - we accept Visa/MasterCard payments. For this our bank will add a 5% fee3% fee. The payment web page is operated by our bank and we are never given your bank card information. To pay online, send us an email address and we will create the invoice and send you a payment link. We are not fussy about the deposits being the exact amount requested, so don't worry too much about the math. We will work out the difference once you are in Tanzania. Please let us know if you have made an online payment so we can track it well.
It is also possible to pay by direct wire transfer from your bank to ours. Our bank does not add any fees to this but the sending bank determines the fees. This is a flat fee regardless of the transfer amount and typically ranges from $30 - $40 USD. Many times a third bank is involved in the transfer (correspondence bank) and they will deduct an additional $10 fee. For bank details to make a wire transfer please contact us info@gladysadventure.com. A wire transfer may take up to one week before it arrives in our account. Direct wire transfers are far more secure than services such as Western Union. We are a local Tanzanian company, so we will only request payment be made to a Tanzanian bank with the account name Gladys Adventure. All tourism related fees in Tanzania use USD as their payment method, so our account is a USD account.
In-person payments - For in-person card payments, in addition to Visa/MasterCard payments, we also accept American Express and Union Pay. Our bank will add a 4% service fee for in-person Visa/MasterCard/Union Pay payments and 5% for in-person American Express payments. For cash payments, USD is preferred. Only bills from the year 2004 or newer are accepted anywhere in Tanzania. Our bank account is a USD account (Tanzania uses USD for all tourism related matters - such as park fees and tourist visas). If you wish to pay cash with other currencies, it is best to convert to USD before you arrive. The banks here would, by law, have to convert your money into Tanzanian Shillings, then convert from Tanzanian Shillings into USD - resulting in a double commission being deducted. Payment of tips can be in any currency, but cannot be done by credit/debit card. We can take you to an ATM if you need to take a withdrawal.
Specifics Regarding Cancellations
Gladys Adventure is not in the business to make money off of cancellations or postponements. But we cannot lose money off them either. This country does not make it easy at all for us to send money outside of Tanzania. But due to the unpredictability of travel, we will now allow refunds of any recoverable amount, less transfer fees and taxes. Otherwise, you can transfer any amount that is recoverable by Gladys Adventure and Safaris towards either future travel through Gladys Adventure (within 1 year) or have that amount applied to another person traveling through Gladys Adventure. Please note that hotels, lodges, and flights will have more strict cancellation policies that may reduce the amount recoverable for use.
We cannot be responsible for adapting to cancelled/delayed flights, missed connections, missing/delayed baggage. We will do our best but we cannot guarantee that we can accommodate you in all situations. This can be difficult for open group Mt Kilimanjaro treks or safari accommodations.
We strongly recommend travel insurance for your protection of your invested amount. For Mt Kilimanjaro climbs, medical, and rescue insurance is required and we suggest that you look for a policy that will handle other possible scenerios as well. Note that Zanzibar now has a policy requiring medical insurance purchased upon arrival in Zanzibar. This is regardless if you already have other health insurance. The cost of this is a flat $44USD regardless of the length of stay and is required for all non-residents.
Questions will be gladly answered by contacting us at info@gladysadventure.com