Booking confirmation

Contracts and agreements will be valid following Ethiopian Photography Tours /EPT/ confirmation of the booking by e-mail or letter. At the time of confirmation on receiving signed of the tour agreement, a deposit of 30% of the total cost is requested and the deposit has to be paid as indicated in the tour payment invoice by bank transfer to our company bank account. We will issue you with a confirmation of booking which includes the final itinerary and confirmed hotel list. No solid booking exists until a signed and scanned copy agreement is provided. The remaining amount of the total cost shall be paid on the agreed due date before the commencement of the tour or upon arrival. Failure to pay the advance payment will result in the cancellation of your booking.

• EPT or its subsidiary companies in the destination are not responsible for any consequences of delays or changes in schedules of airlines, trains, or public buses- or boats used in its programs.
• EPT bookings are only guaranteed with payment made as per the agreements.
• EPT is not responsible for overbookings by a third party, as long as we can prove with sufficient written documentation that overbooking has been the error of the third party. If the confirmed accommodation is not available for any other reason mentioned above we will provide the best possible alternative, in the same level standards or higher. If such accommodations are not available, we will compensate by upgrading accommodations in another location. In case of overbooking by fault of a third party, we will do our best to negotiate a settlement to the satisfaction of affected clients (hereinafter also referred to as “travelers”) with a third party, but will not be responsible if such settlement cannot be reached.
• EPT may arrange and safeguard allotments for series, or ad-hoc groups. Such allotments may be subject to deposit payments as indicated in the above unless otherwise stated, we need a complete name- and rooming list not later than 30 days before the commencement of the tour which will be used to reconfirm the allotment. Failure to produce such a list in time may cause the cancellation of the allotment. After the allotment has been reconfirmed any last-minute bookings or amendments will be added subject to availability.

EPT Responsibility and Liability

• EPT is liable for passenger’s transportation, all vehicles we used during the trip have comprehensive insurance. All claims are subject to the jurisdiction presiding over the court and laws of Ethiopia. The employees of EPT will accomplish all services as agreed for every client to the best of our ability with every possible care taken to safeguard you and your property throughout the trip, If you have any complaint during the trip, contact us immediately we will do our best to solve the problem. However, EPT can’t be held responsible for cancellations in case of unrest, war, or natural disasters and over-bookings made by third parties such as hotels, airlines, and boat trip providers.
• EPT accepts no liability for loss or damage of any personal effects. We will use our best efforts to assist visitors when dealing with third parties such as hotels, airlines, and other transport companies and travel agents. However, EPT cannot be held responsible for any loss or harm such as sickness, injury, theft, death, or additional costs incurred due to denied boarding, overbooking, cancellation, or delay caused by the third party.
• EPT and its agents act only as agents of passengers in all matters relating to hotel accommodation, transport of tour by air, boat, or any other means, and it shall not be liable for injury, flight schedule changes or delay, loss or damage arising from any cause and in any manner whatsoever.
• The laws of Ethiopia govern EPT liability to passengers carried in its vehicles, and all claims are subject to the jurisdiction of the court of Ethiopia in which the cause of action arises.
• EPT reserves the right to employ subcontractors whenever necessary to carry out all or any part of the services agreed to be supplied, and in any event of the exercise of such right, the terms of clause (S) related to SET’s liability shall apply.
• Whilst every care is taken, EPT cannot be held responsible for the loss or damage of baggage or other personal belongings during both international and domestic flights.
• EPT defines Force Majeure as: “Any circumstances beyond the reasonable control of a party which prevent or impede the due performance of our services including but not limited to war or hostilities; riot or civil commotion; epidemic; earthquake, flood or other natural disaster. We shall not be responsible and/or liable for costs or missed opportunities due to changes and/or cancellations in the program or part(s) thereof due to Force Majors.
• EPT accepts complaints about the services provided by our staff or its subsidiary offices without any delay. Any complaint not reported to us locally, will not be taken into consideration at any later stage. If a complaint is reported by the traveler and cannot be resolved locally, the local Tour Operator will be notified and it will be handled between our companies. It is unlikely that complaints cannot be settled amicably between us. However, should there be disputes, we reserve the right to limit and offer any goodwill refund.

Travelers’ Responsibility and Liability

• Travelers are responsible for having proper travel documents, such as a valid passport with enough pages, the proper visas, necessary passport pictures, and any necessary health, vaccination, or inoculation certificates, counsel your doctor before your trip.
• Travelers are responsible for having proper and adequate travel insurance for the duration of the trip.

Payment

• Payment is due on the date specified as “due date” on the invoice.
• Deposits needed to secure certain reservations, such as domestic flights, cruises, and hotel allotments will be communicated first, and may in some cases be invoiced with a separate due date
• We reserve the right to cancel any arrangements with advance notification if payments have not been received by the due date
• Payment can be made through bank transfer, cash, traveler cheque, or other methods of payment with advance discussion.

Cancellation

Time of notice for cancellation is counted upon local time receipt of written notification on working days only. Our office is open daily, except on Sundays and public holidays, see detailed public holidays in the travel tips section.

Cancellation of Confirmed Individual Bookings

• Up to 30 days before the start of the trip, the following cost will be applied a fee of 5% of the total tour cost would be levied as administration and handling charges.
• Between 30 days and 15 days before the start of the trip subjected to a penalty of 30% of the total tour costs
• Between 14 days and 72 hours before the start of the trip subjected to a cancellation fee of 50% of the total tour cost
• Less than 72 hours before the commencement of the trip subject to payment of 100% of the total cost of the tour

Cancellation of Participant(s) on a Confirmed Group

• Up to 30 days before the start of the trip 15% of the total tour costs
• Between 30-15 days before the start of the trip 30% of the total tour costs
• Between 14- 3 days before the start of the trip subjected to a penalty of 50% of the total tour costs
• less than 72 hours before the commencement of the trip subject to a payment of 100% of the total cost of the tour
• We reserve the right to give no refund in case of cancellation of the remaining program, in full or partial, by the travelers after they start the tour, we advise our travelers to include trip cancellation insurance for their entire trip.

Prices

• Tour prices will be provided upon request. All prices are not fixed, except for fixed departure or joining group trips. The price of the trip depends on your service preferences including accommodation level standard, meal plan preference, guiding service option, international airline carrier arrival, kind of ground transportation choice depending on the route you travel current fuel prices, and currency exchange rates. EPT has the right to adjust an earlier given price up to 35 days before the commencement of the tour. After payment of the total tour price by the client(s), no price adjustment will be made.

Tour packages/ Itineraries

• We provide a variety of recommended tour packages/itineraries in our tour package menu. However, abundant types of tours that suit the traveler’s preference, interests, time frame, budget, and convenience can be organized upon request. Our best-suggested combined tour packages are ideal for full understanding.

Insurance

• Travelers are responsible for having proper and adequate travel insurance for the duration of the trip with trip cancellation insurance. EPT will not be liable for your travel insurance but, our company uses insured transportation throughout the trip. The insurance policy works according to the Ethiopian government law.

Requests

• EPT is responsive to all types of tour requests that may come from all over the world. Based on traveler detail requests and service preferences we provide detailed and prompt responses that suit travelers’ inquiries.

Transportation

• For regular tours and safaris, minibusses, coaches & 4X4s 4WD will be provided according to the route, number of participants, and travel choice agreement up on communication. All vehicles we used during the trip are comprehensively insured.

Guides

• English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and other languages speaking professional Ethiopian guides will be provided upon a prior request and confirmation at the time of travel.

Flexibility/ Amendment

• EPT is open to any flexibility and amendment in the tour package or mode of transportation in all possible circumstances to satisfy customer interest with advance notification either from our side or the client’s side as long as it doesn’t incur any additional costs. All amendments would be subject to availability and confirmation from third parties and EPT would not be responsible for any inconvenience due to local circumstances or events, which may include sickness or mechanical breakdown, high season or overbooking, flight cancellations, and events from political disputes like strikes, climate & other unpredictable or unforeseeable situation beyond the control of EPT.