A holiday with Wild about Africa
How to Book
Once you've chosen a holiday and departure date, you can:
Book online
Click on the 'enquire now' button next to your departure date and fill in the online form - ticking the button that says, “I would like to book this holiday now”.
Call us
If you have any questions before booking, or would like to speak to one of expert consultants then call us on:
UK Tel: +44 (0)20 3405 6655
US/Canada toll free: 1-800-242-2434
Australia toll free: 1-800-995-397
See our contacts page for our office hours.
What happens next
After you have booked online or by phone, we will respond with full details of the holiday that we are holding for you, confirming all the costs. We will also email a booking form to you. We will hold these arrangements for you for 4 days, at the price quoted.
To confirm the booking, you will then need to return the completed booking form to us - by fax, post, or scanned attachment to an email; it must be signed and with the correct deposit.
Currency options
Our prices are originally set in UK Sterling (GBP).
If you prefer to pay in another currency, we can work in US Dollars or Euros. If you tell us which of these currencies is best for you, we'll send you prices in that currency. Then, when we make a firm booking for you, we'll agree a fixed price in that currency. This currency and price will remain fixed regardless of how the world's exchange rates vary. Thus you always have the peace of mind of knowing exactly how much your trip will cost in whichever of these three currencies is most convenient for you.
Payment methods
The payment methods available depend on the currency chosen:
UK Sterling (GBP)
Deposit: GB £600 per person for bookings of under GB £3,000 per person, or 20% of the value of the trip for bookings over this level.
Full payment: Must reach us (be cleared in our bank) ten weeks before travel, or be settled immediately for bookings made within that time (see point below).
Bookings for imminent travel: If you are travelling within ten weeks of making your booking, then you may need to pay for the whole trip in full online. In that case, choose the authorise option in our online payment system – and simply over-type the automated deposit amount to match the full payment due.
Payment methods:
Online payment on our parent company’s, Expert Africa, website. Click login in the top right of the website to access your account, or set up an account if you don't already have one. It's a simple process. Once you are logged in, click authorise to authorise your deposit payment or click make payment to pay all or part of your balance. Payments can be accepted by debit or credit card.
Credit and debit cards issued in the UK, in Pounds Sterling, are accepted without any surcharges. Beware: credit cards issued by companies outside the UK (or denominated in currencies other than GB£ Sterling) may also charge you, the cardholder, a direct and additional charge (typically 3%) for a “foreign currency transaction" like this. Check your credit card's fine print before paying this way.
Direct bank transfers (nett of any bank charges) are accepted without any surcharges. Online banking can make this very easy. Please ask for our bank details.
Personal cheques from UK bank accounts are accepted without any surcharges, but please allow 5 working days for cheques to clear.
US Dollars (USD)
Deposit: US $800 per person for bookings of under US $4,000 per person, or 20% of the value of the trip for bookings over this level.
Full payment: Must reach us (be cleared in our bank) ten weeks before travel, or be settled immediately for bookings made within that time (see point below).
Bookings for imminent travel: If you are travelling within ten weeks of making your booking, then you may need to pay for the whole trip in full online. In that case, choose the authorise option in our online payment system – and simply over-type the automated deposit amount to match the full payment due.
Payment methods:
Direct bank transfer in US Dollars to our US Dollar account. Please ask for our bank details. It is vital that you confirm with your bank that this payment will remain in US Dollars for the whole transaction, between your bank and ours - i.e. it will not be translated into UK Pounds at any point. If your bank cannot confirm this, then don't pay by bank transfer - as you might lose a significant amount of the sum transferred in currency exchanges, and have to make additional payments to us as a result.
Please cover all bank charges from your side, and add to the transfer amount an extra payment of US$10 to cover our bank charges.
Online payment on our parent company’s, Expert Africa, website. Click login in the top right of the website to access your account, or set up an account if you don't already have one. It's a simple process. Once you are logged in, click authorise to authorise your deposit payment or click make payment to pay all or part of your balance. Online payments can be accepted on Visa or MasterCard (billed in US Dollars). Please note: We cannot currently accept USD payments via Amex.
Debit cards denominated in US Dollars are usually processed like credit cards denominated in US Dollars. See note below. In the past travellers have been charged substantial commissions (4% in one case) by the banking system, and these charges seem impossible to predict. Because of this, we recommend that you check the charges with your card provider before making the transaction, or pay by direct bank transfer.
Beware: if your credit or debit card is not billed in US dollars, then your card company is likely to charge you, the cardholder, an additional direct charge for making a "foreign currency transaction". Occasionally, even if your card is billed in US dollars and there is no currency exchange, your credit /debit card company might charge you an additional direct charge known as a "foreign transaction fee" because our bank account is based in the UK. Card providers vary so read your credit agreement's fine print before paying this way; additional charges made by credit card providers are typically 3%.
Cashier's checks arranged at your bank and typically cost about US$30-40 to issue, plus mailing costs. Cashier's checks are usually a good way to pay because they clear faster through the bank system than personal checks. Although this makes a cashier's check the best type of check to pay with, we are charged for cashing it, so US$40 should be added to any amount paid by cashier's check to cover our bank charges. Full payment made by cashier's check must be settled 14 weeks before travel, as on occasion they can take up to four weeks to fully clear through the banking system.
Personal checks in US Dollars are accepted provided the check for full payment is received by us 18 weeks before travel. Personal checks can take up to eight weeks to completely clear through the banking system. Regrettably for this reason, we cannot accept a US Dollar personal check for any bookings made within 18 weeks of the travel date.
Euros (EUR)
Deposit: EU €700 per person for bookings of under EU €3,500 per person, or 20% of the value of the trip for bookings over this level.
Full payment: Full payment: Must reach us (be cleared in our bank) ten weeks before travel, or be settled immediately for bookings made within that time (see point below).
Bookings for imminent travel: If you are travelling within ten weeks of making your booking, then you may need to pay for the whole trip in full online. In that case, choose the authorise option in our online payment system – and simply over-type the automated deposit amount to match the full payment due.
Payment methods:
Direct bank transfer in Euros to our Euro account. Please ask for our bank details. It is vital that you confirm with your bank that this payment will remain in Euros for the whole transaction, between your bank and ours - i.e. it will not be translated into UK Pounds at any point. If your bank cannot confirm this, then don't pay by bank transfer - as you might lose a significant amount of the sum transferred in currency exchanges, and have to make additional payments to us as a result.
Please cover any bank charges from your side, and add to the transfer amount an extra payment of €8 to cover our bank's charges.
Cashier's cheques arranged at your bank and typically costing about €30-40 to issue, plus postage. We are charged for cashing cashier's cheques, so €40 should be added to any amount paid by cashier's cheque to cover our bank charges. Full payment made by cashier's cheque must be settled 12 weeks before travel, as on occasion they can take up to four weeks to fully clear through the banking system.
Personal cheques in Euros are accepted provided full payment is settled 18 weeks before travel. Regrettably, we cannot accept a Euro personal cheque for any bookings made within 18 weeks of the travel date as this will take from six to eight weeks to clear with the bank.
Online payments: We cannot process online payments directly in Euros, and so we do not generally accept card payments in Euros. In exceptional circumstances, where we have agreed to accept a payment using a Euro-denominated card, please understand that we can only process payments directly in UK £ Sterling or US Dollars, not directly in Euros. Because of this, we would have to convert the agreed Euro amount into Sterling at the day's exchange rate on the day of payment.
Beware: in such cases, almost all credit card companies will also charge you, the cardholder, a direct charge (typically of about 3-4%) for a "foreign currency transaction" like this; always read the fine print of your credit agreement before paying this way.
Confirmation and tickets
Once we have received your signed booking form and deposit (or full payment, if appropriate), we will email and/or post you a full confirmation for your holiday, and a copy of a detailed itinerary and information for your particular holiday.
About two to four weeks before your trip, we will issue any flight tickets required and send these to you with any necessary vouchers. We usually send these by normal post in the UK, or airmail post outside the UK - if you want us to send these by courier (for an extra charge), or some other method, then please note this down on your booking form.
Enjoy your holiday with Wild about Africa!
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