Terms & conditions

These are the terms on which we sell a trip. They are worth ten minutes of your time before you pay a deposit, because they say what happens when a plan changes — and on a mountain or in a national park, plans change.

1. Who you are contracting with

Your contract is with registered legal entity name, trading as Active Kili Top and Safaris, of Suye, Arusha, Tanzania — BRELA registration BRELA number, TALA licence TALA licence number. In these terms “we” and “us” mean that company; “you” means everyone named on the booking.

The person who makes the booking confirms they are 18 or over and are authorised to accept these terms for everyone travelling.

2. Making a booking

An enquiry costs nothing and commits you to nothing. We reply with a written itinerary and a price. If you want it, we hold the camps provisionally — usually for a few days, less in high season — and send you a confirmation invoice.

There is no contract until we have received your deposit and sent written confirmation. A quotation is not a booking, and availability quoted today can be gone tomorrow; the northern circuit camps in June to October and over Christmas are the ones that go first.

3. Deposit and balance

• Deposit: deposit percentage and whether it is non-refundable, due to confirm the booking.
• Balance: how many days before arrival the balance is due.
• Bookings made inside that window are payable in full at the time of booking.
• Accepted payment methods: bank transfer / card / mobile money — confirm. Bank charges at your end are yours; charges at ours are ours.

If the balance is not paid by the due date we may treat the booking as cancelled by you and apply the charges in clause 7.

4. What the price includes

Unless your itinerary says otherwise, a quoted price includes park and conservation fees, concession and camping fees, accommodation as listed, meals as listed, a guide and a vehicle with fuel, drinking water in the vehicle, domestic flights where shown, and government taxes.

It excludes international flights, visas, travel insurance, tips for guides and crew, drinks not listed, laundry, personal equipment, optional activities such as balloon flights or private dining, and anything of a personal nature.

We quote a figure inclusive of park fees on purpose. A price that looks lower because the fees are added later is not a lower price.

5. If costs change

Park entry, concession and conservation fees are set by TANAPA, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority and Kilimanjaro National Park, and by government tax rules. They can change with little notice, sometimes between the date you book and the date you travel. If that happens we will pass on the actual increase, evidenced, and nothing more — no handling margin on top. If an increase adds more than threshold, commonly 8% to your total, you may cancel and take a full refund instead.

6. Changes by you

Tell us as early as you can and we will do what the camps allow. Small changes — a dietary need, a room configuration, an extra night where there is space — usually cost nothing but the rate difference. Moving dates, changing camps or changing party size is a re-booking, and the camps' own terms then apply. An administration fee of amend fee, if you charge one may apply.

7. If you cancel

Cancel in writing to info@activekilitopandsafaris.com. The date we receive it is the date that counts. Charges are a percentage of the total trip price:

Some camps, and most flights and permits, are non-refundable from the moment they are issued regardless of notice. Where that applies to your booking we will have said so in writing before you paid. This is exactly what travel insurance is for.

8. Changes or cancellation by us

Occasionally we have to change something. A camp closes, a road washes out, an airline drops a route, a park changes its rules. We will tell you as soon as we know and offer the nearest equivalent at no extra cost, or a refund of the difference if the alternative is genuinely lesser.

We may cancel for reasons outside our control — unusually severe weather, flood, fire, epidemic, civil unrest, government action, or anything else that could not reasonably have been foreseen or avoided. In that case we will refund what we can recover from camps, airlines and parks. We cannot refund what they will not release to us, and we will show you the evidence of what was recovered.

9. Insurance — not optional

You must hold travel insurance for the whole trip, and we may ask to see the policy number before you travel. It must cover medical treatment, repatriation and emergency evacuation, including by helicopter.

If you are climbing Kilimanjaro or Meru, check the altitude limit on the policy. A great many standard policies stop at 3,000 or 4,000 metres. Uhuru Peak is 5,895 metres, and a policy that excludes it is worth nothing on summit night. We would rather you found that out now than at Barafu.

10. Passports, visas, vaccinations

These are your responsibility, though we will help. Your passport should be valid for at least six months beyond your return date with blank pages for stamps. Most nationalities need a visa for Tanzania, and a separate one again for a Kenya crossing. Proof of yellow fever vaccination is required if you are arriving from, or have transited, a country where it is a risk. Requirements change — check with your own embassy close to departure. We are not liable if you are refused entry.

11. Fitness, altitude and honesty

Tell us the truth about health and fitness. It is not a test to pass; it is how we build a trip you can actually enjoy.

• Declare any heart or lung condition, diabetes, epilepsy, recent surgery, pregnancy, reduced mobility, or medication you take regularly.
• On a climb, our guides carry a pulse oximeter and check you twice daily. A guide's decision that you must descend is final. It is made on medical grounds, it is not negotiable, and refusing it ends your climb without refund.
• Altitude sickness can affect the fittest person on the mountain and spare the least fit. No operator can promise you a summit, and any operator who does is selling you something they cannot deliver.

12. Wildlife, roads and risk

Safari and mountain travel carry risks that no amount of care removes entirely. Animals are wild and unpredictable; you must follow your guide's instructions at all times, particularly about staying in the vehicle and about camp at night. Roads and tracks can be rough, and internal flights use small aircraft with strict luggage limits, subject to weather and weight.

Wildlife is not scheduled. We will put you in the right place at the right season with a guide who knows it, but nobody can guarantee a river crossing, a leopard, or a clear view of the mountain.

13. Conduct

We may end the trip of anyone whose behaviour endangers others, damages property, or is seriously offensive to crew, guides or fellow travellers — without refund and with any onward costs payable by them. This has never yet been necessary. We mention it because guides and porters deserve the protection.

14. Our liability

We accept responsibility for arranging your trip with reasonable skill and care, and for the acts of the guides, drivers and crew we employ. We are not liable for failures caused by you, by an unconnected third party, or by circumstances outside our control as described in clause 8. Where a service is provided by an independent supplier — an airline, a hotel, a balloon operator — that supplier's own conditions apply. Our liability is limited to the price paid for the trip, except for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, which is not limited.

15. Complaints

If something is wrong, say so on the ground, immediately, to your guide or to the office. Almost everything can be fixed the same day and almost nothing can be fixed a month later. If it is not resolved, write to info@activekilitopandsafaris.com within 28 days of returning and we will reply within 14 days.

16. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the United Republic of Tanzania, and the courts of Tanzania have jurisdiction. If any clause is found unenforceable, the rest stand.

Last updated 12 August 2026. The terms that apply to your booking are the ones in force on the day we confirmed it, and we will send you a copy with your confirmation.