SavannahLinkSouthern Africa

Booking conditions

Booking terms and conditions

Standard industry terms covering SavannahLink Transfers, safari packages and DMC programmes — payment, cancellation, waiting time, luggage, cross-border travel and liability.

Last updated: 10 September 2026

1. Parties and scope

  • These terms govern all transfer, tour, safari package and destination management services booked with SavannahLink (“we”, “us”), whether booked online, by email, by WhatsApp or through a contracted travel agent or tour operator.
  • “Client” means the person or company making the booking. Where a travel agent, tour operator or lodge books on behalf of a guest, that agent accepts these terms on the guest’s behalf and remains responsible for payment.
  • Confirming a booking, paying a deposit or paying in full means these terms are accepted.

2. Quotations and confirmation

  • Quotations are valid for 7 days unless stated otherwise and are subject to availability at the time of confirmation.
  • A booking is only confirmed once we issue a written confirmation or voucher containing the service date, pickup time, route and vehicle type.
  • Published route prices are per vehicle one way unless the price is shown as a per-person shared shuttle seat rate.

3. Prices, currency and taxes

  • Transfer prices are quoted in South African Rand (ZAR) or United States Dollars (USD). Card payments are processed in the currency shown at checkout; conversion rates and any bank charges applied by your card issuer are outside our control.
  • Prices include the vehicle, driver, fuel, tolls and meet-and-greet where stated.
  • Prices exclude gratuities, meals, park and conservation fees, river usage and bridge levies, visa costs, government taxes payable in destination, and anything not expressly listed as included.
  • We may adjust unpaid quoted prices where fuel, tolls, park fees, exchange rates or government taxes change materially before travel. Fully paid bookings are not repriced.

4. Payment

  • Transfers booked online are payable in full at the time of booking by card.
  • Safari packages and multi-day programmes require a 30% deposit to confirm, with the balance due 30 days before arrival.
  • Bookings made within 30 days of travel are payable in full on confirmation.
  • Contracted trade accounts may settle on agreed credit terms, normally 14 days from invoice. Services may be withheld where an account is in arrears.
  • We do not store card details. Card payments are handled by our payment providers on secure hosted pages.

5. Cancellation and refunds — transfers

  • More than 7 days before pickup: refund less a 10% handling fee, and less any bank or gateway charge.
  • Less than 7 days before pickup, or no-show: 100% of the transfer price is payable, because the vehicle and driver are already committed.
  • Refunds are made to the original payment method and normally reflect within 10 business days.

6. Cancellation and refunds — packages and tours

  • More than 60 days before arrival: deposit refundable less a 30% administration fee.
  • 31 to 60 days before arrival: 30% of the total tour price is payable.
  • 15 to 30 days before arrival: 50% of the total tour price is payable.
  • 14 days or less before arrival, or no-show: 100% of the total tour price is payable.
  • Third-party supplier terms — lodges, airlines, charters and permits — may be stricter than ours and take precedence for those components. Non-refundable supplier deposits remain non-refundable.
  • Unused services, early departures and voluntarily missed activities are not refundable.

7. Amendments

  • Date, time and pickup point changes requested more than 24 hours before a transfer are made free of charge subject to availability.
  • Changes requested inside 24 hours are treated as a cancellation and rebooking.
  • Route or vehicle changes that increase distance, duration or vehicle size are charged at the difference in published rates.

8. Waiting time, delays and flight monitoring

  • Airport pickups include 60 minutes of free waiting time from the actual landing time; other pickups include 15 minutes.
  • Thereafter waiting is charged per 30 minutes at the applicable vehicle rate.
  • We monitor flight arrivals where a valid flight number is supplied at booking. Without a flight number we cannot adjust for delays and a no-show may be charged.
  • Guests must be contactable on the mobile number or WhatsApp given at booking.
  • We are not liable for missed flights, missed connections or missed activities caused by traffic, weather, road closures, border queues, breakdowns or events beyond our reasonable control. Where a delay is caused by us, we will arrange a suitable alternative at our cost.

9. Passengers, luggage and child seats

  • Vehicle capacity is stated per route. Passenger numbers may not exceed the confirmed capacity, and the driver may refuse carriage of excess passengers.
  • One suitcase and one item of hand luggage per passenger is standard. Oversized items — golf bags, bicycles, wheelchairs, hunting or filming equipment — must be declared at booking so a suitable vehicle is allocated.
  • Child and infant seats must be requested at booking. Regional law requires appropriate restraints for children under three years.
  • Every passenger must wear a seatbelt where fitted. Smoking, vaping and open alcohol are not permitted in our vehicles.

10. Cross-border transfers

  • Guests are solely responsible for valid passports, visas, permits, parental consent documents for minors and any health requirements.
  • Border processing times cannot be guaranteed. We build realistic buffers into cross-border routes but delays at posts such as Kazungula, Beitbridge, Lebombo and Ngoma are outside our control.
  • Border levies, road access fees, carbon tax and third-party insurance payable at the post are for the guest’s account unless the confirmation states otherwise.
  • Where entry is refused by an immigration authority, the transfer is treated as delivered and no refund is due.

11. Conduct, safety and right of refusal

  • The driver may refuse or terminate carriage where a passenger is abusive, intoxicated, unsafe, or where behaviour endangers the vehicle or other guests. No refund is due in these cases.
  • Guests are liable for the cost of deliberate damage or excessive soiling of a vehicle.
  • Drivers follow legal speed limits, prescribed rest periods and safety instructions at all times, including inside national parks and reserves.

12. Vehicles and substitution

  • We reserve the right to substitute a vehicle of equal or higher standard, or to engage a vetted subcontracted operator, without changing the confirmed price or service level.
  • Vehicle images on the website are indicative of class, not of the specific vehicle allocated.

13. Travel insurance

  • Comprehensive travel insurance covering cancellation, curtailment, medical treatment, emergency evacuation, personal accident and baggage is a condition of travel on all safari packages and is strongly recommended for all transfers.
  • We are not an insurer and receive no benefit under your policy.

14. Liability

  • We act as an operator of our own transfer services and, for accommodation, flights, activities and other third-party services, as an agent for those suppliers.
  • Our liability for any claim arising from a transfer is limited to the value of that transfer. For packages, liability is limited to the value of the affected services.
  • We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including loss of enjoyment, business or missed onward arrangements.
  • We are not liable for force majeure events: weather, flooding, fire, strike, civil unrest, border or road closure, epidemic, government action, wildlife incidents or supplier failure.
  • Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including under the South African Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008.

15. Lost property

  • Items left in a vehicle are held for 30 days. Return is arranged at the guest’s cost. We accept no liability for items left behind.

16. Complaints

  • Problems must be raised with the driver or our operations desk at the time so they can be resolved during the service. Reach us on WhatsApp at +27 63 899 7767.
  • Unresolved complaints must be submitted in writing to info@savannahlink.com within 30 days of the service date. We acknowledge within 2 business days and respond substantively within 14 days.

17. Data protection

  • Guest details are collected only to deliver the booking and are shared with the allocated driver, lodge or supplier as needed. We process personal information in line with South Africa’s POPIA.
  • Payment card data is handled entirely by our payment providers and never stored by us.

18. Governing law

  • These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and the parties submit to the jurisdiction of the South African courts.
  • We may update these terms at any time. The version published on the date of your booking confirmation applies to that booking.

Questions before you book

Not sure how a clause applies to your booking?

Ask us before you pay. Trade accounts receive a countersigned copy of these terms with their tariff.

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