Our guarantee to you
We understand that trips to Africa can be a significant investment, and it's important for you to have confidence in the company you choose. At Expert Africa, we're proud to be a part of a family of travel companies that has been serving customers since 1970. As an independently-owned and successful business, we have a strong history of reliability and stability.Our commitment to you comes in two parts:
Expert Africa's Peace of Mind Guarantee
In these uncertain economic times, we want to assure you that we uphold the same principles of fairness that we always have.Here's what that means for you:
- No Currency Surcharges: Once you've booked with us, the price remains fixed, regardless of any fluctuations in exchange rates before your trip.
- Principal Accountability: When you book with Expert Africa, we are your main point of contact and your contract is with us; we’re not just an intermediary. This ensures that we take responsibility for all of your trip with us
- Unbiased Advice: Our recommendations aren't influenced by commission. We focus on places we've personally visited to provide you with honest, impartial guidance for your trip.
- Complete Peace of Mind: All our trips are fully bonded. This means that even if something were to happen to our company, your holiday plans and money remain protected.
- Owner-Run and Independent: We're proud to be owner-run and 100% independent, committed to delivering high-quality service and trusted advice.
Our Financial Protection: Your Peace of Mind
We provide the highest level of financial protection available in the travel industry: Expert Africa offers a 100% financial guarantee for everyone who books a holiday with us.
All our holidays conform with the bonding requirements of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) - of which we are a proud member.Everyone's holiday will fall into one of three situations:
1) A full package holiday
A full package holiday includes any travel arrangements which involve a flight element from the UK.
In the event that Expert Africa should fail, the company's ATOL Bond (Air Travel Organisers' Licence), held by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), covers repatriation and refunds for future holiday bookings.For detailed information about our ATOL protection, visit the CAA’s “Check an ATOL” page, and search for number 5206, or for our company name, “Discovery Worldwide Ltd” or our trading name, “Expert Africa”.
The CAA will manage repatriation and refunds directly, ensuring that those currently on vacation can continue without disruption.
All flights and flight-inclusive holidays which we arrange are protected by the ATOL scheme. Upon payment, you'll receive an ATOL Certificate, which you should review to confirm that all booked services are listed. For more details, please refer to our booking conditions or visit: www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/ATOL-certificate.
2) Package holidays without flights from the UK
A package that doesn't include flights from the UK consists of accommodations and other ground arrangements where travellers arrange their own flights. Typically, this type of trip isn't covered by an ATOL bond.However, rest assured that Expert Africa is fully bonded for all such "non-licenseable" packages through a scheme overseen by ABTA - the Travel Association, a government-licensed trade body that certifies financial protection bonds. So, in the exceedingly unlikely event of Expert Africa's failure, any suppliers who haven't been paid for ongoing holidays will be reimbursed by ABTA. Travellers can continue their holidays as planned, and ABTA will refund any travellers who have paid for a holiday, but couldn't proceed due to the failure.
It's important to note that reimbursement only covers the elements of the holiday booked through Expert Africa. Any elements booked directly by the traveller are not covered under this scheme.
3) Accommodation only
Expert Africa extends its financial guarantee even to bookings for accommodation only, although this isn't legally required. (Note: ATOL bonding doesn't apply to this type of trip.)Similarly to our package deals, Expert Africa ensures full coverage for accommodation-only bookings through the ABTA scheme. So in the very unlikely event of Expert Africa's failure, ABTA will settle payments directly with accommodation providers, ensuring they're fully protected as if it were a complete package booking.
Just like with package protection, this coverage doesn't extend to elements of the trip booked directly by the traveller.
In essence, Expert Africa safeguards the bookings of all of its travellers, ensuring these are fully protected in the very unlikely event of the company failing.
Responsibility in the event of a problem
In addition to providing financial protection, what's even more crucial for most travellers is that Expert Africa always operates as the main point of contact, known as the 'Principal,' when arranging holidays. Whether it's a full package, a package excluding flights, or simply accommodation bookings, your legal contract is always directly with Expert Africa. We hold full accountability for the services provided by our suppliers: the buck stops with us!Should any issues arise with your holiday arrangements booked through Expert Africa, we are responsible for resolving them. All contracts are legally binding under UK law, meaning our travellers don't need to pursue suppliers abroad themselves.
In recent years, many travel companies have opted to act as 'Agents for the supplier' or even 'Agents for the traveller', often to cut costs. However, this model shifts both the financial burden and the responsibility away from the company.
With these arrangements, travellers end up with separate contracts with each service provider abroad, such as lodges, camps, and transport companies in Africa. Consequently, in the event of any issues overseas, travellers must navigate claims with each supplier directly, often through the legal systems of the respective African countries.
At Expert Africa, we operate differently. We act as the 'Principal,' ensuring that we assume full responsibility for what we offer to our travellers.
Expert Africa are members of ABTA
We're delighted to be a full member (No. Y1608) of the UK's best known and largest trade association, ABTA - the Travel Association.It's important to clarify that simply being a member of ABTA doesn't automatically provide financial protection for holidays, despite common assumptions.
However, as mentioned above, in addition to basic ABTA membership, we go the extra mile by fully bonding all our trips through the government-approved assurance scheme managed by ABTA. This means your money and your holiday are safeguarded when you book with us.