Tracking gorillas in the dense forest can sometimes be wet, muddy and uncomfortable. The terrain is by no means easy so it can be fairly strenuous and often humid. But the sheer thrill in coming across a habituated group of gorillas, dominated by a great male silverback, more than outweighs any difficulty. You need to be prepared and fit enough to walk up to 4 hours up, and down hill.

Your gorilla trek will be a shared activity. You will be accompanied by other travellers, with a maximum of 8 people per gorilla family, plus your guides.

WHAT TO WEAR (AND PACK):
Boots - Essential. A good quality pair of hiking boots with sturdy rubber soles with grip
Gloves - During the trek you might be grabbing trees, branches and vines, and your hands can get scratched. Pack a tough old pair of gardening gloves
A light rain jacket – Bwindi is a tropical rainforest, and there’s a good chance of rain almost year-round. Pack a light-weight poncho or rain jacket that you can roll up in your bag and bring out if necessary
Long pants and shirts – It’s best not to expose too much skin during the jungle trek, and remember to tuck your trousers into your socks – to avoid ants, and no bright colours
Lots of water

Deposit & Payment

• Secure your package with a deposit of $2,000 per person (includes permit for gorilla trekking, which is non refundable/non transferable).
• Pay a 2nd instalment of $3,000 per person within 28 days.
• You will then be invoiced for final payment 120 days prior to departure.

Booking Process

• Select the purple 'Reserve Your Seat' tab to begin your booking (you must 'Sign Up' first by entering your email and creating a password)
• Then select the purple 'Book now' tab of the tour you have selected
• Select your Departure Date, Departure City, Number of Passengers, Room Configuration, any Upgrade Options, and enter any Special Requests
• Click the purple ‘Proceed to Secure Checkout' tab
• Enter your credit card or PayPal details to secure your deposit/payment
• Once your order is complete, you will be prompted to complete a Booking Form so that we can fulfil your booking
• Your booking is confirmed once your Booking Form is submitted and you can begin the countdown to your Inspiring Vacation!
• You will then be allocated and contacted by one of our Dedicated Support Agent's (within 48 hours) who will support you right up until you return from your journey

Airfare Information

• Full-service airline used will be Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airlines, Qatar Airlines, Qantas or similar.

• Flights are not direct and include a maximum of two connections

• If you would like to travel with a preferred airline, please ensure you mention this in the special request field. Please note that appropriate fare and tax difference will be applicable in order to confirm your request.

• Adelaide customers will likely require two stops in either direction

• All tickets will include 20 kilos checked baggage per person, along with 7 kilos of hand luggage.

• Despite the airlines baggage allowance, we recommend travelling with 20 kilos per person due to restrictions with internal flights (where applicable), as well as coach and train transportation. Also, you will be responsible for handling your luggage at all times as the services of porters is not included. If travelling over this amount, you will be liable for any excess baggage fees enforced by the airline, payable direct.

• Once ticketed, flights are non-refundable; any changes will be subject to the airline rules and change fees

• Full names as per passport (including all middle names) are required

• Any airline schedule changes or cancellations are beyond our control

Premium Economy or Business Class upgrades

• Premium Economy upgrade - not available.
• Business Class upgrade available from an additional $6,100 per person (subject to availability).

Please specify this as a 'Special Request' when completing your booking and you will be quoted for the additional fare. In the event your selection is unavailable, or that you are dissatisfied with the quote, you will be provided with a full refund.

Land Only discount
A reduction of $1,800 per person applies if you wish to arrange your own airfares. Please note internal airfares are included. To purchase a land-only fare, please select this option in the booking process under 'Departure City'.

Please note, if you are selecting this option, airport transfers are still included, and domestic flights within Uganda are also still included (Entebbe-Bwindi-Entebbe).

Extending Your Stay
Some customers like to enhance their holiday by extending their stay pre- and/or post-tour or including a stopover in another destination. If you wish to do so, please follow these steps:

1. Once you have logged in to your account, click on ‘Book Now’ and complete the required fields until you reach the 'Special Requests' free text field.
2. Here, please specify your preferred flight arrangements and/or preferred airline. Be sure to mention if you would like us to also quote additional nights' accommodation, with the number of nights needed.
3. After finalising your purchase by processing your deposit payment, please proceed to submit your booking form with all traveller details. Your booking will then be assigned to your Dedicated Support Agent who will be in contact with you via email to verify your request.

By choosing to extend your stay, please note that a supplement of $150 per person, plus applicable fare and tax differences will apply. We will contact you via email with a quote and proposed flight itinerary, and then proceed with collecting the additional payment required to confirm your request.

You can enhance your holiday by arriving or departing before or after the tour, adding a stopover package en-route or booking a tour extension. On this tour you can choose from the following options:

Airport chauffeur
Take the hassle out of getting to the airport with private chauffeur transfers to and from your home airport. Your personal chauffeur will meet and greet you, attend to your luggage and drive you to your destination in a luxury vehicle.

• Within 30km of airport: $139 per vehicle (max 2 guests)
• Outside 30km of airport: You may add this option to your booking and the final price will be adjusted based on the transfer distance.

Additional surcharges may apply depending on pick-up time, tolls and government levies.

Airport Chauffeur can be selected once you have finalised your tour purchase and paid your deposit. When completing your Passenger Booking Form, you will be asked if you would like to add this service, where any applicable cost will be added to your final balance.

Airport lounges
Escape busy airport terminals and relax at a cosy and catered lounge instead. Departure lounge access in Sydney $70 per person (up to 6 hours); Melbourne & Brisbane $55 per person (up to 3 hours).

Airport lounge passes can be selected once you have finalised your tour purchase and paid your deposit. When completing your Passenger Booking Form, you will be asked if you would like to add this service, where any applicable cost will be added to your final balance.

• Visas
• Travel insurance (compulsory)
• Tipping
• Anything not mentioned in the itinerary
• Optional activities
• Personal expenses

Fitness Requirements
While the tour itinerary should give you some guidance and overview to the expected requirements, to determine if this tour is right for you we categorise each of our tours in terms of their intensity. These guidelines are to ensure that each tour group is conducted as expected and to ensure the overall satisfaction of all Inspiring Vacations customers. As a general rule, porterage is not included, therefore at all times you are expected to handle your own luggage where help may not be available. This particular tour is categorised as a “5”:

5 - Physically Demanding Tour: A strong level of fitness and mobility is required for you to enjoy all aspects of the itinerary. The tour has been designed to include all of the major sightseeing and attractions of the country and is therefore considered fast paced, with minimal free time and some long days of travelling. You would be required to move freely on your own up and down stairs, get on and off the coach with easy, as well as being able to participate in all scheduled sightseeing that may be conducted on uneven ground and mountainous terrain. If travelling above an altitude of 3000m, you will be required to complete a medical clearance form. This tour is not suitable if you require a walker and wheelchair or any other physical ailments that may impact your overall enjoyment. If you are interested one of these tours, we suggest calling our team to discuss your requirements so we can suggest other, more suitable tours for you.

Tipping
A friendly reminder that tipping is not included in your package. While tipping is not customary, it's of great significance to the people who will take care of you during your travels, inspires excellent service, and is an entrenched feature of the tourism industry across many destinations. To remove the uncertainty and stress of not knowing how much is appropriate to tip we recommend AUD$5-7 per person per day for your guide and AUD$3-4 per person per day for your driver to be paid in local currency or USD. The amount you wish to contribute is dependent on the services received and at the complete discretion of the guest. Thank you for your understanding.

Accommodation
The accommodation for this package is a range of boutique properties and depending on the style of accommodation, are more often than not locally rated. All accommodation used is thoroughly researched by our Product experts to ensure that it is of the appropriate standard. The accommodation used throughout will be a mix of lodges, camps and hotels ranging from 3-5 star and we encourage you to review each property online to ensure you have appropriate expectations prior to travel. The accommodation listed within the itinerary is subject to change. Any changes will be of an equal or higher standard. Bedding configurations (double or twin) are requests only. All efforts will be made to meet your preferences, however, any changes are beyond our control.

Single Supplement
Single supplement is $2,999 per person in addition to the twin share price.

Triple Share
Not available.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is required to protect yourself against the unexpected.

We have partnered with nib to offer our customers competitive rates for their travel insurance. You can book comprehensive or budget cover simply by clicking HERE to arrange your policy.

Visa & Passport information
It is the traveller’s responsibility to ensure they have a valid passport. The passport must be valid for a minimum of six months from your intended date of return.

It is the customer’s responsibility to become familiar with the visa requirements for their intended destination and to ensure they have the appropriate visa documentation, whether obtained before departure or on arrival.
Inspiring Vacations is not responsible for delays or missed portions of the holiday package resulting from incorrect travel documents or visas, or for denial of entry for not having the appropriate visa or valid passport.

Please note that the information provided is subject to change at any time. For the most up-to-date information, we recommend visiting https://smartraveller.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx.

Please note that a visa is required for travel to UGANDA, KENYA and TANZANIA.

Travellers can obtain visas upon arrival or obtain an e-visa before departure.
However we strongly advise travellers to obtain visas prior to arrival to avoid possible lengthy delays or denied entry.
Please note the e-visas are limited to 90 days validity from the date of arrival and travellers should apply for the e-visas no more than two months prior to travel.
Your Dedicated Support Agent will give you more information at the applicable time.

Tour Documentation
Final documentation, including e-tickets and hotel details, will be provided approximately 30 days prior to travel.

Group Size
4 to 12 people

Children
Children must be 11 years old or over and share a room with parents at all times. Children are the same price as adults.

Tour Length
The total length of the tour in days includes time spent in flight and is subject to change depending on the flight schedule, please refer to the day by day itinerary for the time spent on land.

Refundable deposit within 28 days of purchase:

For cancellations made within 28 days of paying the deposit on any tour, your deposit can be refunded in full or can be transferred to a new booking should you decide to change to another package or destination. Please note this change of mind guarantee does not apply for bookings made within 120 days of departure, after which time our standard 48 hour cooling off period applies. After this time, your booking becomes non-refundable. 

All cancellation or change requests must be advised in writing to our Customer Service Team at support@inspiringvacations.com prior to the cut-off period, to allow us sufficient time to respond and action your request. Should we not hear from you following this time period, your booking becomes non-refundable and you will be issued with a reminder for the second installment due for your booking. 

Refund times will vary and the timeframe of which will be advised at the time of cancellation. Any refund of deposit will be issued back to the original form of payment. 

Any bookings made prior to 13 March 2020 must abide by the original payment term conditions. 

Transferrable second installment up until 120 days before scheduled departure: 

Following the second installment payment and up until 120 days before your departure only, should you wish to postpone your travel or transfer to another package, we can provide you with a credit note of the current balance paid on your booking, to be used to rebook within 18 months of the credit being issued. 

Any change request must be advised in writing to our Customer Service Team at support@inspiringvacations.com prior to the cut-off period specified, to allow us sufficient time to respond and action your request. Should we not hear from you once inside 120 days of scheduled departure, your booking remains non-refundable and becomes non-transferrable, and you will be issued with a reminder for the final balance due for your booking.

Any bookings made prior to 13 March 2020 must abide by the original payment term conditions. 

Please refer to our full Terms and Conditions for more details