FAQS
Frequently asked questions and answers about wildlife photography tours. Every thing you want to know about Registration, Booking, Tour, Cancellation policy, Safety, includes etc.
Every participant is required to obey certain rules and ethics. Getting out of the vehicle inside the forest is forbidden by law unless the tour leader permits where it is allowed. If any Participant’s action or behaviour is a threat to their own or others safety, or to the wildlife, or their actions are jeopardizing the enjoyment of other participants, we reserve the right to take action including prohibiting the individual from continuing with the group.
All Participants of the tour whether photographers or not due to transportation, lodging and meal requirements, we must charge them the same price as if they were a photographer.
We usually do not change our tour cost, but in-case of drastic increase in forest fees, fuel charges etc which we cannot predict we may have to add a surcharge to adjust the cost.
The Tours featured on Wildlife Photo Tours each require a minimum number of participants before we can operate them. The applicable minimum number depends on various factors and varies from tour to tour. We value our guest and normally would not cancel a trip even if we have only 1 participant. We will advise you no later than 4 weeks prior to departure if we have to cancel your holiday due to lack of numbers. Please note that 1 person cost will be slightly more than group cost and you will have to pay the difference directly to the tour leader on destination.
Whilst we will always endeavor to avoid changes and cancellations, we reserve the right do so.
Tour deposit which is 25% of the tour cost is non-refundable.
Cancellations fees are as follows.
Cancellations made,
More than 120 days before departure – 25% of the tour cost i.e. the Non-refundable deposit is the cancellation fees*.
120 days to 90 days before departure – 40% of the tour cost is the cancellation fees*.
90 days to 60 days before departure – 70% of the tour cost is the cancellation fees*.
less than 60 days before departure – 100% of the tour cost is cancellation fees.
No Show – 100% of the tour cost is cancellation fees.
*Incase Forest Safari Permits or any other Permits are already Booked at the time of Cancellation. Safari Permits & other permission once booked are non-refundable by the forest dept in most parks. Most Parks the Permits are booked & paid 4 months in advance with some exceptions. e.g. In Ranthambore Permits are booked & paid 1 year in advance. Hence Apart from the above cancellation fees, Fees for Forest Safari Permits or any other permissions once booked will be deducted(fully/partially based on forest dept) from the balance and then refunded accordingly.
Included is lodging (based on double occupancy), meals (except alcohol), and forest entrance fees/permits, Vehicle charges are included in the price of all tours unless otherwise stated. Types of items that are not included in the tour cost are airport departure taxes, insurance, tips/gratuities, and items of a personal nature. A single occupancy rate is available.
You will receive detailed instructions regarding your tour 2 weeks prior to the departure. This will include the Tour Itinerary, pickup place and time, dos and don ts, weather-related info etc.
We usually pickup our participants from the city of nearest airport or railway stations or hotel. Pickups are usually done from our designated place usually a well known place of the city and at designated time. We usually try to wait for participants incase they are late for about 30-60 mins from the said departure time. If participants are not able to join the pickup they will need to reach the destination at their own and we are not responsible for the additional cost and trouble they may have to endure. We regret to say this but as these pickups are shared by other participants of the tour we will not be able wait more as it would cause undue uncomfort and may also disrupt delay the itenarary of the tour.
Drops are usually done from the destination to the city of nearest airport or railway station at our designated place at the end of the tour.
Both Pickups and Drops are shared by other participants and employees of our tours.
Our tours are for small groups. Small groups allow us to provide attention to individual participants. Usual tours are of 1-3 people. The maximum number of participants preferred is usually 5.
Private open top jeeps called gypsy is mostly used for our safaris game drives. We restrict the no of participants to 3, its capacity is 6 pax, excluding the driver and guide, this is to give ample space for photography and gear. Monopods or a bean bag is advised, tripods however are strictly a no as space for them is not always possible.
All foreign Nationals are required to give correct details regarding their Names, Nationality, Passport details etc so that forest permits can be booked in advanced and do not cause any issue later on.
It is the participants sole responsibility to ensure that they have valid passports, visas, health certificates, proof of vaccinations and any other documentation as may be required under the laws and regulations of the countries of destination to be visited during the tour. All costs incurred in obtaining such documentation must be paid by the participant.
Cost of the tours vary for foreign nationals.
Our preferred mode of payment is through Bank wire transfer. Once you decide to book we will send you the payment details for wire transfer through your bank to our bank in India. Payment is usually preferred in $ USD (based on conversion rates of our bank when payment is done. Kotak Bank Forex Rates).
You can pay via credit card using Paypal. Paypal applies processing fees for transactions in India and Dollar conversion rates of PayPal are considerably lower than the banks. You will have to pay the current additional fees. See Fees for International Payments using PayPal.
Follow us on Facebook, twitter or Instagram to get latest info about any promotions or discounts. If there are any promotions or discounts then you need to pay the full amount before the said date to avail them.
Cost of Tours published is for the current Season i.e. from October to June. (During July and September most parks are closed for rainy season). Once the season ends usually Cost of tours for next season is finalised around August/September depending on when forest dept publishes its fees. Cost is also based on no of participants in the group. When you book we will calculate the price and charge you based on no of participants. Cost for 2 or more participants on the tour is already published on the tour page. If single person books, then cost based on single person tour will be charged which is considerably higher. If any other person joins and shares the safari vehicle then your cost will be reduced and based on 2 or 3 person cost.
Final payment in Full is due 120 days prior to tour date. If final payment is not received by the due date, we reserve the right to treat your reservation as canceled. Tours are sold as a package with no partial refunds made for any reason whatsoever.
To confirm your booking on a tour, a non-refundable deposit of 25% of the tour cost is needed. For most parks and tours, If you are booking more than 5 months in advance you only need to pay the deposit. The final balance can be paid 4 months in advance.
For Ranthambore the permits are booked 12 months in advance. You need to pay the deposit + 25% additional for permits. If you are booking the tour much in advance then you can pay the deposit and pay the 25% additional for the permits atleast 13 months in advance.
All Tours on Wildlife Photo Tours especially the Tiger Tours need to be booked at least 5 months in advance. Ranthambore needs to be booked 13 months in Advance. There are limited safari permits in Most Indian Parks and the good areas are booked on the day the bookings open. We book the best areas of the parks for safari and they have to be booked in advance when safari bookings open depending on the park.