Classic Kenyan Safari with 5* Zanzibar Beach Stay

If booking more than 12 weeks before departure a deposit of £295.00pp will need to be paid at the time of booking with the full amount payable at 12 weeks prior to departure. The deposit applies to adults and children. If you are within 12 weeks of travel then the full balance of the holiday will be payable.

Kenya visa requirements

To enter Kenya, your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least 6 months after the date you arrive and at least two blank pages. You will require a tourist visa to enter Kenya, apply for an “eTA” online before you travel. The only legitimate website to apply for the eTA is www.etakenya.go.ke/en. The cost for the eTA is approximately £40 per person. The visa takes approximately 5 working days to issue and it is only valid for a 90 day single entry stay from the date of arrival. We work closely with The Travel Visa Company who will be able to arrange your visa on your behalf. Please call them on 01270 250 590 and quote 'Mercury Holidays'. When calling the Travel Visa Company they will advise you of any changes to the fees or the procedure, they will also advise you of all information they will require in order to apply for the visa. We recommend you check with your destinations' Tourist Board or Embassy prior to departure for the most up to date guidelines regarding these.

Tanzania/Zanzibar visa requirements

To enter Tanzania/Zanzibar, your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least 6 months after the date you arrive and at least one blank page. You will require a tourist visa to enter Tanzania and apply for an “e-visa” online before you travel. The cost of the visa is approximately £80 per person. The visa takes approximately 15 working days to issue, and it is only valid for a 90-day single-entry stay from the date of arrival. Upon arrival, you will also be asked to complete a declaration form before going through customs. We work closely with The Travel Visa Company who will be able to arrange your visa on your behalf. Please call them on 01270 250 590 and quote 'Mercury Holidays'. When calling the Travel Visa Company, they will advise you of any changes to the fees or the procedure, they will also advise you of all information they will require to apply for the visa. We recommend you check with your destinations' Tourist Board or Embassy before departure for the most up-to-date guidelines regarding these.

We strongly recommend that you and all members of your party are suitably insured as soon as you book your holiday. It is a condition of booking that you must have suitable travel insurance. It is important that you purchase travel insurance that suitably covers your participation in whatever activities you may undertake at the time that you make your booking. To assist you with this, we have arranged travel insurance in partnership with Holiday Extras. To arrange your travel insurance with Holiday Extras, please call 0800 781 4237 and quote 'WK830' for preferential rates. Please ensure you provide us with the name of your insurer, policy number and their 24-hour emergency contact number as soon as possible. Mercury Holidays will not be liable for any costs incurred by you due to your failure to take out suitable travel insurance from the date of booking.

All visitors to Zanzibar (excluding residents) must have mandatory Inbound Travel Insurance from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC) for the duration of their stay (up to 92 days), with no exemptions for visitors who already have insurance coverage from their home countries. This fee is reported to cover various potential challenges that visitors might encounter while in Zanzibar, including health issues, loss of baggage, accidents, emergency evacuation, loss of passports, and even repatriation in the unfortunate event of death. You can only buy this insurance from ZIC. Other international travel insurance policies will not be accepted. Go to the Visit Zanzibar website for more information. You may be refused entry if you do not have the correct insurance. If you have any questions that are not covered on the website, contact ZIC by emailing inbound@zic.co.tz

It is your responsibility to check any health and vaccination requirements applicable to your booked arrangements. We can only provide general information about this. Health and hygiene facilities and disease risks vary from country to country. You should take health advice about your own needs as early as possible and in good time before your departure. Sources of information include www.fco.gov.uk, www.travelhealthpro.org.uk, www.hpa.org.uk, your General Practitioner or a specialist clinic.

This tour is accessible to most people with a good level of fitness and normal mobility. It involves climbing of steep stairs and getting on and off coaches, boats and 4x4 vehicles. This tour is not suitable for anyone with walking difficulties.

The currency in Kenya is the Kenyan Shilling. We recommend that you exchange your currency before you leave the UK. It is important that you budget carefully and ensure you have the right form of currency before you arrive in the country. Cash machines will also be available throughout the tour in order to withdraw money in your local currency.

As normal practice you may be asked for your credit card details on check-in at the hotel in order to cover any extras incurred during your stay. If you do not have a credit card, you may be asked for a cash deposit. MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted in hotels as well as American Express.

You will need to take money with you to cover any personal purchases such as tips, souvenirs, laundry, any meals not included in the itinerary as well as drinks and any additional snacks. We recommend you bring along a minimum of GBP £350-450 per person for these extras.

Tipping

It is at your discretion to tip your driver/guide, waiters, porters, and housekeepers. We recommend tipping approximately $2 per person per day for waiters, porters and housekeepers and $6 per person per day for your driver/guide. Tips are accepted U.S dollars ($).

There is no minimum number of passengers required to run this trip, as the safari portion is shared with other travellers, not exclusive to Mercury Holidays customers. If we are not able to operate your departure date for any other reason, then you may be asked to change to a different date and a full refund will be made available to you should this alternative not be suitable.

For your safari portion, guests will be met by drivers who are fully trained as driver guides with a wide knowledge of each destination. For the beach portion of your holiday, you will not be escorted by a tour guide. Your time here will be free to do as you wish. Details of your departure transfer will be confirmed by your guide at the end of your safari or by a representative in the hotel.

Throughout your safari, you will travel in a 7-seater vehicle that is adapted for both open road driving as well as safaris. For your airport transfers, you will be in a taxi or minibus

Your accommodation is selected for convenience, location, comfort or character, and can range from business hotels to leisure hotels. Hotel accommodation is generally rated as local three to four-star standard, but please note there is no international classification system for hotels, and differences in facilities and quality do exist compared to what you might expect in the UK. All group tours hotels have private bathroom facilities and air-conditioning, where needed. Rest assured that all accommodation used by Mercury Holidays is regularly inspected by our staff and partners to ensure that standards meet your needs.

Breakfast is always western style and served in the hotel each morning. Lunch and dinner during your tour will be taken in local Kenyan restaurants or at the lodge/ hotel. A variety of restaurants are visited giving you the chance to experience a range of dishes and flavours.

Vegetarian and vegan meals can be catered for. Please contact Customer Experience for questions about other dietary requirements or allergy information.

It is not recommended to drink the tap water, even in developed countries water may contain unfamiliar elements that can cause upset stomachs. In less developed countries water is not filtered in the same way. Bottled water will be available at shops and hotels/lodges.

Zanzibar is a predominantly Muslim Island and very conservative. Beach wear is acceptable at the beach or the pool, but modest dress is encouraged elsewhere. Woman – cover shoulders, midriff and legs to below the knees. Men – shorts are acceptable but working around shirtless is not. During Ramadan, both men and woman need to keep legs completely covered while in public. Due to the weather in Zanzibar, lightweight clothing is essential.

On arrival in Kenya, after collecting any hold luggage and passing through Customs, please make your way to the arrivals hall where you will be met by one of our local representatives from Pollman's Tours, holding a Mercury Holidays sign.

On your arrival in Tanzania, you will be met by a representative from our local agent, Sense of Africa, holding a sign displaying: “Mercury Holidays”. The Mercury Holidays/Sense of Africa representative will show you to your transfer vehicle.

Kenya:

If there is a long wait at immigration or baggage collection, or if you are unable to find our local agent, please call our airport rep on 00254 753999009 they will advise accordingly.

For any assistance, general enquiries or emergencies during your stay, please contact 00254 753999009.

Tanzania:

If you need to contact your representative during your stay the details are:

Sense of Africa - Telephone Number 00254 20 760 6000

E-mail eur@senseofafrica.co.ke

Emergency contact information: Please find below the emergency contact details Sense of Africa

24 hours Telephone: 00254 710 524 086 Email Address: csr@senseofafrica.co.ke