Many people think they can save money if they book direct with a tour operator or travel agency in Africa. This is not typically the case, especially when you factor in the extra time, effort and risk involved…If you book direct with individual lodges and camps in Africa they may offer you a discount but then you are stuck trying to figure out who is meeting you at the airport and who is flying you into the bush and so on…You also lose the security of having one company overseeing all of your arrangements with the ability to make changes if they are necessary due to flight delays or other unforeseen problems.

Travel agencies in Africa don’t have to abide by the strict consumer protections that are standard in the USA. As an Ultimate Africa client if you have a problem we are here to help you resolve it. We are your advocate. The strong relationships we have forged over many years with Africa’s leading tour operators are integral in getting problems resolved. We are often able to achieve positive results in seemingly impossible situations. As an example we recently had a group of 4 clients cancel their travel arrangements due to a one of the group becoming injured in a motorcycle accident. Based on the strength of the relationship between Ultimate Africa and our African supplier we were able to have our client’s arrangements cancelled and their deposit fully refunded. This is not typical, especially for individuals who try to cancel direct bookings with African companies. Our preferred tour operators in Africa understand that for over 10 years we have consistently arranged high quality tours for our American clients and they want to ensure this continues… In short if you go it on your own and a problem arises you have no one to assist you (or complain to for that matter). By booking with an American based company you have recourse when you return home. Without Ultimate Africa you’re on your own.

In terms of actual costs our rates are often lower than then tour operator's rates. Orient Express Safaris is a superb company which takes direct bookings however you actually pay more for booking direct…based on the volume of business we send them our rates to you are lower than theirs. In short the travel agent has more buying power than the consumer. Wilderness Safaris, another superb tour operator in southern Africa doesn’t allow direct bookings at all. They only work with companies such as ourselves.