Samburu Kenya with Zanzibar Beach Stay

The order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions or for operational purposes. The schedules of the domestic airlines in country are subject to frequent changes. For this reason, we have indicated approximate times only. Your local driver guide will inform you of any schedule changes as they are informed of them. The driving times listed are point to point and do not include the duration of excursions or stops en route. Some road construction and/or weather conditions may lengthen the driving times. Our intention is to adhere to the day-to-day itinerary as printed; however, order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions.

If booking more than 12 weeks before departure a deposit of £390.14pp 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.

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.

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 fill in 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 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.

Please note that final flight details will be confirmed on your final documentation which will be sent to you approximately 21 days before departure. Check in baggage is included with your flight. A printed E-ticket is no longer required at check-in, all you need to do is present your passport to the staff at the desk and your boarding pass will be given to you. Weight restrictions will be finalised on your final documentation. Should you wish to take additional luggage you will need to pay extra at check in. Check-In should be at least 3 hours before departure.

Luggage information

It is mandatory that your suitcase must be soft-sided (no hard shell suitcases) and should not exceed 60cm x 40cm x 33cm due to limited space on safari vehicles in East Africa.

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, including up to a 20% discount, which is given to all Mercury Holidays customers. To arrange your insurance with Holiday Extras, please visit https://www.mercuryholidays.co.uk/info/insurance for more details. 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 local currency in Kenya is the Kenyan Shilling but USD ($) is also widely accepted. You can exchange money before you leave the UK and there will be access to ATMs in most major cities (not available in the reserves) where you will be able to withdraw money in the local currency. It is a good idea to try and maintain a supply of small notes and change in the local currency for tipping or small purchases.

The currency in Tanzania/Zanzibar is the Tanzanian Shilling (Tsh) but USD ($) is also widely accepted. Credit cards are not widely accepted and some establishments only accept Tanzanian Shillings, so it is advisable to have cash in both currencies. You can exchange money before you leave the UK and there will be access to ATMs in most major cities where you will be able to withdraw money in the 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 £300 - £400 per person for these extras.

Tipping

It is at your discretion to tip your driver/guide, waiters, porters, and housekeepers. We recommend to tip approximately $2 per person per day for waiters, porters and housekeepers and $6 per person per day for your driver/guide. This is a total of $56 per person to budget for tips on your trip for the driver/guide plus extra for the other staff. Tips are accepted U.S dollars ($).

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.

The minimum number of travellers in your group will be 10, and the maximum will be 20. If in the unlikely event there are less than 10 people booked on your tour date, we will endeavour to reduce any disruption to your holiday and try to operate your tour with lower passenger numbers. If we are not able to operate your departure date, 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.

There is no minimum number of travellers for your extension however the main tour passenger numbers will apply for the main part of the tour. If in the unlikely event there are less than the required number of people booked on your main tour date then you may be asked to change to a different date. A full refund will be made available to you should this alternative not be suitable.

In Kenya, guests will be met by drivers who are fully trained as driver guides with a wide knowledge of each destination.

Private Tour: If you have booked a private tour then you will be accompanied by a Driver Guide or a Driver and Local Guides. These will be available to you during all scheduled sightseeing. Private Tours can depart on any day of the week depending on flight and train schedules and the opening days of the attractions. They will follow the itinerary as described in the brochure unless you have been advised otherwise and you will still have all of the same meals, sightseeing and local excursions included.

Your beach stay in Zanzibar is not 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 tour at Kilimanjaro airport, before you begin your extension stay in Zanzibar.

Throughout your tour, you will travel in a 7 seater vehicle that is adapted for both open road driving as well as safaris. It is mandatory that your suitcase must be soft-sided (no hard shell suitcases) and should not exceed 60cm x 40cm x 33cm due to limited space on safari vehicles in East Africa.

Your accommodation is selected for convenience, location, comfort or character, and can range from business hotels to lodges and camps. 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 between the UK and Kenya. All group tour hotel have private bathroom facilities, other facilities differ depending on the accommodation. The safari lodges may also have restrictions on electricity accessibility at certain times of the day. If you have booked a triple share please note that your room will be a twin room with a rollaway bed or sofa bed added. This may limit the floor space in the room. 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, so to ensure your comfort and well-being, one large bottle of drinking water will be provided during your safari drives.

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 your arrival in Nairobi 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.

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

Sense of Africa: Mkungu Close, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya 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

• Sunglasses, Sunscreen and hat in summer
• Comfortable walking shoes
• Camera and charger
• Mosquito Repellent
• Antibacterial hand gel
• Binoculars
• Personal first aid kit containing travel pills, rehydration powder, plasters, stomach settlers, antiseptic creams, aspirin etc
• Small day pack for excursions
• Waterproof, lightweight jacket
• Lightweight clothing
• It is mandatory that your suitcase must be soft-sided (no hard shell suitcases) and should not exceed 60cm x 40cm x 33cm due to limited space on safari vehicles in East Africa
• Plug types – D & G and 240V- A plug adaptor - the voltage in Kenya is 240 Volts with plugs and sockets having 3 rectangular pin connections
• Sweater and jacket for the winter months in Namibia