fiffy

Hi -
I am speaking with Safari Seekers about booking a flight for us within Kenya / Tanzania, and they said I would need to transfer the funds to their bank account. I was wondering if this is a safe thing to do - or if anyone has done this with this company before? They are listed on KATO.

Thank you

atravelynn

Wire transfers are common. No problem has been reported here with the many in country operators that require it. I have not seen anything here on Safari Seekers regarding money transfers or anything else.

sandi

Nothing wrong with wiring funds, but is this just for a flight? Who's handling the balance of your safari? and how did you pay them?

jenack

I was pretty worried about wiring money to Tanzania, where one of my agents, Authentic Tanzania, is located. Before I did it, I emailed Nomad and the Foxes, both of which are old and very established and reputable operators of camps in Tanzania, and Chimpanzee safaris, a group that runs camps in Katavi and Mahale. Knowing that Authentic Tanzania works with all of these operators, I asked about their reputation and standing, and was assured by all three companies that they worked closely with them and that I was in good hands. That made me feel a lot better about the whole wire thing. Perhaps you could do something similiar.

atravelynn

Taking Jenack's idea one step farther, you can ease your mind after wiring the money by contacting the camps where you'll be staying and double checking the reservation has been made.

steeliejim

My concern over transferring funds led me to book with a Africa travel specialist based here in the US.

He took care of all wire transfers and provided me with confirmations that all was in order. He was very amenable to my querying the camps we were visiting, one of which actually did our intra-Africa flight bookings and which provided me with flight confirmations.

It was our first safari, and I felt much better being able to deal with someone close by (actually the same state). I would mention the TA who took care of me, but do not want to get him--or me--in trouble with fodors as he is a frequent poster on this forum. You can email me if you wish, however at [email protected].

OTOH, I did do all my arrangements on my trip to India from here, and the wire transfers, while a bit of a pain, did work out just fine.

I would feel more confident next time around as long as I was dealing with a company with a sound reputation. Still, it's nice to do "one stop shopping."

Jim

Patty

Wire transfers are very common when dealing with operators in Kenya/Tanzania. If you don't feel comfortable, you could ask if they accept credit cards. There's usually a surcharge added if they accept them.