How booking works
Since March 2026 gorilla permits are paid in full at the moment of booking. That single rule change reorders how the whole trip gets confirmed.
The order has changed
Uganda used to allow a seven-day reservation hold, so an operator could pencil in a permit while you decided on lodges. That hold was withdrawn in March 2026. Permits are now bought outright or not at all.
In practice this means permits lead. We need your passport details and permit payment before accommodation and flights are confirmed, because until the permit is purchased the date does not exist for you.
It also means that shopping around costs availability. If you spend a fortnight comparing three quotations, the permits you were quoted on may be gone — and in July, August or September they usually are.
The steps
EnquiryTell us roughly when you want to travel, how long you have, and whether the gorillas or the safari is the priority. Rough is fine at this stage.
Availability checkWe check permit availability for your window before proposing anything. There is no point designing an itinerary around dates with no permits.
Written itinerary and quotationA day-by-day itinerary with an itemised quotation — permits, park fees and internal flights shown as separate lines from accommodation and our arrangement.
RevisionsChange the accommodation level, add a night, swap the charter for the road, add a second trek. Most itineraries go through two or three rounds.
Permit purchasePassport details and permit payment. This is the point at which your dates become real.
Deposit and confirmationAccommodation, flights and vehicles confirmed against your deposit.
Final balance and documentsBalance settled, then final documents — permits, vouchers, flight details, packing guidance and current entry requirements for your nationality.
Payment terms to be supplied
Deposit percentage, balance due date, accepted payment methods and cancellation terms are not published here yet because they must be your actual terms rather than industry-standard figures written to fill a page. These go here, and into the payment and cancellation page, once confirmed.
What we need from you
- Full names exactly as they appear on your passports
- Passport numbers, nationality and expiry dates — required for permits
- Dates of birth — the gorilla trekking minimum age of fifteen is checked at the park gate
- Any mobility, fitness or health considerations. Tell us early. Rangers allocate gorilla families partly on fitness, and if Rwanda would suit you better than Bwindi we would rather know at the enquiry stage than after permits are bought
- Dietary requirements
Travel insurance
Not optional on this trip. A gorilla permit is USD 800 to USD 1,500 per person, tied to a named person and a named date, and non-transferable. Discounted low-season permits cannot be rescheduled at all.
Take a policy that specifically covers non-refundable elements, and take it when you book rather than closer to travel.
Changes and cancellations
Permit terms are set by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Rwanda Development Board, not by us, and they are periodically revised. We set out the terms applying to your specific booking in writing rather than publishing percentages here that may be out of date by the time you read them.
If another site quotes you an exact refund figure, check the date on it.
This page needs expansion before launch
Deposit percentage, balance due date, accepted payment methods and cancellation terms must be supplied and added here and to the payment and cancellation page.
Plan your Kenya and gorilla safari
Tell us roughly when you want to travel and how long you have. We will send a written itinerary and a quotation.