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How To Select A Travel Agent For Your Africa Safari - Eight Factors To Consider

A holiday to Africa takes several years of planning and saving for many of us. When you are finally ready to go therefore, you obviously want a truly memorable safari. It is thus important to get good Africa travel advice before your trip. Besides just seeing lions, elephants, the other big five and other African animals, you want your safari to be without any unnecessary hitches. If it is your first time in Africa, you should use a travel agent to help you plan your vacation. In this article, I identify some of the qualities you should look for when selecting a travel agent for your trip.

1.  Knowledge of the destinations and the product
A good travel agent should have very good knowledge of your chosen destination, plus some "insider" information that not every ordinary person may have. They should know, for example, which lodges have been closed for renovation, any changes in government tariffs or restrictions to access game reserves and other tourist facilities, etc. etc.

You could test the agent's knowledge by asking questions on any such information you may have heard yourself.

2. Good Professional Affiliations and Accreditations
Like in many other professions, there are several quacks masquerading as travel agents. You would not want to be scammed or given a raw deal by such. Most reputable agents are affiliated to local or international professional associations like IATA, ASTA, KATO (Kenya Association of Tour Operators), etc. Such associations require certain professional ethics from their members. Find out if your agent is a member of any such associations. At the very least, the agent should be registered with the local government/regulating authorities.

3. Guarantees Offered
There are some basic things that your travel agent should be able to guarantee you. If for example you want a private tour, not a group tour, you should get an assurance that your tour will be private. If you have bought a luxury package, they should guarantee you that you will use five-star facilities throughout your trip. However, do not expect your agent to guarantee you that you will see some of the rare or elusive animals like wild dogs, leopards, black rhino etc.

4.  Package Prices and Special discounts
Travelling in Africa may be a bit expensive sometimes. The well-established travel agents often get special rates from lodges and hotels, and sometimes even from local airlines. Ask your agent if they have any such special offers that they can pass to you. It may help you spend less without compromising on the quality of your trip.

5.  Clear Booking Terms and Conditions and Cancellation Policy
Read the fine print in the agent's booking terms and conditions to see what they commit themselves to deliver, and also to understand their refund policy. For obvious reasons (administrative costs, booking fees prepaid to hotels and other service providers, etc.), you would not expect a full refund if you cancel your trip before actually travelling. But if the cancellation is within a reasonable time, you should get some refund. A good cancellation policy should be stated in a clear language that is easy to understand. Ask your agent for clarification if there are some unclear things in the policy/terms and conditions.

6. Ease of Communication/Emergency Contacts
Sometimes things go wrong during your trip. Your international flight may be delayed, a travel companion may fall sick, etc. It'd help if your agent gives you several channels through which you can communicate even during the planning phase. If an agent is too slow in responding to your queries when planning, you may want to consider switching to a more responsive agent. You would not want a slow response in case of emergency during your trip.

7.  A Good Reputation Both Offline and online
You would definitely be more confident with a travel agent that has been recommended by close friends or family. Sometimes however, the only way to gauge an agent's reputation is through online review sites like tripadvisor.com, and travel forums like lonely planet's thorntree forum. Unfortunately in such online media, there is often some mud-slinging by competitors, as well as self-sponsored positive reviews.  You should therefore use your intuitive judgement when basing your choice on online reviews.

8.  General Professional Outlook
If your travel agent has a website - most of the good ones do - start there. The website can easily tell you how professional the agent is. But the website is not everything. Other measures of professionalism may include the quality of emails and other communication between you and your agent, that personal touch, general courtesy, and depth of knowledge.

About the Author

Timothy is the editor of a blog about Africa travel.  Visit his Africa travel information blog for more travel tips and information on African safaris.

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