Covid-19 Coronavirus: Chigo Tours Africa tour precautions, protocols and policy. Here is how we are conducting our tours  during this pandemic.

Your safety is our priority like never before:

For any of our customers that have had their tours postponed to 2021/22, we say thank you. We look forward to organizing your trip based on your preferred departure dates.

As we resume safari operations during this Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic, safety of our clients, staff and partners is top priority. This means any return will be done slowly and carefully. The risk of Covid-19 transmission to clients, staff, suppliers, partners and local communities along safari routes we visit, still exits.  All our tour guides have received covid19 vaccinations. We encourage all our clients to get vaccinated.

Chigo Tours have set up contingency actions as we reopen. We have Identified all hospitals conducting covid19 screening and treatment and how long results take to be released.

On-trip incidents and safety issues are recorded. We will then produce a monthly report to study trends against the safety standards in the business and any associated issues.

Training on coivd19 safety was conducted on all Chigo Tours Africa staff, tour experts who are involved in any part of the product design and tour guides crew involved in delivery of safaris and tours. All local site guides contracted to provide a service or run a tour for Chigo Tours Africa have received appropriate training.

Our quality assurance operations staff have visited most of our local suppliers and partner hotels, lodges, restaurants and activity sites to ensure the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene are maintained in line with government ministry of health advice and WHO and CDC guidelines.

Social distancing with tailor made tours or Small guided tours:

We have increased our focus to custom made private tours and small guided tours to off-the-beaten path destinations away from crowds. On these tours you will only interact with few people and your web of interconnection will be extremely limited. We stay out of crowds as much as possible.

Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic precautions on safari and tours:

Though nothing is COVID19-proof, we are attempting to ensure that we will take every reasonable precaution to reduce exposure, such as:

• International travelers coming on a safari tour (including the Chigo Tours Africa guide) and as it is a requirement for Uganda & Rwanda, will have to take a negative covid19 test at least 72 hours before arrival at airport to start the tour.
• If at any time your temperature exceeds 100.4F (38.0C), we will arrange for you to go to a facility for testing at your own cost. If you test negative and have proof of this, you can rejoin the tour, again at your own cost.
• While socially distancing yourself from your guide and fellow participants will be impossible, we will keep the group to maximum 6 people in a safari car (of course custom tours can be as small as you want) plus a single Chigo tours guide.
• We will continue to offer product based on twin shared accommodation. Single supplements are available for single travelers who do not wish to share a room. We will work closely with accommodation partners to ensure increased availability of single rooms.

Sanitation: during travel, at lodges and feeding:

• Sanitation:  Tour guides/drivers  will ensure that all vehicles are thoroughly cleaned. High touch surfaces in shared areas cleaned and disinfected regularly. Hand sanitizer is available in our safari vehicles, always.
• We endeavour to get packed lunches from the same places serving us breakfast and dinner to ensure limited exposure to different kitchens. When we can, we’ll opt for picnic lunches – under nice open air far away from other people.  We have picnic lunches on safari tours. Where we are unable, we’ll only eat in carefully selected restaurants.

Accommodation Arrangements:

• Chigo Tours Africa prefers  choosing smaller off-the beaten path lodges with fewer rooms.
• To reduce the number of hotels to stay in on tours, thereby limiting exposure to different people, we will be endeavor to have a minimum 2 nights and maximum of 3 nights at each destination.
• Chigo tours selects partner accommodations that follow cleaning and sanitation protocols established by ministry of Tourism where rooms must be thoroughly cleaned and all high touch surfaces  regularly disinfected. Hotel staff are trained, most are vaccinated against covid19.

If clients, tour/driver guide show symptoms of COVID-19 and are either unable to or unwilling to be tested, Chigo tours reserves the right to remove them from the safari tour to prevent any risk to others.

Personal safety first in light of Covid-19:

Where as being safe is partly a personal responsibility, we also urge you please to practice personal safety by:

• Regularly washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Hand washing is one of the most important safety measures to prevent the spread of disease. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. This will be available in our tour vehicles and partner lodges all the time.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with your hands.
• Cover your mouth and nose with the inside of your elbow when you cough or sneeze.
• Wear a face mask when out in public. A homemade mask made from cotton, such as a bandana is O.K. While we follow the advice of the World Health Organisation (WHO) that it is not necessary for the public to wear fabric masks generally; note that a face mask (medical or fabric), minimizes chances of Covid-19 infections. Chigo Tours Africa will provide face masks. At the same, clients, tour guides and staff will comply with any local regulations that require the use of a mask in public or in certain places. Currently in Uganda and Rwanda, it is a requirement to wear a face mask while in public.

• Regarding flying, we recommend you read this Washington post. It shares insights on flying during the pandemic. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/18/airplanes-dont-make-you-sick-really/

Airport pickups and Transfers during Covid19:

To minimize, exposure to public, only Chigo Tours Africa drivers and selected drivers from partner lodges/hotels will conduct pickup and drop off transfers. Both visitors and guides must wash hands regularly to make your journey as safe as possible. These are very strange times. But we believe that if we take the precautions above together, that we can run small-size tours and safaris  that practice good hygiene and do everything possible to be as safe as possible according WHO protocols and to the standards of safety as set out by Uganda’s Ministry of Health.

We encourage people to sign up tours in low season. You could probably consider this!

October to November and March to May are the two-low seasons in Uganda/Rwanda/Kenya/Tanzania. Despite the fact that East Africa experiences rains during this season, most tour activities still go on. Besides, because of Uganda’s location on the equator, it tends to rain late afternoon. So most safari activities take place in the morning hours and early afternoon. Therefore, proper planning limits inconveniences that may be caused by the rains. Again, during this low season, lodges and destinations have few tourists. Not many tourists travel during this period largely to avoid inconveniences caused by rains. Hence no crowding, which would otherwise affect our social distancing policy.

Tour Deposits reduced to 20% for new safari bookings from 1^st July 2021:

Until further notice we have reduced the deposit required for new tour bookings from 30% to 20%. Deposits are subject to our revised terms and conditions which can be found at https://www.chigotours.com/booking-terms-conditions/

In summary, in almost all circumstances your deposit is fully refundable (minus a small admin fee) should you decide to cancel up to 28 days before departure. There after our flexible booking policy terms & Conditions will apply. If there are still government restrictions causing us to be unable to run your safari tour, we will provide you with a credit note to the value of all of your payments valid for future tours.

Offer valid for bookings received from 01-July-2021 on all tours. Valid until further notice.

Health Screening & Tracking:

Screening for COVID-19 helps isolate anyone with COVID-19 symptoms and stops the spread of disease. It is likely to become more common for future travelers.

Pre-departure:

• COVID-19 Coronavirus Testing. As requirement of Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda regulations, Chigo Tours Africa expects clients to have a test done 72 hours before with negative PCR COVID-19 certificate, as proof of health on arrival. Unless, of course if the laws change at a future date. We will have a list of hospitals conducting COVD-19 screening for departures. Other information like how long results take to be released will be availed to the tour/driver guide.
•  Pre departure to Uganda, please register using link provided before arrival. visit:  http://arrivals.healthdesk.go.ug please not that Uganda introduced mandatory Covid19 testing on arrival for all incoming travelers at $30 per person, payable either online by credit/debit card or by cash on arrival  at Entebbe airport.
• For Tanzania please fill in this health surveillance form before arrival  https://afyamsafiri.moh.go.tz

Management and support of Covid-19 incidents:

Any suspected/confirmed cases of COVID-19 to be recorded as an incident. And appropriate contacts made to local COVID-19 taskforce for urgent response. Any tour guide/safari driver suspected/confirmed case cannot continue with the tour until further notice. An alternative replacement to continue with safari will be chosen.

A client or guide with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 Coronavirus infection will be helped to access appropriate medical care as quickly as possible. We will help contact family and friends. We will also offer translation service for clients if required at hospitals or medical centres. Additionally, we will help in contacting insurance companies, travel agents and airlines to make arrangements to return home. We encourage all clients to get vaccinations and travel/medical insurance cover before tour.

Finally, as Chigo Tours Africa, we would like to thank all those in the medical and health services and associated organizations who selflessly put themselves at the frontline to look after humanity during these rough waters of Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic.