Cancellation and Refund Policy

Effective date: 2026-05-13

This policy explains how cancellations, refunds, and reschedules work for desert safari bookings made through BookMySafari.ae. Please read it before booking. Booking confirms your acceptance of these terms.

1. Scope

This policy applies to every booking placed on BookMySafari.ae. Bookings are routed through our fulfilment partner, Velari Tourism L.L.C, a Dubai DET-licensed tour operator (license #1491675). The partner operator is the merchant of record for the safari experience. BookMySafari acts as the booking platform.

2. Free cancellation window (more than 24 hours before pickup)

You may cancel any booking up to 24 hours before the scheduled pickup time and receive a 100% refund of the tour cost, less a flat AED 25 payment-gateway fee that our processor does not return to us on refund transactions.

3. Late cancellation (12 to 24 hours before pickup)

Cancellations received between 12 and 24 hours before the scheduled pickup time are eligible for a 50% refund. The remaining 50% covers committed operational costs (vehicle, driver, camp pre-allocation) that we cannot recover at short notice.

4. Same-day cancellation (less than 12 hours before pickup)

Cancellations made less than 12 hours before pickup are not refundable, except where one of the conditions in sections 5, 6, or 11 applies.

5. No-show

If you do not arrive at the agreed pickup point within the 30-minute pickup window and have not contacted us, the booking is treated as a no-show and no refund is issued. We strongly recommend messaging our WhatsApp line if you are running late so the driver can wait or reroute.

6. Operator-cancelled tours

If the operator cancels your tour, you receive a 100% refund within 7 business days, or you may reschedule at no charge. Operator-cancellation triggers include:

• Vehicle mechanical breakdown that cannot be substituted in time.
• Severe sandstorm warning issued by the UAE National Centre of Meteorology (NCM).
• Failure of the pre-tour dune-bashing safety inspection on the assigned vehicle.
• Driver medical absence with no substitute available.

7. Weather-cancelled tours

Where the UAE NCM issues a red-alert sandstorm, a heatwave advisory above 48 degrees Celsius, or a flash-flood advisory affecting the dune route, the tour is cancelled and you receive a full refund or a free reschedule. You choose which.

8. Reschedule policy

You may reschedule any booking up to 24 hours before pickup at no cost, subject to availability on the new date. Inside the 24-hour window, an AED 50 administrative fee applies unless the reschedule was triggered by section 6 or section 7. Reschedules requested after a no-show are treated as new bookings.

9. Refund timeline

Refunds are issued to the original payment method. Credit and debit card refunds clear within 7 business days through the payment gateway. International bank transfer refunds take up to 14 business days. Currency conversion losses, where they occur, are borne by the cardholder under the gateway's standard terms.

10. Partial-day refunds

If a tour starts and is then cut short for operator or weather reasons, you receive a pro-rata refund equal to the share of the experience not delivered, rounded to the nearest AED 10. Voluntary early departure does not qualify.

11. Force majeure

A pandemic, civil emergency, government travel restriction, or comparable event outside the operator's reasonable control entitles you to a full refund regardless of cancellation window.

12. Group bookings of eight or more

Bookings for groups of eight or more guests carry bespoke cancellation terms confirmed in writing at the time of booking. The default windows above are superseded by the group contract.

13. Disputes

If something has gone wrong with your booking, please email [email protected] before raising a chargeback. Most issues are resolved within one working day. Disputes that cannot be resolved directly are governed by UAE Federal Law 15/2020 on Consumer Protection and may be referred to the Department of Economy and Tourism.

14. Updates to this policy

This policy can be revised. The effective date at the top of this page always reflects the latest revision. We do not apply changes retroactively to bookings already confirmed.

15. Contact

Bookings team: [email protected]. WhatsApp: +971543827715. We aim to reply within 10 minutes.