What it costs, and where the money goes
My fee depends on how long the trip is and how many of you there are, not on which country you pick. It covers planning and guiding, and includes my own travel out to meet you. Everything else, from lodging and the vehicle to meals and reserve fees, you book yourself and pay the supplier their price, with nothing added.
My fee is a daily rate for the group, not a price per head. It is $450 a day for two people, plus $65 a day for each person beyond two, and the total is divided by however many of you there are. That is why six people pay far less each than three: the rate barely moves, the division does.
Below are worked examples at the two lengths I am asked for most. For another duration, or a destination that is harder to reach, write and I will price it the same way.
Eleven days, long-haul
| Group | Founding rate | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| 3 people | $1,265 | $1,890 |
| 4 people | $1,130 | $1,595 |
| 5 people | $1,045 | $1,420 |
| 6 people | $990 | $1,300 |
Plus roughly $1,790–2,240 a head paid directly to suppliers, falling as the group grows. In a group of six that puts the whole trip near $3,135 against $3,695–4,370 for a comparable operator tour.
Seven days, long-haul
| Group | Founding rate | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| 3 people | $805 | $1,200 |
| 4 people | $720 | $1,015 |
| 5 people | $665 | $905 |
| 6 people | $630 | $830 |
Plus roughly $1,010–1,345 a head paid directly to suppliers.
Two price lists, not one converted into the other: the button in the header switches the site between them. Pay in whichever you prefer and I invoice in that currency. Dollars go to a US account, so from the States it is a domestic transfer and not an international wire. Nothing is added for paying in either currency; the lists are set to match and I check them against the market a few times a year.
The price falls steeply with group size because a large part of the cost is fixed whatever the numbers. Finding two more people is the cheapest way to lower what everyone pays.
You choose how comfortably you travel
Because I take nothing on your bookings, my fee does not change, so everything else is yours to set. Sleep in cabinas and eat in sodas, or book the lodges people write about. Same guiding, same nights, same species.
| Per person, eleven days | As cheap as it sensibly goes | Comfortable | As good as it gets |
|---|---|---|---|
| My fee, group of four | $1,595 | $1,595 | $1,595 |
| Accommodation, ten nights | Cabinas and small guesthouses | Field lodges with a restaurant | The lodges people write about |
| Vehicle | Shared two-wheel-drive with driver | Four-wheel-drive with driver | Private four-wheel-drive, no compromises on access |
| Meals | Sodas and what the village has | Mixed, lodge and local | Full board at the lodge |
| Roughly, all in | $2,690 | $3,695 | $5,825 |
Indicative, for a group of four in the wet season. I will cost your actual trip properly before you commit to anything.
The gap between the cheapest sensible version and the best one is more than double, and it is your decision, not one made for you. Tell me which end you want when you write: it changes which lodges I look for, and occasionally which sites are workable at all.
The founding rate
Until 31 May 2027 I drop my daily rate from $450 to $280, roughly a quarter off whatever the length of the trip, in exchange for a review you actually mean and permission to use photographs from the trip. Confirm before that date and the lower rate holds whenever you travel.
Included in my fee
- Itinerary designed for your group, dates and target species
- Finding and vetting the lodges and the driver, and dealing with them on your behalf
- Guiding every day and most nights, arrival to departure
- Species identification and natural history throughout
- My own travel to the destination
Paid by you, directly to each supplier
- International flights
- Accommodation
- Your share of ground transport and the driver
- Meals and reserve entry fees
- Travel and medical insurance, which is required
- Personal equipment and tips
A quote holds for thirty days. After that I will requote, usually at the same figure. Once you confirm, your fee is fixed in the currency you chose and does not move again, whatever the exchange rate does afterwards. You pay me in three instalments: a quarter to hold the dates, a quarter ninety days out, the rest on the last day of the trip. Cancel more than ninety days ahead and the second instalment is never taken; inside ninety days the deposit is kept, because by then the dates are blocked. Accommodation and transport follow each supplier’s own terms, which you will see before you book them.
Tell me what you want to find
A shortlist of ten species is more useful to me than “snakes”. Planning costs nothing, and the more specific you are, the more useful my first reply will be.