Payment Question for Safari

I am sure this has been discuss but quick question.

I don't feel comfortable with carrying over $10K in cash.

Will must outfitters accept a certified check? Is this preferred (understand cash would be)?

I have not received clear instructions on this, and was curious.

Thanks

Well, can't speak for others, but I accept Credit Card as a form of payment. Guess the only way you will find out will be to contact your outfitter directly and voice your concern.
If you trust him, you can always wire majority of the funds in advance and just take a smaller portion in cash.
Good luck in anyways. Sure it will work out just fine.

@wilsonsmw I will speak out of the experience we have at @Tootabi Hunting Safaris

Carrying cash is always a risk, and no one want to be at the risk of losing those funds. We have three payment methods/channels available to our clients;

• Credit Card Transactions.
• Wiring money to our US Bank Account prior to the commencement of the hunt.
• Cash (which always is king)

Should your outfitter insist on having cash, you can always bring half of that amount should that make you feel more comfortable and then the rest can be done via credit card or through a cheque that you send to his bank in the US if he has one. Too many fraud happens and takes place with cheques these days, and we as business owners aren't always sure if the cheque will go through or not it remains a risk. We don't accept any cheques no matter what or how it is certified.

Take care and travel safe with that cash !

Loodt

I do a wire transfer for the full amount, take $4000-5000 cash for tips and any extra trophies. If I shot more I do another wire transfer when I get home. So far it has worked for me.

We have dealt with 4 outfitters now, the first one through a booking agent where we simply sent a check to him as he is in the US. One to book, another before we went, and a final to settle up for extra animals after we got home..... This can be problematic as there have been unscrupulous agents as well, so know who you are dealing with. We had no issues other than a lag time getting our bill (you might see this as a positive?). I did not want the outfitter to think I was not paying so copied him in on every message and sent an email to the agent and copied the outfitter when money was sent so both knew to expect it. This was with James and he made it easy and no issues...

The second was booked direct and money wired to a US account for the day fees up front, then the trophy fees wired to Zimbabwe, which was not easy and took my wife several trips to the bank and several hours and a tank of gas (but still cheaper than a Credit Card, see below). It cost us $45 to do a wire overseas and it failed on the receiving end because the outfitter had something wrong with his banking details. So he told us to deduct the $45 and try again... Fortunately the funds were not lost!

The third was with Spear Safaris and by far the easiest (James was pretty easy as well), zero extra cost other than a stamp and envelope, and cleanest. Handed Ernest a check at DSC for a deposit, mailed a second check to his US bank account a couple weeks before we left, and a final settle up check after we got home. Ernest's wife brought the bill and went over it in detail and had me sign it the morning we departed and everything was there in front of me and she was there to answer any questions. She followed up with email and we likewise emailed every time we mailed a check so they knew to watch for it.

The forth was all paid by credit card and was done over the phone, very easy as well and instantaneous, which I'm sure the outfitter liked. However I would avoid this in the future if possible. There were about $300 in foreign transaction fees and then a bit of difference on how they figured the exchange rate, etc..... I have not seen it myself, but my wife mentioned it was almost an extra $1000 total. I think it came to about 8 or 9 percent. I asked the outfitter to round the bill up and give any extra to the local school, so if the exchange rate extra got there, that is great... But I hate making credit card companies richer!

So to me the best is if an outfitter has a US bank account and you can simply send in a check to his bank. Simple and cheap. So if you must settle up before you leave, having cash may be the best for both client and outfitter, but that is if the client is comfortable carrying enough cash. A credit card is a convenient and safe way of handling it, but very expensive unless you have a deal to avoid big transaction fees. Also watch the exchange rate and perhaps just agree ahead of time to settle up in USD, if that is an option.

For my first (and only....so far) trip to Africa, I went through a U.S. booking agent. Paid half for a down payment and then the other half about a month before leaving for S.A. I took traveler's checks to pay the remaining payments (I was planning on taking a blue wildebeest, which wasn't in my package), as well as any side trips my wife wished to go on. I check prior to going, and the outfitter said he would take travelers checks, so there was no problem. Put a few things on the credit card, like our stay at Afton house, but like ActionBob said, international fees bring the price up, and you don't see it until it's after the fact. I did convert a small amount of U.S. dollars to Rand prior to going over.....wasn't extremely impressed with the rate I got, but I'm glad I did it, as there was no time to use the services at the airport when we arrived, and a couple of the other hunters had some issues (not sure what they were) when they went to one of the local banks (I'm not sure if they tried to get funds transfered, or exchange, or what they did....they were just in the bank a really long time, and said they had some problems when they came out. They didn't elaborate, and I didn't ask).
I do like the idea of a U.S. bank account for outfitters.....that would make it extremely convenient for me, but I think that the outfitters sometimes have problems (although I'm not sure of what they are). Would be nice to be able to use a debit card system.....outfitters could carry a "swiper" in the hunting vehicle, and then every time you see an animal you want to take, they just swipe your debit card, and if you have enough dough, you pull the trigger!!! When you run out of money, then the safari is over!

Interesting story about travelers checks: About 6-7 years ago, we went to California for a family vacation, and we took travelers checks as we have always done in the past. We were members of AAA at the time, and so that's where we got them from. Almost from the minute we landed in San Francisco, we had trouble......none of the restaraunts would take them, and a lot of the shops refused them as well (the bigger, tourist attraction places, such as the Monterey aquarium, would take them).....I was concerned about maxing out the credit card, as everything was going on that, and then one day we saw a AAA office and decided to cash out a couple of checks and get some spending money.......and the folks at the AAA office (you've probably guessed it by now) REFUSED to cash THEIR OWN CHECKS!!!.....citing (and this one was hard to believe) the possibility of fraud!!!. We managed to find enough places on the trip to cash the checks and get a little extra to spend hear and there, but it was an extremely frustrating trip. Needless to say, I don't do business with AAA anymore.

My outfitter took a U S check ... no fees no hassles! I was required to do a wire transfer for the deposit (about $50 US). I would have NEVER sent the deposit without knowing how final payment would be made. Check with your outfitter ASAP! I would be a bit concerned ... if your outfitter forgot to communicate how he s going to be paid (a pretty important detail to him) what else as he forgotten?

For my trip I paid half when I booked and the other half 30 days before arriving, I carried about 300.00 USD and 200.00 Rand cash, my trophy fee money I carried in a Money belt maybe a bit risky but I'm not a small guy, on the way back I was broke and had to put the Limo bill on my Credit card

Withdrawing over $10k in cash is going is going to attract attention of the US Government. There might other issues with taking that much over seas. A credit card is the easiest but as @ActionBob pointed out watch out for foreign transaction fees. Some have them and some don't. Plus you stuck using their exchange rates. I think you best option is to wire the money.

Like others have said, make sure you are on the same page with your outfitter on this. This would make a tiny bit nervous if you already booked something and this hasn't been discussed yet. Most places I have seen are upfront about the procedures for payments.

Many ways to get it done but each outfitter is different. I would do as marius pointed out and contact the outfitter to see how he wants it done. I have wired money before hand carried cash with me and wired money when I got back all on each safari. I would also ask his ideas on what he does if you take extra animals if wiring money when you get home is ok. Maybe you wont need to but nice to know if that is there just in case you see a once in a life time animal.

I've been on two safaris and as others have said payment can be very different.

On the first one payment was made via check and all funds held in escrow here in the states until the safari was complete. This was important to me as the safari was in Zimbabwe and last thing I wanted was a large sum of money going there prior to the safari. I actually made three payments in total. 1. 40% of daily rates to reserve the safari. 2. Remainder of daily rates and the trophy fees for the dangerous game 30 days prior to the safari. 3. Settlement of plains game, dip and pack, etc after the safari.

On the second safari it was handled via wire transfer to SA. 1. The deposit to hold the dates. 2. The transfer of funds immediately following the safari. I got lucky here as the outfitter asked me to pay via credit card and I agreed, not realizing I would get hammered with fees. Luckily for me, I am not much of a credit card guy and tried to use my debit card, which my bank ended up declining due to the amount, even though the funds were there! Well, now that $45 fee sure look like a good deal as opposed to the $800 or so extra that I would have been charged via the credit card!!! I actually paid more than the $45 for just a few hundred dollars worth of transactions in SA!!! I quickly went from being angry at my bank to wanting to send them a thank you card!!!

Moral of the story - don't agree to credit card unless you are 100% certain that you won't be hit by foreign transaction fees and exchange rate fees!!!!

On any transaction I would also suggest that you have the outfitter include in writing exact dollar amounts of any fees that he wants to charge you for payment, prior to payment being sent, or you might just get another small bill that you don't expect after the fact.

Check paid and held in the states (or whatever country you live in) is by far the easiest, cheapest, and in my opinion the safest. If there is an issue the money will be easier to go after at least. Paying a deposit that will be held in another country would be fine again, but only if the amount is relatively small. For me personally that comfort level would be about $1500, maybe just a bit more. All additional sums will need to be paid after the safari, or held in the U.S in escrow. If an outfitter won't agree to one of those two terms then no hard feelings, but I'll be hunting elsewhere.

Many thanks for all your replies. I am pretty OCD with planning but it really was my fault not asking the right questions about payment, think a lot of it was assumed. Lesson learned. I will be in communication ASAP and get figured out.

Here is another thought: I know of at least one sponsor here who takes Paypal, at least for a down payment. I don't know that much about paypal, other than it's an online means of submitting fund for something. Would it be feasable to use paypal to pay for the whole safari, i.e. set up an account and put funds in there to be drawn off.....either before one hits Africa or during ones trip? Again, if one sees a nice animal and wants to bag it, would it not be a simple matter of just going back to the lodge, logging in, and transfering the funds from the hunter's account to the outfitter's?
Seems too simple..........................

Mr. 16 gauge said:

Here is another thought: I know of at least one sponsor here who takes Paypal, at least for a down payment. I don't know that much about paypal, other than it's an online means of submitting fund for something. Would it be feasable to use paypal to pay for the whole safari, i.e. set up an account and put funds in there to be drawn off.....either before one hits Africa or during ones trip? Again, if one sees a nice animal and wants to bag it, would it not be a simple matter of just going back to the lodge, logging in, and transfering the funds from the hunter's account to the outfitter's?
Seems too simple..........................

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I think it could be done, but it comes at a price of 3.9% for an international transfer per their site, plus an unmentioned fixed fee. At the price of a full safari that gets expensive quickly!

Now I guess you could use it to "top off" and pay that last $1000 while there if you wanted to. In my experience it would still be cheaper than a credit card, unless you have one with really low fees (and I think they do exist).

wilsonsmw said:

Many thanks for all your replies. I am pretty OCD with planning but it really was my fault not asking the right questions about payment, think a lot of it was assumed. Lesson learned. I will be in communication ASAP and get figured out.

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Problem solved.

Is it my credit card that charges the international fee or something on the outfitters end?

Many credit card companies do charge an international transfer fee. Some do not but you have to shop around for one that does not. I have paid by cc, international bank transfer, domestic transfer, and cash. I prefer to have my hunt paid off before traveling including adding a little extra funds for surprise animals that I cannot pass on. If the extra funds are not used for animals they can be applied to tips. This way any cash I bring will be for tips and walking around money.

On my most recent hunt I shot more than I had prepaid via wire and the outfitter told me to just send him the money when I arrived back home but instead we used an internet connection and my Chase App to wire the money on the spot. You can almost always find an internet connection in the airport.

Fotman said:

On my most recent hunt I shot more than I had prepaid via wire and the outfitter told me to just send him the money when I arrived back home but instead we used an internet connection and my Chase App to wire the money on the spot. You can almost always find an internet connection in the airport.

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Welcome to the forum!

Question, was the wire "international" though? Meaning from banks that originated in two different countries. With my bank at least I can't use online banking in order to transfer money to Africa. I have to make an in person visit.

Thanks Royal27! I already had Karoo Wild Safaris setup in my "Wire list" because I had wired the prepayment previously. This made it much easier to transfer the money online. The transfer was from Chase Bank in Houston Texas to Standard Bank in PE. I know a middle bank is used but I had no trouble making the transfer.