Safe Travels

All Fair Voyage travelers have access to a local emergency contact number for 24/7 trip assistance. You receive the number as part of your booking confirmation by email and can always find the number for booked trips in your personal trip dashboard. Call your local emergency number any time during your trip to receive immediate assistance.

Fair Voyage offers you a safe fully PCI compliant gateway for online payments. We are able to do so because we have integrated Adyen into our system, the same trusted global payment solution provider also used by brands such as Uber, LinkedIn, and Spotify.

When you enter your credit card or other online payment details, you do so exclusively in a secure environment when logged into your Fair Voyage account. Fair Voyage never "sees" or stores any credit card or payment information in our system, as these are passed on directly to Adyen for verification and processing.

Of course, you also have the option to pay us directly via bank transfer into our Swiss bank account. When making transfers from accounts in currencies different to your trip price currency, if you'd like to get your best FX rate, we recommend you to use Wise.com who also offer a safe international payment solution.

Fair Voyage operates all Kilimanjaro climbs according to highest safety standards:

• Experience and training of guides and mountain crew: All our guides have many years of experience and usually guided over one hundred groups and hundreds of climbers to the summit safely. We invest significantly in our guides, such that all our climbs are normally led by  Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certified guides (with limited exceptions only in case of uniquely tailored climbs with particular requirements on climber request and always shared transparently with you). Furthermore, our mountain crew undergoes regular safety training such as First Aid, CPR and COVID-19 safety procedures.
• Fair treatment = alignment of interests: Because our mountain crew enjoys fair employment and working conditions, is well trained and love what they do, they only have your best interest in mind—to provide you with an enjoyable and safe experience. Your safety is their priority. Guiding you to the summit is their passion, bringing you back down safely is their mission.
• Safety equipment: We carry customary safety equipment such as a pulse oximeter, emergency oxygen and a first aid kid on every single climb, as well as a Gamow bag if your climb involves an overnight stay at Crater Camp. We do not consider custom stretchers necessary for your safety because faster wheeled stretchers and porters are readily available on the mountain, but are happy to upgrade your climb with a custom stretcher for your comfort. Most importantly, our guides have the necessary training to use all equipment and interpret your pulse oximeter readings.
• Daily safety checks and briefings: Our guides perform daily safety checks and record your measures (heart rate, blood oxygen, symptoms of altitude sickness and personal state) on your personal tracking sheet. Beyond the routine safety checks, our guides are constantly looking out for you and watching out for any signs of altitude sickness.
• Setting the right pace:  Walking slowly is key to ascending safely and minimize the risks of altitude sickness. Athletic and ambitious climbers have the natural tendency to walk too fast. By keeping you to a slow and steady pace, making regular breaks, and reminding you to stay hydrated, our guides not only know but—more importantly—enforce what it takes to minimize your risks of altitude sickness.
• Continuous safety checks while walking: Furthermore, Kilimanjaro climbers have the tendency to underplay when they are not feeling well because of a tendency to "be strong" and not complain, as well as forgetting in the thin air that descending safely is always more important than reaching the summit. Through observing your behavior, facial expressions and through casual dialogue, our guides are experts in detecting your true state and constantly watching out how well you are adjusting to the thin air. Nevertheless, it is also your responsibility to always be honest with your guide.
• Safe guide-to-climber ratio: You will always have at least two guides for groups of two climbers or more, and at least one guide for every two climbers. This ensures that there are always enough guides to split the group when necessary, especially to assist climbers with descent when in their best interest, whilst allowing other climbers to proceed with their summit ascend.

Altitude sickness or acute mountain sickness (AMS) is the side effect caused by exposure to high altitudes. As a person reaches higher altitudes, the air contains less oxygen which begins to negatively affect the human body. Symptoms usually develop from around 2,500 meters of altitude.

First signs of altitude sickness include headache, nausea or shortness of breath. More severe symptoms include dry cough, fever, vomiting or retinal haemorrhage. Extreme cases can include fluid build up in the brain characterized by loss of coordination, confusion, inability to walk and even coma. If left untreated, AMS can be lethal.

Another condition with symptoms similar to altitude sickness and equally dangerous, though much less frequent in Kilimanjaro climbers, is hyponatremia. You can learn more on this directly from a personal trainer and marathon runner who shares her experience with severe hyponatremia whilst climbing Kilimanjaro here.

Top five articles to plan your Kilimanjaro climb:

• How to choose the best route to climb Kilimanjaro
• Best season to climb Kilimanjaro and go on safari
• Altitude sickness & safety when climbing Kilimanjaro
• Gear & other items you need to climb Kilimanjaro
• Kilimanjaro porters: what you need to know

For more information:

• Browse our comprehensive Kilimanjaro FAQ content library by topic
• Get in touch for personal advice

The Safe Travels Stamp by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the world’s first global safety and hygiene stamp for travel & tourism, designed specifically to address COVID-19 and similar outbreaks. We at Fair Voyage partner with Travelife for our responsible sourcing, and Travelife in turn has partnered with WTTC to authorise the use of the Safe Travels stamp for Travelife members who have achieved the Travelife Certified or Travelife Partner award.

This stamp has been specially designed to acknowledge governments and businesses around the world which have adopted a standardised level of health and hygiene. The aim of this standard is to ensure consumers can experience “Safe Travels” and promote the safety of the industry workers in the face of the Covid-19 and future crises, as well as to help local and international travel businesses Build Back Better.

The Safe Travels Stamp requires Travelife Certified and Travelife Partner companies to first complete the COVID Resilient training and achieve full compliance to the Safe Travels Checklist. It covers 4 key pillars of safety and hygiene:

1. Operational and Staff Preparedness,
2. Ensuring a Safe Experience,
3. Rebuilding Trust and Confidence, and
4. Implementing Enabling Policies.

Fair Voyage has obtained the Travelife Safe Travels Stamp in March 2021, as part of our COVID-19 response actions and foundational commitment to safe travels.

By booking a Tour with Fair Voyage, you warrant that you have or will immediately take out adequate insurance coverage. Fair Voyage cannot accept any responsibility for financial loss or costs incurred by you that are outside of our control.

The best insurance for your trip depends on your country of residence, your destination, and any high risk activities included in your trip (such as high altitude trekking or scuba diving). Furthermore, travel insurance terms and offers have been changing and continue to change frequently since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important that you check insurance terms carefully for your particular circumstances and at your time of booking.

When booking a trip with Fair Voyage, check with your advisor for any recommendations specific for your destination or experience. However, note that travel agencies (including Fair Voyage) are not licensed to give you insurance advice, so it's best you also ask a duly licensed insurance broker in your country of residence to get personal insurance advice.

In general, however, we can recommend the following:

• For travelers from Switzerland: We recommend you to check Europäische Reiseversicherung and Allianz, both of which offer policies that also cover risks related to COVID-19.
• For travelers from the USA: We recommend you to check World Nomads as they updated their policies to cover risks related to COVID-19 for US travelers.
• For travelers globally: Check if World Nomads also covers COVID-19 risk for your country of citizenship or residence. COVID-19 aside, their insurance usually offers comprehensive coverage at good prices.