My recent trip to Zanzibar started off like any other trip… with tons of quotes and hours of research that started last August. After short-listing several destinations and then a handful resorts per destination the deciding factor boiled down to value for money (and let’s not forget climate).
After more research on trip advisor and speaking to several travel agents we’ve decided to go with one of the best resorts in Zanzibar called “Le Gemma del’Est“… and although not a five star resort as we know it, it’s beach alone sold me on going.
The final quote from the travel agent was slightly more than what we’ve budgeted for and considering that this was an “all inclusive resort” it made sense to pay that extra bit. So the next day (after being hassled by the travel agent to secure the flights) I paid the deposit from my savings account with the notion to pay the remaining amount by the end of October.
Two weeks into October (more-or-less the same time of my birthday) we received a revised quote from the travel agent that indicated that the balance owed increased R12 000 due to the Rand Dollar exchange – this meant that we either loose the deposit of R 26 000 if we cancelled or pay the remaining amount of R 38 000.
Some sleepless nights and more research followed – do we cut our losses and try and go somewhere else for the R 38 000 or do we bite the bullet and just go… considering that doing anything local is a non-negotiable we decided to bite the bullet and go.
Lesson learned: book your own travel via the internet and make the full payment upfront.
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