How to book

First steps

Perhaps you’ve been reminiscing about your last family holiday, browsing destinations online, reading the travel supplements, or just need some vitamin d - either way, we’re thrilled that you’ve found us and if you’re new to Bushbaby, we’d love to get to know you and your family better. Many of our lovely clients have been with us for years and trust us to take the long term view about which destinations and holidays work best as your family grows and to ensure that each and every holiday is truly special in every way.

We've created a bright, fun, informative and user-friendly website just for you and hopefully our passion for inspirational family travel shines through and has prompted you to read more about our tempting destinations. If you would like one of our mini-brochures, you can order one here.

What happens next?

Many clients find it helpful to complete our online contact form - it tends to kick-start the thinking process and narrow down what it is you most want and need from your holiday. It’s always helpful if you've already thought about:

• Holiday dates and preferred duration - if booking during the school holidays we can advise which destinations work best for different times of the year. For peak periods such as Christmas, Easter or Summer, there's no such thing as too early as availability can often be tricky and flight prices are usually considerably higher if you book at short notice.
• Maximum preferred flight time - especially for younger children, or if your holiday is likely to be less than 10 days.
• Views on vaccinations and anti-malarials - especially for younger children
• Room requirements- do you prefer a family room, adjoining rooms, a suite or villa for example? Is a king-size bed essential? Do you prefer to have in-room cooking facilities for more independence? Do you need ground floor, easy access accommodation? Do you need baby and toddler items such as cots and high-chairs? Are older children/ teens happy to share a room? Many hotels are happy to provide additional beds for children and this can keep the room cost down, but it’s worth bearing in mind that these are often roll-out or sofa-beds so might not be ideal for strapping teens! These are details that can really improve the quality of your holiday and we do our utmost to make sure everything meets your needs, so the more information you provide the better.
• Preferred board basis - do you prefer everything to be included, including possible activities, or do you like to leave your options open?
• Spend range - bearing in mind your preferred board basis, it’s worth considering whether you prefer to travel Business for example, whether you are looking for more quirky 3-4* comfort and character or ultra-modern 5* luxury where your every need is attended to

We aim to get back ro you within 24 hours, but in fact it is often quicker.

Whilst the online form is great, we usually find an initial chat covers a lot of ground and means we can quickly understand what your likes and needs are and what we think will suit so do give us a call on 0845 124 4455 or we are happy to call you at your convenience.

We will then work with you to put together a suggested proposal which ticks all your boxes and more. This can take a few days or longer depending on the destination and complexity of the proposal. A detailed proposal letter is usually emailed to you so you can take your time to look through everything as a family. Whilst we typically quote for flights and transfers as part of this process, we are also happy to book accommodation and ground arrangements only if you prefer to arrange your own flights. We have special insurance in place to enable us to do this and it often works well for our overseas clients. For flight-inclusive bookings we usually work with our preferred flight partner Aviate.

Provisional Booking

When you have given the go-ahead to our costed itinerary, we will check availability if we haven’t already done so. When availability is confirmed a provisional booking is made and is usually valid for a specified duration depending on the booking conditions of the selected accommodation. Where availability is proving tricky we will make alternative suggestions. A booking letter will be emailed to you to confirm everything that is being held for you, any changes to the initial proposal and payment details.

Please note that during busy periods, it may be necessary for us to hold a provisional option at the same time as forwarding a quote – to ensure we don’t lose that last room or amazing flight rate we’ve found for you. In this case, we will let you know we are doing so and there will be no commitment to proceed.

Confirmation

To confirm the booking, we ask clients:

1. to complete our booking form - please take care when completing the information - especially names, which must be EXACTLY as they appear on your passport - even minor inaccuracies can be costly and difficult to amend. 
2. to pay their deposit of 25% of ground arrangements (sometimes a hotel or lodge will require a higher deposit) plus any airline deposit (£75 per person). Our preferred payment method is bank transfer. 
3. to read our Booking Conditions before confirming they wish to proceed with their booking as payment of your deposit signifies acceptance of our Booking Conditions. On receipt we will provide you with a confirmation itinerary and invoice which gives full details of everything you have booked, your payment plan and monies received. Once your confirmation invoice has been issued, it is important to note that you may not be able to make any changes without potentially incurring additional charges.

If you have paid in full for your flight to ensure they are ticketed, you may at this stage be able to reserve your seats and specify any meals, or we can do this for you (nb. some airlines do charge a nominal amount for this service).

Balance of Payment

As accommodation and ground supplier payment deadlines vary widely, these are usually outlined in your confirmation letter. We would be grateful if you could please make note of them and allow sufficient time to make the necessary bank transfers as any delays risk automated cancellations. As a general guideline we usually ask that the final payment is made at least 10 weeks prior to departure. NB We do not accept credit card payments on balancing payments.

Travel Pack

This is the exciting part! Approximately 2 weeks prior to departure your final documents will be sent to the address on your booking form, unless otherwise advised. Your Travel Pack typically includes your final itinerary, airline e-tickets, any accommodation/ transfer/ car hire vouchers (unless presented on arrival in the destination) and useful destination information. We usually email soft copies of the key documents to you as well, just for ease of reference whilst you are away. For bookings made with 2 weeks of departure or with a non-UK address, we will email written confirmation and the relevant travel documents.