horse riding

A Bedouin tent can be used and is shared during the night, from 2 to 12 persons.
One side of the bedouintent is open to have the experience of a totally quiet night, with a full sight on the stars of our galaxy.
The tent is made of woven goat hair in a traditional dark brown color. Inside the tent you can find little decoration in colored striping. The heavy tent stands with wooden piles.
If you insist having a private space during the Sahara trek you are free to bring your own tent on your own expenses and responsibilty. We do not accept any liability if any damage occur during the trekking. Please be warned of sand damage of the zip fasteners.
A supplementary charge can be expected when you like to have a private Bedouin tent with your friend or little family when you join a grouptravel.

Meeting Bedouins living permanently in the Sahara, herding their goats and sheep is a possibility during the circuit, but cannot be guaranteed, similarly for herds of female dromedaries.
Your contract with us exists when the Booking Form is submitted and acknowledged AND the appropriate deposit is paid AND a confirmation invoice has been issued AND a flight ticket reservation has been made. Persons making deposit payments without completing the booking form will be bound. It is of utmost importance you send all the necessary passport details and birth dates in advance and the reservation with your chosen airline.
On forehand the official tourist police department must be acknowledged you are traveling into the Sahara and tourist taxes must be paid.

Accommodation will usually be in twin bedded rooms. There are sometimes limited number of double-bedded rooms for couples. Places will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. Single rooms usually incur a supplementary charge and must be detailed on our invoice to you to be guaranteed. Book in time to be sure desired accomodation is guarantueed.
If you insist to have a private space during the Sahara trek you are free to bring your own tent on your expenses. We do not accept any liability if any damage occur during the trekking. Please be warned of sand damage of the zip fasteners.
A supplementary charge can be expected when you like to have a private Bedouin tent with your friend or little family when you join a grouptravel.
A family booking is a booking made on behalf of several individuals- friends AND family- and this booking is conditional on the person signing the booking form having authorization from all the individuals named on the booking form to enter into this contract. This person takes care of all the neseccary details like passport numbers birth dates and flight reservations to be send to Wenda Rietveld, for her to take care of all the reservations and actions to arrange for you and your friends and family to have a joyful holiday.
The appropriate deposit is 10 % of the total amount, by bank or by money transfer to Tunisia on behalf of Abderrahim ben Abdelmalek.
You are aware the cost for the deposit is on your behalf. At Western Union 50 - 95 euro's the transfer costs are 12 euro.
Full payment of the balance can be made by bank or money transfer until 14 days before arrival or cash at the day of arrival. At WesternUnion >685 euro's the transfer costs are 34,50 euro.
You can pay in euro's.  No payment at the day of arrival cannot be accepted.
Credit card payments cannot be accepted.
In the arrival hall of Djerba Airport two atm bank machines are available and an exchange office to change cash currency.
Abderrahim ben Abdelmalek reserves the right to cancel the arrangements made on your behalf and charges the applicable cancellation charges when your payment for any reason can 't be done. 
Whilst we would wish to treat cancellation sympathetically spaces are limited and the following charges must be applied. Cancellation of your adventure holiday, for whatever reason, should be notified in writing.
Cost Cancellation Period
27-14 days before departure: Loss of your deposit
13 days or less  before departure: Loss of total price or your deposit
In order to participate in overseas holidays, all clients must have travel insurance.
We also like to advice a flight cancellation insurance.
A Visa will be given to you during the flight by the flight attendent. You have to fill in this card, with your name and adress, your passport number and your birth date and place, your profession, the name and adress of the hotel, wich is given to you in your confirmation email.
At your arrival at the border police counter you give this card and your passport. The policeman in charge will give you a part in return wich you have to keep in your passport and wich you have to return at the border control when you leave Tunisia. For european citizins there are no costs at all for this tourist visa.

We do NOT accept any liability for:
Cancellations, delays or changes caused by war, threat of war, terrorist actions or threats, closure of airports, civil strife, industrial action, natural disaster, technical problems to transport, staff cancellations or other events beyond our control
Participants' medical or psychiatric conditions which may develop during or subsequent to the holiday.
Loss of, or damage to, personal property of participants.

If you have had any major physical or emotional illness within the past 5 years, or are under medical or psychiatric supervision, you must notify us of the details at the time of booking and, where appropriate, enclose a doctor's certificate of fitness to travel. Non-disclosure of relevant information can invalidate your insurance and cancel our contractual obligation to you.
Complaints:
(Please read and note carefully, this may affect any future claim)
Tunisia is a traditional Arab country interested in an European lifestyle. However women acting in a free flirteous, spontaneous way, sometimes is being pointed out as provocative. Please be aware of the difference in perspective.
Arab men are used to a dominant lifestyle for generations. Try to avoid unwelcome discussion and pay respect to the culture which welcomes you.
The guide and cavalier involved have both gentle leading methods and please do not criticize an already agreed decisions in public.
Be aware of language and cultural differences and sometimes different interpretations. The guides are used working and living with a natural day rhythm. Questions like "when will we be there?" or "what time do we eat?" simply cannot be answered. Try to adjust to their rhythm and be surprised by the relaxed way of life, while being active.
In the event of a complaint arising which cannot be resolved on the spot, you the client, must immediately contact Wenda Rietveld when she travels with you, or by cell phone. She will attempt to resolve the complaint for you immediately.
Wenda Rietveld will always make every attempt to solve the problem at the time of the complaint in order that any disruption to the enjoyment of your holiday is minimized.
It should be noted that Abderrahim ben Abdelmalek & Wenda Rietveld are acting only to book the first and the last night of the circuit in a hotel or any extended bookings in a hotel, on your behalf with the Owner of the facility booked. They will always do their best to help resolve any justifiable complaints, however it is the client's responsibility to take up the complaint with the Owner of the hotel.
Should Abderrahim ben Abdelmalek or Wenda Rietveld prove unable to resolve the matter on your behalf, they will always assist you with justifiable complaints provided were notified of the problems when they arose.
For any extended hotel stays or other bookings such as 4x4 - or quad hiring, Abderrahim ben Abdelmalek & Wenda Rietveld act purely and solely as booking agents between, and on behalf of, both parties.

In Tunisia is giving tip money is seen as part of the income, not necessarily according efforts. Most people who work to make your travel comfortable and enjoyable, like the chauffeurs, the restaurant- and hotel employees, the guides and the cook during the circuit and the helpers, will expect a tip.
It is our policy to coordinate this, collect the money and afterwards divide the amount amongst all. Often the transfer chauffeur is neglected, when he has given the promise to be the chauffeur at the transfer back to the airport and had to be changed due to a change of programs. Besides this, we like to share the given tip equally amongst all. Because it is impossible to avoid afterwards every employee compares what is given we do not like to cooperate creating unnecessary jealousy, social control is very strong and most employees are direct concerning their feelings.
We like to be very open in this and we like to divide the amount in front of the whole group, to make sure the money reaches all the announced persons.
We would like to ask you to respect our concept.

About Abderrahim & Wenda
Abderrahim ben Abdelmalek - year of birth 1979 - is a passionate man, who is working with horses his whole life. At the age of seven he drove his own kalesh to drive around tourists; as a more experienced cavalier he invaded the dromedary meharees to take tourists for a short duo ride. During his career he has had twelve horses, all stallions. He has bought and has been selling them. It is an adventure to join him to the traditional Thursday Soukh. At this moment, he has four horses, Tornado, Sife, Rafale and Omar.
Abderrahim works together with colleague cavaliers from who he hires their horses for the treks into the Sahara. It is his wish - in this way - to share his profit, avoiding big investments and paying respect to his colleagues.
Having a horse in perfect shape and good harness material is in South Tunisia, prestige. Participients of the trek can be assured all the horses have their neccesary rest and are in good shape and health, the responsibility of each individual cavalier.
Beside his mother language Tunisian Arabic, Abderrahim speaks fluently French, Italian and Spanish. He is practicing his English, German and Dutch.

Wenda Rietveld - year of birth 1967 - has a career as a successful fashion stylist for 12 years and has fallen in love with the Tunisian Sahara since her first short visit in June 2007.
Wenda visited Douz in Tunisia several times since then, for a month or even three months. She started again riding horse, got introduced into western style riding, bought a horse herself and embraced Tunisian Bedouin culture.
She found a new challenge, took the change to explore her own boundaries due to a Bedouin culture with a different energy and different traditions.
Wenda used her own nl website to introduce Abderrahim ben Abdelmalek, created the concept for the Sahara Circuit Trek with the possibility to travel by horse, dromedaries or by foot all luggage carried by dromedaries- out of sentiment to bring back romance from the old days when Bedouin Cavaliers guarded the meharee - and changed her work area into tourism. It was a chance to bring her knowledge and organisation skills into new practise and help Abderrahim develloping his own enterprise.
Due to the excellent relations of Abderrahim they have easy access to the best and most experienced chamalier guides with musical & heeling talents to develop the concept into a smooth circuit.

Take the opportunity to travel together with Abderrahim & Wenda through the Tunisian Sahara
experience yourself what inspires Wenda
 
We like to create space to develop Programs for companies

get inspired by qualities of
traditional Bedouin family culture
feel the urge to adjust to international dynamics
investigate personal qualities
get to know personal bounderies
create a functional organisation,
where individuals are building together
book a luxury encampment congresscentre
in the middle of dunes

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