What the ID check at the base is for
The check happens at registration, right after the transfer drops you at the base and before the briefings start. Every guest who wants to drive shows an ID document, and the guide looks at one thing only: the date of birth. Drivers are 16 or older, and the document is how that is confirmed.
Nobody at the base is looking for a stamp or a category on a card; an identity card or a passport does the job because it shows how old you are. Bring the original with you on the day rather than leaving it in the hotel safe, and have it ready as you step off the transfer — the ID belongs to the registration step, before the briefings and the practice drive.
Not a licence check — and why there is none
No driving licence is required — the safari runs on a private off-road course, not on public roads. That is exactly why the base asks for an ID and not for a licence: the document proves the one thing that matters on a private course, your age.
In practice a 16- or 17-year-old without any licence can drive, provided the ID confirms the age and the guide clears them on the practice drive. A licence on its own opens no doors either: a driver who holds one still shows ID, still sits through both briefings and still does the practice drive like everyone else.
The age bands: adult fare from 11, child passengers 6–10, under 6 not possible
Age decides two separate things: who may drive, and which fare applies. Driving starts at 16. The adult fare starts at 11 and applies to everyone from that age, driving or riding along — so a guest aged 11 to 15 books an adult place and rides as a passenger, never as a driver.
A child aged 6–10 pays the child fare and rides as a passenger with an adult driver, on the Quad Safari and the Family Buggy Safari only; the Buggy Safari itself sells adult places only. Children under 6 cannot take part — no infant seat, no lap seat and no free place on any of the three safaris.
- 16 and over — may drive, subject to ID and the practice drive; adult fare
- 11 to 15 — adult fare, passenger only
- 6 to 10 — child fare, passenger with an adult; Quad Safari and Family Buggy Safari only
- Under 6 — cannot take part on any of the three safaris
Book the right age band before the day
The booking form counts places in each band, not birthdays: on the Quad Safari and the Family Buggy Safari it asks for the number of adults and the number of children, while the Buggy Safari has adult places only and offers no child place at all. The Family Buggy Safari is the one booking that will not go through without at least one child aged 6–10. No field asks for a date of birth, so it is you who puts each person in the correct band — adult from 11, child 6–10 — and the age that is checked on the day is the driver's, against an ID at the base. Nothing is charged online — you pay on the day of the tour, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure.
If an age sits on a boundary, or a document is missing, write on WhatsApp before you book rather than hoping at the base. A clear answer the day before beats a surprise at registration.
If the guide decides you do not drive
The practice drive is compulsory for every driver, and it is not an exam: nobody hands you a score. The guide watches how you handle the vehicle on the practice stretch and then decides whether you drive the main safari. That decision is final, and it is made for the group's safety, not against you.
A guest who does not drive rides the same route as a passenger, at the same adult fare that everyone aged 11 and over pays — nobody's day is over because the guide put them in the passenger seat. For some guests that seat is the right choice from the start: the operator points anyone with back or neck problems to it, noting that the vehicle still shakes. The safari is also not suitable for guests who are pregnant, who have had recent surgery or who have a heart condition. And anyone who has been drinking alcohol or has taken drugs does not take part at all — not as a driver and not as a passenger.