These terms and conditions were last updated on Thursday 23rd May 2019
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:
These Booking Conditions, together with our privacy policy and where your holiday is booked via our website, our Website Terms of Use, together with any other written information we brought to your attention (including but not limited to the information appearing in the section headed “Information About Our Tours” in our brochure and any other relevant information on our website – references in these conditions to such sections include the comparable sections or information on our website) before we confirmed your booking, form the basis of your contract with The Flash Pack Limited a company registered in England with company no: 08459520 and registered office address of 8th Floor Becket House, 36 Old Jewry, London, England, EC2R 8DD (“we”, “us”, “our”).
Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. In these Booking Conditions references to “you” and “your” include the first named person on the booking and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made or any other person to whom a booking is added or transferred.
By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:
(a) he/she has read these Booking Conditions (and general information pages (including the sections headed “Information About Our Tours”, “Tour Prices and “How to Book”), contained in our brochure and/or on our website) and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;
(b) he/she appreciates and accept the risks involved in adventure travel;
(c) he/she consents to our use of personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and is authorised on behalf of all persons named on the booking to disclose their personal details to us, including where applicable special categories of data (such as information on health conditions or disabilities and dietary requirements);
(d) he/she is over 18 years of age and resident in the United Kingdom and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services;
(e) he/she does not suffer from any pre-existing medical condition or disability which may prevent them from actively participating in the tour – if any person suffers from any medical condition or disability which will or may affect their tour arrangements, please contact us before making your booking as referred to in clause 17 below so that we can advise as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements;
(f) he/she accepts financial responsibility for payment of the booking on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking.
YOUR TOUR CONTRACT
The contract is between you and us. We both agree that English law (and no other) will apply to your contract and to any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us (except as set out below). We both also agree that any dispute, claim or other matter of any description (and whether or not involving any personal injury) which arises between us must be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only. You may however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live in those places and if you wish to do so.. None of our employees have the authority to vary or omit any of these terms. No promise of a discount or refund will be binding on us unless confirmed by us in writing.
TO SECURE YOUR BOOKING
(Please refer to Clause 3 “Late Bookings”)
To secure a booking, you must pay us (or our authorised travel agent) a deposit (or make full payment if the booking is made within 90 days of the start of your tour or at such earlier stage as is advised to you at the time of booking).. On occasions, full payment for a service such as your flights may be required at the time of booking. The applicable deposit (and any other payments required) will be confirmed at the time of booking.
When you submit your booking request, we will treat this as a ‘not-guaranteed’’ booking, at this point the booking is only provisional and is not confirmed. Your booking is accepted and becomes definite only from the date when we send you an e-mail to confirm that your ‘on request’ booking has been confirmed. It is at this point that a contract between you and us comes into existence.
For bookings made via our website, any acknowledgement of your booking request we send to you in the meantime is not a confirmation of your booking.
Before your booking is confirmed and a contract comes into force, we reserve the right to increase or decrease holiday prices. Where our allocation of air seats has been fully utilised or where it is not possible to offer an air seat from an allocation, we reserve the right to pass on any extra costs incurred. Please see “Tour Prices” section.
We (and our agents) reserve the right to decline any booking at our absolute discretion.
If you book via our website, we will communicate with you by e-mail. You must accordingly check your e-mails on a regular basis. We may also contact you by telephone and/or post if we cannot, for whatever reason, contact you by e-mail. Certain documents may need to be sent by post. References in these conditions to “send” and “in writing” or similar include communication by e-mail. You should contact us by e-mail if you need to do so for any of the reasons mentioned in these booking conditions (for example, to request an amendment). All e-mails should be sent to hello@flashpack.com
LATE BOOKINGS
We emphasise the importance of making a booking at the earliest opportunity, because of the small group nature of our tours.
For bookings received within 6 weeks of the start of your tour (or at an earlier stage for certain tours), we reserve the right to pass on any extra costs incurred due to the late nature of the booking, we will advise you of such additional costs at the time that you make your booking.
For bookings received within 6 weeks of your tour (or at an earlier stage for certain tours), the contract between you and us comes into existence as soon as full payment has been captured by us or our authorised travel agent.
Please Note: If you make a late booking or a ‘on request’’ booking, we would strongly recommend that you do not book any flights or make any other arrangements in connection with your chosen trip until you have received written confirmation of availability from us. In the event that you do choose to book flights or make any other arrangements before receiving written confirmation of availability from us then we will have no liability to you for any refunds of such costs incurred, in the event that your chosen booking is not actually available.
PAYMENT FOR YOUR TOUR
The balance of all monies due, including any surcharges applicable at that time, must be received by us (or our authorised travel agent) no later than 90 days before the start of your tour. For certain tours, full payment must be received at an earlier stage before the start of your tour. You will be advised at the time of booking when this is the case.
If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case the cancellation charges set out in clause 9 below will become payable. .
For flight inclusive bookings, any money paid to an authorised agent of ours in respect of a booking covered by our ATOL is held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust at all times, but subject to the agent’s obligation to pay it to us for so long as we do not fail financially. If we do fail financially, any money held at that time by the agent or subsequently accepted from the consumer by the agent, is and continues to be held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust without any obligation to pay that money to us.
For holidays which do not include flights arranged by us, all monies paid to an authorised travel agent will be held on our behalf.
You can pay the deposit and full amount by credit or debit card. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Maestro/Solo. Other payment methods may be available on our booking page.
ACCURACY
We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in any advertising material that we publish are accurate, however occasionally changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before you make your booking.
PRICING
The price of your travel arrangements has been calculated using exchange rates provided by WorldFirst or EQ Global, on an ongoing basis in relation to the following currencies: USD, CAD, AUD, NZD, EURO, HKD, AED.
We reserve the right to amend the price of unsold holidays at any time and correct errors in the prices of confirmed holidays. We also reserve the right to increase the price of confirmed holidays solely to allow for increases which are a direct consequence of changes in:
- the price of the carriage of passengers resulting from the cost of fuel or other power sources;
- the level of taxes or fees chargeable for services applicable to the holiday imposed by third parties not directly involved in the performance of the holiday, including tourist taxes, landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; and
- the exchange rates relevant to the package.
Such variations could include but are not limited to airline cost changes which are part of our contracts with airlines (and their agents), cruise ship operators and any other transport providers.
However, if this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 8% of the price of your confirmed holiday (excluding any insurance premiums, amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements), you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one (if this is of equivalent or higher quality you will not have to pay more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us, except for any insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 7 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy.
Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, then any refund due will be paid to you less an administrative fee of £75. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.
There will be no change made to the price of your confirmed holiday within 20 days of your departure nor will refunds be paid during this period.
CUTTING YOUR HOLIDAY SHORT
If you are forced to return home early, we cannot refund the cost of any travel arrangements you have not used. If you cut short your holiday and return home early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of accommodation and services provided, we will not offer you any refund for that part of your holiday not completed, or be liable for any associated costs you may incur. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for curtailment and we suggest that any claim is made directly with them.
IF YOU CHANGE OR TRANSFER YOUR BOOKING
If you wish to change any part of your booking after our e-mail confirmation has been issued, you must inform us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done by the first named person on the booking. Whilst we will do our best to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your requested change.
Where we can meet a request, an administration fee of £75 per booking plus any additional costs or charges incurred by us or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers will be charged, if a confirmed booking is changed or transferred to a different departure date or tour, up to 90 days prior to departure. Thereafter all changes will be treated as cancellations and subject to the charges below. Changes are subject to availability. For an administration fee of £75 per booking, you can request a credit voucher for the amount paid in respect of any cancelled booking. This must be redeemed within 3 months of issue against a new booking. The voucher is not transferable, can only be redeemed against one booking and cannot be exchanged for cash. No refund or further credit voucher will be provided if the cost of the new booking is less than the value of the credit voucher.
Where we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking we will treat this as a cancellation by you. A cancellation fee may be payable in accordance with clause 9.
Transfer of Booking:
If you or any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else, subject to the following conditions:
- that person is introduced by you and satisfies all the conditions applicable to the holiday;
- we are notified not less than 7 days before departure;
- you pay any outstanding balance payment, an amendment fee of £75 per person transferring, as well as any additional fees, charges or other costs arising from the transfer; and
- the transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.
You and the transferee remain jointly and severally liable for payment of all sums. If you are unable to find a replacement, cancellation charges as set out in clause 9 will apply in order to cover our estimated costs. Otherwise, no refunds will be given for passengers not travelling or for unused services.
IF YOU CANCEL YOUR BOOKING BEFORE DEPARTURE
If you or any other member of your party decides to cancel your confirmed booking you must notify us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us at our offices and will be effective from the date on which we receive it.
Since we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements, you will have to pay the cancellation charges as follows. . The cancellation charges are calculated from the day written notification is received by us and as a percentage of the total tour price per person cancelling, excluding any amendment charges and insurance premiums. The cancellation charges shown below are those which will apply to most tours. However, some suppliers have conditions which require the payment of higher or different charges (including the imposition of 100% cancellation charges well in advance of the normal balance due date) which you will have to pay in the event of cancellation. You will be advised at the time of booking if this is the case for your tour.
a) 90 and more days before tour start date – retention of deposit
b) 45-89 days before tour start date – 50% of balance of tour or retention of deposit if higher
c) 30-45 days before tour start date – 75% of tour cost
d) 29-0 days before tour start date – 100% of tour cost
Amendment charges and insurance premiums are not refundable in the event of cancellation. It is strongly recommended that comprehensive travel insurance is taken out which includes cover against cancellation charges.
Depending on the reason for the cancellation, you may be able to reclaim the cancellation charges (less any applicable excess) under the terms of the insurance policy. All claims must be made direct to the insurance company. In the event of the cancellation of a booking where the client is liable to pay to the Company cancellation charges in excess of the amount already paid to the Company at the time of cancellation, the client cannot transfer or add these charges to another booking or use any amounts paid to us in relation to the cancelled booking by way of part payment for another booking.
Part cancellation of a booking may result in additional costs being payable by the remaining clients. To clarify all additional extras, single supplements, pre and post tour nights, and experiences will incur 100% cancellation charges up to 90 days before the tour start date.
Cancellation by You due to Unavoidable & Extraordinary Circumstances:
You have the right to cancel your confirmed holiday before departure without paying a cancellation charge in the event of “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” occurring at your holiday destination or its immediate vicinity and significantly affecting the performance of the holiday or significantly affecting the transport arrangements to the destination. In these circumstances, we shall provide you with a full refund of the monies you have paid but we will not be liable to pay you any additional compensation. Please note that your right to cancel in these circumstances will only apply where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel to your destination or its immediate vicinity.
For the purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” means warfare, acts of terrorism, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination.
IF WE CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR TOUR
As we plan your tour arrangements many months in advance we may occasionally have to make changes or cancel your booking and we reserve the right to do so at any time.
Changes: If we make an insignificant change to your tour, we will make reasonable efforts to inform you or your travel agent as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure but we will have no liability to you. Examples of insignificant changes include alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours, changes to aircraft type, change of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard, changes of carriers. Please note that carriers such as airlines used in the brochure may be subject to change.
Occasionally we may have to make a significant change to your confirmed arrangements. Examples of “significant changes” include the following, when made before departure:
(a) A change of accommodation area for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
(b) A change of accommodation to that of a lower standard or classification for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
(c) A change of outward departure time or overall length of your arrangements by more than 12 hours.
(d) A change of UK departure airport except between:
(i) The London airports: Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, London City and Southend
(ii) The South Coast airports: Southampton, Bournemouth and Exeter
(iii) The South Western airports: Cardiff and Bristol
(IV) The Midlands airports: Birmingham, East Midlands and Doncaster Sheffield
(V) The Northern airports: Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds Bradford
(VI) The North Eastern airports: Newcastle and Teesside
(VII) The Scottish airports: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Prestwick and Aberdeen
(e) A significant change to your itinerary, missing out one or more destination entirely.
Cancellation: We will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 42 days before your departure date, except for reasons of force majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. We may cancel your holiday before this date if, e.g., the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached.
If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of:
(i) (for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements; or
(ii) having a refund of all monies paid; or
(iii) accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of a comparable or higher standard from us, if available (at no extra cost); or
(IV) if available, accepting an offer of alternative arrangements of a lower standard, with a refund of the price difference between the original arrangements and the alternative arrangements.
You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer. If we do not hear from you within 7 days, we will contact you again to request notification of your choice. If you fail to respond again, we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements.
Compensation
In addition to a full refund of all monies paid by you, we will pay you compensation as detailed below, in the following circumstances:
(a) If, where we make a significant change, you do not accept the changed arrangements and cancel your booking;
(b) If we cancel your booking and no alternative arrangements are available.
The compensation that we offer does not exclude you from claiming more if you are entitled to do so.
Period before departure in which we notify you |
Amount you will receive from us* . |
| More than 42 days | Nil |
| 41 to 28 days | £20 |
| 27 to 14 days | £30 |
| Less than 14 days | £40 |
*IMPORTANT NOTE: We will not pay you compensation in the following circumstances:
(a) where we make an insignificant change;
(b) where we make a significant change or cancel your arrangements more than 42 days before departure;
(c) where we make a significant change and you accept those changed arrangements or you accept an offer of alternative travel arrangements;
(d) where we have to cancel your arrangements as a result of your failure to make full payment on time;
(e) where the change or cancellation by us arises out of alterations to the confirmed booking requested by you;
(f) where we are forced to cancel or change your arrangements due to Force Majeure (see clause 11).
If we become unable to provide a significant proportion of the arrangements that you have booked with us after you have departed, we will, if possible, make alternative arrangements for you at no extra charge and where those alternative arrangements are of a lower standard, provide you with an appropriate price reduction.
FORCE MAJEURE
Except where otherwise expressly stated in these conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our obligations under our contract with you is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any injury, damage, loss or expense of any nature as a result of “Force Majeure”. For the purposes of these Booking Conditions, Force Majeure means any event beyond our or our supplier’s control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Examples include warfare and acts of terrorism (and threat thereof), civil strife, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination or remain at the travel destination,, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, labour strikes, natural or nuclear disaster, disease, fire, unavoidable technical problems with transport and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned’s control.
Brexit Implications: please note that certain travel arrangements may be affected as a result of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union. This could include an unavailability of certain flight routes, access to certain ports and airports etc. Please rest assured that this is something we will continue to monitor and will advise our customers as soon as possible if we become aware of any confirmed bookings that will be affected. However, since this is something which is completely unprecedented and outside our control, we would treat any such changes as Force Majeure, and whilst we will endeavour to provide suitable alternative arrangements or refunds where possible, we will not be liable to pay you any compensation.
IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT
We make every effort to ensure that your tour arrangements run smoothly but if you do have a problem during your tour, please inform our Tour Guide immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please contact us via email hello@flashpack.com or by telephone +44 (0)20 3856 3903.
If the problem cannot be resolved and you wish to complain further, you must send formal written notice of your complaint to us at our office within 28 days of the end of your stay, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you.
Please Note: Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint, and will affect your rights under this contract.
You can access the European Commission Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.
PASSPORTS, VISAS AND VACCINATIONS
It is your responsibility to check and fulfill the passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. We can only provide general information about this. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.
Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date. If your passport is in its final year, you should check with the Embassy of the country you are visiting. For further information contact the Passport Office on 0870 5210410 or visit https://www.gov.uk/browse/citizenship/passports.
Special conditions apply for travel to the USA, and all passengers must have individual machine readable passports. Please check https://uk.usembassy.gov. For European holidays you should obtain a completed and issued form EHIC prior to departure.
Up to date travel advice can be obtained from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, visit https://www.gov.uk/travelaware.
Non British passport holders, including other EU nationals, should obtain up to date advice on passport and visa requirements from the Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of your destination or country(ies) through which you are travelling.
We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.
TRAVEL AND CANCELLATION INSURANCE
Adequate travel Insurance is mandatory and is a condition of your contract with us. You are responsible for arranging your own insurance cover. You are responsible for ensuring that you have alternative personal travel insurance with protection for the full duration of the tour in respect of at least medical expenses, injury, death, repatriation, cancellation and curtailment, with adequate and appropriate cover. We recommend that you ensure that there are no exclusion clauses limiting or excluding protection for the type of activities included in your tour. You should satisfy yourself that the travel insurance you purchase meets your particular requirements and should arrange supplementary insurance if need be.
INSOLVENCY PROTECTION
Flight Inclusive Arrangements:
We provide financial security for flight-inclusive packages by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 11200, issued by the Civil Aviation Authority, Gatwick Airport South, West Sussex, RH6 0YR, UK, telephone 0333 103 6350, email: claims@caa.co.uk.
When you buy an ATOL protected product from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. The price of our flight inclusive arrangements includes the amount of £2.50 per person as part of the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) we pay to the CAA. This charge is included in our advertised prices. Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL Scheme. ATOL protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom.
We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL Scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).
If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.
Non-Flight Packages:
The Flash Pack Ltd is a company committed to customer satisfaction and consumer financial protection. We are therefore pleased to announce that, at no extra cost to you, and in accordance with ”The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations” all passengers booking with The Flash Pack Ltd are fully insured for the initial deposit, and subsequently the balance of monies paid as detailed in your booking confirmation form. The policy will also include repatriation if required, arising from the cancellation or curtailment of your travel arrangements due to the insolvency of The Flash Pack Ltd. This insurance has been arranged by The Travel Vault in conjunction with Towergate Travel through Zurich Insurance PLC.
Claims
In the unlikely event of Insolvency, you must Inform Towergate Chapman Stevens immediately on +44 (0) 1932 334140 or by email at tcs@towergate.co.uk . Please ensure you retain the booking confirmation form as evidence of cover and value.
Policy exclusions: This policy will not cover any monies paid for Travel Insurance
If you book arrangements other than package holiday from us, your monies will not be financially protected. Please ask us for further details.
TOUR PARTICIPATION AND CLIENT RESPONSIBILITY
You must provide any information we ask for in good time and are responsible for providing accurate information to us. This includes the on boarding form that you will be asked to complete prior to your adventure. It is important that you complete all information we request accurately and on time as we cannot be held responsible for any problems or additional costs that may arise from any inaccurate or incomplete information that you may provide.
You agree to accept the authority and decisions of our employees, tour leaders, fixers, agents and guides whilst taking part in your tour. If in the opinion of any such person(s) or any other person in a position of authority (such as, for example, the tour leader, customer happiness hero, an airline pilot or hotel manager), your health, level of fitness or conduct at any time before or during a tour is endangering or appears likely to endanger the health or wellbeing of yourself or any third party (including any other clients of ours) or the safe, comfortable or happy progress of the tour, you may be excluded from all or part of the tour without refund or recompense, this will also be the case where it is discovered that you have committed a criminal act (such as causing damage).
If you are excluded, we will have no further responsibility towards you (including any return travel arrangements) and we will not meet any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the exclusion nor refund you for any unused services.
When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or loss (reasonably estimated if not precisely known) must be made direct to the accommodation owner or manager or other supplier or to us as soon as possible. You should ensure you have appropriate travel insurance to protect you if this situation arises.
Any clients who have taken part in rascist / offensive / abusive or any other form of discriminatory behavior to any of our clients or to any third party will be excluded from the tour and will receive no refund for any missed services or accommodation.
HEALTH, DISABILITIES AND MEDICAL CONDITIONS
We are not a specialist disabled tour company, but we will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you have any medical condition or disability which may affect your active participation in your tour or the tour arrangements of any other person or have any special requirements as a result of any medical condition or disability (including any which affect the booking process), please tell us before you confirm your booking so that we can assist you in considering the suitability of the proposed tour and/or making the booking. In any event, you must give us full details at the time of booking and also update us if/when any change in your condition or disability occurs.
You must also promptly advise us if any medical condition or disability which may affect your active participation in your tour or the tour arrangements of any other person develops after your booking has been confirmed.
We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate in your chosen tour. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR TOUR
- Please Note: Bookings are accepted on the understanding that clients appreciate and accept the possible risks inherent in adventure travel and that they undertake the tours, treks or expeditions featured in our programme at their own volition.
- Notwithstanding the above, we will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “organiser” under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, as set out below and as such, we are responsible for the proper provision of all travel services included in your package, as set out in your confirmation invoice. Subject to these Booking Conditions, if we or our suppliers negligently perform or arrange those services and we don’t remedy or resolve your complaint within a reasonable period of time, and this has affected the enjoyment of your package holiday you may be entitled to an appropriate price reduction or compensation or both. You must inform us without undue delay of any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services included in this package. The level of any such price reduction or compensation will be calculated taking into consideration all relevant factors such as but not limited to: following the complaints procedure as described in these Booking Conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your holiday. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.
- We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:
(a) the acts and/or omissions of the person affected; or
(b) the acts and/or omissions of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unavoidable and extraordinary; or
(c) Force Majeure (as defined in clause 11).
4. We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:
(a) loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are required to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.
(b) Claims not falling under (a) above and which don’t involve injury, illness or death: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is up to three times the price paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you or your party has not received any benefit at all from your booking.
(c) Claims in respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, or any stay in a hotel:
(i) The extent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate Conventions, which include The Warsaw/Montreal Convention (international travel by air); The Athens Convention (with respect to sea travel); The Berne/Cotif Convention (with respect to rail travel) and The Paris Convention (with respect to hotel arrangements). You can ask for copies of these Conventions from our offices. Please contact us. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport company’s own ‘Conditions of Carriage’ will apply to you on that journey. When arranging transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those ‘Conditions of Carriage’. You acknowledge that all of the terms and conditions contained in those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract.
(ii) In any circumstances in which a carrier is liable to you by virtue of the Denied Boarding Regulation 2004, any liability we may have to you under our contract with you, arising out of the same facts, is limited to the remedies provided under the Regulation as if (for this purpose only) we were a carrier.
(iii) When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question.
5. It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to us and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.
6. Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to us or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.
7. Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description:
(a) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you; or
(b) relate to any business.
8. We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our agreement or where they are not advertised in our brochure. For example any excursion you book whilst away, or any service or facility which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you.
9. Where it is impossible for you to return to your departure point as per the agreed return date of your package, due to “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances”, we shall provide you with any necessary accommodation (where possible, of a comparable standard) for a period not exceeding three nights per person. Please note that the 3 night cap does not apply to persons with reduced mobility, pregnant women or unaccompanied minors, nor to persons needing specific medical assistance, provided we have been notified of these particular needs at least 48 hours before the start of your holiday. For the purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” mean warfare, acts of terrorism, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely back to your departure point.
OPTIONAL EXCURSIONS AND ACTIVITIES
We and our tour leaders and fixers may provide you with information (before departure and/or when you are on holiday) about optional activities and excursions which do not form part of your pre-booked holiday arrangements but which are available in the area you are visiting. We have no involvement in any such activities or excursions which are not run, supervised or controlled in any way by us. They are provided by local operators or other providers who are entirely independent of us and they may or may not have their own public liability insurance. They do not form any part of your contract with us even where we suggest particular operators / providers and / or assist you in booking such activities or excursions in any way.
Where a tour leader collects payment for or otherwise assists in booking any such activity or excursion for you, we and the tour leader act solely as booking agent for the local operator / provider of the activity or excursion with whom you will have a contract. The local operator / provider’s terms and conditions will apply.
We cannot accept any liability on any basis in relation to such activities or excursions and the acceptance of liability contained in clause 18(2) of our booking conditions will not apply to them. We do not, however, exclude liability for the negligence of ourselves or our employees resulting in your death or personal injury.
We do not guarantee that any optional activity or excursion mentioned in our brochure, on our website or elsewhere will be available to book during your holiday and / or will operate as advertised as these services do not form part of our contract and are not under our control. They may not be available for various reasons. Any prices given in advance are indicative only. We will not be liable if you cannot, for whatever reason, book any such activity or excursion or if the activity or excursion does not operate as advertised.
FLIGHTS/TRANSPORT/DELAYS
If you or any member of your party misses your flight or other transport arrangement, it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over 3 hours for any reason, you must contact us and the airline or other transport supplier concerned immediately.
Under EU Law, you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from the airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details of these rights will be publicised at EU airports and will also be available from airlines. If the airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Civil Aviation Authority at www.caa.co.uk/passengers. Reimbursement in such cases is the responsibility of the airline and will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday price from us. If, for any reason, you do not claim against the airline and make a claim for compensation from us, you must, at the time of payment of any compensation to you, make a complete assignment to us of the rights you have against the airline in relation to the claim that gives rise to that compensation payment. A delay or cancellation to your flight does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight.
We cannot accept liability for any delay which is due to any of the reasons set out in clause 11 of these Booking Conditions (which includes the behaviour of any passenger(s) on any flight who, for example, fails to check in or board on time).
The carrier(s), flight timings and types of aircraft shown in this brochure or on our website and detailed on your confirmation invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation. We shall inform you of the identity of the actual carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of it. The latest flight timings will be shown on your tickets which will be despatched to you approximately two weeks before departure. You should check your tickets very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. If flight times change after tickets have been dispatched we will contact you as soon as we can to let you know.
Please note the existence of a “Community list” (available for inspection at https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/safety/air-ban_en) detailing air carriers that are subject to an operating ban with the EU Community.
Our advertising material is our responsibility, as your tour operator. It is not issued on behalf of, and does not commit the airlines mentioned herein or any airline whose services are used in the course of your travel arrangements.
PROMPT ASSISTANCE
If, whilst you are taking part in your tour, you find yourself in difficulty for any reason, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is appropriate in the circumstances. In particular, we will provide you with appropriate information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance, and assistance with distance communications and finding alternative travel arrangements. Where you require assistance which is not owing to any failure by us, our employees or sub-contractors we will not be liable for the costs of any alternative travel arrangements or other such assistance you require. Any supplier, airline or other transport supplier may however pay for or provide refreshments and/or appropriate accommodation and you should make a claim directly to them. Subject to the other terms of these Booking Conditions, we will not be liable for any costs, fees or charges you incur in the above circumstances, if you fail to obtain our prior authorisation before making your own travel arrangements. Furthermore, we reserve the right to charge you a fee for our assistance in the event that the difficulty is caused intentionally by you or a member of your party, or otherwise through your or your party’s negligence.
FOREIGN OFFICE ADVICE
You are responsible for making yourself aware of Foreign Office advice in regard to the safety of the countries and areas in which you will be travelling and to make your decisions accordingly. Advice from the Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure (see clause 11).
