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Budget Expeditions (referred to hereafter as BEX) accepts bookings subject to the following conditions: 1. Your Contract with BEX a) Deposits and Charges Deposit Tours up to 27 days per person per tour; £100; 150; CHF250; US$150; C$250; A$250; NZ$300 Deposit Tours of 28 days or more per person per tour; £200; 300; CHF500; US$300; C$500; A$500; NZ$600 Deposit Inca Trail Trek per person per tour; £100; 150; CHF250; US$150; C$250; A$250; NZ$300 Deposit Gorilla Trek per person per tour; £130; 200; CHF330; US$260; C$280; A$310; NZ$350 Charge - A change of departure date and/or tour per person per tour; £50; 75; CHF125; US$75; C$125; A$125; NZ$150 Charge - A change to the original booking per booking; £25; 40; CHF65; US$40; C$65; A$65; NZ$80 b) To secure a booking BEX requires a non-refundable deposit as above per person per tour or full payment if travel is due to commence within 60 days. This payment is deemed to be confirmation that the Client has read and accepts the BEX Booking Conditions. Clients booking by telephone, facsimile, e-mail or over the Internet will be deemed to have read the booking conditions and accepted them. A booking is accepted and becomes definite only from the date when BEX has confirmed acceptance by issuing an Invoice. Errors or omissions on the Invoice may be subsequently amended after advising the client in writing. It is at this point that a contract between BEX and the Client comes into existence. Before your booking is confirmed and a contract comes into force, BEX reserves the right to increase or decrease brochure prices. BEX or their agents reserve the right to decline any booking at their discretion. The contract is between BEX and the Client, being all persons named on the booking as travelling or intending to travel with BEX. The person making the booking (which is subject to these terms) warrants that he/she has full authority to do so on behalf of all persons named, and confirms that all such persons are fully aware of and accept these conditions. The contract, including all matters arising from it, is subject to English or Australian law and the exclusive jurisdiction of their respective Courts. No employee of BEX other than a director has the authority to vary or omit any of these terms or promise any discount or refund. 2. Payment for your Holiday The balance of all monies due, including any surcharges applicable at that time, must be paid not later than 60 days before departure. In the case of non-payment of the balance by the due date BEX will treat the booking as cancelled by the Client and apply the appropriate cancellation charges. Monies paid to an agent acting on behalf of BEX are held by the agent on behalf of BEX. 3. Changes 3a. Changes by You A change of departure date and/or tour to another in this brochure must be requested in writing by the person who made the original booking and must be accompanied by the administration charge per person per tour, unless the request is within 60 days of departure in which case cancellation charges will be applied as detailed in clause 4 (below). The original tour deposit (if 28 days or more) and cancellation charges will apply based on the departure date of your original tour (if changing to a later date) regardless of the length of the new tour. For a change of tour to one in another brochure cancellation charges will be applied as specified in Clause 4 (below). Any changes to the original booking must be confirmed in writing by the person who made the original booking and must be accompanied by the administration charge per booking in addition to the cost of any extra services required. Whilst every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate changes and additional requests their availability cannot be guaranteed. Changes to accommodation or other extra services already booked will incur the administration charge. Accommodation and other extra services may be added up to one calendar month before departure without charge however. 3b. Changes by Us While BEX will use its best endeavours to operate all tours as advertised, by entering into this contract the Client accepts that it may prove necessary or advisable to vary or modify a tour itinerary or its contents due to prevailing local conditions. BEX reserves the right at any time either before or during a tour to cancel or change any of the facilities, services or prices described in the brochure (including flights, transport, accommodation or other arrangements) and to substitute alternative arrangements of comparable monetary value without
compensation and accepts no liability for loss of enjoyment as a result of these changes. If a major change is known to us, the Client will be told at the time of booking. If a major change becomes necessary BEX will inform the Client as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before departure. The definition of a major change will depend on the individual tour and circumstances and is at the sole discretion of BEX. When a major change is made the client will have the choice of accepting the change of arrangements, or within 7 days notification of the change, purchasing another available tour or cancelling the tour and obtaining a full refund, provided that the major change is not because of force majeure. Force majeure is war, threat of war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions, technical or maintenance problems with transport, changes imposed by cancellation or rescheduling of flights by an airline or main charterer, the alteration of airline or aircraft type, or other similar events beyond the control of BEX. BEX is not liable for any penalty charges associated with non-refundable airfares, in the event of a change to a tour departure time, date or airport. 4. Cancellation 4a. Cancellation by You The Client may cancel the booking at any time provided that the cancellation is communicated to BEX in writing. Written notification is essential even if verbal notification of an intention to cancel has been given. Cancellation charges will be applied as shown below calculated from the day written notification is received by BEX. In addition to the charges shown below airlines may impose 100% cancellation charges and the cost of a new ticket. The date used for calculating cancellation charges will be as follows. a) Group Tours; The date of departure of the first tour booked. Tours 60 days or more; Forfeit of Deposits*. 59 - 28 days; 50% of total cost. 27 days or less; 100% of total cost. *In addition to any flight or similar deposit paid. Inca Trail Trek, Gorilla Trek & Rio Carnival Accommodation 60 days or more; Forfeit of Deposits. 59 days or less; 100% of total cost. In addition to the above cancellation charges, the full insurance premium is also payable in the event of a cancellation by the Client. If the reason for cancellation is covered by the insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges. No refunds will be made for any accommodation, transport, sightseeing, meals or services not utilised. 4b. Cancellation by Us BEX reserves the right to cancel a tour in any circumstances but, except for force majeure or the Client's failure to pay the final balance or one of the conditions detailed in Clause 5 below, will not cancel a tour less than 28 days before departure. Unless the Client fails to pay the final balance BEX will, upon cancellation, return all monies paid excluding payment for travel insurance and administration charges or offer an alternative tour of comparable standard. 5. Guaranteed Departures & Minimum Numbers BEX sets its own minimum numbers based on logistics and guarantees to operate once minimum numbers have been achieved as follows. a) A minimum of 6 persons is booked on Egypt, India, China or South East Asia tours. b) A minimum of 10 persons is booked on Europe or South America tours. Where minimum numbers have not been achieved on a given departure, BEX may choose to either operate the trip with below minimum numbers or cancel the trip and pay compensation as follows: More than 28 days; None. 27 - 14 days; A full refund of monies paid and a 10% discount on the land cost of a replacement tour. 13 days or less; A full refund of monies paid and a 20% discount on the land cost of a replacement tour. Notes; Refunds and discounts referred to here apply only to trips cancelled within 28 days as a result of failure to achieve minimum numbers. A replacement holiday may be any tour selected from the same brochure up to the value of the original holiday booked. Refunds and discounts apply to the cost paid for the land content only and exclude local payments/funds, surcharges, extra services, insurance premiums and administration charges. 6. Surcharges BEX reserves the right to increase the tour price or local payments/funds to take account of the following items: entrance charges, government action, currency, transportation costs, including the cost of fuel, over
flying charges, airport charges and increases in scheduled air fares. BEX will not surcharge if the increase is less than 2% of the tour price (excluding local payments/funds). BEX may apply the full costs of a surcharge if the increase is 2% or more of the tour price (excluding local payments/funds). If the surcharge results in an increase of more than 10% of the tour price the Client may cancel the booking within 7 days notification of the surcharge and obtain a full refund. The above conditions do not apply to the following circumstances. a) In the event of local flight cancellations, overbooking or rescheduling of departure days and times, BEX reserves the right to pass on any extra charges to the Client. In such cases, the Client will have the choice to wait for the next available scheduled flight and miss some tour services included or pay any additional costs associated with upgrades or chartering aircraft as a substitute by way of local surcharges. b) Increases in Inca Trail and Machu Picchu entrance charges and associated operating costs from Cuzco which will be passed to the client by way of local surcharges as the increases occur. 7. Travel Insurance Travel insurance is mandatory for all Clients whilst on a tour organised by BEX. Clients together with their personal property including baggage are at all times solely at their own risk. Clients are wholly responsible for arranging their own insurance. A suitable insurance policy should provide adequate cover for medical expenses arising through illness or accident prior to or during the holiday and loss of holiday monies through cancellation or curtailment of the holiday for insurable reasons. BEX are able to assist Clients in obtaining a suitable insurance policy. Clients making their own arrangements should ensure that there are no exclusion clauses limiting protection for the type of activities in their tour. Clients should satisfy themselves that any travel insurance arranged through BEX is what they require and should arrange supplementary insurance if need be. The travel insurance cover automatically provided with credit card purchases does not provide adequate cover as standard. Proof of adequate insurance will be requested at the start of your tour, failure to provide this will result in the Client being prevented from joining the tour. 8. Passports, Visas and Vaccinations It is the responsibility of the Client to be in possession of a valid passport, visa permits, vaccinations and preventative medicines as may be required for the duration of the tour. Information about these matters or related items is given in good faith but without responsibility on the part of BEX. 9. Age, Fitness and Participation All Clients are expected to satisfy themselves prior to booking that they are fit and able to complete the itinerary of their chosen tour as described in this brochure. Clients are also expected to accept that the tours described are Adventure Holidays and that travel to and facilities in developing countries will not be to similar standards which they may be accustomed to at home, we do not provide luxury holidays. The ages of participants is limited to 18 to 35 years however occasionally BEX may authorise Clients outside these ages to travel if they meet certain criteria. BEX reserves the absolute right to decline a booking at their discretion. Clients agree to accept the authority and decisions of BEX's employees, tour leaders, and agents whilst on tour with BEX. If in the opinion of such person the health or conduct of a Client before or after departure appears likely to endanger the safe, comfortable or happy progress of a tour the Client may be excluded from all or part of the tour. In the case of ill health BEX may make such arrangements as it sees fit and recover the costs from the Client. If a Client is excluded from the tour as above or chooses to leave the tour of their own free will or leaves the tour due to ill health or any other reason there will be no refund of the tour price, extra services, surcharges, local payments/funds or any local surcharges. All services forming part of the whole package booked will be forfeit though may be recoverable through your travel insurance in some circumstances. 10. Local Laws All participants in tours operated by BEX are expected to obey the laws and regulations of the countries visited and any failure to do so will relieve BEX of all obligations that they may otherwise have under these booking conditions. 11. Illness or Disability Anyone suffering from illness or disability or undergoing treatment for any physical or medical condition must declare the true nature of such condition at the time of booking and make arrangements for the provision of any medication or other treatment which may be required during the tour. Failure to make such disclosure will constitute a breach of these booking conditions and result in such persons being excluded from the tour in which case all monies paid will be forfeit.
12. If you have a Complaint If the Client has a complaint about any of the tour arrangements the Client must bring it to the attention of the tour leader or other representative of BEX at the time so that they may use their best endeavours to rectify the situation. It is only if BEX is made aware of any problems that there will be the opportunity to put things right. Failure to complain on the spot will result in the Client's ability to claim compensation from BEX being extinguished or at least reduced. Should the problem remain unsolved a complaint must be made in writing to BEX within 28 days of the completion of the tour or all claims for compensation will be forfeit. 13. Our Responsibilities The tours operated or supplied by BEX have been designed to provide participants with an exposure to the true nature of the environment visited and therefore involve an element of personal risk and exposure to potential hazards over and above those associated with normal `package' holidays. All bookings are accepted on the understanding that such risks and hazards are appreciated by the Client and that they undertake all tours, treks, optional excursions and other activities at their own volition. a) Where the Client does not suffer personal injury, BEX accepts liability should any part of the tour arrangements booked with BEX not be supplied as described in this brochure and not be of a reasonable standard. In such a case, BEX will pay reasonable compensation if the tour arrangements had been adversely affected but will pay no compensation if there has been no fault on the part of BEX or its suppliers and the reason for the failure in the tour arrangements was due to force majeure, the Client's fault, the actions of someone unconnected with the tour arrangements or could not have been foreseen or avoided by BEX or its suppliers even if all due care had been exercised. b) Where the Client suffers death or personal injury as a result of an activity forming part of the tour arrangements booked with BEX, BEX accepts responsibility unless there has been no fault on BEX's part or its suppliers and the cause was due to force majeure, the Client's fault, the actions of someone unconnected with the tour arrangements or one which neither BEX nor its suppliers could have anticipated or avoided even if all due care had been exercised. These conditions are issued on the sole responsibility of BEX and have been compiled with reasonable care. They are not issued on behalf of, and do not commit any airline whose flights form part of the arrangements. Where air travel on inclusive tours is provided by scheduled carriers, their responsibility is limited in accordance with their conditions of carriage. 14. Flight Bookings BEX will use its best endeavours to ensure that all flight prices and pre-paid taxes are correct at the time that they are quoted. Airlines reserve the right to amend or withdraw fares without prior notice. Once a deposit is paid on an airfare, it guarantees that a booking is being held for you, it DOES NOT GUARANTEE the fare. The fare can only be guaranteed when the flight booking has been paid for in full by BEX and a ticket has been issued. Flight bookings cannot be transferred. 15. Your Financial Security a) Flight Inclusive Holidays: The air holidays and flights in this brochure are ATOL Protected, since we hold an Air Travel Organiser's Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 6855. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. ATOL Protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom. b) Land Only Holidays: To ensure that your holiday arrangements are fully protected all monies received as payment for holidays booked with BEX are immediately deposited into a Clients' Trust Account and remain there until your holiday has been completed or the services comprising your holiday have been paid for in full by BEX. In addition, for bookings made in Australia, clients are covered by the Travel Compensation Fund of Australia membership number: 2/7237. 16. Company Information United Kingdom Budget Expeditions is a trading name of Tucan Limited which is incorporated in England & Wales with limited liability. Registered Office: 316 Uxbridge Road, Acton, London W3 9QP. Company Registration Number: 337 0298. VAT Number 702 2687 54. Australia Budget Expeditions is a trading name of Tucan Travel Pty Ltd which is incorporated in Australia with limited liability. Registered office: Scott Associates, PO Box 501, Kensington, NSW 1465 ACN: 085 587 659, ABN: 77 085 587 659 This Agreement shall be governed in all respects by and interpreted in accordance with the law of New South Wales and the non-excludable application legislation of any other state of Australia. NSW Travel Agent's Licence Number: 2TA4884
Budget Expeditions · Price Does Matter · Tours for 18-35's
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B ook ing C o ndit io ns
Booking Conditions
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