Dragoman  >  Asia, Africa and Latin America 2007/08  >  Browse pages 72-88  >  Asia, Africa and Latin America 2007/08

BOOKING CONDITIONS (GB£ version) This colour brochure was published on 1st August 2006 and is valid until 1st December 2007. 1. TERMS USED a) The "Company" is Dragoman Overseas Travel Ltd. which is incorporated in England with limited liability. Registered Office: Camp Green, Debenham, Suffolk IP14 6LA. UK Reg. Number: 2732524. b) The "Client" is the person or persons listed on the booking form. c) A "tour" is any expedition, safari, tour, trip or combination of sectors that has its own reference as shown in the Dates & Prices section of this brochure. d) "Force majeure" is any situation or event beyond the Company's control. This could be an Act of God, war, terrorist activity, civil strife, riot, industrial dispute, natural or industrial disaster, fire, adverse weather or road conditions, bureaucratic obstacles, changes in schedules or mode of transport by ferry companies, airlines, bus or train operators. e) "Consolidation" refers to the fact that each tour is dependent on a minimum number of persons participating.The minimum number varies and depends on the tour, vehicle scheduling and/or time of year. 2. THE CONTRACT a) A contract is made only after the Company receives a non-refundable 10% deposit and signed booking form and issues the client or their travel agent a confirmation invoice. A contract is made between the Company and all those listed on the booking form. The person who signs the booking form does so on behalf of all those listed on it and is responsible for ensuring that all those listed have read the booking conditions and agree to abide by them. b) No persons, organisation or employee of the Company has any authority to vary any of these booking conditions, or any information, itineraries, dates and prices, etc., printed in this brochure. c) The Company or their agents reserve the right to decline any booking at their discretion. The Company further reserves the right to cancel any booking at any time at the Company's sole discretion in the event that the Company considers the client to be unsuitable for the tour booked. d) The contract including all matters arising from it, is subject to English law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. d) e) f) g) the alternatives set out above and, in addition will offer compensation. The table below shows the number of days you are told before the tour departure date and the compensation payable: Days Compensation Days Compensation More than 55 Nil Between 15 and 27 £25 Between 28 and 55 £15 Less than 15 £35 A significant change is considered to be not visiting more than 1 of the countries listed in the tour description. The Company reserves the right to use alternative forms of transport and/or vary the itinerary if force majeure, breakdown, accident, sickness, etc. make such a change necessary. Because of the nature of the areas we travel through, significant changes can and do occur after departure, over which Dragoman has no control. Dragoman will organise contingency itineraries but cannot be held responsible for compensation or additional expenses. All other changes are defined as minor changes. Minor changes may occur at any time before or after the tour departure date. While the Company will make reasonable efforts to inform you of minor changes, it is under no obligation to do so or to pay you any compensation. Dragoman Overland, Camp Green, Debenham, Suffolk IP14 6LA. UK Tel: +44 (0) 1728 861133 Fax: +44 (0) 1728 861127 Email: sales@dragoman.co.uk 3. PAYMENTS a) If you book your tour more than 56 days before the departure date, you must send a non-refundable 10. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COMPANY deposit of 10% of the tour price with your booking form. The balance of the tour fare must be paid a) All information in this brochure has been compiled with reasonable care and is published in good not later than 56 days before the departure date of the first tour booked, otherwise the Company faith. It is not issued on behalf of, and does not commit any airline or ferry company whose travel will treat the booking as cancelled by the client(s) and will be subject to the cancellation charges shown below. arrangements form part of the tour. In circumstances where the Company is acting as an agent b) If you book your tour less than 56 days before the departure date, you must send the full tour price only - e.g. when making arrangements locally (i.e. in the course of any tour) it does so on the express with your booking form. condition that it is not liable for any additional expenses, loss, damage, injury or breaches of contract c) All monies paid by the client to a UK travel agent which includes payment for air transport are held whether negligent or otherwise howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly from the actions or by the agent on the Company's behalf. omissions of the supplier or independent parties with whom the arrangements are made. b) Subject to Clause 10 c) & 10 d) and Clause 11 below, the Company accepts liability: 4. CANCELLATIONS i) For injury and illness arising from those arrangements that are prearranged before the start a) If you cancel your land tour you must inform the Company in writing. Cancellation charges are calculated date of the tour and are included in the tour price. on the day written notification is received by the Company. The table below shows the number of ii) Subject to Clauses 7 and 8, for the arrangements of the tour. days before the tour departure date that the Company receives written notification of a cancellation, iii) For the actions of the tour leader while he/she is acting on behalf of the Company in the pursuit and the percentage of the total tour fare, including any surcharges, that will be imposed on the client of his/her duties normally associated with running the tour. This does not include personal frolics. as cancellation charges: c) The Company accepts no liability: Days % charge Days % charge i) If there has been no fault on the part of the Company or its suppliers and the cause was your More than 55 10% 15 to 27 90% own fault, or the actions of someone unconnected with the provision of your tour which actions 42 to 55 30% Less than 15 100% were unforeseeable or unavoidable, or unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the 28 to 41 60% Company's control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even with the b) Once the tour has started, no refunds will be made under any circumstances for any unused sector(s) or section(s). exercise of all due care or something which the Company or any supplier of services, even with all c) The Company reserves the right to cancel your tour for any reason more than 56 days before the due care could not have been foreseen or forestalled. departure date in which case you will be refunded any monies which you have paid to the Company ii) In cases of personal liability, injury or death in circumstances when the client has been towards the tour fare (excluding insurance premiums) but that will be the extent of the Company's participating in any activity which does not form part of the original arrangements booked liability. If the Company cancels your tour within 56 days of the departure date, you will receive a through and contracted with the Company, even though they may have been supervised, refund of all monies which you have paid towards the tour fare (excluding insurance premiums) and arranged or recommended by the Company or its representatives. Examples are mountain or compensation as set out in clause 8 c) unless cancellation is for reasons of force majeure or rock climbing, trekking, skiing, canoe and rafting trips, bungi jumping, diving, ballooning or any consolidation in which case you will not receive any compensation. Please note, if you fail to pay the other activities of a risky nature. balance by the due date, the company will cancel your tour and there will be no refund of any iii) In cases of disease or illness contracted during or after the tour (see Clause 11 c or 11 d). monies paid to the Company. iv) For any information or advice given to you by your travel agent unless it has been given to the agent d) Cancellation for trips including the Galapagos: For tours including the Galapagos (ref GAL) by the Company. Otherwise, such information and advice is the responsibility of the travel agent. cancellation charges are as follows: v) For your travel agent not giving, or incorrectly giving you advice, information or documents Days % charge Days % charge which the Company has sent or given to your travel agent. 61 days or more 10% Less than 61 100% vi) For any information and advice on visas, travel documents, climate, spending money and other costs, e) Please note the cancellation charges mentioned above do not cover flights and extra hotel clothing, equipment, etc. All such information and advice has been compiled with reasonable accommodation. Cancellation charges on flights vary but can be as much as 100% after purchase. care and is given in good faith but without responsibility on the part of the Company. Extra hotel accommodation may also be 100% cancellation charges after booking. vii) For your personal belongings while in the sight of yourself or other group members, or while under the care of airlines or airports. 5. TRANSFERS AND AMENDMENTS viii)For any information or handouts given by trip leaders. Such information is given in good faith a) If you want to transfer from one tour to another, you must inform the Company in writing together but without responsibility on the part of the Company or its local agents. with a completed, signed booking form (and increased deposit if necessary) for the trip to which you d) Compensation for personal injury is limited in accordance with the provisions of any applicable wish to transfer. If the Company receives written notification 56 days or more before the departure International Conventions. These include, for example, in the course of road travel, air travel, rail travel, date of the original tour, an administration charge of £75 per person will be made, plus any other nonsea travel, or hotel accommodation is limited to the provisions of, respectively, the Geneva Convention recoverable charges or expenses. If the Company receives written notification less than 56 days 1973, the Warsaw Convention as amended by the Hague Protocol 1955, the 1961 Berne before the departure date, all transfers will be treated as cancellations and subject to the scale of Convention, the 1974 Athens Convention and the 1962 Paris Convention. cancellation charges shown in clause 4 a). If you subsequently cancel the new tour, cancellation charges e) Where the Company supplies air transportation (either directly or through an agent), its responsibility will be calculated on whichever tour is of the greater value. in respect of air travel is limited to the airlines' conditions of carriage and the conventions in b) You may only give, sell or in any other way transfer your place to another person under condition 10 d). The responsibility of the airlines is similarly limited to the carriage of passengers and the following circumstances: baggage in accordance with their conditions of carriage and the conventions in booking condition 10 d). i) Because of personal illness or serious illness of a close family relative, jury service, redundancy The Company has no responsibility where a flight has not been purchased from the Company. or unavoidable work commitments. f) The Company cannot accept any liability for any delay or cancellation in your flight to the joining ii) The Company receives documentary evidence of such reasons, a £75administration charge plus point of the land tour or returning from the end point of the land tour, whether the delay or any other non-recoverable charges or expenses, and a completed and signed booking form cancellation is caused by adverse weather conditions, rescheduling by an airline, airport authority from the transferee at least 28 days before the departure date. and/or action by air traffic controllers, mechanical breakdown or industrial action. In certain c) Transfers between you and anybody else may not be made less than 28 days before departure. circumstances delayed departure may be covered by the passengers' travel insurance. d) Any amendment (other than cancellations or transfers) that are made to a booking (including flights g) The Company, its employees and agents accept no responsibility or liability for expenses, and insurance) will incur an amendment fee of up to £35 per person per amendment. inconvenience, loss of enjoyment or anything else caused by non-compliance with any of the 6. PRICES Client's responsibilities listed below. a) The Company reserves the right to vary prices at any time before the contract has been made and, 11. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CLIENT in the event that it does so, will advise you at the time of booking. a) By their very nature, tours in this programme may involve an element of personal risk and potential b) Prices quoted in this programme are based on costs and exchange rates as published on 1st Aug 2006 hazard not normally associated with holiday tours. Clients must accept these attendant risks and in the Financial Times. They remain current until 1st Decmber 2007. hazards. Clients must also accept that safety standards of hoteliers and other suppliers of c) The Company undertakes not to increase your tour price once the contract has been made, unless it accommodation, local transport and other operators in most of the countries they visit will not be is because of changes in transportation costs, including the cost of fuel, dues, taxes or fees chargeable of the same standard as in their home country. for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports, or the b) It is the client's responsibility to arrange suitable adventure travel insurance with benefits that cover exchange rates applied to your particular tour. personal accident, medical expenses, repatriation, loss and damage to personal effects. The policy d) In case the Company is forced to make a surcharge for the reasons set out in c) above, the Company must include a minimum cover of £500,000 (US$1,000,000) for medical and repatriation expenses. undertakes to absorb the first additional 2% of such increase. If the increase is more than 10% In the event that a client does not have suitable travel insurance, they may not be allowed to join the trip. of the original tour price, the client may cancel the booking and obtain a full refund of any monies c) If a client has difficulty in finding a suitable policy, the policy shown in this brochure is available. paid towards the tour fare provided that the client has notified the Company in writing within 7 days Whether a client uses this insurance, or arranges an alternative, the client accepts that the benefits are of the date shown on the amended invoice of the desire to cancel. adequate for this sort of travel. e) The Company undertakes not to impose any surcharge less than 30 days before the start date of the tour. d) It is the client's responsibility to ensure they seek professional medical advice before travelling and 7. ITINERARIES to take all necessary health precautions and preventative measures. a) The itineraries and other details are published in good faith as statements of intention only and e) It is the client's responsibility to check their tickets and notify the Company immediately if there are any mistakes. reasonable changes in the itinerary, vehicle and equipment use, etc. may be made where deemed f) It is the client's own responsibility to comply with all current passport, visa and health requirements. necessary or advisable by the Company. g) Clients must give to the tour leader at the beginning of the tour their local payment, kitty contribution b) If any additional expenses are incurred through delays, accidents or disruption of planned itineraries and/or flight cost as shown in the brochure and updated if applicable. Failure to do so will be because of force majeure or considered advisable by us, such expenses are to be borne by the client. deemed a breach of contract on the part of the client and the client will not be carried on the tour. c) The client accepts that force majeure may prevent the Company from supplying services and/or h) Clients must at all times comply with the laws and customs of the countries visited. The company itineraries as described. has absolute discretion to order a client to leave the tour if they are found contravening such laws d) No refund will be made for any unused services which are included in the tour fare. and customs, or interfering (or is judged to have the potential to interfere) with the well-being of the group, individual member, members, or themselves. In such cases, there will be no refund of the 8. CHANGES tour fare and the company accepts no liability for expenses incurred as a result. a) The Company reserves the right to alter its descriptions of the facilities and services described in the i) Clients are responsible for informing the Company at the time of booking of any known illnesses, brochure at any time before a booking is made although notification of any such changes will be given disabilities or medical condition, or, if not known at the time of booking, at the earliest opportunity to clients at the time of booking. thereafter prior to the departure of the tour. Any client found to have an undeclared or understated b) When you have made your contract with the Company, the Company will use its best endeavours to medical condition may be ordered to leave the tour with no refund of the tour fare. ensure that none of the ingredients of your tour arrangements have to be altered. However, you will j) Clients must follow the tour joining instructions issued to them. appreciate that, because arrangements are planned many months in advance and because of the k) In booking a tour from this brochure the client acknowledges that they are responsible to make unpredictability of travel in most areas, sometimes changes have to be made. Where a significant themselves aware through Foreign Office, State Department warnings, advisers and any other change (see 8d) below) is made, you will be informed when you book or, if you have already booked, sources available to them, in regard to the safety of countries and areas in which they will be travelling as soon as possible, if there is time before departure. You may then: and to make their own decisions accordingly. i) accept the change, or l) Clients must be aware that our tour leaders, representatives and passengers may take photographs, ii) book any other available tour from this brochure (where the price is less, the Company will videos and films of our clients while on any of our tours of which the Company reserves the right pay you the difference but where the price is more you must pay the difference), or to use such material for any advertising, brochure and video production, and other marketing uses iii) cancel your booking and receive a full refund of all moneys paid towards the tour price. (including footage for television) without obtaining further consent. The Company also reserves c) If the Company makes a significant change because of force majeure or consolidation before the right to use any comments clients make regarding our tours on any questionnaires or letters in departure, the Company will be liable to offer the alternatives set out above. If a significant change future promotional literature. for any other reason occurs less than 56 days before departure, the Company will be liable to offer m) Clients must reimburse the Company for any expenses incurred on behalf of the client. This especially applies to non-compliance with clauses 11 b), f) and h) above. 9. COMPLAINTS & CONSUMER PROTECTION a) If you have a complaint about your tour, in the first instance you should inform the tour leader so that remedial action can be taken if possible. Otherwise, you must make any complaint within 28 days of the tour finish date. You should write to the registered office of the Company as shown in Clause 1,a. b) For clients who book and reside in the UK, any disputed and unresolved complaint may be referred to the low-cost AITO Independent Dispute Settlement Service (details available on request). Claims which exceed £1500 per person or £7500 per booking form or which apply principally or exclusively in respect of (or as a consequence of) illness or physical injury are not admissible for settlement under the service. c) Where a flight is purchased with a land tour direct from the Company, or where there is a land tour with an internal air element as part of it's itinerary, the whole land/air package will be ATOL protected, as the Company holds an Air Travel Organiser's Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 4157. 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.