Booking Terms and Conditions


Please read the following notice as it is your contract with Explore Worldwide Ltd and clearly lays out what you have agreed with us.


Please read carefully: Explore Worldwide Ltd (‘the Company’, “we”, “us” and “our”) accepts bookings subject to the following conditions. Except where expressly stated, these conditions only apply to tour arrangements booked by the client with the Company and which the Company agrees to make, provide or perform (as applicable) as part of their contract with the client. All references in these conditions to “tour”, “booking”, “contract” or “arrangements” mean such tour arrangements unless otherwise stated. Please note, the information appearing in the section headed “Information About Our Tours” in our brochure or in these or any comparable sections and any other relevant information on our website also form part of your contract with the Company. References in these conditions to such sections include the comparable sections or information on our website.


1. Your tour contract


The contract is between the Company and the client (“the client” and “you” in these conditions), being any person travelling or intending to travel on a tour operated by the Company including any person who is added or substituted after booking. 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. No employee of the Company other than a director has authority to vary or omit any of these terms. No promise of a discount or refund will be binding on us unless confi rmed by us in writing.


2. To secure your booking (Please refer to Clause 17 “Late Bookings”)


To secure a booking, the Company or their authorised travel agent must receive payment of the minimum deposit of 20% of the total tour price, per person, (or full payment if booking within 100 days of the start of your tour or at an earlier stage for some tours). A higher deposit will be payable if any supplier(s) requires additional payment at the time of booking / prior to balance due date. On occasions, full payment for a service such as your fl ights may be required at the time of booking. The applicable deposit will be confi rmed at the time of booking. All clients (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date), whether booking in person, by telephone, via our website, by e-mail or facsimile or by any other means, will be deemed to have agreed to the following four conditions:


a) they have read and accepted our booking conditions and general information pages, contained in our brochure and/or on our website.


b) they appreciate and accept the risks involved in adventure travel.


c) they do 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 10 below so that we can advise.


d) the person making the booking warrants that he/she is at least 18 years old and has full authority to enter into a contract on the basis of these conditions on behalf of all persons named on the booking and confi rms that all such persons are fully aware of and accept these conditions. A booking is accepted and becomes defi nite only from the date when the Company issues a confi rmation invoice to the client who makes the booking or their authorised travel agent. It is at this point that a contract between the Company and the client 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 confi rmation of your booking. Before your booking is confi rmed and a contract comes into force, the Company reserves the right to increase or decrease holiday prices. The Company or their agents reserve the right to decline any booking at their discretion. 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 polar@explore.co.uk


3. Payment for your tour


The balance of all monies due must be received by the Company or their authorised travel agent not later than 100 days before the start of your tour. For certain tours, full payment must be received at an earlier stage before the start


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of your tour. You will be advised at the time of booking when this is the case. In the case of non-payment of the balance by the due date, the Company reserves the right to treat your booking as cancelled and cancellation charges will apply. You can pay the deposit and full amount by cheque, credit or debit card. We accept Visa and Mastercard. A credit card fee of 1.52% is payable for all payments made by credit card. We reserve the right to increase this charge if the card issuer’s charges to us increase. We will advise you if this happens before taking any payment by credit card. This fee does not apply if payment is made by debit cards.


4. If you change your booking a) An administration fee of £50 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 confi rmed 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 £25 per booking, you can request a credit voucher for the amount paid in respect of any cancelled booking less any non-refundable charges and insurance premiums. This must be redeemed within 3 months of issue against a new booking. The voucher is valid for a one-time only transfer, 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.


b) If a client is unable to travel, in circumstances which the Company considers reasonable, the booking or that client’s place on the booking may be transferred to another suitable person (introduced by you). However the tour arrangements must remain the same as originally booked. If a transfer can be made, an administration charge of £100 per person transferring his/her place if the Company is advised up to your balance due date or £150 per person if advised after your balance due date, together with any costs or charges incurred by us or incurred or imposed by any supplier(s) in making the transfer must be paid before the transfer can be made. Any overdue balance payment must also be received. For fl ight inclusive bookings, you must pay the charges levied by the airline concerned. As most airlines do not permit name changes after tickets have been issued for any reason, these charges are likely to be the full cost of the fl ight / an alternative fl ight.


5. If you cancel your booking


Should the client wish to cancel, cancellation charges will be imposed. These are calculated from the day written or verbal notifi cation is received by the Company or their authorised travel agent 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) 100 and more days before tour start date – retention of deposit


b) 60-99 days before tour start date – 50% or retention of deposit if higher


c) Less than 60 days before tour start date – 100% 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 your insurance policy. All claims must be made direct to your 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. Please also see clause 4b)


6. If you have a complaint


Should the client have a complaint about any of their tour arrangements, the client must tell both the relevant supplier and the Company’s representative at the time. It is only if the Company and the relevant supplier know about problems that there will be the opportunity to put things right. Failure to complain on the spot may result in the client’s ability to claim compensation, if applicable, from the Company being extinguished or at least reduced. If the client’s complaint cannot be resolved on tour they should notify the Company


The air holidays in this brochure are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is 2595.


No. 5207


in writing within 28 days of their return from tour. If the client has a dispute with the Company which we are unable to resolve, the client may call upon the low cost AITO Independent Dispute Settlement Service (details on request). Claims which exceed £2,500 per person or £10,000 per booking or claims 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. If, despite our best efforts and having followed the above procedure for reporting and resolving your complaint, you feel that it has not been satisfactorily settled, we recommend that it is referred for arbitration under the ABTOT Travel Industry Arbitration Service. An Independent Arbitrator will review the documents relating to any complaint and deliver a binding decision to bring the matter to a close. Details of this scheme are available from The Travel Industry Arbitration Service, administered by Dispute Settlement Services Ltd at 9 Savill Road, Lindfi eld, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 2NY or from ABTOT, Tower 42, Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1 HG. This scheme cannot however decide in cases where the sums claimed exceed £1,500 per person or £7,500 per booking form, or for claims which are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness or the consequence thereof. Please also see clause 1 Your Tour Contract.


7. Passports, visas and vaccinations Clients are responsible for arranging, and must be in possession of, a valid, acceptable passport and any visas and vaccination certifi cates required for the whole of their journey and tour. Information about these matters or related items (climate, clothing, baggage, personal gear etc) is given in good faith but without responsibility on the part of the Company. We regret we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry all required documentation. If failure to have any necessary travel or other documents results in fi nes, surcharges or other fi nancial penalty being imposed on us, you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly.


8. Travel and cancellation insurance Travel Insurance is mandatory for all clients whilst on a tour organised by the Company. 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. Clients not taking out the Company’s specially arranged travel/cancellation insurance are responsible for ensuring that they 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. Clients making their own arrangements should ensure that there are no exclusion clauses limiting or excluding protection for the type of activities included in their tour. Clients should satisfy themselves that all travel insurance purchased meets their particular requirements and should arrange supplementary insurance if need be.


9. Consumer protection We hold an Air Travel Organiser’s License issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (ATOL number 2595) When you buy an ATOL protected fl ight or fl ight inclusive holiday* from us, you will receive an ATOL Certifi cate. This lists the fl ight, accommodation, car hire and/or other services that are fi nancially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. We, or the suppliers identifi ed on your ATOL certifi cate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certifi cate (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 services you have bought or a suitable alternative (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 identifi ed on your ATOL certifi cate, 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 benefi t on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefi t 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.


For more details visit www.explore.co.uk/polar


2595


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