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, Wales, Scotland and Northern Island 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 confirmed 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 10% of the total tour price, per person, (or full payment if booking within 60 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 flights may be required at the time of booking. The applicable deposit will be confirmed at the time of booking. See also “How to Book” section. 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 (including the sections headed “Information About Our Tours” and “How to Book”), 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 confirms that all such persons are fully aware of and accept these conditions. A booking is accepted and becomes definite only from the date when the Company issues a confirmation 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 confirmation of your booking. Before your booking is confirmed


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. 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 cs@explore.co.uk


3. Payment for your tour


The balance of all monies due, including any surcharges applicable at that time, must be received by the Company or their authorised travel agent not later than 60 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. 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. Any monies paid by you to an authorised travel agent for tours operated by the Company are held by the agent on the Company’s behalf. You can pay the deposit and full amount by cheque, credit or debit card. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Maestro/ Solo. A credit card fee is not payable for the deposit payment and insurance. However a 2% fee is payable if your final balance (or the full amount) is paid to Explore 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 Maestro/Solo debit cards.


4. If you change your booking a) An administration fee of £25 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 60 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. 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. 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 £40 per person transferring his/her place if the Company is advised up to your balance due date or £100 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 flight 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 flight / an alternative flight.


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 notification 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


or call our experts on 0844 875 1894


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) 60 and more days before tour start date – retention of deposit b) 59-42 days before tour start date – 30% or retention of deposit if higher c) 41-28 days before tour start date – 60% d) 27-14 days before tour start date – 90% e) Less than 14 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 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. 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 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. Please also see clause 1 Your Tour Contract.


7. Passports, visas and vaccinations Please see Information About Our Tours” section). Clients are responsible for arranging, and must be in possession of, a valid, acceptable passport and any visas and vaccination certificates 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 fines, surcharges or other financial 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


FULLY 5048 BONDED


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


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. Please also read “Travel Insurance” and “Pre-Existing Medical Conditions and Travel Insurance” in “Information About Our Tours” section.


9. Consumer protection


We hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (ATOL number 2595). When you buy an ATOL protected air inclusive holiday* from us you will receive a confirmation invoice from us confirming your arrangements and your protection under our ATOL. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not left 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. Where you book a “land only” tour with us, the arrangements we have contracted to provide will be protected by AITO Trust Ltd providing they were purchased in the UK or direct from Explore if purchased outside the UK. This means your money will be refunded or you will be returned to the departure point of your contracted tour arrangements if already abroad in the unlikely event of our being unable to provide your tour due to our insolvency.


*The air inclusive holidays we arrange are ATOL protected providing either the person who pays for the booking is present in the UK when the booking is made or the first leg of any flight or flights we arrange for you commences in the UK.


10. Tour participation and client responsibility Clients agree to accept the authority and decisions of the Company’s employees, tour leaders and agents whilst on tour with the Company. If in the opinion of any such person(s) or any other person in a position of authority (such as, for example, an airline pilot or hotel manager), the health, level of fitness or conduct of a client at any time before or during a tour is endangering or appears likely to endanger the health or wellbeing of the client or any third party (including any other clients of the Company) or the safe, comfortable or happy progress of the tour, the client may be excluded from all or part of the tour without refund or recompense. Where a client is excluded, the Company will have no further responsibility towards them (including any return travel arrangements) and we will not meet any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the exclusion. In the case of ill health, the Company may make such arrangements as it sees fit and recover the costs thereof from the client. If a client commits an illegal act (including, for example, causing any damage) the client may be excluded from the tour and the Company shall cease to have responsibility to/for them as above. No refund will be given 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. If the actual cost of the loss or damage exceeds the amount paid where estimated, you must pay the difference once known. If the actual cost is less than the amount paid, the difference will be refunded. You will also be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us and all costs incurred by us (including our own and the other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions. You should ensure you have appropriate travel insurance to protect you if this situation arises. 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


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