of purchase) with you. For details of Explore’s insurance policy, which is specially tailored to the needs of the adventure traveller, please see p100


Pre-existing medical conditions If you, your travelling companions, or anyone upon whom your travel depends (such as a friend or family member whose illness or death would result in you wishing to cancel or curtail your tour) have a pre-existing medical condition you must inform your travel insurance company of this when you purchase your policy. Please ensure that you receive written confirmation from them that the condition is covered. You must take this written confirmation with you on tour, in addition to the insurance policy itself. If you don’t, you may not have appropriate cover.


Your fitness and ability to participate All Explore Family Adventures require some level of active participation. This could be on a cultural tour, trek, safari, expedition or voyage. It is in the interests of all members of the group that everyone should be capable of fully participating in the activities of their chosen tour. With this in mind, please be aware that (as detailed in our Booking Conditions) if it is felt that any customer is not able to participate in a tour without endangering the health or safety of themselves or any other person (including other group members), or that the presence of the customer on the tour means we will be unable to provide the tour, in whole or part, to other members of the group as advertised and contracted, the Tour Leader at any stage has the right to require them to leave the tour. To ensure that this is never necessary, please make sure that you have fully understood the level of fitness and ability required to complete the tour on which you are booking. Tour Trip Notes are quite specific about the level of fitness and ability required on any given tour. It is your responsibility to let us know if you have any concerns related to this subject. If you have any medical condition or disability which may affect your tour arrangements in any way, you must provide us with full details at the time of booking – please see booking condition 10 on p98.


High altitude Several tours reach elevations of 2500 metres or more. We allow time for acclimatisation and usually the body acclimatises well to spending extended periods of time above this altitude. It is difficult to predict who is at risk from altitude sickness but if you have a heart or respiratory problem we advise you not to risk extended travel or trekking at high altitudes.


Proof of fitness In certain circumstances, usually on more strenuous tours, we may require you to provide proof of medical fitness before travelling.


Bear in mind


Tour changes From time to time, some elements of our tours may change from those that have been published. This could be the result of inclement weather, a change in the local political situation or in flight or train schedules or other circumstances beyond our control. We will keep you as well informed as possible about these changes.


Will my tour operate? We reserve the right to cancel departures that (in our opinion) are not commercially viable (except for “Guaranteed Departures” which are described below). Typically this happens when less than around 4 people have booked on a tour (the exact numbers can vary). We try very hard to make every departure work and only cancel when absolutely necessary. We will give you as much notice of a cancellation as possible, allowing you to consider alternative tours or dates. We do not guarantee a minimum number of participants for each tour and we may decide to operate a tour with less than the normal minimum number of people.


Guaranteed departures Our “Guaranteed Departures” can be found under the “Prices and Dates” tab on our website. On these tours we guarantee that the advertised “Land Only” itinerary will not be cancelled or significantly changed unless we are forced to do so by a “force majeure” (as defined in our Booking Conditions). There is no minimum group size for these departures. This guarantee does not apply to international or UK domestic flights, which may be subject to change or cancellation in accordance with our Booking Conditions.


Adventure travel – warning Travelling to far-flung corners of the earth involves adapting to living conditions that are often very different from your own. Please be prepared to cope with unusual situations, local inadequacies and unpredictable events. Adventure holidays are definitely not suitable for people who expect to be pampered or who demand that everything goes exactly as planned. You should also be aware that some countries around the world have serious security problems. Thieves, muggers and drug pushers are likely to be active in big cities and street markets; and certain areas may be considered ‘out-of-bounds’ for tourists. However, most crime is opportunistic. Using your common sense will reduce the risks. Unfortunately, no destination can be guaranteed to be safe from terrorism. We constantly monitor the political situation in the regions we visit and will re-route or cancel a trip if we feel it is necessary. If you are concerned about your safety when visiting a particular destination, please contact the Foreign Office or the appropriate embassy. For details see www.fco.gov.uk/travel


Flights


Land only tours Land Only tours start at the joining point overseas and do not include any connecting flights to or from the joining point. If you are planning to book ‘Land Only’ we strongly recommend that you only purchase flights (or train or bus tickets) that are totally flexible and refundable. This is because by their very nature, adventure holiday itineraries can change and it is important that you are able to amend your connecting travel arrangements if necessary. Also, in the event of a tour being cancelled it is important that you are able to get a refund if you no longer wish to use the associated flight, bus or train. We regret that we cannot accept liability for any connecting travel arrangements that you make (including any cancellation or amendment charges) in the event of any change to, or cancellation of, our tour; or for any other reason that makes you unable to use your booked travel arrangements.


Seating on flights and trains Although Explore are unable to assign specific flight or train seats, it is possible to put special requests through to the majority of airlines and train operators. If you have a special request, please tell us at the time of booking. Please be aware that no guarantee can be made that your request will be successful. Failure to grant your request will not be a breach of contract on our part. Sometimes your allocated seats will not be close to other members of your party. We recommended that you check in for your flight or train as early as possible in order to have the best chance of being given alternative seats. If you require specific seats because of to a disability or reduced mobility or a medical condition, please make this clear at the time of booking. Subject to safety requirements and availability, EU airlines are required to make all reasonable efforts to arrange seating to meet the requirements of individuals with a disability or reduced mobility. You may be required to provide written confirmation of your disability, reduced mobility or medical condition and fitness to travel from your doctor.


In-flight meals


Although meals are still provided on most international flights, you should be aware that there is a trend towards them not being included on shorter flights, and particularly those within Europe. On many routes with connections within Europe, a meal will be provided on the inter-continental sector, but not on the sector between the UK and the connecting European airport. We cannot therefore guarantee that a meal will be provided on all flights. If you have a special dietary requirement, please let us know at the time of booking. We will send an automated request through to the airline. Please be aware that in most cases airlines do not confirm individual meal requests, so it is worth double checking that the meal has been ordered at check-in.


Flight schedule changes When you book a flight-inclusive tour with Explore, your holiday confirmation will contain provisional flight details. The timings, flight numbers or route could change several times before departure. Explore will inform you as soon as possible if there is a change which i) affects your departure or arrival time by more than six hours, ii) moves the tour to a different day or iii) significantly affects the tour itinerary. We recommend that you defer booking any connecting travel to the airport or arrangements such as car parking or overnight hotels until you have received the final invoice, with confirmed travel times. Where Explore are arranging domestic regional flights, these will be automatically rebooked to connect with your international flights.


We strongly recommend that you do not purchase non-flexible, non- refundable connecting rail, air or bus tickets, as they usually incur cancellation or penalty charges in the event of a change to the departure time or date.


94 For more information and to book, go online at www.explore.co.uk


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