Information About Our Tours
Several tours include camping. We provide all the necessary equipment (for example two person tents). You are likely to need your own sleeping mats and sleeping bags for these trips. You will not have to cook. Many tours are fully staffed, but on some you may be asked to help with the camp chores. Please see the individual tour Tour Notes for details. All our accommodation is given a rating to describe standards and facilities. You can fi nd this in the individual tour Trip Notes.
Rooming and Single room option
Most tours are based on customers sharing twin-bedded rooms. If you book as an individual, you will share a room with someone of the same sex. However, on many tours we offer the opportunity to pay a supplement to pre-book a single room. On some of these tours a single room will be provided every night, on others it will be provided on some nights, but for logistical reasons not all. Individual Trip Notes clarify this.
Meals
Most trips include breakfast, but other meals are often not included. This allows you to try the cuisine in local restaurants and also to choose what and where to eat and how much to spend. We try to keep all-inclusive accommodation to a minimum. Where there is no option, such as when camping, meals tend to be included. We try to cater for you if you have special dietary requirements but we do ask you to have realistic expectations. In some countries there is a limited choice of food and it may be diffi cult to cater for all special meal requirements. Please check the Trip Notes carefully before booking if you have any specifi c requirements.
Transport
The variety of transport used is another important aspect of any Explore Adventure. We use everything from buses, boats and trains to camels and donkeys. You may even fi nd all these on the same tour.
Protection and Suitability
Travel insurance You must have valid travel insurance. You will need to confi rm to your Tour Leader that you are covered by a travel insurance policy at the start of the tour. For this reason your original insurance policy must be carried with you on tour.
If you have arranged your own insurance please ensure that your documentation shows you as the named policyholder and that the cover is valid for the entire period of travel. It must also indicate that you have cover for (at least) Medical Expenses and Emergency Repatriation in the event of illness or injury. Please ensure that a 24 hour contact telephone number for your Insurance Company is written on your documentation in case of an emergency. If you are unable to provide this information at the start of the trip you will not be able to continue with us-unless you purchase a suitable Insurance Policy. If you have purchased Explore Insurance you should carry the policy document and a copy of your Confi rmation Invoice (your proof of purchase) with you. For details of Explore’s insurance policy, which is specially tailored to the needs of the adventure traveller, please see p139 in this brochure.
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 confi rmation from them that the condition is covered. You must take this written confi rmation with you on tour, in addition to the insurance policy itself. If you don’t, you may not have appropriate cover.
Your fi tness and ability to participate All Explore 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 further discussed in our Booking Conditions, Clause 10, p.137) 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 fi tness and ability required to complete the tour on which you are booking. Tour Trip Notes are quite specifi c about the level of fi tness 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 that may affect your tour arrangements in any way, you must provide us with full details at the time of booking.
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 diffi cult 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 and to check with your doctor.
Proof of fi tness In certain circumstances, usually on more challenging tours, we may require you to provide proof of medical fi tness 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 fl ight 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 six or seven people have booked on a tour (the exact numbers can vary).
or call our experts on 0844 875 1893
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 on our website under the “Prices and Dates” tab. On these tours we guarantee that the advertised “Tour Only” itinerary will not be cancelled or signifi cantly changed unless we are forced to do so by a “force majeure” (as defi ned in our Booking Conditions). There is no minimum group size for these departures. This guarantee does not apply to international or UK domestic fl ights, which may be subject to change or cancellation in accordance with our Booking Conditions.
Adventure travel – warning Travelling to far-fl ung corners of the earth involves adapting to living conditions that are often very different from our own. Please be prepared to cope with unusual situations, local inadequacies and unpredictable events. Adventure holidays are defi nitely 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 Offi ce or the appropriate embassy.
Flights
Tour Only Tour Only tours start at the joining point overseas and do not include any connecting fl ights to or from the joining point. If you are planning to book ‘Tour Only’ we strongly recommend that you only purchase fl ights (or train or bus tickets) that are totally fl exible 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 fl ight, 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 fl ights and trains Although Explore are unable to assign specifi c fl ight 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 fl ight or train as early as possible in order to have the best chance of being given alternative seats. If you require specifi c 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 confi rmation of your disability, reduced mobility or medical condition and fi tness to travel from your doctor.
In-fl ight meals
Although meals are still provided on most international fl ights, you should be aware that there is a trend towards them not being included on shorter fl ights, 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 fl ights. 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 confi rm 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 fl ight-inclusive tour with Explore, your holiday confi rmation will contain provisional fl ight details. The timings, fl ight 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) signifi cantly affects the tour itinerary. We suggest that you defer booking any connecting travel to the airport or arrangements such as car parking or overnight hotels until you have received the fi nal invoice, with confi rmed travel times. Where Explore are arranging domestic regional fl ights, these will be automatically rebooked to connect with your international fl ights. We strongly recommend that you do not purchase non-fl exible, 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.
Banned airlines
In accordance with EU Directive (EC) No 2111/2005 Article 9, we are required to bring to your attention the existence of a “Community list” which contains details of air carriers which are subject to an operating ban within the EU. The Community list is available for inspection at
http://europa.eu. In accordance with EU Regulations we are required to advise you of the actual carrier(s) (or, if the actual carrier(s) is not known, the likely carrier(s)) that will operate your fl ight(s) at the time of booking. Where we are only able to inform you of the likely carrier(s) at the time of booking, we shall inform you of the identity of the actual carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of this. Any change to the operating carrier(s) after your booking has been confi rmed will be notifi ed to you as soon as possible. If the carrier with whom you have a confi rmed reservation becomes subject to an operating ban and, as a result, we or the carrier are unable to offer you a suitable alternative the provisions of our Booking Conditions – “If we change your tour” will apply.
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