Terms & Conditions

Booking Terms and Conditions

These Booking Conditions, together with any other written information including the terms stipulated in the invoice has been brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking and form the basis of your contract with Heritage Tours (“we” or “us”). Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. In these Booking Conditions references to “you” and “your” include the lead passenger on the booking and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made or any other person to whom a booking is added or transferred.

By making a booking, the lead passenger on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:

He/she has read these terms and conditions and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;
He/she consents to our use of information
He/she is over 18 years of age and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services;
He/she accepts financial responsibility for payment of the booking on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking.

Further details of the booking conditions are specified below.

1) Booking and Payments

A booking is made with us when:

You inform us that you would like to accept our written or verbal quotation; and
You pay us a deposit as stipulated on your booking form, (if you are booking within 30 days of departure, full payment is due at the time of booking); and
We issue you with an invoice

A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we have issued you with an invoice that will confirm the details of your booking and will be sent to you and you have made full or part payment on it.

2) Flight Bookings

We do not offer flight bookings but we can if requested suggest an authorised agent who can assist you in this matter. We are not responsible for any bookings you make with the flight agent. Upon receipt of your booking(s), if you believe that any details of the flight itinerary, booking confirmation or any other document are wrong you must advise them immediately as changes cannot be made later and it may harm your rights.

3) Accuracy

We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in our brochures are accurate; however occasionally changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before your booking is confirmed.

4) Speakers

We do our upmost to ensure that all the speakers that are advertised for the tour are the ones actually delivering the tour, however in certain and unforseen circumstances we may need to replace the speaker with an alternative speaker for the tour. We aim to notify our guests about such changes at the earliest opportunity.

5) Insurance

It is your responsibility to arrange adequate travel insurance for your tour and as part of the contract with us. You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers all your personal requirements including cancellation charges, medical expenses and repatriation in the event of accident or illness. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover would otherwise have been available.

6) Pricing

The price of your travel arrangements has been calculated using exchange rates quoted on an ongoing basis in relation to the USD dollar.

We reserve the right to amend the price of unsold arrangements at any time and correct errors in the prices of confirmed arrangements. The price of your confirmed package is subject at all times to variations in:

Transportation costs, including the cost of fuel; or
Dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports, any visas that are included as part of your booked arrangements or any additional charges imposed upon us by the host country; or
The exchange rates used to calculate your arrangements;
There will be no change made to the price of your tour once it is confirmed.
Jurisdiction and Applicable law

These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by the country to which you are travelling on the tour to. We both agree that the Courts of the tour country will deal with any dispute, claim or other matter, which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking, only.

7) Jurisdiction and Applicable law

8) Cancellations

Once the booking is confirmed with part or full payment of the invoice the booking is deemed Non Refundable. At our discretion, if you wish to change any part of your booking arrangements after the booking has been confirmed, you must inform us in writing as soon as possible for us to consider. The lead passenger on the booking should do this and whilst we will do our best to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your requested change. Where we can meet a request, all changes will be subject to:

Payment of an administration fee of $150 per person per change will be applied
A cancellation fee of 25% will be applied up to 60 days before the tour date and
A cancellation fee of 35% will be applied within 60 days of the tour date
All transfer fees will be payable by you

You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Where we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking we will treat this as a cancellation by you and the above cancellation fees may be payable.

Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended after they have been confirmed and any alteration could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements.

9) Postponement

If you are prevented from travelling for medical reasons, government policy or matters beyond our control such as acts of God e.g. natural disasters, it may be possible to transfer your booking to a future tour date provided that written notice is given. An administration fee will be charged, details available upon request.

Very rarely, we may be forced by “force majeure” (see clause 10) to change or terminate your arrangements after departure. If this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any from our suppliers), pay you compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.

If we become unable to provide a significant proportion of the services that you have booked with us after you have departed, we will make alternative arrangements for you at no extra charge and, if appropriate in all the circumstances.

10) Visas

If we are to apply for your visa(s) then please note that once visas have been issued, no refunds can be issued in any circumstances.

11) Force Majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions we will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by any event which we or the supplier(s) of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. These events can include, but are not limited to war, threat of war, civil strife terrorist activity and its consequences or the threat of such activity, riot, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, viruses, fire, chemical or biological disaster and adverse weather, sea, ice and river conditions and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned’s control. Advice from your local Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure.

12) Special Requests

Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking e.g. diet, room location, a particular facility at a hotel etc. You should then confirm your requests in writing. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.

13) Disabilities and Medical Problems

We are not a specialist disabled holiday company, but we will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability, which may affect your stay, please provide us with full details before we confirm your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate in the arrangements. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.

14) Complaints

We make every effort to ensure that your tour arrangements run smoothly but if you do have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier (e.g. your ground agent) immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please contact your group leader or ourselves on the number displayed on our website or the emergency contact telephone number provided to you with your travel documents.

If the problem cannot be resolved and you wish to complain further, you must send formal written notice of your complaint to us at our office within 28 days of the end of your stay, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you. Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint, and will affect your rights under this contract.

15) Your Behaviour

All guests staying with us are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of other guests. If in our opinion or in the opinion of any hotel manager or any other person in authority, your behaviour or that of any member of your party is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any of our other guests or any third party or damage to property, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we reserve the right to terminate your booking arrangements with us immediately. In the event of such termination our liability to you and/or your party will cease and you and/or your party will be required to leave your accommodation or other service immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and/or your party.

No refunds for lost accommodation or any other service will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of termination. You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the hotel manager or other supplier prior to departure from the hotel. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you. We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.

16) Our Responsibilities

We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “organiser” as set out below. Subject to these booking conditions, if we or our suppliers negligently perform or arrange the services which we are obliged to provide for you under our contract with you, as set out on your confirmation invoice, we will pay you reasonable compensation.

The level of such compensation will be calculated taking into consideration all relevant factors such as but not limited to following the complaints procedure as described in these conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your arrangements.

Please note that it is your responsibility to show that our supplier(s) or we have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.

We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claims of any description if it results from:
The act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected;
The act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or
Unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond ours or our supplier(s) control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or
An event which either suppliers or ourselves could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.
Loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money,

The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy, which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are assumed to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.

When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money, which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question.

It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to ourselves and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.

17) Passport, Immigration Requirements and Health Formalities

It is your responsibility to check and fulfil the passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to the package you have booked and required for the issuance of the visa and you will offer us all assistance that we require in obtaining the visa in good time for the date of departure. We accept no responsibility or liability for any visa application delay or rejection of a visa by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.

Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date. If your passport is in its final year, you should check with the Embassy of the country you are visiting.

We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses, which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.

18) Conditions of Suppliers

Independent suppliers provide many of the services, which make up your travel arrangements. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions, which will form part of your contract with us. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned.

19) Delays, Missed Transport and other Travel Information

If you or any member of your party misses your flight or other transport arrangement, it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over 3 hours for any reason, you must contact us and the airline or other transport supplier concerned immediately.

20) Advance Passenger Information

A number of Governments are introducing new requirements for air carriers to provide personal information about all travellers on their aircraft to the Authorities before the aircraft leaves the point of departure. The data will be collected either at the airport when you check in or in some circumstances when, or after you make your booking. Accordingly, you are advised to allow extra time to check in for your flight. Where we collect this data, we will treat it in accordance with our privacy policy.

21) Foreign Office Advice

You are responsible for making yourself aware of Foreign Office advice and State Department warnings in regard to the safety of the countries and areas in which you will be travelling and to make your decisions accordingly. Advice from the Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure (see clause 10).

For further information, comments or questions, please contact us at info@heritagetours.co