Our General terms and Conditions for Secret Atlas Operated tours
Except where otherwise specified, we WORLD EXPLORER TRAVEL LIMITED with registered office address at 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ (“we”, “us”, “our”) act as tour organiser in respect of all bookings we take and/or make on your behalf. We accept no liability in relation to any contract you enter into or for any services or arrangements you purchase (“arrangements”) or for the acts or omissions of any supplier(s) or other person(s) or party(ies) connected with any arrangements.
In these terms and conditions, “you” means all persons named on the booking (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date). On occasions due to circumstances beyond our control the terms may be amended; please note that the terms that you receive on confirmation of booking are the terms that are valid. Upon payment of deposit it is taken that you understand that in our destination countries service levels, infrastructure, levels of hygiene, safety and security may be lower than you are used to in your country of residence. It is important to adhere to local laws and regulations of the destination country when travelling with us and these are the laws and regulations that will apply to your tour and not those of your country of residence.
Accuracy of Information
All information that we have provided including on our website and in our brochure is given in good faith and is to the best of our knowledge a fair and up-to-date representation whether it is of wildlife, accommodation, food, security, animal visibility, itineraries or weather. We pride ourselves on our accuracy of information however do not accept liability or responsibility for any errors caused by circumstances out of our control.
If We Cancel
On occasions we have no choice but to cancel confirmed bookings; we make every effort not to cancel but we reserve the right to do so. Cancellations will be made only if we have not received full payment 90 days prior to departure or as a result of circumstances beyond our control. Upon cancellation of your tour (unless as a result of no payment or force majeure) you will have the opportunity to purchase a tour from us of the same value as the original tour. If your alternative tour purchase is less expensive than the original then we will refund the difference, if it is of greater value than the original tour booked then you must pay the difference. An alternative to this is to be refunded all your monies;
WORLD EXPLORER TRAVEL LIMITED is and will not be liable for any costs that you have incurred as a result of the cancellation.
WORLD EXPLORER TRAVEL LIMITED or our local operators hold the right to cancel the tour of any person(s) involved in that tour if they feel that the behaviour of that person(s) is causing annoyance, damage, distress or injury to any third party. In this instance WORLD EXPLORER TRAVEL LIMITED and our local operator will have no further responsibility to the person(s) involved and the aforementioned person(s) will be asked to leave the vehicle, accommodation, service that is being provided. In this instance WORLD EXPLORER TRAVEL LIMITED will not be liable or responsible for any costs incurred for the safe passage of the person(s) or for the cancellation of their tour.
Cancellation by you
If you or any person that you are travelling with is forced to cancel your tour you must notify us in writing as soon as possible. Once we have received your notification in writing your cancellation is effective, until this time it is not.In order to cover any costs incurred by your cancellation as we may be unable to resell your tour or the services that we have put in place costs and cancellation fees will be charged as follows:
90 Days or more – loss of deposit;
89 Days or less – 100% of the entire cost.
Complaints
Any complaints must be reported immediately to our local operator or the service provider in question. All complaints must be sent in writing to the UK office of WORLD EXPLORER TRAVEL LIMITED and must be reported no later than 31 days after your return from your tour. Unfortunately any complaints received after this time line and not in the outlined format above will not be accepted.
Force Majeure
We are unable to pay compensation or accept liability where the performance of our services are prevented or affected by any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due diligence, prevent or foresee. These events include extreme weather conditions, war, civil war, park closures, mechanical problems with transport, border closures, terrorist activities, fire, flooding, disease or any similar results that are out of our control.
Insurance
Please read our travel info section carefully and in particular the section on insurance. We advise that your insurance policy covers the following: repatriation, emergency evacuation and search and rescue, cancellation or curtailment, medical expenses, loss of luggage, death, illness, loss or theft of personal property. All travellers that book with us must have proof that their travel insurance covers the travel period fully and proof of policy must be sent through to our UK office prior to departure, along with the insurer’s details and your policy number.
Some of our specialist expeditions cover vast distances in remote locations that are usually outside of standard insurance policy evacuation coverage. For this reason, we also recommend that you source protection for medical and non-medical search and rescue.
Jurisdiction
WORLD EXPLORER TRAVEL LIMITED is incorporated in the United Kingdom and it operates under the laws of the United Kingdom. Your contract with us and matters arising out of it will be governed by the laws of the United Kingdom.
Liability
We shall at every opportunity make every effort to ensure that (1) all parts of the tour supplied are provided as described on our website and in the brochure to a reasonable standard; and (2) our local contractors, suppliers and sub-contractors exercise due care and diligence in carrying out our contractual obligations. If at any stage your tour is not provided as we have advertised and to an acceptable standard, we shall compensate you appropriately in line with how your enjoyment of the tour has been affected as long as the correct complaints procedure (as set out in the terms and conditions) has been followed. Our acceptance of this responsibility is subject to the passage above relating to “Force Majeure” and our other terms and conditions outlined in this text.
Please note that it is your own responsibility to take the necessary health and medical precautions in preparing for your tour and the correct medical advice should be sought from your local GP or another relevant medical authority before travelling. Subject to these Terms and Conditions, we accept responsibility should you or any of your party suffer death, personal injury or illness as a result of any failure to perform or improper performance of the contract by any of our employees, agents, suppliers or sub-contractors (provided they were at the time carrying out work authorised by us) except in the following situations. We will not be liable where any failure to perform or improper performance was due to: (i) the acts or omissions of a third party not connected with the provision of the tour under the contract and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; (ii) an event which we or the supplier of the relevant services could not have foreseen or avoided even with all due care. Any claim must be notified to us in accordance with the complaints procedure set out above. Any person to whom any payment is made (and their parent or guardian if that person is a minor) must assign to us and our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party in connection with the claim and provide all necessary assistance to us and our insurers that be reasonably required.
Local operator requirements
Any staff member or other person authorised by our local operator shall be entitled to enter a trip member’s room and to carry out necessary inspection, maintenance or repair work or for any purpose associated therewith. The operator also reserves the right to take photographic records on trips for promotional purposes, and travellers grant the operator express permission to use the operator’s images for such purposes.
Medical information
WORLD EXPLORER TRAVEL LIMITED expeditions are intended for persons of reasonably good health and mobility. It is essential that passengers who are not fit to participate in these trips and who have any medical problems and/or dietary restrictions consult their doctor and declare them to us at the time of confirmation. We can then counsel you on whether the expedition you have selected is appropriate for you. The tour leader has the right to disqualify any participant at any time during the tour if he feels the participant is physically incapable and/or if a participant’s continued participation will jeopardise either the individual involved or the group. There will be no refund given under these circumstances. By forwarding of deposit, the passenger certifies that he/she does not have any mental, physical or other condition or disability that would create a hazard for him/herself or other passengers.
Quotations, bookings and prices
Please ensure that you have read and are happy with the final quotation and itinerary before booking and making payment. We reserve the right to correct any published prices, quote and itineraries and will do so when we become aware of such an error.
Once the price of your tour has been confirmed, subject to the correction of errors, we reserve the right to pass on any increases or decreases in price that may have occurred. A surcharge or refund will be payable, as per the conditions set out in this clause, if our costs increase or decrease as a result of transportation costs e.g. fuel, airfares and airline surcharges which form part of the contract between airlines, their agents and tour operators. Other dues, taxes, and fees relating to embarkation and/or disembarkation of ports and airports, fluctuations in exchange rates or changes in costs relating to permits, accommodation or other booking components may also cause such fluctuations in costs. These costs will only be payable if the quoted price has increased by 2% or more. If for whatever reason prices increase to more than 10% of the quoted price then you have the right to cancel your tour in line with our terms and conditions. Please note tracking permits may only be reimbursed subject to each individual case. If you wish to cancel under the terms stated above you must do so within 10 days of receipt of increased charges.
Quote is subject to availability and price at time of booking.
Subject to any additional VAT and Government charges that may be implemented between now and your departure date.
Payment
In order to book your tour a deposit of 30% of the total amount payable must be received before any arrangements are put in place. Please confirm acceptance of our terms and conditions in writing. We will assume acceptance of our terms and conditions if no written confirmation is received. Balance payments must be received no later than 90 days before departure. If bookings are made within 90 days of departure full payment is due.
Where possible we add flexible payment schedules. Please contact us for details and availability.