Booking Terms & Conditions

Our terms & conditions for any tours we arrange & sell

1. All bookings are accepted and tours sold by Reef and Rainforest Tours Ltd. (“Company”) subject to these terms and conditions.

2. A firm booking can only be made by payment to the Company or its authorised agent of the specified deposit or in the case of a booking made within 60 days of the proposed departure date the full amount of the tour price. A booking will only be binding on the Company on receipt by the customer of written confirmation from the Company.

3 (i). The Company reserves the right to decline any bookings or withdraw any person at any time (whether during the tour or before it starts) as a member of the tour if the Company or its agents reasonably believe it to be in the best interests of the tour as a whole (and any such member shall bear all additional costs arising from his withdrawal) and the Company’s liability in the event that it shall so decline a booking or withdraw a person from the tour shall in no event exceed the monies then paid to the Company by the client and in the event that a booking is declined any monies deposited will automatically be refunded.

3 (ii). The client in making the booking undertakes for himself and as agent for any person named on the booking form that he and any such person shall at all times conduct themselves in a reasonable and sober manner and with due regard to the safety of other members of the tour and their enjoyment of the tour and will comply with all reasonable requests of any lecturer or guide accompanying the tour. Any breach of this undertaking may give rise to the person in breach being required to withdraw from the tour and to pay all expenses relating thereto.

3 (iii). The client is advised to acquaint himself with the climate of the area in which the tour will be made and the physical requirements necessary to enjoy the tour. In the event that the client or any member of his party suffers any sickness or injury that person may be required to withdraw from the tour.

4. The Company shall not be obliged to deliver any tickets or other documents relating to the holiday until it has received the completed booking form and full payment of the amounts due for the booking. It is the responsibility of the client to ensure that he has all necessary travel documents (passports, visas, etc.) and to conform with relevant health regulations regarding vaccinations.

5. The Company will make every effort to operate all tours as described in the relevant document but the Company reserves the right at its discretion to modify or cancel any tour arrangement up to 59 days prior to departure. In the case of any material modification or cancellation made by the Company as a result of force majeure or any other circumstances outside its control a full refund will be made of all monies paid less nonrefundable pre-payments made by the Company to third parties on behalf of and with the agreement of the client (for example, to secure flight tickets which require early payment, and to secure hotel accommodation during peak periods such as Christmas).

6. The Company will not materially modify or cancel any tour during the period of 59 days prior to departure unless as a result of war, threat of war, hostilities, riots, civil commotion, strikes, disaster, terrorist activity, closure of airport or other force majeure or any circumstances outside the Company’s control. In all such cases the person signing the booking form will be notified and suitable alternative arrangements will be proposed. In the event of those alternative arrangements not being acceptable to the client, the Company will be under no obligation to make any refund of monies paid as deposit or otherwise.

7. The company does not own the airlines, hotels, lodges, resorts or other transport and accommodation used in a tour, and so is not responsible for the booking policies thereof. If the accommodation is overbooked and the client unable to stay there then the Company will endeavour to find suitable alternative accommodation.

8. The Company’s liability in respect of cancellation of or material modification to tours or of a change in accommodation in the circumstances mentioned in paragraphs 3, 5 and 7 above shall be limited to the obligations contained in those paragraphs. If it is necessary to foreshorten or cancel a tour after departure by reason of force majeure then the Company shall not be liable to refund any monies or otherwise. At any time the Company may alter the itinerary or mode of transport or accommodation or catering or other arrangements if it seems desirable for the wellbeing of the tour members or if circumstances dictate such a course. In such an event any additional expenses shall be borne by the client and, conversely, any net saving effected thereby will be the subject of a refund to the client.

9. If any payment is not made by the due date for payment to the Company then the Company may cancel the booking. In this event, or if the client cancels the booking once accepted, the deposit and any prepayments will be forfeited. If such cancellation occurs within 60 days prior to departure additional charges will become payable by the client to the Company according to the following sliding scale of percentages of the total price:

*Written cancellation received prior to departure:

60 days or more to departure (Deposit plus all pre-payments made)

59-40 days to departure (60% Cancellation charge as percentage of the tour price)

39 days or less to departure (100% cancellation charge as percentage of the tour price)

Provided that the Company reserves the right to pass on to the client any more stringent cancellation requirements imposed by ground operators or other third parties, in which case such cancellation requirements will be advised to prospective clients before booking. *Written cancellation must be received at the Company’s office at Reef and Rainforest Tours Ltd., A7 Dart Marine Park, Steamer Quay Road, Totnes, Devon TQ9 5AL, UK. Clients should send any notices of cancellation by recorded delivery. **Forfeited deposits will be deducted from the cancellation charge payable.

10. Comprehensive travel insurance (including cover for cancellation and repatriation) must be taken out by each person travelling and a photocopy of the policy document must be supplied to the company prior to travel. It is strongly advised to take out such cover immediately after booking, and to take your policy with you on tour.

11. Tour prices quoted in the Company’s literature are based on currency exchange rates and other known costs as at the effective date of issue. The client shall pay any increase in the price of the holiday necessitated by an increase in these costs and which are outside the reasonable control of the Company. Any such increases will be advised to clients as soon as possible after they become known. However, the Company will not make any additional charge arising from variations in the rate of exchange relating to ground arrangements later than 30 days before the first day of the tour. In the event that the price of the tour is increased by more than 20% then the client shall be entitled to cancel the holiday provided that he does so within seven days of being notified of such an increase, and he shall receive payment of all monies previously paid by him to the Company in connection with the tour. Because of the risk taken by the Company in relation to ground arrangements any saving in costs including any favourable variation in exchange rates will only be passed on to the client at the discretion of the Company.

12. Any air or surface journeys will be subject to the conditions applied by the carriers for the journeys in question.

13. The Company shall not enter into a contract through an agent to make available flight accommodation pursuant to the Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL), unless the Company has made it clear in writing to the agent and to the customer that any money paid by the customer to the agent under or in contemplation of the contract is held by the agent as agent for the Company until the date on which the agent pays the money to the Company.

14. All transport, accommodation and other arrangements in connection with Reef and Rainforest Tours Ltd. including the services of guides are made by the Company as agents only and neither the Company nor any of its employees shall be liable for any loss, damage, accident, delay or irregularity however caused arising from these arrangements directly or indirectly or otherwise in connection with the tour unless due to the proven negligence of the Company.

15. As flights are generally arranged by us on an ad hoc basis at the time of booking, it is not possible to confirm to clients the airline carrier, airports or timings while in the process of providing proposals and quotations. Airline carriers, timings and airports will be specified and final costs confirmed only at the time of booking.

16. Deposits using UK-registered credit cards (Visa, MasterCard or American Express) will be accepted without surcharge. Credit card deposit payments from non-UK registered credit cards are subject to a surcharge of 3%. While we are happy to accept credit cards for deposits, they will not be accepted for part or full payment of the remaining tour cost which must be made by bank transfer (please ask for our bank details), cheque or debit card. That will help keep our overall costs down and thus assist us to keep tour prices as low as possible.

17. All matters concerning the booking and the contract arising in connection therewith shall be governed in all respects by English Law.

18. Your Financial Protection

When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong.

We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).

If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.