Booking Conditions in Luxury Holidays, Tailormade Holidays, Escorted Tours, Honeymoons & Safaris

The tours / hotels featured here are operated / offered by The Ultimate Travel Company Limited, which is registered in England under company number 3528325.

Making Your Booking

Please complete the booking form and forward it to The Ultimate Travel Company Ltd, together with your non-refundable deposit of 15% of the total holiday cost or £250 per person (whichever is the greater) made payable to The Ultimate Travel Company Limited. On occasion some tours may require a higher deposit, in which case you will be advised at the time of booking. If you are booking less than 8 weeks prior to departure, the full cost of the tour is payable. On receipt of your booking form and deposit we will confirm your booking in writing, then approximately 8 weeks before departure we shall send you further information relevant to the tour that you have booked, together with a final invoice, which will also show any surcharges due (if applicable). You must pay the invoice within 10 days of the invoice date otherwise we reserve the right to treat the booking as cancelled and apply the cancellation conditions as set out below. Your travel documents are dispatched about 7/10 days before the tour departs.

Airlines & Other Suppliers

The Ultimate Travel Company Limited. acts only as agents for the owners of accommodation and services provided, for all carriers by air or otherwise and for road transport proprietors, and all bookings must be accepted subject to the ticket or transport conditions and regulations of the carriers or transport proprietors, and also subject to the laws of the country in which such carriage or other facility is required.

Passport, Visas & Health

All clients are personally responsible for ensuring that they have a valid passport, relevant visa/s and conform to the health regulations required by the country/s that will be visited during the tour. The Ultimate Travel Company Limited can provide a service to obtain/renew passports and visas. Advice on health requirements may be obtained from your GP, or alternatively from the Department of Health leaflet Advice on Health for Travellers, which may be obtained from us, or the Dept of Health.

Exchange Rates

Prices on this website are based upon exchange rates published in the Financial Times on 31/07/09 - namely $1.65 / €1.17 per £ Sterling.

Surcharges

The price of your travel arrangements may be varied due to changes in: transportation costs e.g. fuel, scheduled air fares and any other airline surcharges which are part of the contract between airlines (and their agents) and us, Government action such as increases in VAT or any other Government imposed increases, currency in relation to adverse exchange rate variations. In the case of any small variation, an amount equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes any amendment charges, will be absorbed or retained. For larger variations this 2% will still be absorbed for increases but not retained from refunds. In either case there will be an administration charge of £1.00 per person together with an amount to cover agents’ commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your travel arrangements, you may cancel your travel arrangements and receive a full refund of all monies paid, except for any amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. Whether you cancel or not you will also be entitled, on the terms set out in respect of major changes in the ‘Alterations by The Ultimate Travel Company Limited’ paragraph below, to accept an offer of alternative travel arrangements from us if we are able to do so and compensation as set out below. Please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.

Cancellation

You or any member of your party may cancel your tour at any time providing that the cancellation is made by the person who signed the booking form and is communicated in writing. As this incurs administration costs we will retain the deposit and in addition will apply cancellation charges as shown below:

Period before departure within which Sum of cancellation charge shown as a written cancellation is received: percentage of the holiday price:

More than 60 days Deposit

More than 22 days 50%

More than 15 days 75%

14 days or less 100%

If you are obliged to cancel, you may, with reasonable notice, transfer your booking to a third party who satisfies the conditions required taking that tour, but we will retain your deposit to cover the administration cost for the transfer.

Alterations by The Ultimate Travel Company Limited.

We will do our utmost to provide the tour arrangements that have been confirmed, but we must retain the right to modify or cancel any tour, flight schedule, accommodation or arrangement, if unforeseen circumstances amounting to ‘force majeure’ arise. In such circumstance, we will inform you as soon as possible, and, should the change be such that it alters the nature of the tour, we shall give you the choice of an alternative tour or a full refund of all money paid. In recognition we will absorb all financial loss consequent upon cancellation due to ‘force majeure’. We shall not cancel any tour for reason of political tension or natural disaster unless specifically recommended to do so by the Foreign Office.

Alterations by you

We will do our best to make any alterations you may require after confirmation has been issued, subject to availability and to the payment for any increased costs relevant to the change. Any requests for alteration to an itinerary should be made in writing and signed by the signatory of the original Booking Form. If alterations are made less than 8 weeks prior to departure, an additional £50 per booking charge will be levied together with any communications costs incurred.

Tour Cancellation

The prices of tours are based on a varying minimum number of passengers travelling. If this minimum number is not reached, at least 8 weeks prior to the scheduled departure date we will either, cancel the tour and offer a refund in full, or we may propose a supplementary charge to enable said tour to operate, subject to the passenger’s agreement.

Our Liabilities

We do not exclude or limit any liability to our clients which may arise from proven negligence by any person employed directly by us or by our suppliers and subcontractors, servants or agents of the same whilst acting in the course or their employment (other than air and sea carriers performing any domestic internal or international carriage of whatsoever kind) in respect of death, bodily injury or illness. Such liabilities shall be subject to English law and all proceedings shall be within the exclusive domain of the English courts. We shall endeavour to afford general assistance to our clients in the event of illness, injury or death during the period of the tour. We accept responsibility for ensuring that all parts of the tour are supplied as described and that all services shall reach a reasonable standard. These obligations and responsibilities shall be limited to where international conventions in respect of air or sea carriers apply. Naturally we cannot assume responsibility for loss or expense due to war, riots, strikes, terrorist activities or natural disaster.

Travel Insurance

It is imperative that you take out adequate travel insurance to our reasonable satisfaction. We will require you to let us have evidence of your insurance at least 8 weeks prior to departure or at the time of booking if later. We reserve the right to terminate your booking if you fail to obtain travel insurance cover. Particular care should be taken to ensure that you have adequate cover, in particular for cancellation and emergency repatriation in the event of medical problems.

Complaints & Arbitration

We will always endeavour to resolve any complaints on the spot. However, if the matter cannot be resolved, you must write to Nick Van Gruisen, Managing Director, within 14 days of the end of the tour. We will endeavour to resolve the problem as promptly as possible. In the unlikely event that the problem is not amicably resolved the case may be referred to arbitration, if the customer so wishes, under a special Scheme arranged by the Association of British Travel Agents, and administered independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on the customer in respect of costs. The Scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5,000 per person. There is also a limit of £25,000 per booking form. Neither does it apply to claims which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The Scheme can however deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness subject to a limit of £1,000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. The application for arbitration and Statement of Claim must be received by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators within nine months of the date of return from the holiday. Outside this time limit arbitration under the Scheme may still be available if the company agrees, but the ABTA Code does not require such agreement. Full details will be provided on request or can be obtained from the ABTA website (www.abta.com).

Credit Card Payments

We do have the facility to accept payment by most credit card companies, however a service charge of 2% of the value of the relevant payment will be levied to cover costs incurred. This does not apply to Maestro or Delta cards.

Baggage & Personal Effects

These remain your responsibility and risk at all times.

Tour Leaders

Where applicable, a tour leader, in conjunction with the appropriate medical advice if applicable, has the right to disqualify any client at any time during the course of the tour, if considered necessary for the medical well being or safety of the individual or in the tour leader’s opinion, the client’s actions materially are affecting the enjoyment of the tour for the remainder of the group. Any decision with regard to any reimbursement for any part of the tour not completed will be decided between the Managing Director of The Ultimate Travel Company Ltd and the tour leader.

Data Protection Statement

Please be assured that we have measures in place to protect the personal booking information held by us. This information will be passed on to the principal and to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements. The information may also be provided to public authorities such as customs or immigration if required by them, or as required by law. Certain information may also be passed on to security or credit checking companies. If you travel outside the European Economic Area, controls on data protection may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. We will only pass your information on to persons responsible for your travel arrangements. This applies to any sensitive information that you give to us such as details of any disabilities, or dietary/religious requirements. (If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, whether in the EEA or not, we will be unable to provide your booking. In making this booking, you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons.) Full details of our data protection policy are available upon request.