Your holiday contract

WE, Better Travel is at 44 George Street, Manchester M1 4HF. When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept, and do accept on behalf of your party, the terms of these booking conditions. A binding, legal contract will exist as soon as we issue our confirmation invoice. If you had not seen these terms and conditions when you made your booking and you are not happy to proceed now that you have, you must return all documentation to us within 7 days of receiving them in order to obtain a refund. This does not apply if you made your booking within 10 weeks of travel. This contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by English Law, and the jurisdiction of the English Courts. You may however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you wish to do so. When we act only as a booking agent for certain tours, your contract will be with the relevant suppliers and their terms and conditions will apply. Copies of their booking conditions will be sent you for study before we accept your booking.

Your financial protection
The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay for the package holidays booked from this brochure and for your repatriation in the event of our insolvency. We provide this security by way of a bond held by the Civil Aviation Autority under ATOL number 6803 for flights and holidays including flights.

How to book
First, please complete the online tour-booking form or you may want check availability with our Reservations Department. You must then complete the booking form, confirming on behalf of all members of your party, that you understand and accept the terms of these booking conditions. When you make your booking, you must pay a deposit, as detailed on the booking form, plus any insurance premium (see below).
If you are making a reservation within 8 weeks of departure we will require the full payment of the holiday cost, plus any insurance premium, at the time of booking.
NB: When we act as a booking agent for certain tours, the deposit amount and payment terms may vary.

Balance of payment
Balance of payment is due 8 weeks before departure. Please note that the balance due date will appear on your invoice and NO REMINDER for settlement of this will be sent. Receipts for payment of balance are only issued upon request.

Failure to comply with the payment schedule may result not only in automatic cancellation of your reservation but will also render you liable to forfeiture of deposit and any insurance premium paid.

Payment method
Please consult our booking form for details.
Please do not send cash to process your visa application or for deposits.

Insurance
All participants on our tours must have adequate travel insurance. If you choose to take out the cover featured in our brochure, payment should be sent with your deposit. If you choose to take out alternative insurance you will be required to sign the indemnity section and give us full details of your insurance company, policy number and emergency contact number. We will not accept your booking without this information. If we cancel your tour we will refund your insurance premium so long as no claim has been made. If you cancel your tour, insurance premiums will not be refunded.

Price policy
The price of your travel arrangements was calculated using the public exchange rate resournce. Tours are planned up to one and a half years in advance. It is inevitable that some prices and information in this brochure may change, and we reserve the right to alter the prices and content of any of the holidays as necessary. Once the price of your chosen holiday, including any increases or reductions, has been confirmed to you at the time of booking, we will only increase or decrease it by way of a surcharge or refund if our costs increase or decrease because of changes in a) transportation costs including fuel, scheduled airfares and any other transport surcharges which form part of our contract with the transport provider; b) dues, taxes or fees chargeable for service such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; c) exchange rates. Even in these cases, only if the amount of the increase in our costs exceeds 2% of the total costs of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), we will levy a surcharge. If any surcharge exceeds 10% of the holiday price (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), you will be entitled to cancel your booking and receive a full refund of all monies paid (except for any amendment charges but including insurance premiums). 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 surcharge invoice. Alternatively you may transfer your booking to another holiday without paying an amendment fee. We guarantee that no surcharges will be passed on within 30 days of the departure date. Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your holiday costs (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), we will pay you the full amount of the decrease in our costs. However, 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.
NB: Where we act only as an agent for your booking, we reserve our right to pass on to you in full all additional costs and charges of whatever nature levied by the supplier concerned in accordance with its own terms and conditions.

If you change your booking
If, after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, we will endeavour to make these changes but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes must be made in writing from the person who made the booking. You will be asked to pay an administrative charge of £30 per person plus any further costs incurred in making this alteration e.g. cancellation charge applicable to the original arrangements and additional costs for the new arrangements. You should be aware that these costs are likely to increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible.
NB: Certain travel arrangements may not be changeable after a reservation has been made and any alteration request could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of those arrangements.
If you or another member of your party is prevented from traveling we will endeavour to transfer the booking to another person at your request, provided that reasonable notice is given and the transferee meets all the conditions of the travel arrangements. The request to transfer a booking must be made in writing, together with the transferee’s full details and any amendment charges incurred in making the transfer which are levied by our suppliers.

If you cancel your holiday
You, or any member of your party, may cancel your travel arrangements at any time. Written notification must be given by the person who signed the booking form. Since we incur costs in cancelling your travel arrangements, you will have to pay appropriate cancellation charges calculated according to the number of days prior to departure that written notice of cancellation is received by us.

NB: If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges

If we change your holiday
Anyone traveling to the developing countries featured in our tours should understand that tourism in these places is still a young industry. The infrastructure, efficiency of transportation systems and standard of facilities and service - such as tour guides’ language ability, skills and attitude - are not comparable to those in developed countries. All tours are planned many months in advance and we reserve our right to make any changes to the tour at any time. Changes can be ‘major’ or ‘minor’. Alterations such as change of airline or aircraft type, alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours, change of accommodation (including hotel and river vessel) to another of the same standard, change of tour sequence/daily itineraries are considered normal and minor for these tours. Time permitting, any alterations that are known to us will be advised to you at the earliest opportunity prior to departure. In accordance with EU Regulation 2111/2005 we are required to advise you of the airline featured on your tour, and we do so in each tour itinerary.

If a major change becomes necessary you will be offered the choice of;

a)         accepting the changes

b)         taking another available tour from our brochure and paying or receiving a refund for any price difference; or

c)         cancelling your holiday with a full refund of all monies paid.

If you choose to cancel your holiday you must inform us in writing as soon as possible.

In any of the above cases, except where the major change arises due to reasons of ‘force majeure’, we will also pay compensation as follows:

Force majeure
Compensation will not be payable if we are forced to change or cancel your travel arrangements as a result of ‘force majeure’; e.g. unusual, unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances which are beyond our control, even though all due care has been exercised. Examples of such circumstances include war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity and its consequences, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, pandemic disease or other unforeseen circumstances.

If we cancel your holiday

(i)        Tour prices, including all optional excursion costs, are based on an economic number of people traveling together. Should the required minimum number of participants not be reached, we reserve the right to re-cost the tour price or to cancel any tour up to 8 weeks before departure. Compensation is not payable in these circumstances.

(ii)        We reserve our right to cancel your tour in any other circumstances. However, except for reasons of force majeur or failure by you to pay the final balance, we will not cancel your tour after the date when the balance of payment becomes due. If we are forced to cancel your tour at any time prior to departure as a result of ‘force majeure’ we will inform you without delay. Should we cancel your tour for reasons other than ‘force majeure’ you will also be entitled to compensation payable according to the scale set out above.

In all cases we will offer you the choice of an alternative holiday, if available, or a full refund of all monies paid.

If the balance is not paid on time we shall cancel your travel arrangements and no refund or compensation will be paid.

Complaints and arbitration
If you have a problem during your trip, please inform your local guide or our specified local representative or the supplier of the service (e.g. the hotelier) immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If you fail to follow this simple procedure we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint and this may affect your rights under this contract. If your complaint is not resolved locally you should write to us within 28 days of your return, giving your booking reference number and all relevant information. If you make a complaint we promise to deal with it fairly and promptly within the terms of these conditions.

Our liability to you
If the contract we have with you is not performed or is improperly performed by us or our suppliers we will pay you appropriate compensation if this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements.  However we will not be liable where any failure in the performance of the contract is due to: you; or a third party unconnected with the provision of the travel arrangements and where the failure is unforeseeable or unavoidable; or unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or an event which we or our suppliers, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall.
Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury or illness, shall be limited to a maximum of three times the cost of your travel arrangements. Our liability will also be limited in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to

(i)         The contractual terms of the companies that provide the transportation for your travel arrangements. These terms are incorporated into this contract; and

(ii)        Any relevant international convention, for example the Montreal Convention in respect of travel by air, the Athens Convention in respect of travel by sea, the Berne Convention in respect of travel by rail and the Paris Convention in respect of the provision of accommodation, which limit the amount of compensation that you can claim for death, injury, delay to passengers and loss, damage and delay to luggage. We are to be regarded as having all benefit of any limitation of compensation contained in these or any conventions. 

Copies of the transport companies' contractual terms, or the international conventions are available on request.

Flight delay and loss of luggage
Under EU law you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from your airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details of these rights will be publicised at EU airports and will also be available from airlines. If your airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Air Transport Users' Council on 020 7240 6061 or visit www.auc.org.uk . Reimbursement in such cases will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday cost from us. Your right to a refund and/or compensation from us is set out in the terms of these Booking Conditions. In the event of delay, the relevant airline will make arrangements based on the time of day and duration of delay. Where denied boarding and long flight delays (be it domestic or international, outward, onward or homeward) result in lost holiday time, no refunds are given by hotels for unused accommodation, as rooms are held for delayed arrivals, not re-let. Your attention is drawn to the Travel Insurance offered in this brochure detailing the levels of compensation available in such cases. In the event that your luggage is lost or damaged you should claim against your holiday insurance policy. Our liability for lost and damaged luggage is restricted in accordance with relevant international conventions.
Personal injury unconnected with your booked travel arrangements
If you or any member of your party should suffer death, illness or injury whilst overseas arising out of an activity that does not form part of the arrangements provided by us, we shall, at our discretion, offer advice, guidance and assistance. Where legal action is contemplated and you want our assistance, you must obtain our written consent prior to commencement of proceedings.

Passport, Visa and Immigration requirements
Your specific passport and visa requirements, and other immigration requirements are your responsibility and you should confirm these with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel because you have not complied with any passport, visa or immigration requirements.