Terms and Conditions

These Booking Conditions and the special note on the booking form will form the basis of your agreement with Pura Aventura Ltd. They apply only to holiday arrangements which you book with us in the UK and which we agree to provide as applicable as part of our agreement with you. References in these Booking Conditions to “arrangements” mean such holiday arrangements.

1. Booking and Confirmation

When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of all members of your party, the terms of these booking conditions. The first named person on the booking will be the party leader and will be responsible for making all payments due to us. He/she must be at least 18. After we receive your booking and all appropriate payments, if the arrangements you wish to book are available, we will issue a confirmation invoice. A binding agreement will come into existence between us when we despatch this invoice to the party leader. Contact us immediately if any information which appears on the confirmation or any other document appears to be incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later.

Late booking – We emphasise the importance of making a booking at the earliest opportunity, because of the very limited number of places. For bookings received within 8 weeks of departure, we reserve the right to pass on any extra costs incurred, including, but not limited to, higher flight costs.

English Law will apply to our agreement and to any dispute or claim which arises between us out of it. Any such dispute or claim must be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales.

2. Payment

In order to confirm your chosen arrangements, you must pay a deposit, the amount of which will be notified to you at the time of booking (or full payment if booking within 8 weeks of departure). The balance of the cost of your arrangements (including any surcharge where applicable) is due not less than 8 weeks prior to departure. If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case the cancellation charges set out in clause 4 below will become payable.

3. The price of your arrangements

We reserve the right to amend the advertised prices of arrangements at any time. We also reserve the right to correct errors in both advertised and confirmed prices. Special note: changes and errors sometimes occur. You must check the price of your chosen arrangements at the time of booking.

Once the actual price of your arrangements has been confirmed, no amendment will be made to it unless it is to make a correction to an error, or if our costs change as a result of an increase or decrease in transportation costs or dues, taxes or fees payable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports or as a result of any changes in the exchange rates which have been used to calculate the cost of your arrangements. Only if the amount of the increase in our costs exceeds 2% of the total cost of your arrangements (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges), will we make an additional charge. If any additional charge is greater than 10% of the cost of your arrangements (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), you will be entitled to choose one of options (a), (b) and © as set out in clause 6 below. If you do not inform us of your choice within 14 days from the issue date printed on our additional charge invoice, we are entitled to assume that you will pay the additional charge. Any additional charge must be paid with the balance of the cost of the arrangements or within 14 days of the issue date printed on the additional charge invoice, whichever is the later. We will not levy an additional charge nor make a refund within 30 days of departure.

4. Changes and Cancellation by you

If you need to make any changes to your confirmed arrangements, you must request the change in writing as soon as possible. Whilst we will try to assist, we cannot guarantee that such requests will be met. We reserve the right to charge an amendment fee along with any costs incurred by ourselves or imposed by any of our suppliers. Note: 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 that part of the arrangements.

If you or a member of your party needs to cancel your confirmed arrangements, the party leader must immediately advise us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will take effect when it is received at our offices. As we incur costs from the time we confirm your booking, we will levy the following cancellation charges. The percentage cancellation charge detailed is calculated on the basis of the total cost payable by the person(s) cancelling excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges. Insurance premiums and amendment charges are not refundable in the event of the person(s) to whom they apply cancelling.

You may be able to reclaim these charges (less any applicable excess) under the terms of your insurance policy.

No refunds will be made for any unused hotel accommodation, service or transport. However, where we ourselves are able to obtain a refund from hotels or principals for services not used, we will endeavour to pass this on to you, less reasonable administration charges. No refund can be made on lost, mislaid or destroyed tickets or vouchers.

5. Insurance

Adequate travel insurance is mandatory for all our holidays. We offer a policy which is specifically designed for the holidays we offer and we strongly recommend that you use it. Please ask for details. If you choose not to take this insurance you must give us the details of your chosen alternative policy (insurer and policy number). We do not check alternative policies. Please read your policy and take it with you on holiday. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is suitable and adequate for your particular needs.

6. Changes and cancellation by us

Because we begin planning the arrangements we offer many months in advance, we must reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in holiday details both before and after bookings have been confirmed. We must also reserve the right to cancel confirmed bookings. Most changes are minor but occasionally, we may have to make a “significant change”. Examples of “significant changes” include the following when made before departure; a change of accommodation area for the whole or a major part of your holiday, a change of accommodation to that of a lower official classification for the whole or a major part of your holiday, a change of UK departure point to one which is significantly more inconvenient for you, or a change of outward departure time or overall length of your holiday of twelve or more hours. If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of the following options:-

(a) (for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements or
(b) purchasing alternative arrangements from us, of a similar standard to those originally booked if available (if the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original one, we will refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we will ask you to pay the difference) or
© cancelling or accepting the cancellation in which case you will receive a full and quick refund of all monies you have paid to us.

If we have to make a significant change or cancel 8 weeks or less before departure, subject to the exceptions below, we will pay you the following compensation:

We will not pay you compensation where we make a significant change or cancel more than 8 weeks before departure or in the event that (1) we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care (2) we have to cancel because the minimum number of bookings necessary for us to operate your holiday has not been reached – in this case we will notify you at least 28 days before departure. We will not pay you compensation and the above options will not be available if we make a minor change or cancel as a result of your failure to make full payment on time. We regret we cannot pay any expenses, costs or losses incurred by you as a result of any change or cancellation. Very rarely, we may be forced by “force majeure” (see clause 7) 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.

7. Force Majeure

In these Booking Conditions, “force majeure” means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, actual or threatened terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control. Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our obligations under our agreement with you is prevented or affected by, or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss (as more fully described in clause 8(1) below) as a result of force majeure.

8. Our Liability to you

(1) We promise that your holiday arrangements will be made, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. This means that we will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury or your contracted arrangements are not provided as promised or prove deficient and that is the result of the failure of ourselves, our employees, agents or suppliers to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing your arrangements as applicable. Further, we will only be responsible for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment or carrying out work we had asked them to do. It is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us.

(2) We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description whatsoever which results from:

• the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or
• the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your arrangements and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or
• ‘force majeure’ as defined in clause 7 above.

(3) We limit the maximum amount we may have to pay you for any claims you may make against us.
The maximum amount we will have to pay you where we are found liable for loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions (including money) is £2,500 per person affected unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under this clause or clause 8(4) below.
For all other claims which do not involve death or personal injury, the maximum amount we will have to pay you if we are found liable to you on any basis is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under clause 8(4) below. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday.

(4) Where any claim or part of a claim (including those involving death or personal injury) concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including the process of getting on and/or off the transport concerned) provided by any air, sea, rail or road carrier or on any stay in a hotel, the maximum amount of compensation we will have to pay to you will be limited. The most we will have to pay to you for that claim or that part of a claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the most the carrier or hotel keeper concerned would have to pay under the international convention or regulation which applies to the travel arrangements or hotel stay in question (for example, the Montreal Convention for international travel by air, the Athens convention for international travel by sea). Where a carrier or hotel would not be obliged to make any payment to you for any reason under the applicable International Convention or Regulation in respect of a claim or part of a claim, we will not be obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. 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. Copies of the applicable international conventions and regulations are available from us on request.
In any circumstances in which the carrier is liable to you by virtue of the Denied Boarding Regulation 2004, any liability we may have to you under our contract with you, arising out of the same facts, is limited to the remedies provided under the Regulation as if (for this purpose only) we were a carrier; any sums you receive from the carrier will be deducted from any amount due from ourselves.

(5) We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our agreement or where they are not advertised in our brochure. For example any excursion you book whilst away, or any service or facility which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you.

(6) The services and facilities included in your holiday will be deemed to be provided with reasonable skill and care if they comply with any local regulations which apply, or, if there are no applicable local regulations, if they are reasonable when compared to the local standards and customs.

(7) This clause 8 is intended to set out our obligations to you as an organiser under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. We will not accept any further or different liability than these Regulations impose. In addition, regardless of any contrary representations made by us, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any further or different liability to you.

(8) You must tell us and the supplier concerned about your claim or complaint as set out in clause 10 below. If asked to do so, you must transfer to us or our insurers any rights you have against whoever is responsible for your claim or complaint and provide ourselves and our insurers with all co-operation and assistance that may be reasonably required.

(9) We do not accept liability for (1) any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description which, based on the information you gave us at the time of booking, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you; (2) any business losses.

9. Complaints and problems

In the unlikely event that you have any reason to complain or experience any problems with your holiday arrangements whilst away, you must immediately inform the tour leader/local agent (or Pura Aventura’s UK office – reasonable communication costs will be accepted). Your complaint should be made in writing within 24 hours of the incident/condition and signed by the tour leader/local representative confirming that it was brought to their attention. Most problems or complaints can be resolved while you are away, however if you remain dissatisfied, you must write to us within 28 days of your return to the UK giving your booking reference and full details of your complaint.

We regret we cannot accept liability for any complaints or claims which do not involve death, personal injury or illness, if you fail to notify the complaint or claim in accordance with this clause.

Arbitration – We would expect all disputes to be resolved amicably. However if we are unable to reach a solution you may refer the dispute to arbitration under a special scheme which provides for a simple and inexpensive method of dispute resolution administered by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. This scheme is not applicable to claims for amounts greater than £1,500 per person or £7,500 per booking form, nor to claims involving personal injury or illness. The rules of the scheme provide that the application for arbitration must be made within nine months of the date of the return from holiday, but in special circumstances it may be offered outside this period.

10. Behaviour

If we or any other person in authority is of the reasonable opinion that you or any member of your party is behaving in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger or upset to any other person or damage to property, we will be entitled to terminate the holiday of the person(s) concerned. The person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other service and we will have no further responsibility to them including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination. You will be responsible for making full payment for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party during your time away. Payment must be paid direct at the time to the service supplier concerned failing which, you will be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us (together with our own and the other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions.

11. Special requests and medical problems

If you wish to make a special request, you must do so at the time of booking.
We will try to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant supplier but we cannot guarantee that requests will be met. 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. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your chosen holiday arrangements, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm the booking or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.

12. Excursions

We may provide you with information (in our brochure and/or when you are away) about activities and excursions which are available to purchase through independent suppliers in the area you are visiting. Where we have not agreed to arrange, provide or perform these activities or excursions as part of our agreement with you, subject to these booking conditions, we do not accept any responsibility for them even where we suggest or recommend a particular operator or supplier and/or assist you in any way in booking such activities or excursions.

13. Passports, visas and health requirements

The passport, visa and health requirements applicable at the time of printing to British citizens for the arrangements we offer are shown on a supplementary information sheet. Other than British passport holders must check passport and visa requirements with the Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies) to or through which you are intending to travel. Requirements may change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure. For European holidays you should obtain a completed and issued form EHIC prior to departure. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure. We regret we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry correct documentation. If failure to have any necessary travel or other documents results to fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed on us, you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly.

14. Financial security

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 Authority under ATOL number 5408. This means that in the event of our insolvency you will not be left stranded abroad or any money you have paid to us for an advance booking will be refunded except where your contracted arrangements with us do not include transport to and from the UK. In this case, if already abroad, you will be returned to the point where your contracted arrangements with us commenced. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk . If you book arrangements other than a package holiday, your monies are protected by way of a trust account called the Group Adventures Trust Account. Your money will be held in this account until you return from holiday.

17. Accuracy of Prices and Brochure details

Important note: the information and prices shown in this brochure and on our website may have changed by the time you come to book your arrangements. Although we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of information and prices at the time of publication, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check the price and all other details of your chosen arrangements with us at the time of booking. This brochure and our website is our sole responsibility. It is not issued on behalf of and does not commit any independent organisation/carriers whose services are featured in it.

21. Delay

We regret we are not in a position to offer you any assistance in the event of delay at your outward or homeward point of departure. Any airline concerned may however provide refreshments etc. We cannot accept liability for any delay.

22. Flights

We are not always in a position at the time of booking to confirm the carrier(s), aircraft type and flight timings which will be used in connection with your flight. Where we are only able to inform you of the likely carrier(s) at the time of booking, we shall inform you of the identity of the actual carrier(s) or any change in the identity of the actual carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of this. The carrier(s), flight timings and types of aircraft shown in this brochure and detailed on your confirmation invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation. The latest timings will be shown on your tickets which will be despatched to you approximately two weeks before departure. You must accordingly check your tickets very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. It is possible that flight times may be changed even after tickets have been despatched – we will contact you as soon as possible if this occurs. Any change in the identity of the carrier(s), flight timings, and/or aircraft type will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying our normal charges. Please note the existence of a “Community list” (available for inspection at http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/air/safety/flywell_en.htm europa.eu.int/comm/transport/air/safety/flywell_en.htm) detailing air carriers that are subject to an operating ban with the EU Community. Under EU Law, you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from the 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. Reimbursement in such cases is the responsibility of the airline and will not automatically entitle you to a refund of the price of your arrangements from us. Your rights to a refund and/or compensation from us are set out in clause 8 above. If the airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the air transport users council on 02072406061 www.auc.org.uk . Please note that in accordance with Air Navigation Orders in order to qualify for infant status, a child must be under 2 years of age on the date of its return flight.

SPECIAL NOTE

Acceptance of Risk – Your booking is accepted on the understanding that you realise and accept the potential risks and hazards that can be involved in holidays of this kind and that you are mentally and physically capable of participating in the activities demanded. You are responsible for bringing with you the proper clothing and equipment which we advise you about in our printed trip information. In addition:

1. You are aware that the adventure trip, in addition to the usual dangers and risks inherent has certain additional dangers and risks, some of which may include: physical exertion for which you many not be prepared. Weather extremes subject to sudden and unexpected change. Remoteness from the normal medical services. Evacuation difficulties if you are disabled.

2. You acknowledge that the enjoyment and excitement of adventure travel is derived in part from the inherent risks incurred by travelling and undertaking activities beyond the levels of safety normal at home or work, and that these inherent risks contribute to such enjoyment and excitement, being a reason for your participation.

3. You acknowledge that the nature of this type of travel requires considerable flexibility and you must allow for alternatives. The outline itinerary provided for each trip is only and indication of what each group may accomplish, and does not form a contractual obligation on the part of Pura Aventura.

4. You understand that the route, schedules, itineraries, amenities and modes of transport may be subject to alteration without prior notice due to local circumstances or events, such as sickness, mechanical breakdown, flight cancellations, strikes, events emanating from political dispute, entry or border difficulties, climate and other unpredictable or unforeseeable circumstances or cancellation