Terms and conditions:
All prices are in US dollars.
No Surcharge Guarantee:
The price of your tour which we confirm to you at the time of booking, including any increases or reductions applied at that time, is fully guaranteed and is not subject to any surcharges.
Payment:
We kindly request a payment of 25% of the total invoice upon receipt of our confirmation email to secure your booking. A detailed payment schedule outlining the remaining deposit deadlines will be provided within the confirmation email.
The balance due must be paid to us at least 61 days before you travel. If this is not done, then we reserve the right to cancel your holiday and make cancellation charges. If you ask us not to cancel your potential liability to pay charges will increase according to the scale set out below. Your failure to pay the balance in these circumstances could result in cancellation charges of up to 100% of the final invoice. If you book 61 days or less before departure, then the full amount must be paid when you book.
Changing Your Booking:
Change or addition to your booking:
If you want to change any part of your holiday arrangements after the invoice has been issued, we will do our best to make the change, but it may not be possible. Any request for changes must be made by the person who made the original booking. We may ask you to put these in writing. If it is possible to make the change, it will be subject to an administration charge of $30 per person, and payment of any further costs incurred as a result of the change such as the cost of replacement visa, re – ticketing costs of scheduled transport, costs associated with changed group numbers. Scheduled airlines normally regard name changes as a cancellation and rebooking, and any alteration may incur a 100% cancellation charge in respect of the air fare. If it is not possible for us to make changes for whatever reason, you have the choice of proceeding with the holiday as originally booked, or of cancelling and paying cancellation charges in accordance with the scale shown below. If any change can be made, you must check whether it will invalidate your visa or insurance cover, in which case it may be necessary to take out alternative, additional or new cover depending on the circumstances. Please note that it will not be possible to make changes within 30 days of your scheduled departure date.
Name Spellings:
It is essential that the names of all passengers you give us at the time of booking are exactly the names (including forenames) that are shown on those persons’ passports. In many cases, and in order to guarantee your special airfare, tickets must be issued within two weeks of your date of booking and any subsequent changes, including changes to the spelling of names, amendments and cancellations, will incur costs up to the full value of the air ticket, regardless of the time period.
Name Changes (where you transfer your booking to another person):
These may be made up to 7 days prior to departure but will similarly incur the costs of changing the name on the air ticket in addition to the full cost of the holiday and any other alteration charges equivalent to what it may cost us at the time, provided that any requisite replacement visas can be obtained. If not, normal cancellation charges will apply. The cost of new visas will also be payable. An administration charge will be made of $50 per person for requests made more than 61 days before departure, and $100 per person within 61 days before departure.
Cancelling Your Booking:
Should you wish to cancel your tour, you should notify us directly by email or in writing as soon as possible. However, please advise the reason for cancellation. The schedule of cancellation charges detailed is calculated according to the number of days prior to departure date in case the notice of cancellation is received by us:
Prior to Departure Date = Cancellation Charges
More than 151 days = free cancellation charge
121-151 days = 25% final invoice
91-121 days = 50% of final invoice
61-91 days = 75% of final invoice
1-61 days and date of departure or later = 100% of final invoice
The above schedule may change according to cancellation policies applied by relevant accommodation and travel services providers including airlines, hotels, ships, railways, car rental companies and any other relevant services providers. The confirmed scale of cancellation charges detailed will be sent to you within confirmation email.
Cancellation of your booking by us (force majeure changes or cancellation):
The tours scheduled on our website or in our brochure are planned many months in advance and sometimes changes may be necessary although we would normally expect to be able to provide you with the services confirmed by us in respect of your original booking.
The arrangements featured in our advertisements are by their very nature complex with services from many different airlines, hotels and transportation companies. Due to demand for flights, hotels and accommodation and transportation over which we have no control, it is not always possible to guarantee flight or other transport departures, the aircraft type or other type of transportation, or accommodation. Flight or other transportation timings and carriers are stated to you for guidance only. Final details will be shown on your tickets or sent with your Joining Instructions, approximately two weeks prior to travel. We reserve the right to make changes. We will make every effort to provide as much advance notification as possible but we feel it is only fair to warn you of possible variations.
In the circumstances of cancellation of a tour or holiday by us we will offer you the choice of an alternative tour of equivalent quality.
Arbitration:
Should you have a problem, you must notify the Tour Manager/local representatives/local tour guide who will do whatever he/she can to help you there and then; you may be asked to complete a client complaint form at the time.
In the unlikely event that you are not satisfied with the actions taken to deal with your complaint and you wish to take the matter further, you must put your complaint by email or in writing to us within 6 weeks of your return giving all details. We promise to deal with any dispute fairly and promptly within the terms of these conditions.
Should your behavior in any way be causing danger, damage, threat or constantly affecting the enjoyment of other guests or abusing airline pilot, hotel staff, tour manager/leader, local guide and representative, other person in authority or badly affecting the reputation of Golden Gates Travel, we reserve the right to terminate your holiday completely and decline to accept and booking requests made by you in the future. Golden Gates Travel shall have no further responsibility or liability to you. In this event, no refund or compensation would be payable.
