(2)
Payments & Refunds
The balance of the tour is due no later than 60 days before departure
date. No reminder will be issued. Gone Birding reserve the right to
treat the booking as cancelled as stated below if payment is not received
on the due date. If you cancel the booking following the receipt of
payments by us, the following terms will be followed. The booking
can be cancelled up to 60 days before the departure date for a full
refund of all monies paid minus the £100 deposit. Cancellation
of 59 to 31 days would result in a refund of 50%, minus the £100
deposit. Cancellation of 30 days or less would result in no refund
of any monies paid to Gone Birding. Gone Birding recommend you take
out adequate travel insurance to cover unforeseen eventualities that
may cause you to cancel. As stated, deposits are non-returnable,
however these and balances can be transferred to another person or
tour minus an administration fee deemed by Gone Birding to cover any
costs. These transfers are allowed if the person making the booking
is prevented from participating in the tour due to sickness or accident
to himself or herself or close family member, or any another unavoidable
reason. However these only apply if the place can be filled or there
is a waiting list, then the place would be offered to them in the
first instance. If no waiting list exists then the above cancellation
terms would apply.
Protection-your payments are held in a trust account until you return from your
tour this is to comply with regulations. Although Gone Birding are
not ABTA/ ATOL Bonded-we don't need to be as our tours start and
finish at the destination airport. However you are fully protected
as we only use ATOL protected airlines, which means if the airline
goes under, the ATOL coverage means we will be brought back home by
another airline.
(3)
Cancellation
Gone Birding reserve the right to cancel any tour for whatever reason
not less than 4 weeks before the date of departure. In such an event
all monies paid including deposits would be refunded in full. Normally
this is due to insufficient numbers for the tour to be financially
viable.
(4)
Cost Increases
Some unforeseen increase in costs may occur. It may be this can be
absorbed into the original price, however if the increase is significant,
(greater than 10% of tour price), Gone Birding will write to you no
later than 8 weeks before the departure date with the extra amount
and an explanation. You will have the option of paying the amount,
or cancelling your booking for a complete refund of all monies paid
including deposit. If the increase is less than 10% you can pay the
amount or cancel your booking (see section 2). If less than 8 weeks
you can pay the amount or cancel your booking full refund of all monies
paid including £100 deposit. Any cancellation must be received
in writing within 14 days of the date of the notification.
(5)
What's Included
The cost of the tours includes all ground travel costs from point of
pick up (usually arrival airport), all accommodation and meals as set
out in the itinerary of each tour, and the services of a guide(s) for
the duration of the tour. Items not covered by the cost include most
flights, travel insurance, passport and visa costs, excess baggage costs
(overseas tours and third party (taxi to and from UK airport) transport),
medication/ vaccines, telephone calls, laundry, drinks not included
in the tour and tips for service.
(6)
Alterations
Changes to the itinerary may be in order if in the opinion of the
guide the tour would benefit from an alteration. i.e. bad weather
or a better site being available, these would be deemed minor changes.
However should major changes occur during a tour, i.e. strike, severe
weather delay or breakdown, then any extra costs will be the responsibility
of the tour participants. It is therefore strongly recommended that
travel insurance be taken out for the duration of the tour.
(7)
Tour Information
General tour information will be outlined on the Gone Birding website
relating to each tour, including a basic itinerary; areas to visited
and target species. However we implicitly do not guarantee to find
any species. Any species mentioned in any format is an indication
of the species we may encounter. However we will do our utmost to
find all target species. If more detailed information is required,
i.e. clothing, equipment requirements, then please contact Gone Birding
for advice. During the tour a daily species list will be kept, this
will be available to all participants upon their return and within
6 weeks. As stated above any species list is an indication of species
likely to be encountered, and in no way guarantees these species will
be found.
(8)
Accommodation
Will normally be in medium to high standard b+b's or hotels, usually
with private facilities, unless stated on the Gone Birding website.
Sometimes accommodation is limited in some of the remoter tour destinations,
but we will endeavour to maintain a level of standard. Single rooms
are normally available at supplemental cost. If travelling singly
we will endeavour to find a participant of the same sex to share a
room. If this is not possible Gone Birding may have to provide a single
room at a supplemental cost. If you pre-book a single room and one
is unavailable you will receive a pro-rata refund for the day(s) you
had to share. In the unlikely event of reserved accommodation being
unavailable the tour guide will endeavour to find similar accommodation,
although this may be of a lesser standard.
(9)
Insurance
Gone Birding do not undertake any form of insurance for its tours.
Therefore it is strongly recommended that each participant take out
adequate insurance to cover all eventualities that may occur on tours
of this nature (UK only). This should cover cancellation charges,
expenses/compensation resulting from delays to travel. Do please ensure
that any expensive equipment, especially optics are adequately covered.
Do please check your household policy, or check with your current
home contents insurer. For overseas tours travel insurance is compulsory
and a booking would be deemed cancelled should proof of the insurance
for each participant not be received by the final payment date (see
section 2).
(10)
Participants
Gone Birding tours are not normally strenuous; however a level of
fitness is required as full days in the field are the norm, with occasional,
unavoidable, strenuous activity. This activity will be made clear
in each tour description on the website. Participants must be prepared
for full days in the field and complete walks of several miles a day,
often on uneven or slippery surfaces to complete the tour itinerary.
If you have health or medical problems, which may have an impact on
the tour, you are required to contact Gone Birding before hand for
advice on tour suitability. You are also required to state these medical
problems/ requirements on the booking form. However subject to the
limitations of the tours, arrangements can be made to cater for your
needs i.e. half days, or possibly alternative routes or rest areas
for those who require them, although these cannot be guaranteed. Please
contact Gone Birding for advice.
A group
of people together for several days require a certain amount of co-operation
and consideration amongst the participants. The tour guide has full
authority for the duration of the tour. Each participant will be expected
to behave in a reasonable manner. Any anti-social behaviour or behaviour
which represents a danger to the tour participants or tour guides
in the opinion of the tour guide, will be pointed out by the guide
whereby you should desist, e.g. smoking out of designated areas, wildlife
crime or disrespectful/ bullying/ foolish behaviour. Gone Birding
reserve the right to send home at their own expense and without refund
of any monies, any participant who behaves in an unacceptable manner
after the tour guide has advised them of their unacceptable behaviour.
This totally at the discretion of the tour guide.
(11)
Group Size
The max. group size will be outlined in each tour leaflet. Normally
this is 10 or less. If there are more than 12 participants on the
tour then a second guide will accompany the tour. Gone Birding reserve
the right to change the leading guide, or second guide without notice.
(13) Participants Responsibility
You are responsible for ensuring your passport is valid at the time
of travel and will not expire less than 6 months before the end of
your tour.
(12) Gone Birding Responsibility
Gone Birding will take all reasonable steps to ensure that all services
provided are of an acceptable standard. However Gone Birding accepts
no liability for injury, damage, expense or loss for whatever reason
during the tour. Gone Birding therefore strongly recommend adequate
insurance. Despite great care errors and omissions may occur in any
Gone Birding information. Unless the error/ omission has a major affect
on the tour, then no claim for compensation will be entered in to.
Any complaints should be received by Gone Birding within 14 days from
the end of a tour.
For clarification
on any of the above, then please contact Gone Birding directly.
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