The following terms and conditions apply to tours operated by Dolma Foundation (‘Dolma’), of registered address:
7 Nelson Street, Southend-on-Sea Essex SS1 1EH United Kingdom.
(1)
Bookings requests are received through a signed, completed Booking Form with an accompanying payment, either a 10% deposit if more than 8 weeks prior to departure, or the full cost of the tour if less than 8 weeks prior to departure. If paying a deposit, Dolma will issue an invoice for the remaining 90% which must be paid no later than 8 weeks prior to departure. The booking is not accepted and no contract exists until the date shown on the confirmation issued by Dolma. Any cancellation request must be made to Dolma in writing.
(2)
Telephone bookings will not be deemed accepted until Dolma has received a signed booking form in our office, received and cleared at least deposit payment (if more than 8 weeks prior to departure) and issued a confirmation. If a signed booking form is not received within 14 calendar days of the telephone booking being made, the booking will be deemed cancelled and the place released for resale.
(3)
Cancellation in writing more than 8 weeks prior to departure will give you the option to transfer your deposit to another holiday and/or date on payment of a £50 transfer fee. If the holiday you transfer to is more expensive than the one you originally booked, a further deposit will also be payable. If you subsequently cancel the holiday to which you have transferred, Dolma will retain your full original deposit and transfer fee.
(4)
The following cancellation charges apply in cancelling after you have paid in full:
- between 43 and 56 days before departure: 40% of the holiday cost
- between 29 and 42 days before departure: 60% of the holiday cost
- between 15 and 28 days before departure: 80% of the holiday cost
- 14 days or less before departure (or fail to join the holiday): 100% of the holiday cost
These dates refer to our receiving written notification of your cancellation.
Travel insurance premiums are not refunded. Dolma strongly advises you to take out insurance against irrecoverable cancellation costs.
(5)
If you are prevented from travelling on the holiday you booked by genuine circumstances (e.g. insurable risks or other circumstances beyond your control), you may transfer your booking to another person provided they meet all the requirements relating to that holiday. You must provide proof of why you are unable to travel at the time you transfer your booking. A transfer fee of £50 will be payable, or £100 if the transfer is less than four weeks before departure.Bookings may not be transferred to another person in any other circumstances.
(6)
If you do not pay the balance of your holiday cost within 8 weeks of departure your booking will be terminated and you will lose your deposit.
(7)
Dolma will let you know as soon as possible if, through no fault of your own, we are forced to significantly alter or cancel your holiday. In these circumstances you can choose one of the following options. a) cancel your holiday and receive a full refund; b) accept a substitute holiday if we are able to offer you one. If the substituted holiday is of a lesser value, we shall also refund you the difference in price; If appropriate we will also compensate you for the inconvenience unless the alteration or cancellation is because there are insufficient numbers to run the holiday or if the alteration or cancellation has come about because of unavoidable, unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control. We shall not be liable to you for any incidental expenses incurred by you as a result of any arrangements that you may have made, if you have made those arrangements before we have sent you final confirmation of your itinerary and previously advised you against incurring such expenses.
(8)
Before booking and not less than 30 days prior to departure (or for whatever period may from time to time be dictated by the Government) the prices featured may change. We reserve the right to impose surcharges once you have booked but no surcharges will be imposed within 30 days of departure (or within whatever period the Government may from time to time deem) and any downward revision in the price will be refunded to you. Surcharges will only be imposed for variations in:
- transport costs, including the cost of fuel.
- dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; or
- the exchange rates applied to the booking. Dolma will absorb the first 2% of any such surcharge (or whatever percentage the Government may from time to time dictate). Any increase to the price which exceeds 10% of the total holiday cost will entitle you to the options outlined in clause 7 above.
(9)
A general indication is provided on the Website of the itinerary for each holiday, the type of accommodation used, what is included in the price, the passport and visa requirements, and health formalities. Changes in all of these items may be made at any time. The definitive information shall be that included with your confirmation note issues after receiving the completed booking for and accompanying payment. If after reading the notes sent with the confirmation, you feel that you have misunderstood what is included in the price, or the nature of the holiday, you may cancel your booking without penalty and we will refund any monies paid to us. Such cancellations will only be allowed during the week following our sending the confirmation to you, and will not be allowed if your booking is made less than 8 weeks before departure, when you should ensure that you are fully aware of the contents of the tour prior to booking.
(10)
Any information or advice provided by Dolma on matters such as permits, visas, vaccinations, climate, clothing, baggage, special equipment, etc. is given in good faith but without responsibility on the part of Dolma, and the passenger accepts responsibility for obtaining any necessary visas and travel documents required for the holiday.
(11)
If any significant changes to the holiday have to be made before departure, we undertake to inform you, and you are entitled to the options detailed in clause 7 above. A ‘significant change’ is a change of more than 24 hours in departure or return timings or other such change to itinerary and services that would reasonably be considered significant.
(12)
Your booking is accepted on the understanding that you realise the hazards involved in this kind of holiday, including injury, disease, loss or damage to property, inconvenience and discomfort. The whole philosophy of this type of travel is one which allows alternatives and a substantial degree of on-trip flexibility. The outline itineraries given for each holiday must therefore be taken as an indication of what each group should accomplish, and not as a contractual obligation on the part of Dolma. Changes in itinerary may be caused by local political conditions, mechanical breakdown, weather, sickness, or other unforeseeable circumstances. No refunds will be given for services not utilised. It is a fundamental condition of joining any of the holidays described in this brochure that you accept this flexibility, and acknowledge that delays and alterations and their results, such as inconvenience, discomfort, or disappointment, are possible. If a passenger is unable, or does not choose, to complete an itinerary outlined for a holiday, Dolma is not liable to supply alternative itineraries, excursions, accommodations, services or staff for the period when the client is not present with the group.
(13)
On an adventurous holiday it is necessary that you abide by the authority of the leader, who represents the company. Signing our booking form signifies your agreement to this, and if you commit any illegal act when on the holiday or if in the reasonable opinion of the leader your behaviour is causing or likely to cause danger, distress or annoyance to others we may terminate your travel arrangements without any liability on our part. If you are affected by any condition, medical or otherwise, that might affect your or other people’s enjoyment of the holiday, you must advise us of this at the time of booking.
(14)
Before you come on the holiday you must be covered by insurance, which must include adequate cover for baggage, medical expenses and the cost of repatriation should you become too ill to continue, including helicopter rescue and air ambulance. If you join the holiday without adequate insurance you may not be allowed to continue on the holiday, with no right of refund. Any claims concerning matters for which you are insured must be directed to your insurers.
(15)
Our responsibility does not commence until the appointed time of departure from the start location. You are responsible for getting to the local meeting point, although normally, and where possible, our local rep will meet you from the airport.
(16)
If you have any complaint about the holiday, you must make it known at the earliest opportunity to the leader and/or our local representative, who will normally be able to take appropriate action. If you are not satisfied with their response and you feel your enjoyment of the holiday is likely to be significantly affected, you should notify our head office in London and we will do our best to resolve the problem. If at the end of the holiday, you feel your complaint has not been properly dealt with, we shall try and agree a settlement with you, but you must first notify us of your complaint in writing within 30 days of your scheduled date of return.
(17)
We are responsible to you for the proper performance of our obligations under the contract irrespective of whether those obligations are provided directly by us, or by third party service providers engaged by us acting within the proper course of their employment. We are liable to you for any damage caused to you by our failure to perform the contract or by our improper performance of the contract, unless that failure is:
- attributable to you;
- attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services and are unforeseeable or unavoidable;
- due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control and could not have been avoided even if all due care had been taken
- due to an event which even with all due care we could not foresee or forestall.
In any event, you are strongly advised to insure yourself against any possible risk that may occur and in particular to ensure that you have sufficient insurance in respect of dependent relatives. You are required to carry proof of insurance with you and produce it if reasonably requested by company employees or suppliers. By completing our Booking Form you acknowledge that Dolma has taken all reasonable steps to safeguard its liability in this respect. Except in instances of personal injury or death, where Dolma is found to be liable for damages in respect of its failure to carry out the contract, the maximum amount of such damages, compensation and loss of enjoyment will normally, but not necessarily, be limited to three times the basic holiday price shown on the invoice. Where the damages relate to the provision of transport or hotel accommodation, any compensation payable will be further limited by the EU Charter of Passengers Rights for air travel, the Warsaw Convention as amended by the Athens Convention 1974 (sea), the Berne Convention 1961 (rail), and the Paris Convention 1962 (hotel accommodation), or any such statute or regulation as may from time to time amend or supersede any of the above. Copies of the conditions of carriage and any conventions which may apply are available on request. Any independent arrangements that you make which are not part of the holiday are entirely at your own risk. You must comply with the conditions of carriage applied by land, sea and air carriers. The provisions of the Warsaw Convention 1929 (as amended) concerning the carriage of passengers and their luggage by air, and the airlines’ conditions of carriage, may apply to you and your party during your flight, and during boarding and disembarkation. These provisions and conditions may limit or exclude liability for death or personal injury, or loss of or damage to luggage, and may make special provisions for valuables. We will supply a copy of the conditions of carriage applicable to your holiday, and of the Warsaw Convention, if you request them. Sea Travel Conditions of Carriage & International Conventions: Land, sea and air carriers will have their own conditions of carriage with which you must comply.
In the case of sea travel the provisions of the Athens Convention 1974 relating to the carriage of passengers and their luggage by sea may apply. This Convention and the sea carriers conditions of carriage may continue to apply to you and your party throughout your stay on board the ship, and during boarding and disembarkation. This Convention presumes that your baggage has been delivered undamaged unless you give full written details to the carrier (1) in the case of apparent damage, before you disembark from the ship or the baggage is redelivered to you; or (2) in the case of damage which is not apparent or of loss, within 15 days of disembarkation or from the time when the baggage should have been redelivered to you. The Athens Convention, and the carriers’ conditions of carriage, may limit or exclude liability for death or personal injury, or loss of or damage to luggage, and make special provisions for valuables. A copy of the conditions of carriage applicable to your holiday, and the Athens Convention referred to above, can be supplied on request.
(18)
Any likeness or imageof you secured or taken on any of our holidays may be used by Dolma without charge in all media (whether now existing or in the future invented) for bona fide promotional or marketing purposes, including without limitation promotional materials of any kind, such as brochures, slides, video shows and the internet.
(19)
By completing the booking form you agree that, if necessary, Dolma may pass your contact details and numbers to any third party, including customs, immigration, national park and tourist permit authorities and embassies for safety evacuation procedures, connected with the operation of the specific holiday on which you have booked.This information will not be used for any other purpose by the third party, nor will it be passed to any other parties. Any information we hold about you and your travel arrangements may be disclosed to the customs and immigration authorities of any country in your itinerary.
(20)
The booking conditions may only be waived or amended by written mutual consent. When you complete the booking form you agree to accept all these conditions, and when we accept your booking we agree to carry out our obligations to you as defined on the Web site and other information provided to you. Both sides of this agreement are made subject to, and must be interpreted and enforced according to the non – exclusive law and jurisdiction of England and Scotland