POLICIES

Booking

To make a booking you must send us a signed, completed Booking Form and a non-refundable deposit of USD$2500. We will then invoice you for the remainder of the cost, which you must pay not later than 60 days before departure for trips outside the USA nd no less than 45 days for trips within the continental USA. If you book less than 12 weeks before departure, full payment must be made on booking. The booking is not accepted and no contract exists until the date shown on the confirmation issued by the Company. Notification of cancellation must be made to the Company in writing.

Bookings made over the telephone, by email, or by credit card more than 12 weeks before departure will not be deemed accepted until we have received a signed booking form in our office and we have issued a confirmation. If a signed booking form is not received within 30 days of the booking being made over the telephone, the booking will be deemed cancelled, the deposit will be forfeit and the place will be released for resale. Bookings made over the telephone, or by email, by credit card less than 8 weeks before departure (i.e. when full payment is due on booking) will be subject to the cancellation conditions in claused below regardless of whether a booking form has been received in our office.

Bookings cannot be accepted from persons under the age of 21 years at the date of the departure.

Cancellations

If you cancel your booking more than 12 weeks before departure we will not refund your deposit, but you may if you wish transfer your deposit and travel insurance to another trip in our current programme (provided you are not already booked on it) on payment of a transfer fee of USD$275, subject to your notifying us in writing within two weeks of your cancellation, telling us which trip you wish to transfer to and paying the transfer fee. If the trip you transfer to is more expensive than the one you originally booked, a further deposit will also be payable. If you subsequently cancel the trip to which you have transferred, we will retain your full original deposit and transfer fee.

Reservations for pre and post tour accommodation must be made no later than one month before the departure date of the trip. If you cancel your trip, these vouchers are non-refundable.

If you cancel your booking after you have paid in full the following cancellation charges will be made:
– between 43 and 56 days before departure: 40of the trip cost
– between 29 and 42 days before departure: 60of the trip cost
– between 15 and 28 days before departure: 80of the trip cost
– 14 days or less before departure (or fail to join the trip): 100of the trip cost

These dates refer to our receiving written notification of your cancellation. We strongly advise you to take out insurance against irrecoverable cancellation costs.

If you are prevented from travelling on the trip you booked by genuine circumstances (eg 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 trip. You must provide proof of why you are unable to travel at the time you transfer your booking. A transfer fee of USD$100 will be payable, or USD$250, if the transfer is less than four weeks before departure, and additional costs such as airline tickets and permit fees may also be payable. Bookings may not be transferred to another person in any other circumstances. In the event of you transferring your booking to another person, you are jointly and severally liable for payment of the trip price and other associated expenses.

If you do not pay the balance of your trip cost within 12 weeks of departure your booking will be terminated and you will lose your deposit.

We will let you know as soon as we can if, through no fault of your own, we are forced to significantly alter or cancel your trip. In these circumstances you can choose one of the following options:
– accept our offer of a replacement trip of equivalent or higher quality (if available);
– accept our offer of a replacement trip of lower quality (if available) and we will refund the difference in cost;
– ask us for a refund of the money you have paid.

Your decision about which alternative you accept must be made as soon as possible after we notify you. If appropriate we will also compensate you for the inconvenience unless the alteration or cancellation is because there are insufficient numbers to run the trip (minimum of 10 passengers), in which event we shall inform you at least 8 weeks prior to departure, or if the alteration or cancellation has come about because of unavoidable, unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control. If we cancel your trip, insurance premiums paid to us will be refunded, except in the case of annual insurance that has already covered a risk. 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.

Surcharges and exchange rates

Before booking and not less than 30 days prior to departure 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 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;
– the exchange rates applied to the booking.

Price increases and surcharges will be calculated according to the full extra cost compared to the costs which obtained when this brochure was produced and exchange rates as applicable on that date. In any event we shall absorb the first 2of any such surcharge. Any increase to the price that exceeds 10of the total trip cost will entitle you to the options outlined in clause 8 above.

Risks

A general indication is provided in this brochure of the itinerary for each holiday, the type of accommodation used, what is included in the price, passport and visa requirements, and health formalities. Changes in all of these items may be made at any time.

The information contained in the Company’s website, brochure and price insert is correct to the best of the Company’s belief, but the Company accepts no liability for any innocent inaccuracies contained herein.

Any information or advice provided by the Company 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 the Company, and the passenger accepts responsibility for obtaining any necessary visas and travel documents required for the holiday.

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 8 above. A “significant change” is a change of more than 24 hours (12 hours for trips of 10 days’ duration or less) in departure or return timings or other such change to itinerary and services that would reasonably be considered significant.

Your booking is accepted on the understanding that you realize the hazards involved in this kind of trip, including injury, disease, loss or damage to property, inconvenience and discomfort. The whole philosophy of this type of travel is one that 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 Sacred Travels. Changes in itinerary may be caused by local political conditions, flight cancellations, mechanical breakdown, weather, border restrictions, sickness, or other unforeseeable circumstances. No refunds will be given for services not utilised. It is a fundamental condition of joining any of the trips 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 we are unable to complete the proposed itinerary owing to the reasons stated above, we will either transport you to the end point of the itinerary, or return you to the starting point, or provide an agreed alternative itinerary, and pay compensation for the uncompleted part of the itinerary if appropriate. If a passenger is unable, or does not choose, to complete an itinerary outlined for a holiday, the Company is not liable to supply alternative itineraries, excursions, accommodations, services or staff for the period when the client is not present with the group.

On an active group trip if you participate in the activities 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 trip or if in the 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 trip, you must advise us of this at the time of booking.

Insurance

Before you come on the trip 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 trip 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.

Travelex: 1-800-228-9792 / travelexinsurance.com

Travel Insurance Services: 1-800-937-1387 / travelinsure.com

Mondial: 1-888-489-3227 / mondial-assistance.com

Travel Insured 1-800-243-3174 / travelinsured.com

Responsibilities

If you have any complaint about the trip, 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 trip is likely to be significantly affected, you should notify our head operations office in Denver by phone and we will do our best to resolve the problem. If at the end of the trip, 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 a reasonable period of time, normally within but not necessarily limited to 30 days after your tour’s completion.

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.

Where the Company 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 trip price shown on the invoice, except where the damages relate to death or personal injury. Where the damages relate to the provision of transport by air, sea or rail, or hotel accommodation, any compensation payable will be further limited by the applicable 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 that may apply are available on request. Any independent arrangements that you make which are not part of the trip are entirely at your own risk.

Airline and Travel Regulations

Any flights forming part of the trip arrangements are subject to the conditions of the carrying airline, which in most cases limit the airline’s liability to the passenger in accordance with International Law and conventions.

By completing the booking form you agree that, if necessary, the company may pass your contact details and numbers to any third party 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 be passed to any other parties. Please note that airlines are required by new laws introduced in the US and other countries to give border control agencies access to passenger data. Accordingly 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.

Model Release

Any likeness or image of you secured or taken on any of our trips may be used by the Company 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. All models (if any) in your workshop have released all images shot by you for you marketing and portfolio usage as well.

The booking conditions described above 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 in this brochure 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 The United States of America.