Booking Terms & Conditions

For USA & Iceland tours;

Cancellations within the balance payment period (60-0 days prior to departure) are as follows:

60 days or more prior to departure, deposit to be retained by Travel Talk
59-35 days 70% of tour fee is forfeited
35-0 days 100% of tour fee is forfeited

Solo Passengers

Solo passengers have a few options while booking a tour. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers not wishing to pay a single supplement will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. The single supplement need only be paid if a room to oneself is requested and is additional to the tour fee. Single rooms are not available for ANZAC & some festival tours and on most sailing tours; all rooms are on a shared double, twin, triple and quadruple (Croatia Pirate Boat only) occupancy.

Unused Services

Should a Client fail to join a tour, joins the tour after departure, or leave the tour prior to completion, no refund will be made.

If any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person may transfer their place to another suitable person (introduced by you and satisfying all the conditions applicable to the holiday) or change to an alternative date provided that written notice is given in advance. A “suitable person” is one who has completed the booking form, presented travel insurance, obtained approval to travel from us and the transferee agrees to these Booking Conditions and all other terms of the contract between us. Please refer to Section 4: “Changes by the Client” for further details.

Cancellation by the Client: If you are unable to find a replacement, cancellation charges as set out in the terms will apply. Otherwise, no refunds will be given for Clients not travelling or for unused services.

Special Offers & Discounts

Special offers and discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be retrospectively added at a later date, regardless of any later changes made to the original booking. Additional terms & conditions can be added during special campaigns and are solely valid for the specific campaign they refer to. Please see the Travel Talk web site for particular conditions applicable to each offer. In all cases only one discount can apply to a Travel Talk Tour booking. When two or more offers can apply to a booking in all cases only the discount offering the highest saving to the booking will be applied.

Age & Health

All Clients must determine themselves prior to booking that they are fit and able to complete the itinerary of their chosen tour as described in the Company’s brochures. Clients aged 65 or above are required to complete our Tour Suitability Form, and where considered necessary, due to participation requirements, we will be happy to provide the tour on a private basis (supplements apply) or offer tailor-made holiday arrangements. No unaccompanied minors (i.e. those under 18 years of age) can be accepted on tours operated by us, however children of 16 or more may travel provided that they are accompanied by a parent or a guardian who accepts full responsibility for them and subject, in all cases, to our ultimate discretion. You agree to accept the authority and decisions of our employees, tour leaders, and agents whilst on tour with us. If in the opinion of such person, the health or conduct of a Client before or after the departure appears likely to endanger the safe, comfortable or happy progress of the tour, the Client may be excluded from all or part of the tour, in which case all monies paid will be forfeited and we will not be liable to pay any compensation whatsoever to such Client.

Dietary and Special Requirements

You must clearly state all your dietary requirements at the time of booking. Although many of our tours accommodate vegetarians and vegans, we cannot guarantee that special dietary requirements can be met and we cannot take responsibility for any such requirements not being fulfilled.

If you have a medical condition or require special arrangements that may affect your trip, we ask that you inform us in writing at the time of booking. If we cannot reasonably accommodate your particular needs we may decline the booking or ask for you to be accompanied by a person who is able to provide full assistance to you throughout your trip.

Visa & Travel Documentation

It is Client’s responsibility to obtain any visas, passports, health certificates or other travel documentation required. It remains the Client’s responsibility to ensure that these documents are in order and meet any additional costs incurred as a result of failure to comply with such requirements.

For all tours (including Russia) visa support documents provided by Travel Talk are only to assist with the visa application & are not valid for travel.

Your Travel Agent’s Responsibility

Any agent through whom you make a booking will communicate information from us to you and vice versa. We are not responsible for any failure by your agent to do this properly or in good time, nor for any advice given to you by your agent that did not originate from us.

Price Validity and Accuraty

Dates, itineraries and prices are valid from the most relevant edition of the website & the time of printing our brochure in May 2018 until 31 December 2019. Travel Talk reserves the right to change any of the facilities, services, prices & accommodations, itineraries or vehicles described in the brochure or online without being liable for compensation or refund.

We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in our brochures are accurate, however occasionally changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before you make your booking.

Conditions of Suppliers

Some of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent or third-party suppliers. These suppliers maybe small family or community-based operators offering transportation including by boat or jeep to rural villages, Felucca sailing trips or other who operate with the necessary licences and permits according to local law. The services they provide come with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from us. Travel Talk accepts no responsibility for any services including optional activities, which are not a part of the tour package.

Authority on Tour

Group tours are led by a Travel Talk guide or tour leader. The decision of the group leader is final on all matters likely to affect the safety or well-being of any person participating in the tour. Should a passenger fail to comply with a decision made by the group leader or interfere with the safety or well-being of the group, the group leader may order the Client to leave the tour immediately, with no right to any refund (please see Your Liability to Us). All passengers must comply at all times with the local laws, customs, and foreign exchange and drug regulations of all countries visited, as well as our responsible travel guidelines.

We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other tour members, guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.

Your Liability to Us

All our customers are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of others. You will not be permitted to embark or continue on the trip if your mental or physical condition is, in the reasonable opinion of any representative of Travel Talk, such as to render you incapable of caring for yourself, or where you become objectionable to other passengers, or you become a hazard to yourself or other passengers. We will not be responsible for expenses resulting in you being precluded from completing the trip for any reason, nor will we refund you any part of your trip cost. In all cases we will notify you of the reasons why we have taken this action. We will have no obligation to arrange for your return to the point of the trip departure if your condition manifests itself after the trip departure. If the trip involves travel by air, the captain of your aircraft can refuse to allow you to fly on the aircraft if he believes that you could be dangerous or disruptive to other passengers on the flight.

Further, you will be liable to reimburse us for any expenses whatsoever that we incur as a result of such behaviour. You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the hotel manager or other supplier prior to departure. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you.

You agree to indemnify us in full against all losses (direct and indirect and howsoever caused) arising from any third-party actions taken against us for loss or damage caused by you or arising from your participation on the trip.

Risk Acknowledgement & Indemnification

You acknowledge that the nature of the trip is adventurous and participation involves a degree of personal risk. The tours operated or supplied by Travel Talk have been designed to provide participants with an exposure to the true nature of the environment visited and therefore involve an element of potential risk and exposure to potential hazards over and above those associated with normal ’package’ holidays. All bookings are accepted on the understanding that the Client appreciates such risks and hazards and they undertake all tours at their own volition. If a Client participates in an activity not included as part of a tour operated by Travel Talk, the Client accepts all responsibility for taking part in such an activity, accepts that no further services will be provided by the company and indemnifies Travel Talk against any and all claims related to such an activity.

Where the Client suffers death, personal injury or any other loss whatsoever as a result of an activity forming part of the tour arrangements booked with the Travel Talk, then Travel Talk shall only accept responsibility if the death, personal injury or loss was caused by the negligent acts and/or omissions of Travel Talk’s employees, officers, agents or direct suppliers. For the avoidance of doubt, Travel Talk shall not be liable for such death, personal injury or any other loss suffered whatsoever if there has been no fault on the part of Travel Talk or its partners, or if the cause was the fault of the Client (including without limiting the generality of the foregoing the Client’s participation in any activity/option not specifically detailed as included on the tour or operated directly by Travel Talk) or due to the actions of someone unconnected with the tour arrangements or due to circumstances which neither Travel talk nor its partners could have reasonably anticipated or avoided. For ski tours snow conditions cannot be guaranteed at any ski resort, therefore Travel Talk is not liable for lack of snow or non-operating ski lifts.

All sailing boats used by Travel Talk in Croatia, Greece and Turkey are fully insured by each boats’ captain and they have accident insurance for passengers. As such, the Client accepts that for sailing trips in Croatia, Greece and Turkey any claims relating to accidents while on-board their sail boats need to be addressed directly with their boats captain, and indemnifies Travel Talk against any and all claims related to such accidents incurred on their sail boat in Croatia, Greece or Turkey.

Responsibility of Travel Talk

(1) Travel Talk accepts responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “organiser” under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 as set out below. Subject to these Booking Conditions, if we or our suppliers negligently perform or arrange the services which we are obliged to provide for you under our contract with you, as set out on your confirmation invoice, we will pay you reasonable compensation. The level of such compensation will be calculated taking into consideration all relevant factors such as but not limited to: following the complaints procedure as described in these conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your holiday. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.

(2) We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:

*the acts and/or omissions of the person affected; or
*the acts and/or omissions of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or
*unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond ours or our supplier’s control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or
*an event which either ourselves or suppliers could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.

(3) We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:

a. loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are assumed to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.

b. Claims not falling under 3(a) above and which don’t involve injury, illness or death: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is twice the price paid by the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you or your party has not received any benefit at all from your booking.

c. Claims in respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, or any stay in a hotel:

The extent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate Conventions, which include The Warsaw/Montreal Convention (international travel by air); The Athens Convention (with respect to sea travel); The Berne/Cotif Convention (with respect to rail travel) and The Paris Convention (with respect to hotel arrangements). You can ask for copies of these Conventions from our offices. Please contact us. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport company’s own ‘Conditions of Carriage’ will apply to you on that journey. When arranging transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those ‘Conditions of Carriage’. You acknowledge that all of the terms and conditions contained in those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract.

In any circumstances in which a 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.

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.

(4) It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to us and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.

(5) Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to us or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.

(6) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description:

a. which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you; or

b. relate to any business.

(7) 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.

Prompt Assistance in Resort

If the contract we have with you is not performed or is improperly performed as a result of failures attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services, or as a result of failures due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised, or an event which we or our suppliers, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall, and you suffer an injury or other material loss, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is reasonable in the circumstances.

Where you experience a delay, which is not owing to any failure by us, our employees or sub-contractors, this prompt assistance is likely to extend to providing help in locating refreshments, accommodation and communications but may not pay for them. Subject to the other terms of these conditions, we will not be liable for any costs, fees or charges you incur in the above circumstances, if you fail to obtain our prior authorisation before making your own travel arrangements.

Feedback & Complaints

You may reach us for any feedback or complaints at [email protected] or call us on +44 20 8099 9596.

In the event of any dissatisfaction with any service provided by Travel Talk, you must report it immediately to the Trip Leader so that action can be taken to remedy the problem. Failure to notify the Trip Leader of any problem immediately may prejudice Travel Talk and may result in your ability to claim compensation from us being extinguished or reduced. Any complaint made to Travel Talk following the conclusion of the trip should be made in writing within 28 days of completion of the trip. In the event that You do not notify us in writing within 28 days, Travel Talk’s ability to investigate the complaint may be prejudiced and may extinguish your claim.

As a Member of ABTA (membership number Y600X), we are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct.

Your Financial Protection

UK Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 require us to provide security for the monies that UK travellers pay for the package holidays booked from us and for your repatriation in the event of our insolvency.

Travel Talk is a member of ABTA – The Travel Association, membership number Y600X. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. ABTA can also offer you an arbitration scheme for the resolution of disputes arising out of this contract for UK-based passengers. The scheme is arranged by ABTA and administered independently. It is a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on you for cost.

Travel Talk is also a member of ASTA – The American Society of Travel Advisors, membership number 900324500. As the world’s leading association of travel professionals, ASTA is a global advocate for travel agencies, the travel industry and the traveling public, championing ethical and traveler-friendly practices and policies at every level of government and throughout the travel and hospitality industry. All ASTA members are bound by a shared code of ethics.

Moreover, we use up to date security measures and data encryption to ensure your protection when booking online. Safeguarding your adventure holiday is important to us. You can rest assured that your holiday is secured and financially protected.

Privacy Policy

In order to process your booking, Travel Talk need to collect certain personal details from you, please read our Privacy Policy for detailed information. These details will usually include the names and addresses of party members, credit/debit or other payment details and special requirements such as those relating to any disability or medical condition that may affect the holiday arrangements.We must pass some information on to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements (hotels, transport companies etc.). Such suppliers may be outside continental Europe if your holiday is to take place or involve suppliers outside these countries. The information may also be provided to security or credit checking companies, public authorities such as customs/immigration if required by them, or as required by law.

Travel Talk will only deal with the personal information you give to Travel Talk as detailed in our Privacy Policy unless you agree otherwise. We may make contact with you or members of your holiday party by post, e-mail, or telephone for the purposes set out. We will also use your information to inform you of offers in the future or to send you brochures only after your given consent. If you wish to opt-out of our newsletter, you can click on the link in any of our mails, or reach us at [email protected].

When the Client submits the review form, they accept that the feedback and all rights therein, become the sole property of Travel Talk and that Travel Talk shall have the right to make it available to the public on this website and for any purpose and in any media (including for advertising or other commercial use).

Photos & Marketing

The Client consents to Travel Talk using images taken of the Client during the tour or shared on Travel Talk social media accounts for advertising and promotional purposes in any media we choose. The Client grants Travel Talk a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable licence to use such images for publicity and promotional purposes.

Governing Law

The terms & conditions (incorporating these Booking Conditions) and all matters arising from it, is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.

The information contained in our brochures and online is correct at the time of publication, however Travel Talk accepts no liability for any inaccuracies contained herein.