The following Booking Conditions, together with all information relating to your chosen holiday contained on this Product Manual CD or website or in our relevant brochure, form the basis of your contract with Diethelm Travel Sri Lanka. Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. By asking us to confirm your booking, we are entitled to assume that you have had the opportunity to read and have read these booking conditions and agree to them.

The Party Leader or Travel Agent is responsible for making all payments due to us as referred to in clause 2 below. Once we have received your booking and all appropriate payments, we will, subject to availability, confirm your holiday by sending a Booking Confirmation and Invoice to the Party Leader or Travel Agent. Everyone going on holiday must check all documents (including the Booking Confirmation and Invoice) carefully. Contact us immediately if any information which appears on any document appears to be incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later. Please note: not all of the advertised holiday prices published in our Product Manual, Brochures or on our Website include travel arrangements, for example flights. Please check at the time of booking.

In order to confirm your chosen holiday, usually a deposit of 25% of the total (or full payment if your booking is received within 4 weeks of departure) must be paid at the time of booking. Please note: if you pay by credit card a charge will apply.  This charge is currently 2.75% but we reserve the right to increase this at any time.

The balance of the holiday price must be received by us not less than 4 weeks prior to departure. If we do not receive all payments due (including any surcharge where applicable) in full and on time, we will send you a written reminder. If you do not pay all payments due in full within 7 days of receiving this reminder, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you. In this case the cancellation charges set out in clause 7 below will be payable.

We consider adequate travel insurance to be essential.  Traveller(s) must give details of their policy (insurer and policy number) in writing at the time of booking. We will not accept your booking unless you provide these details. Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is adequate for your particular needs. We do not check alternative insurance policies.  We will not accept liability for any damage, costs, losses or expenses which you incur as a result of your failure to comply with this clause.

A binding contract between us comes into existence when we dispatch your Booking Confirmation and Invoice to the Party Leader or Travel Agent.

The price of your holiday was calculated using exchange rates quoted by Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (The representative governing body of Inbound Tour Operators in Sri Lanka). We reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in advertised prices at any time before your holiday is confirmed. If there are any changes to the published prices, these will be confirmed at the time of booking. We will advise you of any error of which we are aware and of the then applicable price at the time of booking. Once the price of your chosen holiday has been confirmed at the time of booking then, subject to the correction of errors, we will only increase or decrease the price, subject to the conditions set out in this clause, if our costs increase or decrease as a result of transportation costs (e.g. fuel) or dues, taxes or fees payable for services such as hotels, entrance fees. We will not change the confirmed price of your holiday due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

You have 14 days from the issue date printed on the surcharge / supplementary invoice to tell us if you want to cancel for this reason. If you do not tell us that you wish to cancel within this period of time, we are entitled to assume that you do not wish to cancel and will pay the surcharge. Any surcharge must be paid with the balance of the cost of the holiday or within 14 days of the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice, whichever is the later.

Should you wish to make any changes to your confirmed holiday, you must notify us in writing as soon as possible. Whilst we will endeavour to assist, we cannot guarantee we will be able to meet any such requests. A change of holiday dates will normally be treated as a cancellation of the original booking and rebooking in which case cancellation charges will apply. Changes may result in the recalculation of the holiday price where, for example, the basis on which the price of the original holiday was calculated has changed.

 

If any member(s) of your party is/are prevented from travelling, the person(s) concerned may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you) providing the following requirements are complied with. We must be notified of the transfer(s) in writing (giving full details of the original and substitute party member(s)) not less than two weeks before departure. A transfer will not be possible if there is a waiting list for places in which case the available place must be offered to the next person on that list.

Should you or any member of your party need to cancel your chosen holiday once it has been confirmed, the Party Leader or Travel Agent must immediately advise us by e-mail. Your notice of cancellation will only be effective when it is received by us at our offices. If we receive your notice of cancellation 8 weeks or more before departure, we will retain the full amount of your deposit.

If we receive it less than 8 weeks before departure, the following charges will be payable per person cancelling:
NB The charges set out below are shown as a percentage of the total cost of the holiday* payable by the person(s) canceling.

 

Period before departure within notification of cancellation is received by us Cancellation charge per person cancelling

56 - 29 days 25%;
28 - 15 days 50%;
14 - 8 days 75%;
7 days or less 100%.

Where any cancellation reduces the number of full paying party members below the number on which the price, number of free places and/ or any concessions agreed for your booking were based, we will recalculate these items and re-invoice you accordingly.

See clause 6 “Changes by you” if any member(s) of your party are prevented from travelling.

We start planning the holidays we offer many months in advance. Occasionally, we have to make changes to and correct errors in our Product Manual CD, Brochure, Website and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed and cancel confirmed bookings. Please note, some of our holidays require a minimum number of participants to enable us to operate them. If the minimum number of bookings required for a particular holiday have not been received, we are entitled to cancel it. We will notify you or your travel agent of cancellation for this reason no later than 8 weeks before departure. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so.

Most changes are minor. Occasionally, we have to make a “significant change” before departure, such as: a change of accommodation to that of a lower official classification or standard for the whole or a major part of the time you are away, a change of accommodation area for the whole or a major part of the time you are away, a change of outward departure time or overall length of time you are away of twelve or more hours, alterations to your confirmed place of departure that add more than 100 miles to any single leg of your journey. If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible. If there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of the following options:-

 

(a) accepting the changed arrangements or
(b) purchasing an alternative holiday from us, of a similar standard to that originally booked if available. We will offer you at least one alternative holiday of equivalent or higher standard for which you will not be asked to pay any more than the price of the original holiday. If this holiday is in fact cheaper than the original one, we will refund the price difference. If you do not wish to accept the holiday we specifically offer you, you may choose any of our other then available holidays. You must pay the applicable price of any such holiday. This will mean your paying more if it is more expensive or receiving a refund if it is cheaper or
(c) cancelling or accepting the cancellation in which case you will receive a full and quick refund of all monies you have paid to us.
Please note, the above options are not available where any change made is a minor one. If we have to make a significant change or cancel we will as a minimum where compensation is due pay you reasonable compensation depending on the circumstances and when the significant change or cancellation is notified to you subject to the following exceptions. Compensation will not be payable and no liability beyond offering the above mentioned choices can be accepted where (1) we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care or (2) we have to cancel because the minimum number of bookings necessary for us to operate your holiday has not been reached (see above). No compensation will be payable and the above options will not be available if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us to cancel (such as paying on time) or if the change made is a minor one. A minor change is any change which, taking account of the information you have given us at the time of booking or which we can reasonably be expected to know as a tour operator, we could not reasonably expect to have a significant effect on your confirmed holiday.

Except as set out above, we will in addition, where appropriate, pay you any reasonable proven costs and expenses you incur as a result of a cancellation by us. Very rarely, we may be forced by "force majeure" (see clause 9) to change or terminate your holiday after departure but before the scheduled end of your time away. This is extremely unlikely but if this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any refunds from our suppliers) pay you any compensation or be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by you as a result.

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by, or you otherwise suffer any damage, loss or expense of any nature as a result of, “force majeure”. In these Booking Conditions, “force majeure” means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity (actual or threatened), industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.

(1) We promise to make sure that the holiday arrangements we have agreed to make, perform or provide as applicable as part of our contract with you are made, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. This means that, subject to these booking conditions, we will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury or your contracted holiday arrangements are not provided as promised or prove deficient as a result of the failure of ourselves, our employees, agents or suppliers to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing, as applicable, your contracted holiday arrangements. Please note it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us. In addition, we will only be responsible for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for agents and suppliers). We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following:-

(a) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or
(b) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or
(c) “force majeure” as defined in clause 9 above.

We cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised by us and we have not agreed to arrange them as part of our contract.  Please also see clause 22. In addition, regardless of any wording used by us on our Product Manual CD, Website, in any of our brochures or elsewhere, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any greater or different liability to you.

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

(1) 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 (2) which did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees or, where we are responsible for them, our suppliers. Additionally we cannot accept liability for any business losses.

(2) The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of our contract - and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred - will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as having been properly provided.

(3) You must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require. You must also tell us and the supplier concerned about your claim or complaint as set out in clause 11 below. If asked to do so, you must transfer to us or our insurers any rights you have against the supplier or whoever else is responsible for your claim or complaint (if the person concerned is under 18, their parent or guardian must do so). You must also agree to cooperate fully with us and our insurers if we or our insurers want to enforce any rights which are transferred.

In the unlikely event that you have any reason to complain or experience any problems with your holiday whilst away, you must immediately inform the Diethelm Travel Sri Lanka, hotelier or other supplier in question. Any verbal notification must be put in writing and given to them as soon as possible. If the complaint or problem is not resolved to your satisfaction straight away, you must contact us with full details by telephone or fax within 48 hours. Until we know about a problem or complaint, we cannot assist. Most problems can be dealt with quickly. If you remain dissatisfied, however, you must write to us within 28 days of your return to your country of residence, giving your booking reference and full details of your complaint.

You should not have unreasonable expectations of the facilities that will be provided which in some remote areas and some destinations may be below what you might expect at home.  The level of the standard and quality of your travel arrangements will be in line with the itinerary and any literature you receive from us.

 

Bookings are accepted on the understanding that all persons travelling are normally in good health and able to fulfil the physical demands of the chosen holiday. Please do not take unnecessary risks while on an activity holiday. In the interests of safety, you must follow the guidance in our notes, as well as that provided by anybody on our behalf; comply with any local codes of conduct, follow the Country Code, and act sensibly and prudently at all times.

When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or loss (including lost keys) must be paid direct at the time to the accommodation owner or manager or other supplier. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us (together with our own and the other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions.

We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. If in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, you or any member of your party behaves in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party or damage to property, we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate the holiday of the person(s) concerned. In this situation, the person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other service. We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned.

If you have any special request, you must advise us at the time of booking. Although we will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant supplier, we regret we cannot promise that any request will be met unless we have specifically confirmed this in writing. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed onto the supplier or the inclusion of the request on your Booking Confirmation and Invoice or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met. Unless and until specifically confirmed, all special requests are subject to availability. We regret we cannot accept any conditional bookings, i.e. any booking which is specified to be conditional on the fulfilment of a particular request. All such bookings will be treated as “standard” bookings subject to the above provisions on special requests.

If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability or any health or fitness concerns which may affect your holiday or your participation in any activity or has any special requirements as a result of any medical condition or disability (including any which affect the booking process), please give us full details before you confirm your booking so that we can assist you in considering the suitability of the arrangements and/or making the booking. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. You must also advise us as soon as possible of any change or development in any disability or medical condition or your health or fitness which may affect your holiday develops after your booking has been confirmed. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned, we must reserve the right to decline their reservation or, if full details are not given at the time of booking or their health/fitness/disability/medical condition changes/deteriorates, cancel when we become aware of these details.

The information contained in our Product Manual CD, Brochure, on our website and in our other advertising material is believed correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of printing or publication. However, errors may occasionally occur and information may subsequently change.  You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) with us at the time of booking.