The Customer accepts the following Terms and Conditions, by affirmatively accepting per e-mail or chat (platforms used by our executives) the offer (price quote with tour itinerary and activities), which is submitted by Responsible Travel’s official executives.
Cancellation Fees may vary for certain custom itinerary tours; your Responsible Travel Specialist consultant will specify cancellation fees before making your reservation.
In these Terms and Conditions, the following definitions apply:
Customer/Passenger/Client is the customer accepting the offer
Fees are the fees payable for the services specified in the offer
Service means the services specified in the offer to be supplied by Responsible Travel to the Customer
Offer is the services and costs specified in the tour itinerary sent to the Customer and agreed by the parties.
Party means each of the Customer and Responsible Travel, and together the Customer and Responsible Travel are the parties.
Once the client agrees to the tour itinerary and costs, the client will be asked for a pre-payment for the tour. On receipt of this payment, Responsible Travel (hereinafter referred to as RT) will send written confirmation. This confirmation will serve as a legally binding contract for the services requested as per the agreed tour itinerary and details (unavoidable changes withstanding) once the balance of tour payment has been received (see section 2).
If the applicant registers for several travelers, he is responsible for all of their contractual obligations as if his own. With the conclusion of the contract, the customer agrees to the storage of his/her personal data for use by RT to facilitate the tour and its itinerary only. Your personal information will not be sold or misused for any commercial gain. For further information, please refer to our Privacy Policy section (visit: www.responsibletravelsa.com/Privacy-Policy).
To confirm the agreed travel contract, a non-refundable pre-payment of 30% of the costs per person must be paid. The remaining balance must be paid no later than 60 days before departure of the tour for all mainland tours in Ecuador and 90 days before departure for all travel to the Galápagos Islands and mainland tours in a South American destination except Ecuador.
If the client concludes his travel arrangements with RT less than 60 days before the departure date for mainland travel in Ecuador, or 90 days for the Galápagos Islands or a mainland tour in any South American destination except Ecuador, the tour must be paid in full immediately.
If a client fails to pay for his/her tour in full before the agreed final payment dates (60 days before departure for mainland travel in Ecuador and 90 days before departure for Galápagos Island or a mainland travel in South America except Ecuador) the client risks losing his/her tour. Equally, by failing to make the full payment before the due date, the client will lose his/her deposits for all travelers included in the reservation.
If the tour fee has not been paid in full before the arranged travel start, RT will be released from its service obligations and may require the customer to pay any appropriate resignation costs.
The airfare for all packages may not be guaranteed regarding price or availability until paid in full. Schedule, flights, and fares are based on current rates at the time of ticketing. These may change without notice. RT executives will make a great effort to obtain the best fares and schedule available. Once a flight is booked, the price of it must be paid in full immediately. No refunds are available in case of cancellations.
To pay, please make a wire transfer to one of the following international bank accounts in Germany and Ecuador (Note: RT is a German-Ecuadorian venture):
Account Name: Ecuador Galapagos Reisen
Account Number: 31328
BLZ: 586 512 40
Bank: Kreissparkasse Vulkaneifel
Street: Leopoldstrasse 13
City: 54550 Daun
Country: Germany
IBAN: DE74586512400000031328
BIC/SWIFT-Code: MALADE51DAU
Ecuador Galapagos Reisen
Wilson OE 7-56 y Diego de Almagro, La Mariscal.
Quito, Ecuador.
Account Name: Responsible Travel Operadora de Turismo Cía. Ltda.
Account Number: 3484713504
Bank: Banco del Pichincha
Street: Amazonas 4560 y Pereira
City: Quito
Country: Ecuador
SWIFT-Code: PICHECEQ
Responsible Travel Operadora de Turismo Cía. Ltda.
Wilson OE 7-56 y Diego de Almagro, La Mariscal.
Quito, Ecuador.
The scope of services is detailed as per our descriptions, illustrations, and quotations as presented on the RT web page and in the agreed services according to the offer (see section 1).
RT reserves the right to modify tour information (by email or detailed on the web page) before confirming the tour with the client through a written offer as per section 1. However, once a tour is confirmed and payment received, RT reserves the right to modify the tour only as a result of legitimate and unforeseeable circumstances.
Such circumstances include; modifications or deviations from the travel descriptions during the tour due to road conditions, severe weather and official arbitrariness among others; the travel process indicated in the travel description cannot be guaranteed though under all circumstances RT will only adjust the tour with consideration to the best interests of the client. The agreed travel descriptions only represent the planned travel process, without guaranteeing the details of the exact operational sequence.
If clients request special arrangements prior or during the tour, e.g., modification of the tour due to severe weather, once agreed, a written contract must be signed by both parties.
Modifications and/or deviations of the itinerary or program due to unforeseen and/or exceptional circumstances out of RT control, any additional costs incurred will be charged to the client.
RT cannot be held responsible for any changes to transportation costs, airport taxes, park entrance fees or the like that are subject to variation and are outside of RT control. We will endeavor to inform passengers of any changes as soon as possible.
RT is entitled to increase the travel price after conclusion of the travel contract as a result of increased transportation costs or charges for certain performances, port or airport taxes or modification to the exchange rates that may affect final costs; any such changes can occur only if the time between the reservation and departure date is at least 4 months or more. If this should be the case, the customer will be informed immediately, but no later than 21 days prior to departure. Price increases thereafter are not admissible.
All extra charges that arise due to the modification of the itinerary caused by the client will be debited to the client for immediate payment. The aforementioned charges include; late arrival of the customer to the airport or port resulting in missing embarkation, late arrival to trekking tours, a premature exit of the country for whatever reason (health, personal, legal, etc.), illness or accident costs incurred during the trip (e.g., helicopter evacuation, hospitalization, hotel stay for a chaperon or companion).
If RT needs to advance money to meet an acute emergency, then the amount laid advanced must be refunded to RT immediately after the termination of the journey.
RT can withdraw the tour offer up to 14 days before the travel start date if the number of required participants for the tour isn’t met, but only if the travel description for the corresponding tour refers to a minimum number of participants.
The assertion that the minimum number of participants is not achieved and that the journey is therefore cancelled, must reach the customer at the latest, 14 days before the travel start date. The customer will receive an immediate refund for any payments previously made, but is not entitled to any compensation or further reclamation.
RT can withdraw its services after the travel start date if it is deemed that the client in any way is behaving or disturbing the tour in an unsatisfactory manner. In particular this applies if the customer fails to meet specific requirements for the tour in question (physical and/or mental health, general capabilities, technical skills where applicable etc).
If RT cancels the tour, the costs incurred up and until that date, including advanced payments for contracted services for the tour, will not be refundable. The client will only be entitled to refunds as decided by RT in consideration of incurred tour costs.
The customer can withdraw from the contract at any time before beginning the tour however this must be done in writing.
Refunds can only be made under the following cancellation guidelines, as pre-tour costs will be incurred and cannot be recuperated by RT.
Cancellation Fees may vary for certain custom itinerary tours; your Responsible Travel Specialist consultant will specify cancellation fees before making your reservation.
Therefore, the following refunds can be given for cancelled tours:
a) For mainland tours in Ecuador which do not include boat trips / cruises:
60 days or more before departure:
Full refund, excluding the nonrefundable prepayment of 30%.
From 59 to 21 days before departure:
Refund of 60% of the travel price
From 20 to 10 days before departure:
Refund of 50% of the travel price
From 9 to 5 days before departure:
Refund of 20% of the travel price
From 4 days until departure;
0% will be refunded
b) For journeys that include boat trips / cruises, the following conditions apply:
90 days or more before departure:
Full Refund excluding the nonrefundable prepayment of 30%.
From 89 to 60 days before departure:
Refund of 50% of the travel price
From 59 to 40 days before departure:
Refund of 40% of the travel price
From 39 to 31 days before departure:
Refund of 30% of the travel price
From 30 days until departure date:
0% will be refunded
Important: Please note that for Galápagos Charters, the cancellation fees can vary according to the chosen boat and therefore will be confirmed individually.
c) For mainland tours in a South American destination (excepting Ecuador):
90 days or more before departure:
Full Refund excluding minimum cancellation fee of USD $50 per person
From 89 to 31 days before departure:
Refund of 80% of the travel price
From 30 to 10 days before departure:
Refund of 50% of the travel price
From 9 to 5 days before departure:
Refund of 20% of the travel price
From 4 days until departure:
0% will be refunded
If travel services are not performed according to the contractual offer, then the liability of RT depends on the national laws. The customer can request compensation, for which RT has the right to refuse if deemed unreasonable. RT will try and rectify any situation to provide an equal quality of tour.
In the case of reoccurring poor performance, the customer is obliged to immediately complain to the agency or its representative, usually the guide, stating the problems experienced. If the customer does not raise the issue to the agency or its representative, he/she cannot later claim any contractual compensation.
The cancellation of the travel contract by the customer due to quality issues that substantially impair the tour is only permissible if RT has not carried out reasonable attempts to rectify any shortcomings.
If the customer wishes to file a claim against RT for compensation due to failure to comply with contractual obligations, then the customer must announce to RT its intentions within one month from the termination of the contractually agreed tour.
Service provides, tour guides or other local agencies are not authorized to receive claims.
Claims being made for unlawful actions by RT must be submitted within 3 years of the termination of the tour contract as per international law.
The place of jurisdiction for any claim is Quito, Ecuador.
RT arranges accommodations, transportation, and related travel services to the passenger only with the condition that RT shall not be liable for any injury, damage, death, delay, mishap, inconvenience, or irregularity occasioned through the negligent or willful failure to act of any person or company which is to or does provide services in conjunction with this tour, including, without limitation, the negligence of RT.
RT does not own, operate, control, manage, or supervise any supplier of goods or services to the trip, nor does it own any accommodations, transportation, and/or related travel services utilized on this trip.
RT is not responsible for the acts or inaction of third parties to this trip and bears no responsibility for any action or inaction of any such third parties.
RT is not liable for any damage, loss, death, injury, inconvenience or expense from any such action or inaction including, without limitation, those resulting directly or indirectly from acts of force majeure, downgrading of accommodations or hotel problems of any kind, from governmental actions of any kind, weather, sickness or epidemics or the threat thereof, financial difficulties or insolvency of suppliers, contaminated or unwholesome food, strikes or labor disturbances, theft or criminal activity of any kind, terrorism or the threat thereof, lack of availability or access to adequate, competent or appropriate medical care or evacuation services, any of the risks described in page one of this document such as harsh terrain, high altitude, oxygen deprivation, sanitation problems, scuba diving, boating or swimming, dangers incident to the sea, animal riding, dangers incident to wild or domestic animals and dangerous or poisonous fauna or flora, delays incident to or failures of transportation mechanisms to arrive or depart in a timely or safe manner, or from any other cause.
Without limiting the above, RT is not responsible for any additional expenses or for unforeseen delays resulting from any of the above. RT is not responsible for additional hotel nights not specified in the individual trip itineraries, which may be required on route prior to or following a trip caused by airline scheduling or schedule changes or by individual clients’ travel arrangements or by other factors. RT assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to baggage or personal property.
In no event shall RT have any liability for incidental or consequential damages, however characterized.
RT reserves the right to substitute hotels, tour leaders, and yachts, and to alter the itinerary when deemed necessary or advisable.
Participants are solely responsible for obtaining their passports, insuring the ongoing validity of same, and for obtaining any necessary visas or other necessary travel documents.
RT reserves the right to decline to accept or retain any person or member on any trip should such person’s actions or general deportment impede the operation of the trip, create a safety problem or impact the rights, welfare or enjoyment of other members of the trip. No refunds will be given in any such circumstances.
RT reserves the right to take photographic or film records of our trips, and may use any such records for promotional and/or commercial purposes.
In case the journey is substantially difficult or dangerous and incorporates risk of any nature due to unusual circumstances (e.g., war, strike, unrest, epidemic diseases, sovereign arrangement….), then both the customer and RT can withdraw from or cancel the travel contract.
In the case of emergency procedures for unforeseen circumstances the client is liable for the full extent of the incurred costs (e.g. hospitalization, additional accommodation and food) except for emergency transportation to which RT will contribute up to 50% of the total cost. Any further demands are excluded.
The traveller is responsible for meeting any entry and health regulations, passport, customs requirements, visas, and currency import regulations on their own and at their own costs. All disadvantages and charges which arise from disregard to these regulations are accountable to the client even if regulation changes have been modified after the reservation was made. If at all possible, RT will inform customers of important modifications to the general regulations as described in the travel descriptions of the tours before the start of the tour.
The trips may be taken by anyone in good physical condition. Even an easy trip is more enjoyable if the client is fit. As the client will have to go up and down stairways, walk over irregular terrain, and get on and off the yacht from a small skiff, the clients are encouraged to get in shape by exercising regularly. Some itineraries require walking or hiking over irregular terrain on challenging trails. Running, hiking, swimming, bicycling, and aerobics are all good conditioners. Please contact us if you have any questions about your ability to do a particular trip. Once a trip has started, and you cannot participate in a certain activity because it is beyond your physical abilities, kindly note that there will be no refunds for any unused portion of the trip.
You must be, in general, good health. It is vital that persons with medical problems and related dietary restrictions make them known to us well before departure. Our staff will discuss with you the advisability of the particular trip you have selected. The trip leader is entitled to disqualify any member from the group at any time if considered medically necessary to avoid endangering the welfare of the group. Refunds are not given under such circumstances.
RT is not a medical facility and has no expertise or responsibility regarding which medications or inoculations you and your private physician should decide necessary for your safe participation on the trip.
RT assumes no liability regarding provision of medical care. Trip members are urged to check their coverage to be certain it is adequate.
When buying the services of RT, the customer confirms that he/she is in a good general health condition and frees RT of any liability and refund caused by any damage due to the customer’s own health negligence.
The invalidity of single regulations within the travel contract does not stipulate the invalidity of the entire travel contract.
To cover your investment in your trip and any unforeseen medical emergencies, we recommend you purchase trip cancellation insurance coverage that would reimburse you for non-refundable airfare and trip cancellation fees should you have to cancel your trip due to personal or family illness. Furthermore, we highly recommend a health insurance covering any medical treatment in Ecuador.
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