Terms And Conditions

Your holiday contract with us is entirely based and in subject to these terms and conditions. The contract is governed under English Law and any matter arising under it is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. Unless mutually agreed in writing by you and us, the terms of this contract shall remain unchanged.

By agreeing into a contract with us, you agree that you have the right and authority to place all persons, named in the booking form, under the legal obligations of these terms and conditions.

A contract between you and us will be active when:
○ We receive a complete and signed booking form from you, along with the deposit requested for your holiday package; and
○ We send you a confirmed invoice of the booking issued, stating the remaining balance (if any) due from your side.

Note: Provisional bookings will not be considered a contract until we have received a completed booking form along with the required deposit for the holiday package.

In your contract, packages as chosen by you at the time of booking, transport at the holiday destinations included in your package, all breakfasts while you are at your respective hotels, sight-seeing, services of our representative, activity leader or guide as mentioned on the brochure and all other services that you have paid for at the time of booking.

Excursions

Many of our holidays include excursions and various activities that we have found suitable for visually and hearing impaired. A standard excursion may be included as a part of the holiday in order to maximize your holiday experience. Wherever these excursions and extra activities are provided on our brochure, they are included in the contract and the price mentioned by us. You will be receiving a confirmation of such with the information pack of the respective holiday.

We may also inform you about any other independent excursions which are not included in your holiday initially. These may be added in the information pack or revealed to you during the span of the holiday. You can avail such excursions from the local operators as a separate purchase. If possible, we will try to provide you with the estimated costs of these activities for you to plan your budget in advance. You will be entirely responsible to decide if these excursions suit you. Any participation by you in excursions or activities out of our holiday package will be at your own risk. We will also not be responsible for any contract(s) between you and the local operator(s) providing such excursions.

We have tried our best to mention on our brochures the fitness and mobility level which we find necessary for all our holidays, but you are entirely responsible to determine that you are fit and find no issues in participating in the holiday of your choice. You are solely responsible to make sure that you are fit and prepared for the holiday you have chosen and this will be a given to us unless any other information is provided to us in written.

At the time of booking your holiday, we must be informed for any personal requirements that you may have in relevance to your mobility, diet, fitness and general health condition, medicine which you are taking and will need or any other condition that may hinder your ability to travel or take part in the holiday package of your choice. Between the time period of your booking and departure date, if you gain knowledge of anything related to such matters that would have been informed to us prior to booking, you must inform us urgently. On our part, we will do the best we can to meet your requirement needs and make any possible adjustments to your holiday plan, but we must reserve the right to cancel your booking or make arrangements for an alternative holiday plan that we find suitable for you if your chosen holiday raises concern to us regarding your health and safety and/or enjoyment of other persons travelling under the same holiday plan. In such cases, we have no obligation or liability to you other than refunding the holiday price to the limit it has been paid to us, minus any supplements.

In these special cases, we will be forwarding special requests concerning your diet, accommodation requirements etc. to our suppliers, but we are not responsible for failure or in-completion to accomplish such requests.

Any extra requirements that might be needed apart from the services opted at the time of booking or notified to us in advance, may result in additional cost and expense. These charges will be added to the final invoice and if necessary, they shall be paid immediately on request.

We do not provide the facility to book flights for your holidays booked with us. You are required to make your own flight arrangements and inform us of your itinerary so a proper airport pickup and dropoff can be arranged at the destination. Able Journeys will not be held responsible for any sudden changes in flight and will not be held responsible for any such occasion. An additional charge of £30 will be levied if you require us to make any changes on your flight tickets booked by you.

Also, if you require for us to book the flight tickets through a third party for you, there will be an additional service charge of £30. We do not hold any responsibility if the third party fails to provide their services and/or there is an error or change regarding the booked flight. The service charge will be non-refundable at all times.

We make every effort to make sure that the holiday prices given on the brochures are correct at the time of printing, but it may be possible that at times it is required to make certain changes in the prices in order to bring changes in the contracts between us and suppliers. For such reasons, we must reserve the right to alter the prices of the holidays presented on our brochures. The current price for your holiday will be advised to you at the time of your enquiry or at any certain point before your booking is finalized with us.

However the price is not subject to be changed within 30 days of the departure date.

Price does not include air travel, tips, medical/ travel insurance or any gratuities.

Deposits

You are required to pay the deposit of £250 at the end of the booking process. Until we have received the deposit regarding your concerned holiday, no contract will come active and we will not be obligated or hold responsibilities to you. Your deposit amount will be determined by the complete holiday price (including the additional services you have opted for).

This deposit will be non-refundable we will be retaining it with us as a part of any cancellation charge due to us in the event of a holiday cancellation.

Payment of Balance

We will issue and send you a confirmation invoice that will show the remaining balance of the holiday price still due. This will also include the extra charges for any additional services that you opted for. Unless in some specific cases mentioned on our brochures or on the invoice, this remaining balance should be paid no later than 60 days before departure.

We reserve the right to request for an early payment of the pending amount than the time mentioned above. If applicable, this will be stated in the information pack of your holiday.

A failure on your behalf to pay the due amount will entitle us to treat the contract as cancelled by you and retain the deposit.

Late Bookings

For all bookings that are made after the time for payment of balance as mentioned above, you are required to pay the full price of the holiday at the time of booking.

If a booking is requested less than 8 weeks before the departure date per schedule, it may require a payment of charges imposed by our suppliers. You will be informed about such charges before the booking is finalized or accepted.

Special Requests

Any special requests or requirements, which you must provide in writing in the booking form, will not form part of the contract and we cannot guarantee the provision. However will be will ensure that your needs are passed on to our suppliers.

Surcharges

Any uncertain change in transportation costs (including fuel charges), taxes and other service charges at airport, exchange rates etc. may result in a revision of your holiday price post booking. You will not be charged up to 2% of the holiday price (not including amendment or supplement charges mentioned under these terms and conditions) but we have the right to charge you for if the increase in price is above that. In cases where the amount exceeds 10% or more of the holiday price, you have the choice to transfer to another holiday package if we can offer you one. If the package offered is higher or equal quality or value, there will be no price difference charged to you. If it the available holiday is of lesser value, a difference of price will be refunded to you. Also, you will be entitled to make a cancellation of your holiday without paying any penalty charges and receive the full refund of the sum paid to us for the holiday, minus the amendment charges. An appropriate refund will be considered of any insurance premium which might have been paid by you for your holiday with us, provided you can show that you cannot transfer or re-use the policy.

We must be notified within 14 days of the date of the final confirmation if you wish to cancel your booking regarding the reason mentioned above. Failure of such will entitle you to accept the surcharges and subsequent cancellation charges in accordance with clause 11 below.

All the above mentioned surcharges will be included in the final invoice as part of the due amount. If necessary, these will be invoiced separately.

In times when the surcharges described brings the holiday price down by more than 2%, the amount will be deducted and refunded to you as soon as possible. This may be done either by credit in the final invoice for due amount or by a repayment. Please note that travel arrangements are purchased in variable currencies and some changes do not affect the holiday price due to contract and other protection in place.

No surcharges will be made within 30 days of the departure date.

Guiding Assistance

We provide on-demand assistance to our clients at an extra cost. To hire an attendant from us, you are required to inform us before making such booking. We outsource attendant service to other companies at the country of origin or destination (as applicable). However these companies go through a thorough background check by us, we do not hold any responsibility if the respected company fails to provide their service as promised.

We also have the provision of volunteer service. The price for a holiday package for volunteers is slightly reduced than the regular price for a disabled traveller. Volunteers can only be treated as a travel companion and are not professionally trained to perform basic medical procedures. Only those with a CRB check are eligible to volunteer on holiday packages provided by us. Any misconduct from the volunteer despite of the background check will not be held against us at any point of time.

A visually impaired person who will require assistance from a sighted guide and/or will not be travelling with sighted companion will be required to pay a guiding assistance supplement which will be added to the final balance of the holiday price.

Methods of Payment

You can make your payment by debit / credit card. Services accepted by us are Visa, MasterCard, Delta, Maestro and Switch. Credit card (not debit card) payments will be subjected to additional handling fee of 2% of the transaction amount.

Payment may also be made by cheque (payable to Able Journeys) and bank transfer. We cannot accept post-dated cheques. If you wish to pay by bank transfer, please contact us through email on info@ablejourneys.com or call +44 – 0121 40 33 239 for further details.

Guide Dogs

You are welcome to bring your guide dogs on all holidays which are indicated on our brochures.

There are times when the airline or travel route may not be suitable for guide dogs. At such times, an alternative travel arrangement can be made, but it may result to additional cost and organization by the owner of the guide dog.

Amendment to your booking

Once the confirmation invoice has been issued by us and you wish to alter or amend your booking (this will also include any special request or services), you must notify us by phone and we must receive your request in writing as well. We will try our best to fulfill your request but we cannot confirm or assure you that it will be made possible. All changes are subject to availability and also may add to extra charges demanded by our suppliers. An additional administration charge of up to £10 will be applied and all such charges will be invoiced to you and are required to be paid immediately. No requests or amendments will come into effect until the payment has been cleared.

Transfer to another holiday

After we have issued the confirmation invoice, and you wish for a transfer to a different holiday, this will be considered as a cancellation by us and applicable cancellation charges will be charged according to clause 11. All transfers are subject to availability and you meeting the necessary requirements of fitness and mobility for the new chosen holiday.

Transfer to another person

In times when we have issued the confirmation invoice and you or your travel companion is unable to participate in the holiday, you can choose to transfer the reservation to another person. For such cases there will be no penalty fee but there will be a £50 charge as administration fee, provided:

○ You have a genuine reason, like illness, bereavement or jury service for being unable to travel or participate in the holiday – if we find it appropriate, we will have the right to request for an evidence for your reason
○ The new person to whom the holiday is being transferred to meets the necessary requirements for that specific holiday.
○ Whilst all the money been already paid for the booking will be treated as transferred to a new booking, both of the new travellers (and not the person who has been replaced) will be personally liable for any and all payments due to us. This will also include all charges (if any) payable by us to the supplier for making this change.
○You notify us of the transfer request not any later than 21 days before your departure. We cannot guarantee assurance of any transfer if the request is made any later than this, but we will try our best to fulfill your request.

You may choose to cancel your booking at any point of time. To do so, you must notify us by phone and the cancellation should be confirmed to us in writing only by the person who booked the holiday. The date on which we are first informed about the cancellation request, will be considered as the effective date of cancellation. The cancellation charges are as follows:

INSERT TABLE FUNCTION (NOT AVAILABLE)

However, if your travel insurance covers the reason for your cancellation then you may be able to have these charges reimbursed to you by the insurance company.

At any time if you decide to leave your holiday before its completion, we will not be liable to refund the charges for any part of your holiday that you have not used.

If you have been terminated from participating in a holiday according to clauses 4 and 16, then we will have no liability to you and you alone will be responsible for the alternate travel arrangements and their cost.

Minor Changes

It is very unlikely that we have to make any changes to your holiday, but since the planning has to be done months in advance, there might be a slight possibility that some changes occur. In such cases we reserve the right to do so. These changes may include and affect transportation, accommodation, time and place of departure and also the itinerary of the holiday. These changes, usually, are minor in nature and you will be informed of these as quickly as possible by us. In case these changes result in you choosing to cancel your holiday, then the cancellation charges will be applied as mentioned in clause 11.

Major Changes

It is sometimes necessary to make a considerable amount of change in your holiday. Such cases may include (and are not limited to):

○ the main town or resort where the holiday is based.
○ a lower level of accommodation than the one that was booked for majority of the holiday – a change to an equal or similar standard will be considered a minor change.
○ more than 25% of excursions and activities in the planned itinerary.
○ duration of the holiday of more than 20%

You will be notified of any major change occurs as quickly as we can make it possible. In these cases you will have a choice of (i) accepting the change(s), or (ii) accepting an alternative holiday suitable for you if available at that period of time (you will be refunded any difference in price), or (iii) cancelling your holiday and thus receiving a full refund of the holiday price paid by you. In all of these cases, we will be paying you the appropriate compensation, unless the change(s) are caused due to unusual, unavoidable or unforeseen circumstances that are beyond our control. This may also include an insufficient demand for the holiday or unavailability of sighted guides that are mandatory for the holiday.

Cancellation & Curtailment

We reserve the right to cancel any holiday that has an insufficient demand, this will entitle you to have a full refund of the holiday price you have paid and we shall have no obligation or liability to you.

If your holiday is cancelled for any reason other than the ones mentioned in these terms and condition or in due to a an even of force majeure, we will be refunding you all the money paid by you and also pay you the compensation where applicable.

Force Majeure

We are not to be held responsible for any failure in performing the contract or any specific part of it (also including cancellation) where it is due to unforeseen events that are beyond our control or power and also beyond the control of our suppliers. These cases include (and are not limited to), war or any similar threat, terrorist or extremists activities and their consequences, riots, government acts (national or local), disputes, civil unrest, natural disasters, nuclear disasters, fire or flood, adverse weather conditions, epidemics, advices from international governments or W.H.O., airports or ports closure and any other technical difficulties with transport.

Compensation

We shall not be liable to pay you any compensations if your holiday has been cancelled or changed due to the following reasons:

○ You fail to pay any sum of money that is due to us by the required date, or
○ Insufficient demand for the holiday, or
○ An event of force majeure.

Your passport should have minimum 6 months of validity remaining in it by the end date of your chosen holiday. We have tried our best to provide Visa information in respective to your country on our brochures. If you need to obtain a visa, you should give sufficient time to make sure that your Visa has been approved and given to you by the date of departure.

You are solely responsible for meeting any visa requirements for your holiday and obtaining the visa from the respective embassy or consulate. Please check your Visa requirements before you booking your holiday. You must pay all applicable cancellation charges if you have to cancel your booking due to an unsuccessful Visa application. Cancellation charges will be applied as mentioned in clause 11.

We do not qualify to advice you or pass any information regarding your health and medical issues. You alone are responsible for checking and ensuring that you have taken necessary protection that may be required for the concerned country of your holiday. Please note that some countries do not facilitate services that may be covered by your Health Insurance and also that some services may not be covered by your Health Insurance internationally. In such cases you must bear the cost of care and medical treatment.

At all times, you solely hold responsibility for making sure that you are meeting all the necessary conditions and requirements when it concerns your passports, visas, immigration and health matters. We have no liability to you if such entities withhold you from travelling.

Around 4 weeks prior to the departure date you will be receiving a confirmation which will include the details of when and where to meet the rest of the members of your group. You must carry this information with you on the travel day. It is your responsibility to ensure that you arrive at the point of meet by the appointed time.

If, you fail to arrive at the meeting point by the given time, you must immediately contact our representative and the mobile telephone number provided in the confirmation package. The representative will then guide you and provide any assistance that is reasonably possible. We cannot guarantee for re-arrangements for your travel. It will be then your responsibility to make any additional arrangements that may be available for you at that point of time. For such circumstances, we shall have no responsibility or liability to you in any form.

You are expected to show care and consideration to others. Any misbehavior which may cause distress to anyone or compromises the safety of the group will not be tolerated. If your behavior is considered to be risking the safety of others, causing offense or distress or damage to property or in general inappropriate, we reserve the right to terminate your participation in your holiday or any other part of it. In such cases you will be required to leave the accommodation and make arrange something on your own to return home. We will have no liability or responsibility to you of any form and you may also be precluded from booking another holiday with us.

The vehicle(s) involved in transportation that are owned by us are subject to the conditions mentioned below and in case of hired vehicles the conditions of the respective owner. Any failure to accept and follow these conditions will be considered as improper behavior according to clause 16.

○ Our representative or the driver of the vehicle will have sole authority to determine in which way or cause the vehicle should be used during the holiday. You must follow and adhere to any of the decisions that they have issued regarding the use of the vehicle and travel arrangements. Any damage caused by you or any other loss or expense done by you will result in a penalty that you will have to pay.
○ You must follow all local laws and rules and regulations regarding seatbelts and using other safety equipment.
○ You must not cause any distraction to the vehicle driver as they are responsible for your safety and the other members of the group.
○ You are not allowed to carry any illegal or unlawful substance with you (including but not limited to firearms or other undeclared goods which would attract customs duty).

In case of a problem or complaint, you must inform our representative immediately so that the necessary actions can be taken, if practically possible. We also would like for you to inform the respective local supplier and fill out any report form that may be available at that point. If you are dissatisfied with your accommodation supplier or even your room companion, our representative or the supplier must be informed immediately so that an alternative can be arranged. However, in some cases this may involve an additional charge which can be paid directly to the concerned accommodation supplier.

If for any reason you complaint is not resolved during the holiday and you would like to follow up on it further, you must do it within 3 months from the date of your return home by writing to Able Journeys at Unit – 730, The Big Peg, 120 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham – UK B18 6NF or calling at +44 – 0121 40 33 239. Please provide your booking reference number and other necessary information through which we can identify and investigate it in full detail.

You must also report immediately in cases of accident, physical injury, illness, death or any loss or damage to property, so our representative can take necessary steps to deal with the situation.

Your failure to follow this simple procedure may deprive us of any opportunity to resolve the situation at your accommodation and also may affect your rights under the holiday contract.

If our suppliers fail to perform the contract or perform it incompletely, we will pay you the compensation applicable to the circumstance and if it affected your enjoyment of the holiday. We will not be liable to you for any failure of performance due to any one of the following reasons:

○ Your own act or conduct and any matter that you have failed to mention at the booking time or any point of time before the start of your holiday.
○ Act or conduct of a third party who is not connected to the holiday arrangements, applied that it was unavoidable.
○ Any circumstances beyond our control and of which the consequence were unavoidable even after excessive care.
○ Any event which we or the suppliers could not foresee even with all due care.

In cases that may involve an unfortunate death, illness or major injury, our liability shall be limited to a maximum of twice the holiday price.

Our liability to you shall be limited to:

○ The contractual terms of transport services suppliers at any part of the holiday, which may be added in the contract.
○ Any international conventions that may cause injury, death or delay to passengers or loss, damage or delay to luggage.

Copies of contractual terms of the suppliers may be requested by applying to our office at Unit – 730, The Big Peg, 120 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham – UK B18 6NF or calling +44 – 0121 40 33 239.

If we are required to make a payment to you in circumstances where we may have the right of recourse against a third party whose act conduct or omission has caused us to make that payment, you agree to offer your co-operation and assist us in pursuing any such recourse. This may include the commencement of legal action in your name and the assignment to us of your own right of action, but this would not affect your own right make your claim against the same third party for compensation or any damages separate from the sum paid by us to you.

We try our best in providing holiday experiences for a wide selection of tastes and budgets, also including holidays in countries where culture may differ from your home country. Health and safety rules and regulations may not be of the same standards as what you are accustomed to, which is particularly important on holidays that have been classified under “adventure”; accommodation may be lower or different than the kind you are familiar with in your nation; and cuisine may differ immensely than how you find back home. We request you to have a positive and flexible attitude to these differences which most certainly add to the experience of travelling these countries.

If in any case there is a failure in performance or a case of improper performance attributed to a third party that is not connected with any part of the holiday, or as a result of failures due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances that are beyond our power and control, the consequences of which are unavoidable even when taken immense care, or an event which we or the respective suppliers, even with all care taken, could not foresee or forestall, and you are injured or lose any material, we will offer you prompt assistance that is within reasonable possibility.

For holidays in India we have tried our best to collaborate with a third party and provide you with toilets while you are on road (as availability of disabled friendly toilets is scarce on Indian highways). Any failure to accommodate this feature from the third party will not be our responsibility. However, we will do what we possibly can to provide an alternative solution, but we cannot guarantee that the exact need will be met. In such cases, you will be refunded the charges that you have paid for this additional service.

We assure that we take all necessary measures to run a background check on the volunteers that will be accompanying you in your travel. Same way the carers and attendants you hire are government certified and experienced in their duties. Anyone who volunteers or provides their assistance with us is required to submit their respective country’s background clearance certificate that is approved from their government. Even then, if there is a case where you have a complaint regarding the services or attitude or behavior of any of these, we advise you to immediately inform our representative so the necessary measures can be taken. Any failure on your behalf to report any unaccepted behavior from the accompanying volunteer, attendants or caregivers, will deprive us to take necessary actions towards ensuring that you have an enjoyable and safe trip.

Able Journeys owns the right to photograph, film or video (using any source of capturing, storing or processing the images or media) any part of your holiday which may include you and/or your group. While booking your holiday with us, you may choose to agree or disagree on behalf of the members of your group for the utilization of such material by Able Journeys for publication, presentations, sales & marketing communication, newsletters in print or digital without limitations and to any extent necessary. By agreeing, you license us to utilize such media in part or whole for all such related purposes.

In any case where you have left any private property at the resort/accommodation you stayed during your holiday booked with us and would like us to retrieve it for you, a service charge of £30 will be levied. This is non-refundable in case the item(s) is/are not found at the specified destination. For any further assistance you can contact us at our offices.

On rare occasions it is possible an error has been made while inputting the holiday prices on our brochures and reservation system. In such cases any contract entered on the basis of an erroneous price will be considered void. If a payment has been made in this case, a full refund will be provided and the booking will be cancelled immediately.

In rare occasions due to limited accessible resources for ground travel at some destinations only shared accessible transportation will be provided by us. When possible (depending on the availability), group/shared transportation may be converted to private. You must note that all holidays provided by us are on a shared transportation basis. However, accommodations will be as per your choice at the time of booking.

Accommodations displayed on our brochures are subjected to change due to availability (specially in south asian and other countries with limited accessible accommodations). While we do not affirm the exact hotel/resort as mentioned on our publication, a similar accommodation will be provided as per your choice at the time of booking. Depending on the disability, we will confirm you about your accommodation at the time of Provisional Booking.

Note: All accommodations mentioned on our brochure consist of basic accessibility features. For any additional requirements regarding accessibility equipments and assistance an additional charge will be levied.

Visa services offered by us come at an additional cost (supplementary to the original visa cost) of £30 service charge per person per visa. This will be included in all mentioned prices on our brochures and other publications.

The useful information and other important details mentioned on our brochure which affect your choice of holiday with us are included in these Terms and Conditions. You are required to read these carefully and accept before entering in a contract with us. Failure to do so and proceed in making a booking with us may lead to disappointment which we do not hold responsibility.

Although immense care has been taken to provide our customers with the best service and hassle free travelling, we always strive on surpassing ourselves with each experience. If you have any suggestions, questions or comments, please take some time in writing to us and letting us know how we can serve you better. You can send us your thoughts through our Contact Us form or writing to us on this address – Unit – 730, The Big Peg, 120 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham – UK B18 6NF.