TERMS & CONDITIONS

Please read this carefully as bookings with Smaug Abroad Ltd are accepted only in accordance with the terms and conditions set out below.

We are Smaug Abroad Ltd, registered in England No. 4061885. Registered office: The School Lodge, Bardwell Rd., Oxford OX2 6SS

Booking Arrangements. Please return the booking form together with the deposit. If we accept your booking we will send you confirmation, and at that point a contract will exist between us. To remind you that payment is due, an invoice for the balance will be sent to be settled within 8 weeks of the departure date. If you book within 8 weeks of departure, the full amount is payable then.

If you fail to pay the balance by the due date, then we will treat the booking as having been cancelled and we will be entitled to retain the deposit as a cancellation charge.

Cancellations.

Smaug Abroad reserves the right to cancel the contract any time up to 8 weeks before the trip if the minimum number required to run the trip have not booked or if unforeseen circumstances make it unwise to proceed with the trip. We will then immediately return all payments made to us, but will have no further liability to you for any costs arising from such cancellation.

If you wish to cancel for any reason, inform Smaug immediately. On receipt of your cancellation, the following charges apply:

56 days or more - Deposit
55 - 31 days - 75% (of the full price)
30 - 0 days - 100%

Changes to Party Members. If you wish to substitute one or more members of your party with other individuals in circumstances where the total number of party members remains the same as originally booked, then we will try to accommodate this, but will not be obliged to do so. Any changes will incur a £25 charge. If you cannot find a suitable substitute, then an appropriate cancellation charge will be levied.

Changes to the Itinerary.

We reserve the right to make changes to the itinerary. If the change is a major one, then you will be entitled to cancel the contract, in which case we will immediately return all monies previously you have paid us. If the change is not a major one, then if you cancel you will be liable to pay cancellation charges as above. (A change to the Expedition Itinerary will be deemed to be a major one if it results in an alteration to the time of departure or return of the expedition of more than 24 hours from the time stated in the expedition itinerary or if it results in any change to the expedition itinerary which significantly affects the overall aims and objectives of the expedition.)

Prices and Surcharges.

Although we do not expect any change to the price advertised, we reserve the right to increase or decrease the price at any time up to 30 days before travelling. We will absorb any increase up to the limit of 2% of the holiday price (excluding insurance premiums). Only amounts above this figure will be surcharged. If it is necessary to increase the price by more than 10% from the original price, then you will be entitled to cancel the contract and we will return all monies paid. If you wish to cancel in these circumstances, then you must notify us within 7 days from the date on which the surcharge invoice is sent to you. We will have no further liability to you arising from any such cancellation.

Limitation of Liability.

Smaug Abroad’s liability to you or any member of the party arising under the contract or in relation to the expedition shall be limited as set out below:

We will have no liability to you for any delays in transportation however caused, or any losses or expenses incurred by any member of the party arising from such delays.

We will have no liability for any loss, damage or injury incurred by you or any member of the party arising from (a) any act or default by you or any member of the Party; or (b) any failure by any parent or guardian accompanying a member of the party who is under the age of 18 to comply with his or her obligations under Conduct, or (c) any act or default of a third party who is unconnected with the provision of any services under the Contract and which acts or defaults were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or (d) any unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the Company the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or (e) any event which neither the Company nor the supplier of services under the Contract could have foreseen or forestalled even with all due care.

Smaug Abroad’s liability will be limited in accordance with the provisions of all international conventions which relate to Transportation and accommodation namely the Warsaw Convention 1929 (including as amended by the Hague Protocol 1955), the Berne Convention 1961, the Athens Convention 1974, the Geneva Convention 1973 and the Paris Convention 1962. Copies of these conventions are available on request.

Where airlines and other carriers providing transportation issue tickets which incorporate terms and conditions of carriage which limit liability, then Smaug Abroad’s liability to you or any member of the party will be subject to those same limitations of liability. Copies of these terms and conditions of carriage are available on request.

Under no circumstances, other than in the case of liability for death or personal injury will the Company's total aggregate liability to the Client and any member of the Party under this Contract exceed a sum which is twice the amount of the Price. In the event that any compensation is paid by Smaug Abroad to you or any member of the party as a result of any act, default or omission of any supplier of services or other third party then Smaug Abroad will be entitled to claim against that supplier or third party in your place (or other member of the party). In such circumstances you, or other member of the Party to whom the compensation has been paid, agrees on our request to assign to us all rights which you may have against the supplier or third party and Smaug Abroad will be subrogated to these rights.

Conduct.

The expedition will be led by tour leaders approved by us, who will act as guides for the duration of the expedition. You and each member of the party agree to accept the authority of such tour leaders throughout the duration of the expedition and to comply with all safety and other guidelines and requests issued by them. If in the opinion of any such tour leader the conduct of any member of the party has or is likely to endanger the safety and well being of any person or cause severe distress or annoyance to any person or if any member of the party has caused or is likely to cause damage to property we reserve the right to immediately cancel the expedition as regards that member and take such action as we consider appropriate to accommodate that member elsewhere or arrange for that member to return home. Neither you nor the member of the party concerned will be entitled to a refund of any part of the price or to any compensation. Parents/guardians of any member of the party under the age of 18 shall be responsible for exercising such degree of care and control in relation to the safety, welfare and conduct of that member of the party as can reasonably be expected from a parent or guardian of a child under the age of 18.

Acceptance of Risk.

You and each member of the party must have fully considered the expedition itinerary and be aware of the risks which may be involved in joining the expedition, including without limitation those which may be connected with the environment, high temperatures, climate change, rough terrain, physical exertion, remoteness from normal medical services and difficult evacuation procedures.

Personal Health.

If any member of the Party is under the age of 18 and will not be accompanied by his/her parent or guardian on the expedition, then you must ensure that the parent or guardian completes and signs a confidential medical form (in a form supplied by us) and sends this to us with the booking form. We reserve the right not to accept the booking as regards any member of the party if the information disclosed on the medical form means in our reasonable opinion that such member is not suitable to join the expedition. Where any member of the party is taking a course of medical treatment at the time of the scheduled departure date or has a condition which may require treatment during the expedition then (other than in respect of members under the age of 18 who are not accompanied by their parents or guardians) that member is responsible for providing and administering all drugs or other courses of treatment which may be required.

Passports/Visas/Vaccinations.

Details of all requirements regarding passports, visas and vaccinations are contained in the expedition itinerary. If Smaug Abroad is made aware of any changes to these requirements we will endeavour to give details of those changes to you as soon as possible. However, all members of the party are responsible for checking their passports, visas and vaccination requirements which apply at the scheduled departure date and that they have complied with those requirements.

Complaints.

If you have a complaint over any issue during the expedition, then you must inform the tour leader, who will endeavour to resolve the problem. If you wish to pursue the complaint or complain over any other issue, then you must write to us within 21 days of the end of the expedition.

If despite our best efforts you feel that your complaint has not been settles satisfactorily we recommend it is referred for arbitration under the ABTOT Travel Industry Arbitration Service. An independent Arbitrator will review the documents relating to any complaint and deliver a binding decision to bring the matter to a close. Details of this scheme are available from ABTOT, 86 Jermyn St, London SW1Y 6JD. This scheme cannot decide cases where the sums exceed £1,500 per person or £7,500 per booking form, or for claims which are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness or the consequence thereof.

Governing Law.

These terms and conditions are subject to English law and both Smaug Abroad and you agree that any dispute is to be settled in an English court.

The Brochure.

Smaug Abroad reserves the right to change any of the particulars contained on this web-site at any time before we enter into a contract with you. If there is any change we will notify you before you enter into such a contract.