Booking Conditions

These booking conditions were published in July 2012. The holidays featured on this website are operated by Imagine Africa Ltd (the Company) which is registered in England under company number 05215195. Imagine Africa has a number of subsidiary brands including Ride Africa and Imagine Latin America, Imagine India and Imagine Asia. The following conditions, together with our general information and the relevant details set out on this website and in our brochure, will form part of your contract with the Company.

A. If you book any of our arrangements in conjunction with other services (e.g. flights) which are arranged or provided by a travel agent with whom you book (and not us), your contract for your entire holiday will be with your travel agent and not with us.

B. If you book only one component of a holiday with us (e.g. accommodation), then we act only as a booking agent for the supplier concerned. Your contract for that component is with the supplier. The terms set out below will not apply.

C. For all other bookings your contract will be with Imagine Africa. The conditions set out below apply to that contract. We both agree that the contract and any matters arising from it are governed by the laws of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland and are subject to the jurisdiction of the courts in these regions.

1. BOOKING YOUR HOLIDAY
When you make a booking and pay a deposit, or pay in full (if you are booking within 10 weeks of departure), a contract will exist as soon as we issue you with a confirmation invoice. It is your responsibility to check this confirmation invoice, and to advise us if there are any errors or omissions. The Company will try and arrange for special requests to be met but these cannot be guaranteed. The Company will not be liable if any special request is not met. If you arrange your holiday direct with the Company all correspondence will be forwarded to the lead passenger on the confirmation invoice unless otherwise stipulated. If your booking is made through a travel agent all communications by the Company will be made to that address.

2. PAYMENTS
A non-refundable deposit of £500.00 per person is payable at time of booking. Upon receipt of this the Company will forward a confirmation invoice. Payment of the balance is due no later than 10 weeks before departure. Please note that your accommodation, flights etc. will only be requested once your deposit has been received. Where an additional up-front payment is taken on top of the deposit to cover flight payments or other up-front costs that we incur to arrange your holiday, this will be deemed an ‘additional deposit’, and be treated as a part of your non refundable deposit. Your confirmation invoice will indicate the cost of your requested package and you will be advised if any elements are on request and unconfirmed at the time the invoice is issued. If the booking is made within 10 weeks of departure, full payment is required at the time of booking. If the holiday is made through a travel agent, all monies paid by the client to the travel agent, under or in contemplation of a contract with Imagine Africa Ltd are held by the travel agent as an agent of Imagine Africa Ltd. If payment is not received on the due date the holiday or travel arrangements will be liable to cancellation which will lead to loss of deposit. Tickets and other documents will normally be forwarded 14 - 21 days before date of departure. Occasionally, after you have booked, a supplier connected to your booking may ask us to pay them earlier than normal. This often happens in periods in peak demand, or when an earlier payment can avoid an increase in park fees, or other similar increases to a suppliers costs. If this happens, we reserve the right to ask you to make payment for the requested amount within a stipulated period, and prior to your balance due date. Any such early payment will be non refundable.

3. PRICE POLICY
Prices in this website were calculated on the basis of known costs at the time of writing in July 2012. Individual accommodation and service prices have calculated using the following exchange rates for £1; 1.55 US Dollars, 12.4 South African Rand, 1.20 Euros, 50 Mauritius Rupees. The price of unsold holidays may be increased or decreased at any time. The price of your holiday will be confirmed on booking. When you have booked your holiday and paid your deposit, the price of your holiday as shown on your confirmation invoice is guaranteed and will not be subject to any changes or surcharges unless you elect to change the confirmed booking (see Clause 5). At no time is the Company liable to give a breakdown of costs due to the nature of the holiday bought by the client. Due to the financial commitments the Company is not able to make reductions in holiday prices should the £ strengthen.

4. CANCELLATION BY YOU
Any cancellation by the client must be advised in writing to the Company by the lead passenger. Cancellation will only come into effect on the day written advice is received by the Company. Recorded or Special Delivery is strongly recommended. Upon receipt the following charges (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges paid) will be payable by the client, depending upon the number of days prior to departure.

Days prior to departure date when written advice of cancellation received	% of holiday payable
70 Days or more prior	deposit forfeit
70-44 Days prior	30%
43-29 Days prior	60%
28-0 Days prior	100%

Where an additional up-front payment is taken on top of the deposit, and in advance of our standard payment schedule, to cover flight payments or other up-front costs that we incur to arrange your holiday, this will be deemed an ‘additional deposit’, and be treated as a part of your non refundable deposit.

If you have made an ‘additional deposit’ payment and cancel your holiday, the total additional deposit will be deducted from your total invoice amount before the above cancellation fees are calculated. We would strongly recommend that you take out full insurance at the time of booking which will in most cases cover against loss of deposit or cancellation charges.

5. CHANGES MADE TO A CONFIRMED BOOKING
Where changes are possible, an administration fee of £30.00 (plus any communication charges) per alteration is applicable. Alteration of a booking within 10 weeks of departure date may incur additional costs.

PLEASE NOTE:
Most flight tickets cannot be changed without payment of cancellation charges and/or the cost of a replacement ticket. It is important that correct names are provided at the time of booking and it is your responsibility to check names on first receipt of your confirmation invoice.

6. ALTERATION TO A CONFIRMED BOOKING WHILST ABROAD
We regret that no credit or refund is possible for any unused services provided in the cost of your holiday. If you decide to alter your travel arrangements whilst abroad this is your own responsibility and Imagine Africa Ltd or the Company's Agents are not responsible for any extras or difficulties that may arise with onward travel as a result of such alterations. No credit or refund is possible for any lost, mislaid, stolen or destroyed documents which could be the subject of a claim on your own insurance.

7. CANCELLATION OR ALTERATION BY US
We reserve the right to cancel your holiday at any time. In the event of the Company having to alter, or amend the holiday on or before the date when the balance of payment becomes due, you will be offered a choice of an alternative holiday of at least comparable standard and style if available. If this is not possible a full refund of all monies received by the Company will be due. In the unlikely event that we have to cancel or materially alter a holiday after the balance due date (always providing that the balance has been paid) but more than 14 days before the intended date of departure, compensation of £10 per person per affected day will be paid to the client or £20 per person per affected day in the event of cancellation or material alteration within 14 days of the intended departure date.

FORCE MAJEURE:
Circumstances amounting to "force majeure" include any event which we or the supplier of the services in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid such as war or threat of war, civil strife, riot, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, sickness, bad weather, the acts of any Government or public authority and all similar events which are beyond our control. It is regretted that under such circumstances there will be no compensation payable.

8. OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
The Company applies all reasonable checks to ensure that those involved in the preparation and provision of your holiday maintain the appropriate standards. The descriptions, information and opinions in this website by the Company in respect of airlines, hotels and other suppliers whose services are used are given in good faith, based on the latest information at the time of printing. The Company accepts responsibility for acts/and or omissions of all those in our employment and all those acting as agents. In addition the Company accepts responsibility if you suffer death or personal injury as a direct result of the holiday arrangements failing to be as described and of a reasonable standard. However the Company will not accept responsibility if there has been no fault on the part of the Company or its suppliers and the loss, death or personal injury suffered is attributable to your own acts or omissions, to the acts or omissions of a third party not involved with providing the services which make up your holiday or to the unusual or unforeseeable circumstances whose consequences could not have been avoided or anticipated.

If any client suffers death, illness or injury whilst overseas arising out of activity which does not form part of the inclusive holiday arrangements or excursion arranged through us, we shall, at our discretion offer assistance, provided we are advised of the incident within 90 days of the occurrence. Where legal action is contemplated, our authority must be obtained prior to commencement of proceedings and be subject to your undertaking to assign any costs recovered or any benefits received under an appropriate insurance policy to ourselves. All assistance is provided subject to a maximum total cost to ourselves of £5000 per booking form.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this clause, the Company’s liability and/or the amount of compensation payable by the Company is limited in accordance with relevant international conventions, as amended, namely the Warsaw Convention, the Geneva Convention, the Berne Convention, the Athens convention and the Paris Convention. Copies of all relevant conventions are available from the company on request.

9. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CLIENT
Any passports, visas, health certificates, International Driving Licences and other travel documents required for the holiday must be obtained by the client, whose responsibility it remains to ensure that these are all in order and to meet any additional costs incurred (whether by the client or by the Company on the clients behalf) as a result of failure to comply with such requirements. You are responsible to arrive at stated departure times and places and any loss or damage which you suffer through failure to do so lies with you. The Company has no liability whatsoever to you through your failure to do so. The Foreign & Commonwealth Advice Unit may have issued information about your holiday destination. You are advised to check this information at www.fco.gov.uk or by telephone.

10. FLIGHT ROUTINGS AND TIMINGS AND AIRPORT DELAYS
The flight timings given on booking and detailed on your confirmation invoice are for general guidance only and are subject to change. The latest timings will be shown on your tickets. You must accordingly check your tickets very carefully immediately on receipt. It is possible that flight times may be changed even after tickets have been despatched – we will contact you as soon as possible if this occurs. We are not always in a position to confirm the airline, aircraft type and airport of destination which will be used in connection with any flight included in your holiday. When this information is provided at the time of booking or subsequently, it is subject to change.

Any such change will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying our normal charges. We are not in a position to assist in the event of a delay. The airline will be responsible for making any necessary arrangements. If your flight is cancelled or delayed, your flight ticket is downgraded or boarding is denied by your airline in circumstances which would entitle you to claim compensation against the airline under EC Regulation No 261/2004 - the Denied Boarding Regulations 2004, you must pursue the airline for the compensation due to you. All sums you receive or are entitled to receive from the airline concerned by virtue of these Regulations represent the full amount of your entitlement to compensation or any other payment arising from such cancellation, delay, downgrading or denied boarding. This includes any disappointment, distress, inconvenience or effect on any other arrangements. The fact a delay may entitle you to cancel your flight does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight.

We have no liability to make any payment to you in relation to the Denied Boarding Regulations or in respect of any flight cancellation or delay, downgrading of any flight ticket or denial of any boarding as the full amount of your entitlement to any compensation or other payment (as dealt with above) is covered by the airline's obligations under the Denied Boarding Regulations. If, for any reason, you do not claim against the airline and make a claim for compensation from us, you must, at the time of payment of any compensation to you, make a complete assignment to us of the rights you have against the airline in relation to the claim that gives rise to that compensation payment. If your airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Air Transport Users' Council on 020 7240 6061 www.auc.org.uk

11. COMPLAINTS
Most problems can be sorted out straight away if we know about them. If you have a complaint you must report it immediately and directly to the supplier (e.g. Hotel Manager), or the emergency contact numbers provided with your travel documents. If you fail to follow this procedure, this may affect your rights under this contract, as we have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify the problem. If the problem cannot be resolved locally and you wish to complain, full details must be received in writing within 28 days of return.

12. SPECIAL REQUESTS
If you have any special request, you must advise us in writing at the time of booking. We regret we cannot guarantee any request will be met unless we have specifically confirmed this. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed on to the supplier or the inclusion of your special request on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your holiday, please tell us before we confirm your booking so that we can advise as to the suitability of the chosen arrangements. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking.

13. INSURANCE
We believe it is essential to take out travel insurance when you go on holiday. It is therefore a condition that you do take out adequate travel insurance at the time of booking. You may choose to insure through us – Imagine Travel have negotiated a special rate arranged with Travel & General Ltd, a member of the General Insurance Standards Council. A full specimen policy can be provided by our staff and there is a ‘cooling off period’ after the policy has been issued. If you decide to take your own insurance, it is your responsibility to ensure the insurance you purchase is adequate for your particular needs. We will not make any payments to you or on your behalf in respect of losses or expenses you incur as a result of your failure to have purchased adequate insurance. The FCO provides useful guidance on what to look for when choosing travel insurance.

In the event of the FCO travel guidance advising against travel to a specific area that your holiday is due to include, and we have paid our suppliers for those affected components of the holiday (including flights to those areas), we will endeavour to obtain a refund from those suppliers. If we are not able to get refunds, we will not be able to refund any of these costs to you, as they are committed costs that we have made on your behalf at a time when there was no guidance against travel to that area. It is your responsibility to have Travel Insurance that provides cover for this specific eventuality.

14. CONSUMER PROTECTION