TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR ZA TRAX BOOKINGS
1 CONTRACT, BOOKING CONDITIONS & JURISDICTION– A contract will not exist between ZA TRAX and the participant/s until such time as we have received a completed / signed copy of our Terms and Conditions.
When the participant book with ZA TRAX, they agree that South African law (and no other) will apply to the contract and to any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between the participant and ZA TRAX. This is the case even if the booking conditions of a specific agent says otherwise.
2 DEPOSITS / FULL PAYMENT -Unless otherwise specified, a non-refundable and non-transferable deposit of 50% of the total tour / travel price, per person, is payable within seven days of making a reservation. The balance of the total tour price due is payable not later than 60 days prior to the departure, unless otherwise specified. The total amount due is payable immediately in respect of reservations received within 60 days of departure. Provisional reservations will automatically be cancelled if ZA TRAX has not received a signed participant Booking Form, together with the required deposit or full payment as applicable, within seven working days of receiving the reservation request.
In addition to the required deposit for the land content, for reservations that include air tickets, we are required by the relevant airline to issue the air tickets within a specified time limit from the date the reservation is made and payment must be remitted to the airline on that date. Should payment not have been received we will be unable to issue such tickets and the airline will automatically cancel the flights. Please therefore refer to your confirmation for details regarding the ticketing time limits.
ZA TRAX will accept payment by credit card (via PayGate and – a 4% surcharge applies), EFT or cash. If the card is a foreign credit card then the participant will be required to supply various additional details. All payments are to be made out to ZA TRAX. Any charges made to a client’s credit card (debits) whilst travelling abroad is the client’s responsibility. ZA TRAX will not be liable nor accept responsibility for having these charges reversed or corrected upon return.
3 CANCELLATIONS & REFUNDS– Once a reservation request has been received in our office, it becomes liable for cancellation fees in accordance with the following scale, unless otherwise specified. Participants who cancel their reservations more than 90 days prior to departure – forfeiture of full deposit paid. Participants who cancel within:
89 to 45 days prior to departure will forfeit 50% of total tour price,
44 to 0 days prior to departure will forfeit 100% of total tour price.
These conditions will be strictly adhered to and cancellation insurance is therefore strongly recommended. In accordance with the standard procedure adopted by all tour operators worldwide, we reserve the right to cancel any tour / travel arrangements prior to departure, in which event the entire payment made will be refunded to the participant without any further obligation on the part of Zatrax.
All bookings are also subject to the terms and conditions specified by the individual suppliers of the services which the customer contracts for in terms of the booking. ZA TRAX will provide on request, the identity of the supplier and such supplier’s terms and conditions may include, but are not limited to, provisions regarding their cancellation fees or amendment charges as applicable to confirmed reservations, refunds /no refunds for no-shows / unused services; late booking fees; baggage allowances; confirmation of flights, etc. In the case of airlines the general minimum cancellation fee applicable to tickets issued, is 25% (twenty five per cent); the typical baggage allowance is 20kg; extension of ticket validity is not permitted and the customer must reconfirm his / her flight within 72 hours prior to departure.
REFUNDS
Refunds will be made in ZAR, and will be based on the ZAR spot rate at the time of payment.
4 INSURANCE – Insurance is the participant’s responsibility and all participants are strongly urged to take out travel insurance, covering personal accident, medical expenses, baggage and loss of deposit through cancellation and / or default of the individual principal service providers.
5 NOT INCLUDED IN TOUR PRICE – The basic tour prices do not generally include the airport taxes (unless otherwise specified), local hotel tourism taxes & levies (where applicable), car rental contract levies (where applicable), costs of obtaining visas and passports, telephone calls, laundry, entertainment arrangements, meals / beverages and other items of a personal nature, unless actually specified to the contrary in the itinerary / tour program / relevant documentation.
6 OVERBOOKINGS – We undertake to inform you without delay if we are obliged to cancel your reservation for any unforeseen reason and we will offer you an alternative of a comparable standard subject to availability, or a full refund of the deposit paid within 21 days. We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your accommodation as booked is available on your arrival at the destination. However if we become aware of an overbooking situation prior to the time of your departure we will inform you and offer you an alternative of similar standard (if available), or a full refund of the payment made to us. If we are not unaware of the overbooking at the time of your departure then we will arrange appropriate compensation if the alternative accommodation provided by the supplier is not similar to the standard of the accommodation originally booked.
7 TOUR ITINERARIES & PARTICIPATION – ZA TRAX is an adventure tour operator and run adventure tours. We often visit off-the beaten track destinations and routes where western infrastructure is lacking. We do our utmost to provide all the comforts to the participants and as indicated in the specific tour itinerary. Tour itineraries / travel arrangements may be subject to alteration where necessary according to local conditions en route, without prior notice. Due to various prevailing / unforeseen circumstances, tours are not always able to follow the provisional / suggested routing as set out in the tour brochure or published itinerary. Information contained therein should therefore be regarded as a basic guide only. While it is possible for the participant to break away from planned holiday itineraries after departure it is understood that extra expenses incurred as a result of such a breakaway will be for the participant’s account and any unused service cannot be refunded. Amendments and cancellations en route must be made with our operators directly.
While every effort is made to keep to all pre-confirmed itineraries, we reserve the right to make changes for your convenience. As we plan arrangements in advance; do not own or control the airlines, hotels and /or other supplier companies who will provide participants holiday components, changes and even cancellations may occasionally become necessary. In the event that the hotel accommodation, excursion, service, flight, cruise, rail journey etc. has been properly confirmed by ZA TRAX but subsequently becomes unavailable for any reason whatsoever, ZA TRAX do not accept any liability for such unforeseen circumstances. Air transportation will be economy class unless otherwise specified. No refund will be considered for any unused services irrespective of whether they form part of the basic inclusive tour price or whether they are in respect of pre-booked optional arrangements.
Participants on a ZA TRAX tour will get more out of the trip if they are willing to participate with cooking, cleaning, getting vehicles unstuck etc. When we camp the participant is expected to erect the tents themselves. The tour leader will show the participants how.
8 AMENDMENT FEE – An amendment fee of R500 per party, per amendment, will be charged. Domestic travel bookings will be subject to a R250 charge.
9 LATE BOOKINGS – A minimum late booking fee of R500 per booking, will be charged in respect of all reservations received within ten working days of the departure date in order to cover urgent communication / administration expenses.
10 DOCUMENTATION – It is the personal responsibility of each participant to ensure that they are in possession of the correct documentation prior to departure. The company shall not accept responsibility or liability for any consequences of any nature whatsoever arising from the participant failing to ensure that he / she has complied with the necessary health / passport / visa requirements.
11 RECONFIRMATIONS – Participants are reminded about the importance of reconfirming their onward / return flight reservations, on arrival of each destination. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of reservations by the airline.
12 PASSPORTS, VISAS, VACCINATIONS AND INOCULATIONS – The responsibility to obtain proper, current and valid passports, visas, vaccinations, inoculations and the like as and where required, is that of the customer alone. ZA TRAX shall not be responsible or liable for any consequence of any nature arising from the customer failing to ensure that he / she has complied with all such requirements. The Customer must ensure that their passport is valid for at least six months beyond the end of the travel period. South African residents traveling on a foreign passport must ensure that they have correct documentation from Home Affairs for re-entry to the country. ZA TRAX accepts no responsibility for incorrect passport or immigration documentation.
13 TRAVEL DELAYS – ZA TRAX does not hold itself responsible for any delays prior to departure, or during the course of its tours, brought about by technical difficulties, strikes, weather conditions or any other unforeseen circumstances which are beyond its control. It is understood that any expenses relating to these unscheduled extensions (e.g. hotels, meals, airfares, telephone calls, etc.) will be for the participant’s account. Losses due to travel delays may not be refundable, however we will always do our best to negotiate refunds on behalf of participants.
14 FORCE MAJEURE (SUPERIOR FORCE) – ZA TRAX does not accept liability or pay you compensation where the performance of our contractual obligations is affected by “force majeure” (included but not limited to war, threat of war, riot, civil or political unrest, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disasters, fire, adverse weather conditions, closure of ports or airports, air traffic control delays, technical problems), or other circumstances amounting to “force majeure”. The company will always do its best to assist participants where necessary and or possible.
15 UNUSED SERVICES – No refunds will be considered for any unused services irrespective of whether they form part of the basic package, or whether they are in respect of pre-booked optional arrangements. No refunds can be considered on partially unused hotel accommodation, flights or car rentals.
16 SPECIAL REQUESTS – Should you have any special requests these should be conveyed to us at the time of booking. ZA TRAX will endeavour to comply with special requests however we cannot guarantee that these special requests will be met.
17 INDEMNITY – All tour participants will be required to complete a standard indemnity form on arrival at point of departure. The participant will not be allowed to depart on the tour if the indemnity form is not signed and if the personal travel insurance details are not provided.
I hereby accept the above terms and conditions: