Terms and conditions

We are a trading division of TUI UK Limited, Company Number 02830117, having its Registered Office address at TUI Travel House, Crawley Business Quarter, Fleming Way, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 9QL and Our Agreement with you sets out what you are legally entitled to expect from us when you buy our travel services. Those travel services are as advertised by us but may also have restrictions set out in our 'Important Information' which should also be read carefully. Because we sell a wide variety of travel products, you should read our 'Important Information' and these terms and conditions carefully, before you book, to see how they affect your specific travel arrangements made by us.

1. Your travel booking

   Whether you book alone or as a group, we will only deal with the lead booking name in all subsequent correspondence, including changes, amendments and cancellations. You must be 18 years old and possess the legal capacity and authority to book as the lead name and travel on holidays with us and take up the offers advertised by us if they are still available. You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the personal details or any other information supplied in respect of yourself and any other person travelling on the booking and for passing on any information regarding the booking or any changes made in relation thereto, to all persons travelling on such booking, including but not limited to information on schedule changes or copies of booking confirmations.

   In addition, if your holiday includes a flight, you are also responsible for (a) notifying us prior to the time of booking of any personal circumstances and needs pertaining to a person included in the booking including, without limitation, whether any such person is not self reliant or is a person with reduced mobility - for example if you, or a member of your party, have difficulty in walking 500 metres; and (b) notifying us at any time from the time of booking until 48 hours prior to the flight's departure by calling our call centre if any person travelling on the booking has ceased to be self reliant or a person with reduced mobility or if a person previously reported to be with reduced mobility or as not being self reliant does no longer fall into either category.

   It is a condition of your booking with us that you and all other members of your party, including infants and children, areadequately insured on holiday. Any person who is under 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult on his or her journey. There may be other restrictions and conditions on some offers, but these are explained in the details of those offers. A minimum charge of £15 per person will be made for all bookings within 15 days of departure. This is to cover the costs associated with late booking. This does not include ticket re-issue in the event of loss (see "If you change your booking").

   Late booking charge

   A minimum charge of £15 per person will be made for all bookings within 15 days of departure. This is to cover the costs associated with late booking. This does not include ticket re-issue in the event of loss (see "If you change your booking" 3 on page 411).

   Deposit

   When you or your travel agent wish to confirm a booking you must pay the deposit of £130 per person (Europe), £179 per person USA and Canada together with the insurance premium if required. The deposit payable on seat only bookings is £75 (Europe) and £130 (longhaul flights).

   Scheduled flights are non-refundable and require tickets to be issued immediately. To cover the costs associated with this, an additional deposit of up to £150 per person is payable.

   When you or (if you are booking through a travel agent) your travel agent ask for your booking to be confirmed, if we accept your booking, we will issue a Confirmation Invoice. A contract will exist between us from the date we issue the Confirmation Invoice or if you book within 7 days of departure the contract will exist when we accept your deposit payment. We may not be able to confirm some of our ground arrangements straight away (e.g. bespoke accommodation, tours etc). In these instances we may issue a Confirmation Invoice.

   However, a contract for arrangements that have not been confirmed on that invoice will only be made when we have sent you written confirmation that those additional arrangements have been completed. If there is any change to any of the details discussed at the time of booking, before the Confirmation Invoice is issued, we will notify you promptly of any new or changed details, including a change to the total price (if any). If any detail on the Confirmation Invoice is not correct tell us or your travel agent immediately. If there is an obvious error on the Confirmation Invoice we reserve the right to correct it as soon as we become aware of it, but we will do this within 7 days of issuing the Confirmation Invoice or, if your departure is within 7 days, no later than 24 hours before you go. If any of these changes are not acceptable then you will be entitled to a full refund.

   The contractual terms of Our Agreement apply between you and us because you have chosen a Package Holiday with us (hereafter, a "holiday") which is a 'package' within the meaning of The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 and will enjoy the benefits conferred by it. We may transfer your booking to another company within our group, but this will have no effect on your holiday arrangements.

   When you buy an ATOL protected air package or flight from us you will receive a confirmation invoice from us (via our authorised agent through which you booked) confirming your arrangements and your protection under our Air Travel Organiser's Licence number 2524. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk.

   The price of your holiday includes the amount of £1 per person as part of the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) we pay to the CAA. This charge is included in our advertised prices and will be shown separately on your confirmation invoice.

   The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay for the package holidays booked from our quotations and for your repatriation in the event of our insolvency. For package holidays that do not include travel by air we provide this security by way of a bond held by ABTA. If you book arrangements other than a package holiday the financial protection referred to above does not apply. We are a member of ABTA, membership number V5126. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA's Code of Conduct. We can also offer you an arbitration scheme for the resolution of disputes arising out of, or in connection with this contract. Further information on the Code and arbitration can be found at www.abta.com

   At the time of producing this brochure, prices have been calculated using Air Passenger Duty charges set by the UK government. In the event that our costs increase as a result of a change to the APD rate, we reserve the right to adjust the prices shown in this brochure to reflect those changes in costs.

2. The price you pay

   All prices we advertise are accurate at the date published, but we reserve the right to change any of those prices from time to time. Prices include a cost for fuel that was estimated at the date of this publication. We reserve the right to add a fuel supplement to holiday prices should this increase after the date of this publication. Prices can go up or down. We will be able to tell you or your travel agent the up-to-date price of your chosen travel arrangements and of any other services advertised by us before confirming your booking.

   Changes in transportation costs, including the cost of fuel, dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports and exchange rates mean that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked. We reserve the right to increase the price of your holiday after you have booked but no later than 30 days before the departure date stipulated and will forward an Amendment Invoice reflecting any changes made. After a Confirmation Invoice has been sent to you, any increase to your holiday price will be as the result of changes in our costs of supplying your holiday resulting from transportation charges, (fuel, airport charges, scheduled air fares and other transport charges which form part of our contract with the transport provider), currency fluctuations and government action. An administration charge and any relevant travel agent's commission is included within these amounts.

   If the increase would be 2% or less of the holiday price shown on your Confirmation Invoice (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), we will absorb the changes in our costs described above and will only pass on any increase above that level.

   If any change in our costs would cause a reduction in your holiday price, we will not make refunds of amounts less than 2% of your holiday price (calculated as above), but we will refund in full amounts exceeding such 2%, after deducting an administration charge of £1. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.

   If the increase is more than 10% of the holiday price (calculated as above), then:

   1. You may cancel your holiday booking within 14 days of the Amendment Invoice date and receive a refund of all monies paid to us except any amendment charges; we will only consider an appropriate refund of insurance premium paid if you can show us that you are unable to transfer or re-use your policy; and
   2. The increase will be considered a Major Change as described in section 4 below and, unless you choose to cancel under paragraph 1 above, you will be entitled to the alternatives set out in section 4 for those circumstances, but in either case you will receive compensation in accordance with section 4.

   The price quoted on the last Amendment Invoice issued is guaranteed, unless you change your holiday booking. Any increases in our costs which occur after the last Amendment Invoice has been sent will be borne by us. Should you instruct your credit/debit card company to "charge back" any payment(s) properly due from you in respect of your booking, we will charge you an administrative fee of £10 per incident and associated costs. We further reserve the right to cancel your booking and/or take legal action against you for all outstanding payment(s).

   Please note: Our tactical and promotional offers are only valid at the time of booking.

3. If we cancel your booking

   We aim to provide your holiday as booked. But if, for example, there are not enough people booked on your holiday or you do not pay the balance of the holiday price on time, we may cancel it. We reserve the right to cancel your holiday in any circumstances but if we cancel your holiday you can either have a refund or accept a replacement holiday from us of equivalent or closely similar standard and price (if one is available). This can include the choice of a replacement holiday from our Ski, Lakes & Mountains or Mainstream brochures. Should you choose this option the terms and conditions of your holiday will not change and these conditions will still apply to your booking. In either case, we will pay you compensation, using the scale shown (unless we cancel your holiday because you do not pay us the balance of the holiday, or because we do not have sufficient bookings to operate the holiday or because of one of the events listed in the 'Important note - events beyond our control') and we will always refund the difference in price if the replacement holiday is of a lower standard and price. We will not cancel your holiday less than eight weeks before you go, unless this is the result of one of the events in the 'Important note - events beyond our control'.

4. If we change your booking details

   We hope that we will not have to make any change to your holiday but, because our holidays are planned many months in advance, we sometimes do need to make changes. We reserve the right to do this at any time. We will let you or your travel agent know about any important changes when you book. If you have already booked, we will let you know as soon as we can, if there is time before your departure. Flight timings shown by us are for guidance only and may change. Your Confirmation Invoice will show the latest planned timings. Your actual flight timings will be shown on your ticket (including any e ticket itinerary), which you should check carefully as soon as you receive it.

   Major changes to your holiday

   Occasionally, we have to make major changes to the flight or accommodation making up your holiday with us. If we tell you about any of these changes after we have confirmed your holiday booking, you may either:

   • accept the new arrangements offered by us; or
   • accept a replacement holiday from us of equivalent or closely similar standard and price, if one is available; this can include the choice of a replacement holiday from this brochure. Should you choose this option the terms and conditions of your holiday will not change and these conditions will still apply to your booking. or
   • cancel your holiday with us and receive a full refund of all monies paid.

   Either way, we will pay you compensation, using the Compensation table shown, unless the change is for reasons beyond our control (see the 'Important note - events beyond our control') and we will always refund the difference in price if the replacement holiday is of a lower standard and price. Major changes to your holiday for which we will always pay compensation, using the scale shown, may include the following changes: a significant change of destination; a change in accommodation to that of a lower category, a change in the time of your departure or return flight by more than 12 hours, a change of UK departure airport (excluding changes between London airports, London, Ebbsfleet and Ashford stations and between Dover/Folkestone ports) but see also 'Important note - events beyond our control'. These changes are only examples and there may be other significant changes which constitute major changes. This standard payment is a minimum payment and will not affect your statutory or other legal rights. We will only make one payment for each full fare-paying adult in the holiday booking. Any children not paying the full adult fare will receive 50% of these amounts. Children using a free child place will not receive any standard payment.

   Compensation

   These scales are based on how many days before your booked holiday departure we tell you of a major change. See also the 'Important note - events beyond our control'.

   Period before departure when a major change is notified		Compensation payable per person
   Direct Clients	Agents
   More than 84 days days	More than 70 days	0
   29-83 days	29-69 days	£10
   15-28 days	15-28 days	£20
   8-14 days	8-14 days	£30
   0-7 days	0-7 days	£40

   If the change is not acceptable to you

   If any major change indicated above is not acceptable to you, you can cancel your booking. In this case we will refund all the money you have paid to us and will pay you compensation, as shown above, depending on how many days before your holiday we tell you about this change.

   Important note - events beyond our control

   Events beyond our control include without limitation: war, threat of war, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist activity, industrial disputes, natural and nuclear disasters, fire, epidemics, health risks, technical problems with transport beyond our control or that of our suppliers, changes due to rescheduling or cancellation of flights by an airline or alteration of the airline or aircraft type for reasons beyond our control or that of our suppliers; closed or congested airports or ports, hurricanes and other actual or potential severe weather conditions, and any other similar events.

   In February 2005 a new Europe-wide law relating to denied boarding, delays and cancellation of flights came into force. This law granted rights to passengers including in certain circumstances the right to cancel their flight and receive reimbursement of the cost of the flight from their airline. Full details of these rights is publicised at EU airports and is also available from affected airlines. However, you should note that reimbursement of the cost of a flight that forms part of your holiday is the responsibility of your holiday airline and will not automatically entitle you to reimbursement of the cost of your holiday from us.

5. Our responsibility for your holiday

   We will arrange for you to receive the services that make up the holiday that you choose and that we confirm. These services will be provided either directlybyusorthroughindependentsupplierscontractedbyus.Weare responsible for making sure that each part of the holiday you book with us is provided to a reasonable standard and as was advertised by us (or as changed and accepted by you). If any part of your holiday is not provided as described and this spoils your holiday, we will pay you appropriate compensation (see the 'Important note - events beyond our control').

   We have taken all reasonable care to make sure that all the services which make up your holiday advertised by us are provided by efficient and reputable businesses. These businesses should follow the local standards where they are provided. However, overseas safety standards are generally lower than in the UK.

6. Our Liability

   Our obligations, and those of our suppliers providing any service or facility included in your holiday, are to take reasonable skill and care to arrange for the provision of such services and facilities. You must show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make any claim. Standards of, for example, safety, hygiene and quality vary throughout the transport and destinations that your holiday may involve. Sometimes these standards will be lower than those which would be expected in the UK. The services and facilities included in your holiday will be deemed to be provided with reasonable skill and care if they comply with any local regulations which apply.

   Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury or illness, shall be limited to a maximum of 3 times the cost of your travel arrangements. Our liability in all cases will be limited in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to the contractual terms of the companies that provide the transportation for your travel arrangements. These terms are incorporated intothiscontract;andanyrelevantinternationalconvention. Weareto be regarded as having all benefit of any limitation of compensation contained in these or any conventions.

   You can ask for copies of the transport companies' contractual terms, or the international conventions, from our offices King's Place, 12-42 Wood Street, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, KT1 1JY.

   We shall have no liability where the cause of the failure to provide, or failure in, your holiday or any death or personal injury you may suffer is not due to any fault on our part or that of our agents or suppliers, because it is either attributable to you, or attributable to someone unconnected with your holiday and is unforeseeable or unavoidable, or is due to unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised, or an event which neither we, nor our agents or suppliers could have foreseen or forestalled. If we do make a payment, it will be similar to one you would receive under English law in an English court.

   Note: We will make such payments for injury, illness or death on the basis that you are expected to accept that:

   1. You must tell us and the supplier involved about your injury or illness while you are in the resort (see section 13). You should also write to our Customer Services at the address given in our 'Important Information' about your claim within three months of coming home from your holiday to allow us to investigate it properly and co-operate with us so as to enable us to carry out such investigation. Please include a letter about your injury or illness from your doctor if you can
   2. You should transfer to us any rights you have against the supplier or any other person.
   3. You should co-operate fully with us if we or our insurers want to enforce those rights.
   4. Any payments we make maybe limited in accordance with international conventions.

   We ask you to transfer your rights to us so that we can claim back from suppliers any payments we make to you, plus any legal or other costs. We will not make a profit from this. If we get back from the supplier more than we have paid you plus these costs, we will give the extra money to you.

   If you purchase any optional activities that are not part of your pre-booked itinerary, the contract for the provision of that activity will be between you and the activity provider. The decision to partake in any such activity is entirely at your own discretion and risk. If you do have any complaint about, or problem with, any optional activity purchased in resort your claim should be directed to the activity provider and not to us. However,shouldyouor any member of your party by misadventure suffer illness, injury or death during the period of your holiday from an activity which does not form part of the arrangements made by us or an excursion purchased through us, we shall at our absolute discretion give you every assistance including advice, guidance and financial assistance to cover initial legal costs for legal action against a third party where appropriate, up to a limit of £5,000 cost to ourselves per booking form provided such assistance is requested within 90 days of the misadventure. In the event of there being a successful claim for costs against a third party or a suitable insurance policy or policies being in force, the Company is entitled to recoup from you the costs actually incurred by us in giving this assistance.

Your agreement with us

7. Your contract

   By asking us or your travel agent to confirm your booking, you are accepting on behalf of all persons travelling on this booking that the terms of this Agreement, which incorporate the information, restrictions and obligations set out in our 'Important Information', and the conditions of any terms and conditions of carriage - see Conditions of Your Ticket - constitute the entire agreement between us with regard to your booking and your travel arrangements. You also consent to our processing personal information about you and other members of your party. Where the context permits, reference to "you" and "your" will include you and all persons travelling on this booking.

   If you booked your holiday in any jurisdiction other than in Scotland or Northern Ireland (including any booking via the Internet), this Agreement, and any claim or dispute arising from or related to this Agreement, will be governed by English law and the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising out of it.

   If you booked your holiday in Scotland, this Agreement, and any claim or dispute arising from or related to this Agreement, will be governed by Scottish law and the courts of Scotland shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising out of it.

   If you booked your holiday in Northern Ireland, this Agreement, and any claim or dispute arising from or related to this Agreement, will be governed by Northern Irish law and the courts of Northern Ireland shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising out of it.

8. Paying for your travel arrangements

   You will be required to pay a deposit to us for each person when you book unless this is within twelve weeks of departure when the full amount for the booking is payable. The deposit amount will be specified by us or your travel agent when your booking is made. If it is not specified then it will be the amount that we ask you to pay when you book, even if this is 100% of the holiday price. If you pay less than the deposit under a low deposit booking scheme, then this is only part of the deposit referred to in this paragraph.

   The remaining deposit will be due on cancellation or date specified at time of booking or on your confirmation invoice Please note your booking deposit may be increased or there may be a charge payable for some accommodation, holidays or flight bookings where it is necessary to secure specific facilities with full payment at the time of booking e.g. weddings, coach touring and specific types of airline tickets. Once confirmed, the booking deposit, additional charges paid and insurance premiums will not be refunded in the event of cancellation except in the circumstances specified in Sections 2, 3 or 4 or as otherwise required by law.

   Within two weeks of booking, we will send you a Confirmation Invoice showing how much you owe us. You must pay the amount on the last Invoice issued by us, at least twelve weeks before you go on holiday. If you don't, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled and to charge you a cancellation charge up to 100% of the total on that last Invoice, in accordance with the scale in section 12.

   If you pay money for your booking to a travel agent appointed by us, they will hold that money as our agent from the time they receive it until they pay the money to us. Telephone bookings may incur an additional charge, check at time of booking.

   Please note: We no longer accept payments by cheque. Banker's drafts are acceptable and should be sent to TUI UK Ltd, Revenue Department, Wigmore House, Wigmore Place, Wigmore Lane, Luton LU2 9TN. Please ensure that you write your Booking Reference number on the reverse of your Banker's draft.

9. Interest and Legal Costs

   1. In the event of any sum due by you not being paid on due date, such sum shall attract interest from the date the payment was due to the date the payment was actually received either at 3% per annum above the base lending rate of the Royal Bank of Scotland Plc or, at our sole discretion, at the rate of 8% per annum.
   2. In the event of us instructing a solicitor to recover any unpaid sum due by you to us, you shall be liable to pay all costs and expenses incurred by us, including but not limited to all fees and expenses charged by our solicitor on an indemnity scale basis.

10. If you change your booking

    1. If you want to change any details of your booking (such as changing to a different hotel or changing a name in your booking) or to cancel an optional extra you have booked, we will do our best to help but please note that changes that are more major changes, such as those that would lower the basic price of your holiday or that would otherwise result in your holiday ceasing to be a Package Holiday, will be treated by us as a different holiday (see 10.4 (i)) and changes to the hotel or flight within 84 days (for travel agents 70 days) of departure will also be treated by us as a different holiday (see 10.4(ii)). We charge an 'Amendment Fee' per person for each detail of the booking which we allow you to change without a cancellation.
       If you make the allowed change more than 84 days (for travel agents 70 days) before departure, the fee will be £35 per change per person. If you make the allowed change within 84 days (for travel agents 70 days) of departure, the amendment fee will be £50 per change per person.
    2. The price of your new travel arrangements will be based on the prices that apply on the day you ask for the change. These prices may not be the same as when you first booked your travel arrangements.
    3. Name change, and or departure details such as date and time changes are not always allowed by airlines and other transport providers whenever they are made. Whilst we will do our best to change the details of the booking, please bear in mind that most airlines and other transport providers treat name and departure detail changes as a cancellation and charge accordingly. These charges will be passed on to you. Once tickets have been issued, and sometimes even before they have been issued, any changes made to the ticket, including names or initials, will result in you having to pay for the cancelled ticket and buy a new ticket at full cost.
    4. If:
       1. at any time after you have booked your holiday, you want either to change to a different holiday or change your hotel or flight, and as a result your holiday ceases to be a package Holiday; or
       2. within 84 days (for travel agents 70 days) of departure, you want either to change to a different holiday or change your hotel or flight; then you will have to pay cancellation charges (see section 11). If the change means we must send you new tickets, we cannot give you any refund until we have received all your old travel documents, including tickets.
    5. Some types of accommodation (such as apartments, or hotel rooms with reductions for three adults) are priced according to the number of people staying there. If your booking changes because someone in your party cancels, we will recalculate your booking cost based on the new number of people going. If fewer people share the accommodation, then the cost for them may go up. This extra cost is not a cancellation charge, and it is not covered by travel insurance.
    6. Subject always to clause 10.3, if you are prevented from taking the holiday you have booked, you may transfer your booking to another person, provided you meet the following conditions:
       • You must authorise us to make the transfer;
       • The person to whom you transfer your holiday booking must comply with all the terms of the existing booking;
       • That person must accept the transfer and the terms of Our Agreement;
       • That person must show us new evidence of their holiday insurance, as your policy cannot be transferred to another person (and the premium cannot be refunded);
       • We will also charge amendment fees in accordance with section 10.1. This will be added to the new Invoice issued to that person;
       • You cannot transfer a holiday booking within 14 days of departure; and
       • You will remain responsible for the payment of any balance on that new Invoice should that person fail to pay it.

11. If you cancel your booking

    If you want to cancel your booking or part of it, you or your travel agent must advise us. Once we receive your notice of cancellation in writing you should expect to receive a Cancellation Invoice within 14 days. If you do not then please contact us. To cover the cost of processing your cancellation and to compensate us for the risk that we may not be able to resell your travel arrangements, we make a cancellation charge on the scale shown below. The person who made the booking is responsible for paying this charge. The size of the charge depends on when we receive your notification - the more notice you give, the less we will charge.

    Please note that for certain travel arrangements e.g. coach tours and many scheduled transport providers the cancellation charge may be higher than those shown. In certain cases a 100% cancellation fee applies as soon as the booking is made and the ticket is issued. Please ask for full details of cancellation charges at time of booking. You may be able to claim for the cancellation charge from your travel insurance, please check your policy.

    Please note: All scheduled flights are non-refundable.

    Cancellation charges

    These charges are based on how many days before your booked departure we receive your cancellation notice. These charges are a percentage of the total cost of your booking, not including your insurance premium.

    Period before departure within notice of cancellation is received		% of total booking price
    Direct Clients	Agents
    84 days or more	70 days or more	Loss of deposit*
    56-83 days	56-69 days	30%* (or loss of deposit, whichever is greater)
    36-55 days	36-55 days	50%*
    22-35 days	22-35 days	70%*
    11-21 days	11-21 days	90%*
    0-10 days	0-10 days	100%*

    * Where the standard deposit is increased to secure specific facilities or an additional payment has been made for transport airline tickets (see Section 9 and 10.3 above) and these are non-refundable in whole or in part, then the scale of charges shown will be calculated based on a % of the cost of all other arrangements and the non-refundable charges will be added to that cancellation charge to give the total charge. If a low deposit scheme was used for your booking, the full deposit as advised at the time of booking or as stated on the confirmation invoice will need to be paid in full upon cancellation, if you have not already paid the full percentage of deposit due (see Important Information for deposit details). Infant charges of £39 and any insurance premium paid are non-refundable in the event of the cancellation of a holiday.

12. If you have a complaint

    If you have a complaint about your arrangements whilst away, you must immediately notify the supplier of the service in question locally. If they are unable to resolve the problem immediately, and a member of our staff is not available, you should contact us straight away by telephone/fax/email and we will endeavour to assist. If you are still not satisfied on your return home, you must write to our Customer Services at the address given in our 'Important Information', within 35 days of returning from your holiday to allow your complaint to be investigated properly. Please write your holiday reference number on your letter, and include your daytime and evening telephone numbers. If you do not give us the opportunity to resolve any problem locally by reporting it to the supplier, or calling and informing us, then we may not be able to deal positively with any complaint on your return.

13. What happens to holiday complaints

    We can usually sort out any complaints you may have. But if we cannot agree, you can take the matter to an arbitrator through an arbitration scheme administered by IDRS part of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Details and application forms are available from ABTA Ltd, 30 Park Street, London SE1 9EQ. www.abta.com

    The arbitrator will only deal with your complaint if it relates to a holiday and:

    • you are claiming up to £5,000 for each person or £25,000 for each booking;
    • you contact them within 9 months of the end of your holiday; and
    • your complaint does not involve major physical injury or illness in excess of £1000.

    This is a cheap and simple way of sorting out complaints and there are limits on the costs you might have to pay. You do not have to appear in person, but can send documents to explain your complaint. If you would like more details, please ask our Customer Service Department. If you prefer, you can take your complaint to the County Court or another suitable court. Information regarding complaints may be shared with other tour operators.

14. Conduct while travelling

    We reserve the right to refuse to accept you as a customer or continue dealing with you if your behaviour is disruptive or affects other travellers or is threatening or abusive towards our staff or agents in the UK or resort, on the telephone, in writing or in person. If the Captain of your flight or cruise ship or any of our resort staff believes that you could be disruptive or that you are suffering from a contagious disease, they can also refuse to let you proceed with your travel arrangements or restrict your movements on board or disembark you from a ship or aircraft. If you are disruptive and this means you are not allowed to board the flight outbound from the UK, we will treat your booking as cancelled by you from that moment, and you will have to pay full cancellation charges (see section 11). If this occurs overseas then you will become responsible for your own return home and any other members of your group who cannot or will not travel without you. If you are refused carriage because of your disruptive behaviour, or that you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs, your airline may pass on your details and date of the refusal of carriage to other airlines for their information. This in turn may make it difficult for you to book other airline tickets. In any of these circumstances no refunds or compensation will be paid to you and we may make a claim against you for any costs and expenses incurred as a result of your behaviour e.g. the cost of diverting an aircraft or ship to remove you. Criminal proceedings may also be instigated.

15. Your accommodation

    Any accommodation we arrange for you must only be used by those people named on your Confirmation Invoice (or on latest Amendment Invoice issued). You are not allowed to share the accommodation or let anyone else stay there. You are responsible for the cost of any damage caused to your accommodation or its contents during your stay. These charges must be met by you and may have to be paid locally.

16. The conditions of your ticket

    When you travel by air or by sea, your journey may be subject to certain international conventions such as the Warsaw Convention, Montreal Convention or Athens Convention. You agree that the transport company's own 'Conditions of Carriage' will apply to you on that journey. When arranging this transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those 'Conditions of Carriage'. You acknowledge that all of these terms and conditions form part of your contract with us as well as with the transport company. You can ask us or the travel agent booking your holiday to provide you with a copy of any of the conditions applicable to your journey. The airlines terms and conditions are available on request. We will tell you the identity of the air carrier when you book with us and if it is not known at that time or subsequently changes we will inform you as soon as possible and no later than at check-in for your flight.

17. Contacting you

    If you book via our website or have opted in other circumstances for us to contact you via e-mail, we will communicate with you using the e-mail address you have provided. For example, to provide your e-confirmation, e-ticket, e-cancellation, etc. We will assume that your e-mail address is correct and that you understand the risks associated with using this form of communication. Please note that you may still have to contact us via our call centre or in writing as required in our terms and conditions.

Car hire conditions

USA & Canada car hire

This year, our choice of free or reduced price car hire options is wider than ever! Unlike many other operators, the more spacious and comfortable 'compact' cars are our standard cars. And the car that's included on your booking will be the standard type appropriate to your party size. If car hire is not specified and confirmed on your invoice it will be assumed that car hire is not wanted and coach transfers will be provided.

The right size car for you

Our flexible car hire deal means that the car included on your booking is the standard type appropriate to your party size.

Party	Car allocated	Car type	UK equivalent
2	2 door compact (CCAR)	Chevrolet Cavalier	Vauxhall Astra
3	4 door compact (CDAR)	Chevrolet Cavalier	Vauxhall Astra
4	Intermediate 2 door	Oldsmobile Alero	Vauxhall Vectra
5	Full size (5DAR)	Chevrolet Impala	Vauxhall Omega
6	2 x compact	or similar
7	Compact & intermediate
8	2 x intermediate
9	Intermediate & full size
10	2 x full size

What's included

The term 'Rental free car hire' in this brochure means free of any vehicle rental charge for 7 days, so the following items are all included:

• Car rental hire charge for a 7 day duration for the car appropriate to your party size
• Unlimited mileage
• All weather tyres
• Basic Third Party Insurance liability insurance in USA. This only covers up to the state limit and varies in each state. In California no basic liability is included and either Alamo Gold or Fully Inclusive insurance must be added in the UK or basic insurance upon arrival (approx $13 per day). US law does not provide for the mandatory third party liability cover as in the UK.
• In Canada our locations have a provincial minimum liability of $200,00 third party liability cover.

What's not included

• Any rental charge beyond the 7 days
• Extended Protection (EP)
• Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)
• Local sales tax, state tax and airport operation fees
• Fuel
• Additional Drivers & any Young Driver Fee
• One way drop charges
• Ski rack rental ($5-$8 per day USA/Canada and must be requested at the time of booking and paid locally) Board racks are not availble
• Child seat rental
• Tolls and entrance fees to national parks (eg. Banff National Park, Canada)

Important information - driving licence

All drivers must be aged 21 or over and bring a full valid driving licence from their country of residence.

Collision damage waiver (CDW)

Alamo's CDW protects you from damage to the car (including theft and vandalism) regardless of who is at fault. Without CDW, you (the renter) will be held responsible for up to the full value of the car. The local daily cost is currently US$19 plus tax per car but is included in our Fully Inclusive and Alamo Gold packages. If you are not taking CDW, a deposit or credit card imprint will be required.

Top up third party cover - extended protection (EP)

This provides you with up to $1,000,000 third party liability cover. The local daily cost in USA is US$12.99 per car (not available in Canada) but is included in our pre-bookable Fully Inclusive and Alamo Gold packages.

Car hire vouchers

Details regarding your pre-booked car hire are contained within your ticket booklet.

Deposit

A major credit card is needed as a deposit and will be debited for any charges at the time of rental.

Child seats

Children up to 4 years old are required by law to be transported in approved child seats. These must be requested at the time of booking and will be provided by Alamo at a cost of $5.99 (US & CAN) per day. A refundable deposit is also payable.

Additional drivers

For additional drivers, a fee of US$ 6.99 or CAN$ 10.00 per day will be charged upon check-in. This is included with the Alamo Gold Package.

Drivers aged less than 25

Drivers under 25 years incur an additional Young Driver Surcharge of $25 (US & CAN) per day (payable locally).

Excess charges

These are $300 for Canada for drivers aged 25yrs and over and $500 for drivers aged 21-24yrs. Excess is NIL in USA.

Snow chains

They are not offered or allowed for use on Alamo rental vehicles and you may consider upgrading to a 4x4 in the UK. Please check on weather conditions when you pick up your car as occasionally with heavy snow, some roads may close and you have to stop and resume the journey when conditions have cleared. You may not always be able to upgrade locally.

Ski Racks

Please note: Europcar in Austria will no longer offer ski rack equipment

Fuel

Each vehicle is provided with a full tank of fuel and should be returned full. We suggest that you fill up with fuel prior to returning the vehicle to avoid any refuelling charges. If you chose our Alamo Gold package which includes a free tank of fuel then you may return the vehicle low on fuel at no additional cost.

Local fees and taxes

These are included in our Fully Inclusive and Alamo Gold Packages unless you incur any locally payable supplements like additional drives & child seats.

Pre-bookable insurance options

We cannot emphasise enough the importance of having adequate insurance. Without Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) you can be liable for the full cost of replacing the car whilst Extended Protection (EP) increases your Third Party liability insurance to $1,000,000 per accident. These are both included with our Fully Inclusive and Alamo Gold packages and we guarantee that it will save you money on paying locally. Prices are per car per day.

Fully inclusive insurance option £12 per day USA, £15 per day Canada

Includes CDW, EP, taxes, surcharges and airport fees.*

Alamo gold insurance option £15 per day USA, £18 per day Canada

Includes CDW, EP, taxes, surcharges and airport fees* plus additional drivers and a tank of fuel. *See local fees and taxes.

Car hire upgrades

Should you wish to upgrade from the car-type included on your booking to a larger vehicle, the tables below shows our superb value, reduced price, upgrade costs. These must be prebooked to take advantage of these prices, which will be higher if arranged locally. Prices are in £'s per car per week for a 7 night duration. For longer durations, please add on the relevant extra day charge eg. USA 2 door compact 10 days: £0 (7 days) plus £19 multiply 3 days, equals £57

Upgrade costs - USA

Car type	Recommended maximum		Number of adults (7 nights)					Extra day per car
	Capacity	Suitcases	2	3	4	5	6
Compact 2 door	2 adults	3	FREE	-	-	-	-	£19
Compact 4 door	3 adults	3	25	FREE	-	-	-	£21
Intermediate	4 adults	4	39	24	FREE	-	-	£28
Full size	5 adults	3	54	36	20	FREE	-	£30
Luxury car	5 adults	3	109	55	40	20	-	£40
Minivan	6 adults	4	111	57	40	30	FREE	£42
4 x 4	4 adults	4	109	86	40	-	-	£40

Upgrade costs - Canada

Car type	Recommended maximum		Number of adults (7 nights)					Extra day per car
	Capacity	Suitcases	2	3	4	5	6
Compact 4 door	3 adults	3	57	-	-	-	-	£19
Intermediate	4 adults	4	83	61	39	-	-	£24
Full size	5 adults	3	86	65	43	21	-	£24
Luxury car	5 adults	3	147	125	104	82	-	£35
Minivan	6 adults	4	103	82	60	38	17	£27
4 x 4	4 adults	4	147	125	104	-	-	£35