 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
2- Complete the booking form and send it to us together with a deposit of £250 per person.
3- We will send you our confirmation, invoice, Travellers Guide and insurance.
4- You send us the balance two months before departure or by return post.
5- We will send you your tickets and documentation no later than two weeks before departure
| 1- | Complete the booking form and send it to us or to your travel agent together with your deposit of £250 per person. |
| 2- | We will contact our representatives in Latin America and make all the reservation for you. |
| 3- | Within three days we will send you a confirmation of your complete itinerary, details of your flights, dates, times, hotels, cruises, excursions and will show if there is any item awaiting confirmation. |
| 4- | Once you have received confirmation of the full itinerary to your satisfaction, you can send us the full payment. |
| 5- | We will send you your tickets, vouchers, final itinerary and documentation no later than two weeks before departure. |
| 1- | We will be pleased to discuss you travel plans by telephone on 020 8762 0616 or you may visit our office. |
| 2- | The process of preparing your personal itinerary may involve a certain amount of liasing to arrive at an itinerary that best fits to your requirements. |
| 3- | We will send you a written proposal for your itinerary and once you are happy with our proposal and price, you send us a deposit of £250 per person together with your booking form and we make all the reservations. |
| 4- | We will send you our confirmation, invoice, Travellers Guide and insurance. |
| 5- | You send us the balance two months before departure or by return post. |
| 6- | We will send you your tickets, Final Itinerary and documentation no later than two weeks before departure |
| The
holidays featured are operated by Veloso Tours Ltd (the Company) which
is registered in England under company nr. 3612863 . The following conditions,
together with the information set out in the relevant brochure descriptions
will form part of your contract with the Company. PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ALSO RECEIVED AND READ THE INFORMATION AND DESCRIPTIONSIN OUR BROCHURE |
| To
secure your booking you should read all the relevant information and
Booking Conditions, complete and sign the Veloso Tours Booking Form
and forward to the Company together with the relevant payment (see Section
2 below). A contract will exist when we accept your reservation and
issue our confirmation invoice When you arrange your holiday direct with the Company all correspondence will be forwarded to the lead passenger on the booking form unless otherwise stipulated. If your booking is made through a travel agent, all communication by the Company will be made to the travel agent. Special request should be included in the booking form. 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. |
| A deposit
of £250 per person* (plus insurance
premiums if applicable) is payable together with a completed and signed
booking form. Upon receipt of this the Company will forward our confirmation
invoice showing the amount received. Payment of the balance is due 8
weeks before departure.* A higher
deposit is required on certain holidays such as cruises and special
events, please enquire. If the booking is made within 8 weeks of departure, full payment is due, by return as soon as you have received our confirmation invoice 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 Veloso Tours Ltd are held by the travel agent as an agent of Veloso Tours Ltd.. If payment is not received on the due date, the holiday or travel arrangements will be liable to cancellation. Tickets and other documents will normally be forwarded 10-14 days before the date of departure. |
| All prices
are calculated on rates of exchange as known on the 20th November 2000
published in the Financial Times on the 18th November 2000 . No Surcharge Guarantee - The price of your holiday which we confirm to you in writing at the time of booking, is fully guaranteed and will not be subject to surcharge under any circumstances if you pay in full within 30 days of the date of the invoice or immediately if your departure date is within 60 days. Regretfully, if you do not pay within 30 days of the date of your confirmation invoice, your holiday price will be recosted at the time when you wish to pay in full but not later than 60 days before your date of departure. Your holiday will then be subject to surcharges in certain unusual circumstances resulting from: government action, currency fluctuations, increase in schedule airfares, transportation costs and taxes. However, even in these circumstances, the Company will absorb an amount equivalent to 2% of the holiday price (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges) before passing any surcharge to the clients. Should the surcharge increase your holiday price by 10% or more of the amount on your original confirmation invoice, you are entitled to cancel your booking within 14 days and receive a full refund of all payments made to the Company except for insurance premiums and amendment charges. At no time is the Company liable to provide a breakdown of costs due to the nature of the holiday bought by the Client or provide any information about our pricing methods or costs from our suppliers. Due to the financial guarantees and commitments being made by the Company, we are not able to make reductions in the holiday price should the exchange rate of the pound sterling, strengthen. |
| Any cancellation by the client must be advised in writing to the Company (signed by the same person who signed the booking form). 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 will be payable by the client (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges paid), depending upon the number of days prior to departure. |
|
Days
prior to departure date when written advice |
%
of holiday price Payable : |
|
|
Up to 56 days prior |
Deposit forfeit | |
|
56 - 30 days prior |
60% of total holiday cost | |
|
29 days or less |
100% of total holiday cost | |
|
||
| This facility is available and an administration fee of £50 per alteration will be charged.. Alteration to a booking within 8 weeks of departure date may incur additional cancellation fees. |
| Clients
cannot make any changes to their travel arrangements after the date
of departure and while on holiday except in exceptional circumstances
of force majeure with the consent of the Company. Should you decide
to alter your travel arrangements whilst abroad, the holiday becomes
your own responsibility and Veloso Tours Ltd. or the Company's Agents
are not responsible for any extra costs or difficulties that may arise
with onward travel or services paid for but not delivered or delivered
substandard. Please note that when you book any excursion or service locally, you contract with the local service provider or its agents and not with the Company. The Company has no legal liability or obligation for the services provided or the monies paid and any claim that you might have arising out of the excursion or service will be against the local service provider and subject their terms and conditions. We regret that no credit or refund is possible for unused services provided in the cost of your holiday, hotel accommodation or transport. |
| We expect
and hope to be able to provide you with the services we confirmed to
you at the time of booking, However, we plan arrangements many months
in advance of your holiday, and use the services of independent suppliers
such as hotels and airlines, over whom we have no direct control. Flight
and transport times are given as an indication only; there no obligation
to adhere to any specific timetable. In the event of the Company having
to alter, amend or cancel the holiday we will endeavour to contact you
and/or your travel agent as soon as reasonably possible. Most of the
changes are minor but if we consider them a MAJOR CHANGE before your
departure, we will provide you with these three alternatives : 1. Accept the alternative offered (at additional cost if applicable) 2. Purchase another available holiday from us 3. Cancel your holiday with a full refund of all the monies paid. In addition, if we have to make a Major Change within 8 weeks of departure each person affected will also be entitled to the following levels of compensation: 60-42 days £10 41-28 days £20 27-15 days £30 14- 0 days £40 |
| We cannot be liable to pay any compensation if we are forced to cancel or in any way change your holiday as a result of situations outside our control and "force majeure" which neither we nor our suppliers could foresee or forestall even with all due care. For example technical or maintenance problems with transport, changes imposed by rescheduling or cancellation of flights by an airline, the alteration of the airline or aircraft type, war or threat of war or civil unrest, civil strife, industrial disputes, natural disaster, fire or bad weather, terrorist activity, industrial disputes, natural or nuclear disaster. |
| All transport
timings are only estimates provided by the carrier concerned and cannot
be guaranteed. Anyone embarking on one of our holidays should not expect
any transport times to be punctual since there are paramount safety
considerations for passengers and crew that override any personal need
to be on time. In addition, many cultures that we visit do not share
the important that we attach to timekeeping. Their tradition is to tolerate
these delays and drawbacks but benefit from a relaxed approach to day
to day life, which we are there to observe and experience. Transport arrangements by air, sea or rail are subject to operational decisions by Carriers, Airports and Air Traffic Control restrictions, which may result in delays, diversions or rescheduling to a later date. Veloso Tours has no control over such decisions and is therefore unable to accept responsibility for them. The Company accepts no responsibility for overbooking of flights and for the consequences of flights missed owing to the passenger's failure to reconfirm their flight reservations. Your flight ticket commits the airline to take you from A to B but it carries to commitment as to when that will be. Clients should be aware that flights to longhaul destinations are often full and it may not be possible to travel in the non-smoking area or get seats together. |
Our Responsibility and Commitment to your Holiday Arrangements
| Veloso
Tours is licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority, ATOL nr. 5153 and
bonded with major banks/insurance companies to protect customers holiday
payment and repatriation. The Company accepts responsibility if you
suffer death, personal injury or illness as a direct result of the negligent
acts and/or omissions of our employees or agents, suppliers or sub-contractors
whilst acting within the scope of, and in the course of their employment
to provide any service or arrangement forming part of the holiday that
you have booked with us. 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 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. Veloso Tours Ltd.'s costs in respect of the above on behalf of you and your party shall not exceed £5,000 in total. In respect of carriage by air, sea and rail, and the provision of accommodation, our liability in all cases will be limited in accordance with the relevant international conventions. |
| Clients
are responsible for obtaining all passports, visas, health certificates,
International Driving licenses, travel documents, vaccination certificates,
currency and travellers cheques required for the holiday and to ensure
that these are in order. You are responsible to arrive at stated departure
places and times and it is incumbent upon client to behave in a responsible,
restrained and sober manner when dealing with the local authorities,
fellow travellers and our local suppliers and representatives. By travelling on one of our tours, client agree to accept the authority and decisions of the Company's employees, tour leaders and agents whilst on tour with the Company. If in the opinion of such persons of authority the health or conduct of a client at any time before or after departure appears likely to endanger the safe, comfortable and happy progress of a tour, the client may be excluded from all or part of the tour. If a client commits any illegal act, the client may be excluded from the tour and the Company shall cease to have responsibility to or for them. |
| Most
problems can be sorted out straight away if we know about them. If you
have a complaint you must report it immediately to our staff, supplier
or local agent or representative, or the emergency contact telephone
numbers provided with your travel documents so that we can do our best
to investigate and rectify the situation. Should this procedure not
be followed, the Company cannot accept responsibility 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 sent in writing to: Customer Relations Department,
Veloso Tours Ltd, within 28 days of return to the UK In the unlikely
event of a dispute that cannot be resolved amicably, you may refer it
to arbitration under a special scheme devised by the Association of
British travel Agents ABTA and administered quite independently by Chartered
Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme, details of which can be provided
on request, provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration
based on information on documents alone and with restricted liability
on holidaymakers in respect of costs. This contract and any matters arising from it are governed by the laws of England and Wales and are subject to the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales. |
The
air holidays and flights shown in our Brochure and Website are ATOL Protected
by Civil Aviation Authority.Our ATOL number is 5153.ATOL Protection extends
primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom. For further
information, visit the ATOL Website at www.atol.org.uk | Travel
Insurance is mandatory for all clients whilst on a tour organised by
the Company. Clients together with their personal property including
baggage are at all times solely at their own risk. Clients are wholly
responsible for arranging their own insurance and ensuring that they
are covered by private travel Insurance with protection for the full
duration of their holiday in respect of at least medical expenses, injury,
death, repatriation, cancellation and curtailment, with adequate benefits.
Clients making their own arrangements should ensure that there are no
exclusion clauses limiting protection for the type of activities included
in their holiday. All clients will be invoiced for insurance unless they indicate otherwise on the booking form. Please make sure that you have paid for insurance and received your insurance certificate. |
|
Facts
of Life in Latin America |
| Many
of the tourist facilities in Latin America have been developed to European
standards and you may well be pleasantly surprised by the high quality
of some of the hotels, cruise ships or yachts and the friendly professionalism
of the staff that will look after you. However, many areas of Latin America are undeveloped; passengers travelling on our trips should accept the possibility of delay and discomfort at times. Very often local cultures and traditions do not place the emphasis on speedy service and timetables that our busy lifestyles do. We travel to experience the different ways of life that people lead in other countries and with patience, tolerance and realistic expectations it is easy to unwind and enjoy a memorable holiday. Our representatives and ourselves will do all possible to minimise any inconvenience and smooth the way as much as possible. |
|
Travellers
Guide from Veloso Tours |
| All clients booking with us receive a comprehensive personal Travellers' Guide with information and suggestions on how best to prepare for travel in Latin America. This covers important issues such as heath & vaccination, climate & clothes, money matters, luggage, security, flight reconfirmation, meeting your guides and airport transfers. |
|
Documentation
& Local Representatives
|
| Clients
travelling on Individual Tours first receive an itinerary listing all
the hotels, transfers, excursions and services to be provided. Once you
have paid in full we provide a final itinerary with all the addresses
and telephone numbers of hotels and our local representative agents. Sometimes
hotels may ask for vouchers on arrival as a form of identification. Our local representatives will provide on arrival, any vouchers that may be required. Our local representatives have English-speaking guides and staff to help you, and provide additional excursions or general information. |
|
Veloso
Tours 24-hour UK Duty Officer |
| For peace of mind, passengers travelling with Veloso Tours are provided with a 24-hour emergency telephone number manned by a duty officer, 365 days of the year, should it be necessary to contact the company at any time for help and assistance in an emergency. |
|
What
the price includes |
ALL our Tours include |
|
Accommodation |
| In
selecting our hotels we have looked for style and character representative
of the country visited. Many towns and villages in Central and South America
have excellent colonial style hotels with beautiful decoration and comfortable
facilities. Unfortunately it is not always possible to find hotels with
character in some of the towns and villages, or our first choice may not
be available, in which case we use other hotels inspected and in our opinion
providing a good level of comfort, facilities and service. We have graded the hotels that we use in our tours as follows: Luxury Hotels are 5-star properties available in some of the largest cities and used mostly by business guests. More and more international hotel chains and groups have opened hotels in Latin America bringing a level of luxury, comfort and service that aims to match the best in the world. First Class Hotels are 4-star standard available throughout Latin America offering comfortable rooms of a reasonable size with private toilet and shower facilities, telephone, television and air-conditioning or heating. These hotels have a restaurant and bar, security boxes, and some have a swimming pool whilst all have a good standard of decor. Tourist Class Hotels are the equivalent of 2 or 3-star hotels. The rooms offered to our clients will have private toilet and shower facilities, and whilst these hotels will serve breakfast they will not necessarily have a restaurant serving lunch and dinner. These hotels provide an excellent base for clients who wish to spend most of the time sightseeing and who will not spend much time in the room other than sleeping, yet demand a good standard of facilities, safety and cleanliness Lodges are available at remote, isolated locations such as the rainforest, the mountains or the deserts. These are usually basic, built in local material, very often in wood, with thatched roofs in keeping with their surroundings. Rooms are simply furnished with a bed, mattress, blanket and sheets, some have mosquito nets, separate toilets and showers facilities sometimes being shared. All have a dining area, cooks, staff and guides. |
|
Health & Vaccinations |
| All
passengers should consult their doctors for proper medical advice and
vaccinations in good time before travel. It is important to consider
taking precautions against illnesses in the area that you are visiting
but these vary widely and there are no compulsory vaccination requirements
for passengers travelling from Europe or the United States. There is
also a Health Information service on 0800 665544 or MASTA Travellers
Health Line on 0891 224100 (Premium Rate Number) validated by the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Our Travellers Guide provides
additional information. However, vaccines are only the first step, it is just as important to take precautions while travelling since the reality is that the more common ailments may prove to be the most disruptive. When we confirm your booking we will send you our pre-departure Travellers Guide with additional information. |
|
Safety
& Security |
| It is important
that you should be aware, before you book your holiday, that standards
of health, safety and security in many parts of Latin America do not
meet European standards. Many areas are poor, undeveloped, with different
priorities and a serious lack of resources to import the standards and
technical ability that we enjoy in Europe. Visiting Latin America means being part of life and standards in those countries, with all the limitations of their social, economic, political and regulatory conditions. Unfortunately crimes against people and their property can occur everywhere in the world and Latin America is no exception. Travellers have the same obligation to look after their personal safety, health, security and possessions as they do at home. Our Travellers Guide provides information and suggestions on precaution to take while travelling. Since the situation is constantly changing, you may wish to check the advice and up-to-date information issued by The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice Unit by phone on 0171-238 4503/4 or on BBC2 (Ceefax) page 470 or at their web site www.fco.gov.uk |
|
Early
Rises & Stamina |
| Travelling
in Latin America involves a number of early starts to the day, either
to take a flight or start an excursion, visit markets or take a train.
Our experience suggests that consecutive early starts, sightseeing and
travelling require stamina and pacing in order to avoid fatigue. We have introduced in our tours some days at leisure to relax but we suggest that you check that you are happy with the pace of the journeys |
|
Our
Prices
|
| We aim to provide a competitive price consistent with the quality of our service and commitment to our clients. Once you receive our confirmation invoice our prices are guaranteed if you pay in full within one month from the date of the invoice. We cannot provide a breakdown of prices other than those shown in our brochure. |
|
Guaranteed
Departures |
| All the Escorted Group departure dates shown in our brochure and on this website are guaranteed to operate with a minimum of four passengers to form a group and a maximum of twenty passengers in order to keep the groups small. |
|
Flights |
| a)
Special Reduced Fares and Restrictions Prices in the brochure are based on special airfares and conditions offered to us by the airlines primarily for holiday travel. These represent a considerable reduction on the normal IATA fares which entitle passengers, such as those on business, to privileges and flexibility that our clients do not normally require. Tickets at special fares are valid ONLY on the airline and dates shown and do not automatically entitle passengers to switch to another carrier in case of a flight cancellation, delay or technical problem with the aircraft or the reservation. However, we are able to offer higher, IATA airfares to clients for whom these restrictions are not acceptable. b) Flights with Special Service Classes Each airline has its own special service on flights, some call it Club Class, First Class, Upper Class, Business First and so on, providing passengers with a certain number of benefits at a premium fare. However, here is no uniform, industry-wide equivalence between these Service Classes and the prices offered can be very different. Please ask us for our own advice, price and details of the service each airline provides. c) Problems with Flights, Delays and Reservations The reality of air travel in the world today is one where the volume of flights and passengers at the airports, together with the economic pressures on the airlines, lead to the possibility of delays, cancellations and the overbooking of flights, delayed and lost luggage. Clients travelling longhaul should be aware of this reality and should be prepared to cope with the consequences of delays that may be in the order of a few minutes, several long hours or days. Normally airlines provide accommodation and meals or refreshments if the wait is prolonged but this may not be the case with some smaller airlines in countries with limited resources. It is also important to note that the airlines have a paramount concern for the safety of their crew and passengers so that timekeeping is of secondary importance should the crew find or suspect any technical problem with the aircraft. In addition, clients accept that at times, airlines may change the type of aircraft used on a particular flight and the airport of destination in which case you will be taken back to your original destination, on an alternative transport, as soon as possible. |
|
Special
requests
|
| Our commitment to our clients leads us to try to satisfy special requirements that may be requested from us in order to make the trip as enjoyable as possible. We would appreciate a written note from you on the booking form with any such request, and we will confirm to you in writing any special requests that we can provide. |
