Booking Conditions

In these conditions ‘we’ and ‘ourselves’ means Railtrail Tours Limited; ‘you’ means the person making the booking to travel on a Tour, and includes any person travelling with or in the care of you or for whom you make any booking arrangements with the Company. ‘Hotel’ includes any accommodation provided or offered to you.

1. Consumer Protection

In accordance with the provisions of article 7 of the EC package travel directive 90/314, your tour monies are held in a specially designated trust account until completion of the holiday. In the unlikely event of our insolvency the Trustee will refund all monies paid by yourselves from that account. 

All rail tickets issued by Railtrail Tours Ltd are guaranteed good for travel by the Rail Settlement Plan Ltd.  

The air holiday packages and flights provided by Railtrail Tours Ltd are ATOL protected, since we hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is 9056. 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. ATOL Protection applies to all holidays that include air travel.  

2. Booking Form, Payments & Insurance

A Railtrail Tours booking form is to be completed in full. At time of booking a deposit is payable per person: £75 for UK tours, £150 for European tours and £250 for Worldwide tours. Deposits are NON REFUNDABLE.  

The balance of fare is due for payment 9 weeks before departure date for UK Tours and 13 weeks before departure date for European and Worldwide tours; for bookings made less than these number of weeks before departure the full amount is due at time of booking. Our preferred means of payment is cheque or debit card. Balance and full payments by credit card will be charged a processing fee of 2.5%. 

Holiday Insurance: For European and Worldwide tours it is a condition of booking that you are adequately insured and It is a condition of travel that before departure you provide to us details of your insurance arrangements (insurers name, your policy number and the emergency contact number stated on your policy) and also ‘next of kin’ / In Case of Emergency contact information. For UK holidays this requirement is not mandatory but we do recommend that you are similarly insured. If you do not take up this cover we require written confirmation of acceptance of your liabilities and responsibilities.  

3. Cancellation

3.1 If you Cancel Your Holiday

Should you cancel your booking, we will refund against cancellations RECEIVED IN WRITING as follows:

• More than 62 days before departure date (90 days for European & worldwide tours) - Loss of deposit only
• Between 30 and 62 days before departure (between 30 and 90 days for European & worldwide tours) - 50% refund
• Less than 30 days before departure date - No refund Outstanding amounts not refunded by us may then be claimed from your insurers, less any excess.

Outstanding amounts not refunded by us may then be claimed from your insurers, subject to their terms & conditions. If at the time of cancellation your full payment has not been received your liability for the relevant balance remains. 

3.2 If We Cancel Your Holiday

Whilst all tours and facilities shown here are subject to alteration or amendment without notice, in the very unlikely event of cancellation of the tour by ourselves all monies paid will be refunded immediately in full.

3.3 Insufficient Demand

If the cancellation has been caused by insufficient demand then at least two weeks notice will be given prior to departure date. If the tour is cancelled by ourselves in addition to refunding all monies paid we will pay compensation in accordance with and limited to the scale below:

• 42 days or more before departure - Nil
• From 28 to 41 days before departure - £10
• From 14 to 27 days before departure - £20

4. Force Majeure

Please note, compensation will not be payable if we are forced to cancel your holiday due to force majeure, including industrial dispute, war, terrorist activity, natural disaster, adverse weather conditions and all similar events outside our control.

5. Alterations

5.1 If We Change Your Holiday

Alterations to the published itinerary occur occasionally for a variety of operational reasons. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so. Although we will advise any major amendments to you in writing prior to departure if circumstances permit, we cannot guarantee to include every area or place mentioned in the brochure, although every effort will be made to do so. If an alternative hotel is used in place of the one published, this will be of at least the same standard.

5.2 Alterations to Your Booking by You

Once we have confirmed your booking should
you wish to make an alteration we will do our utmost to make the change. However, we reserve the right to charge an alteration fee, together with any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. Any alteration to your booking requested less then 60 days prior to departure may need to be regarded as a cancellation.

All cancellations will be subject to the cancellation charges set out in the relevant clauses.

6. Responsibilities

We undertake to use due care in arranging your holiday and accept liability for any acts or omissions on the part of our staff. However in common with most other travel operators we do not exercise direct control over the day-today running of services provided by ferries, railways, airlines, hotels, attractions, etc included within our itineraries and all tickets are issued subject to the terms and conditions of all third party carriers and suppliers used.

In the unlikely event of industrial action by staff of a third party carrier or supplier necessitating a delay or change to your itinerary Railtrail Tours Ltd. cannot be held responsible for any additional costs incurred.

We will, of course, make every effort to assist in making suitable alternative arrangements.

7. Flights

All flight details, including 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 itinerary which will be sent to you approximately 7 days before departure. You must accordingly check all details very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. It is possible that flight times may be changed even after itineraries 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. Where this information is provided, at any time, it is subject to change. Any such change will be treated as a minor change and will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying our normal fees.

8. Problems & Complaints

We trust that you will thoroughly enjoy your Railtrail Tours holiday. Should a concern arise during the tour will you please bring it to the immediate attention of your Tour Manager who will endeavour to resolve it on your behalf. In the unlikely case of the concern not being resolved to your satisfaction please put your complaint IN WRITING to our office address within ten days of the completion of the tour.

9. Suitability & Behaviour

It is your responsibility to provide accurate information about your mobility, health and fitness at the time of booking, and to advise us of any change to your level of mobility or health and fitness between booking your holiday and joining your tour. If you arrive for a holiday and in the opinion of the Tour Manager your condition or lack of mobility means you are likely to be incapable of coping with the tour or to experience significant difficulties in doing so then the Tour Manager has the absolute discretion to terminate your booking at that time without refund or compensation to you for either monies paid or costs incurred by you as a result of this termination. 

If in the reasonable opinion of the Tour Manager, Hotel Manager, Train Manager, or any other person in authority your behaviour is causing danger, damage, distress or annoyance to others we reserve the right to terminate your holiday at the Tour Manager’s absolute discretion. Should this be the case then we will also not be liable to refund or compensate as above. 

10. Exchange Rate & Fare Adjustments

We reserve the right to increase or decrease European and worldwide tour fares if at the time the balance of fare falls due there has been a fluctuation greater than 5 per cent in the exchange rate shown by the tour fare, or increases above 2.5% in aircraft fuel, overflying charges, airport charges or scheduled air fares.

11. Data Protection

In agreeing to these booking conditions you acknowledge that we will collect personal information about you that is relevant to your holiday, including items relating to diet and health. We may pass this information on to our suppliers, often overseas, to enable them to deliver to us and you the services required. We undertake not to pass on this information for any other purpose other than the provision of your holiday. Enquiries and bookings made through a third party may also be subject to their information sharing policies.

12. Contract

The contract and any claims arising shall be governed by English law and all proceedings shall be within the exclusive domain of the English courts.