Tour Participant Contract
Terms and Conditions
The following contract details the terms and conditions of your travel with us. Please read the below carefully, print, sign, and date, then return the document to us.
Booking & Deposits
Tour bookings must be made through Ilex Luxury Travel. We will provide you with a detailed tour proposal and price quote. A US$2000 per person deposit or 20% of the tour price, whichever is greater, is required to reserve a booking and confirm services. The deposit may be higher for certain bookings. Until the deposit is made, all services are subject to availability. Once services are confirmed, we will provide you with a booking confirmation. Please review this immediately to verify that names are listed exactly as in your passports, and that flights, dates, times, and all other details of your tour are correct. If you do not notify us about discrepancies in a timely fashion, you will be responsible for necessary charges that may arise because of necessary modifications to your booking.
By making the booking you accept that you are the lead contact, and as such, you have the authority to bind all travelers in your party to these booking terms and conditions. Furthermore, you take responsibility as the lead contact to make payment and to receive documents on behalf of all travelers in your party.
Tour Price & Payments
The tour price will be quoted on your tour proposal in USD. Full payment of your final balance is due no later than 90 days prior to departure (earlier for some holiday season bookings). Tours booked within 90 days of travel must be paid in full upon booking. Payments may be made in USD by American Express, Diners Club, Discover Card, MasterCard, JCB Visa, or by PayPal. A booking will not be considered confirmed until payment has cleared, and we have received funds. For your security, credit card payments are encrypted using the internationally accepted security system, SSL. All payment records are stored on Stripe’s secure servers.
In the case that any part of the balance remains unpaid within 89 days of your departure date, we reserve the right to consider your booking canceled and not issue final travel documentation. In such cases, cancellation charges will apply as outlined below.
All prices quoted are based upon tariffs, airfares, and exchange rates in effect as of the date of the issuance of the tour proposal. Prices are subject to adjustment without prior notification should airfares, costs of fuel, labor or material, or foreign exchange rates change after quote issuance.
Cancellations & Refunds
Personal circumstances or global situations sometimes result in participants having to cancel their tours. Our cancellation penalties will remain in place regardless of the circumstances are surrounding the cancellation. Therefore, we strongly suggest for your own protection that you secure insurance. Trip cancellation, baggage, accident, evacuation and medical expense insurance are strongly recommended.
All cancellation requests must be made in writing and sent by mail or email to Ilex Luxury Travel. No verbal refund requests will be honored. If written cancellation is received more than 90 days prior to departure, a refund will be made less an $800 per person handling fee, and less cancellation penalties and fees imposed by our suppliers. Within 90 days of departure, deposits are non-refundable. No refunds will be made after the commencement of the tour. In addition, no refunds will be made for early termination or voluntary absence from the tour or for any other unused services. Refunds of final payment for written cancellations received after that date are described as follows:
- 90-61 days prior to departure: 50% refund
- 60-0 days prior to departure: No refund
Any requests for refunds must be submitted in writing within 30 days of termination of the tour. No refund requests will be honored after that date. No verbal refund requests will be honored. Please allow six weeks for refunds to be issued. In some cases, penalties in addition to those described above may apply.
Tour Price Inclusions
All tour prices are based upon the specified transfers, flights, hotels, meals, tours, and other services in your itinerary as per the “Tour Includes” section. For included meals, taxes and service charges are included in the tour price. International departure or airport taxes that cannot be pre-paid and are not included in the tour price.
Air Transportation
Unless otherwise indicated, international air tickets from your home country or tour departure point are not included in the tour price. It is your responsibility to book appropriate international flights to and from your tour.
Due to enhanced security, it is strongly recommended that you arrive at the airport a minimum of three (3) hours prior to scheduled departure time for international flights. When domestic flights are included in your tour, all fares are subject to certain restrictions, cancellation penalties, and change without notice.
Ground Transportation
Ground transportation is provided by air-conditioned car, van, mini-bus, train, or motor coach with a driver and guide unless otherwise specified.
Accommodations
Accommodation classification is based on a combination of factors including price, location and quality. In remote areas accommodation may be provided on a best-available basis. Prices are based on double occupancy rooms with private bath facilities, unless otherwise requested or stated. Ilex Luxury Travel reserves the right to substitute comparable hotels without notice when necessary due to circumstances with booked accommodation beyond our control. Hotel taxes and service charges are included in tour costs unless otherwise stated.
Tips
No tips/gratuities are included in the tour price. Tipping of guides, drivers, and hotel staff is customary, but discretionary, and is not included in the tour price.
Passports and Visas
All tour participants must be in possession of a passport valid for six months from their date of arrival into any foreign country. It is the sole responsibility of the tour participants to secure a valid passport with sufficient blank pages for immigration and visa stamps. You are responsible for obtaining any visa required for your destination countries. Ilex Luxury Travel is not responsible for visas.
Luggage
All luggage is at owner’s own risk. Please check directly with the airline for their specific baggage allowance. Generally, one normal-sized suitcase will be handled at no charge on international flights, plus one carry-on, at a baggage allowance of 44 pounds. Baggage limitations for charter flights or domestic sectors if often less than that on international flights. All money, valuables and travel documents should be packed in a carry-on bag for which you are responsible at all times. Ilex Luxury Travel is not responsible for baggage. Insurance is strongly recommended.
Health Requirements
Clients should be in good health sufficient to undertake foreign travel. It is your responsibility to ensure that you and all travelers in your party comply with all health requirements for the destination countries. We will not accept liability if you or any traveler in your party is refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure to comply with health requirements. If you have any concerns about the health of anyone in your party, you must notify us in advance, so that we may advise and make necessary arrangements. Medical evacuation or hospitalization costs are not included in the tour price. In case of injury or death, costs of evacuation, transportation, and delays are not included. Insurance is strongly recommended.
Insurance
Travel insurance is strongly recommended. We recommend a comprehensive travel insurance policy to cover you prior to travel, during your tour, and afterward. Ilex Luxury Travel will not be responsible for any costs incurred by you or any member of your party before, during, or after your tour resulting from the purchase of insufficient travel insurance.
Tour Exclusions
Unless otherwise specified, international air transportation to/from North America (or home country), transfers within home country, inoculations, passport fees, visa handling charges, international departure taxes, tips, laundry, alcoholic beverages, excess baggage charges, travel insurance, medical insurance, evacuation insurance, tours indicated as optional, items of a personal nature (phone calls, toiletries, room service), and any items not specifically listed as included are not included.
Alterations of Arrangements
Voluntary changes made by you or any travelers in your party after the itinerary has been finalized will be subject to a $100 charge per change in addition to all costs incurred by the change. Ilex Luxury Travel reserves the right to alter or modify the itinerary without advance notice due to events beyond our control. Any costs resulting thereof shall be the responsibility of the tour participants. If any trip has to be delayed due to bad weather, trail or road conditions, river levels or flooding, flight delays, overbooking, government intervention, acts of war, acts of terrorism, sickness or any other contingency, the cost of the delays and rerouting will not be included; nor will any refunds for unused services be made.
Documentation
We will e-mail your itinerary and any necessary vouchers or tickets for your trip approximately 2 weeks prior to international departure. Some documents, such as domestic flight or train tickets, may be provided by our partners upon your arrival in the country. If tickets or other documents are lost and need to be reissued, all costs must be paid by you.
Limitation of Responsibility and Disclosure
All bookings are accepted by Ilex Luxury Travel as agent for independent third-party travel suppliers for your tour. Ilex Luxury Travel is not the supplier of the reserved travel services, and acts solely as an agent for the disclosed principal supplier airlines, hotels, cruise lines, safari camps, air charters, ground transportation companies, yacht or boat owners, and other independent contractors providing accommodations, activities, transportation, and/or other services. Each of these companies is an independent entity with its own management, and is not subject to the control of Ilex Luxury Travel. The suppliers whose names appear in confirmed travel documentation are those responsible for providing you travel services. By booking with us, you consent to the use of those suppliers, and understand and agree to each supplier’s terms and conditions contained in printed form and/or on their respective websites governing the transaction.
Ilex Luxury Travel does not assume any liability whatsoever for any injury, damage, death, loss, accident or delay to person or property due to an act of default of any hotel, carrier, restaurant, company or person rendering any of the services included in these tours, or by force majeure. Further, no responsibilities are accepted for any damage or delay due to sickness, pilferage, labor disputes, mechanical breakdown, quarantine, government restraints, weather or other causes beyond their control. No responsibility is accepted for any additional expenses, omissions, delays, rerouting or events resulting from improper health
certificates or documents or acts of any government or authority. The right is reserved to decline to accept or retain any person at any time, as a participant in any tour should the circumstances so demand.
Arrangements in some countries are under exclusive control of local governments and as such these are particularly subject to change. The right is reserved to substitute hotels in a similar category or best available should the listed hotels be unavailable for any reason. We reserve the right to cancel a tour prior to departure at which time the entire payment will be refunded without further obligation on the part of the Operator.
Travelers to some countries may encounter safety risks particular to political and/or security conditions in these countries. Travelers should be aware that State Department Travel Advisories may exist for some destinations; and that the United States may not maintain full diplomatic relations with all countries. In the event of an emergency, consular services may not be available in all areas. Although Ilex Luxury Travel will do everything possible to ensure the safety of our clients, travel is strictly at the risk of the passenger and Ilex Luxury Travel accepts no responsibility or liability for passenger safety.
Visitors to remote areas should be prepared for unexpected changes in their itinerary, and should arrive with a flexible attitude toward their visit and the understanding that it is impossible to control, foresee, or guarantee all aspects of the tour. In the event of non-provision, abridgment, modification, or substitution of services, beyond the control of and through no fault of Ilex Luxury Travel, the refund is limited to the amount returned by the overseas suppliers, less administrative costs.
Regarding the inclusion of the Ilex Luxury Travel founder on the Travel + Leisure A-List, you acknowledge and agree that there is no recourse to the Publisher or Meredith Corporation, and only against the company with respect to any claims arising out of or in connection with this agreement or your relationship with Ilex Luxury Travel.
Payment of a deposit on a tour shall constitute consent to all provisions as published herein.
I understand that the penalties, terms and conditions as described above apply to all payments that I make to Ilex Luxury Travel.
Name (print): _____________________________________________
Signature: _______________________________________________
Date: ___________________________________________________