BOOKING POLICY

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Please read these booking conditions and agree by ticking the checkbox on the booking form before continuing.

Booking conditions.

1. All holidays advertised here are operated by Aware Adventures. (Hereinafter called 'the Company' or 'we'), located at 15 Bolganup Road, Mount Barker, Western Australia, 6743 and are sold subject to the following conditions:
To make a booking you must complete a Booking Form and pay a deposit of 10% of your selected trip. We will then invoice you for the remainder of the cost, which you must pay not later than 8 weeks before departure. If you book less than 8 weeks before departure, full payment must be made on booking. The booking is not accepted and no contract exists until the date shown on the confirmation issued by the Company. Notification of cancellation must be made to the Company in writing.

2. A minimum of four bookings are required for a tour to run. Aware Adventures reserves the right to cancel a trip if numbers are below four or modify it so that our costs are less. We will let you know at least 4 weeks before the trip starts if numbers are below four.

3. If you cancel your booking more than 8 weeks before departure we will not refund your deposit, but you may if you wish transfer your deposit to another date or trip (dependant on availability) on payment of a transfer fee of AU$50, subject to your notifying us in writing within two weeks of your cancellation, telling us which trip and/or date you wish to transfer to and paying the transfer fee.
If the holiday you transfer to is more expensive than the one you originally booked, a further deposit will also be payable. If you subsequently cancel the holiday to which you have transferred, we will retain your full original deposit.

4. If you cancel your booking after you have paid in full the following cancellation charges will be made:

Over 30 days before departure date: 25% of total trip cost
Between15 and 30 days before departure date: 50% of total trip cost
Under 15 days before departure date: 75% of total trip cost
Fail to Show on departure date: 100% of total trip cost

These dates refer to our receiving written notification of your cancellation. We strongly recommend you to take out insurance against irrecoverable cancellation costs.

5. If you are prevented from travelling on the holiday you booked by genuine circumstances (e.g. insurable risks or other circumstances beyond your control), you may transfer your booking to another person provided they meet all the requirements relating to that trip. You must provide proof of why you are unable to travel at the time you transfer your booking. A transfer fee of $50 will be payable.
Bookings may not be transferred to another person in any other circumstances. In the event of you transferring your booking to another person, you are jointly and severally liable for payment of the holiday price and other associated expenses.

6. If you do not pay the balance of your holiday cost within 8 weeks of departure your booking will be terminated and you will lose your deposit.

7. We will let you know as soon as we can if, through no fault of your own, we are forced to significantly alter or cancel your trip. In these circumstances you can choose one of the following options.
a) accept our offer of a replacement holiday of lower quality (if available) and we will refund the difference in cost; or
b) accept our offer of a replacement holiday of equivalent or higher quality (if available); or
c) ask us for a refund of the money you have paid.

Your decision about which alternative you accept must be made as soon as possible after we notify you. If appropriate we will also compensate you for the inconvenience unless the alteration or cancellation is because  the alteration or cancellation has come about because of unavoidable, unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control. In both cases we shall inform you 3 weeks prior to departure.
We strongly advise you not to incur any non-refundable incidental expenses, e.g. for visas or flights, before we send you final confirmation of your itinerary. We will send you your final confirmation between 21 and 16 days prior to departure.

8. A general indication is provided on this website of the itinerary for each trip, the type of accommodation used, what is included in the price, passport and visa requirements, and health formalities. Changes in all of these items may be made at any time and we will notify you of any changes that we become aware of as soon as we are reasonably able to do so.

9. Any information or advice provided by the Company on matters such as permits, visas, vaccinations, climate, clothing, baggage, special equipment, etc. is given in good faith but without responsibility on the part of the Company, and the passenger accepts responsibility for obtaining any necessary visas and travel documents required for the holiday.

10. If any significant changes to the holiday have to be made before departure, we undertake to inform you, and you are entitled to the options detailed in clause 7 above. A 'significant change' is a change of more than 24 hours (12 hours for holidays of 10 days' duration or less) in departure or return timings or other such changes to itineraries and services that would reasonably be considered significant.

11. Your booking is accepted on the understanding that you realise the hazards involved in this kind of holiday, including injury, disease, loss or damage to property, inconvenience and discomfort. The whole philosophy of this type of travel is one which allows alternatives and a substantial degree of on-trip flexibility. The outline itineraries given for each holiday must therefore be taken as an indication of what each group should accomplish, and not as a contractual obligation on the part of Aware Adventures. Changes in itinerary may be caused by local political conditions, flight cancellations, mechanical breakdown, weather, border restrictions, sickness, or other unforeseeable circumstances.
Pro rata refunds will be given for services not utilised. It is a fundamental condition of joining any Aware Adventures trip that you accept this flexibility, and acknowledge that delays and alterations and their results, such as inconvenience, discomfort, or disappointment, are possible: we will always endeavour to provide suitable alternative arrangements. If it is impossible to make alternative arrangements or if a passenger is unable, or does not choose for good reason, to complete an itinerary outlined for a holiday, the Company is not liable to supply alternative itineraries, excursions, accommodations, services or staff for the period when the client is not present with the group, but in these circumstances we will arrange transport back to your point of departure if you wish.

12. On an adventurous holiday it is necessary that you abide by the authority of the leader, who represents the company. Completing our booking form signifies your agreement to this, and if you commit any illegal act when on the holiday or if in the reasonable opinion of the leader your behaviour is causing or likely to cause danger, distress or annoyance to others we may terminate your travel arrangements without any liability on our part. If you are affected by any condition, medical or otherwise, that might affect your or other people's enjoyment of the trip; you must advise us of this at the time of booking.

13. Before you come on the trip you must be covered by insurance, which must include adequate cover for baggage, medical expenses and the cost of repatriation, should you become too ill to continue. If you join the holiday without adequate insurance you may not be allowed to continue on the holiday, with no right of refund.

14. Our responsibility does not commence until the appointed meeting time stated in trip itineraries. We shall not be responsible for any additional expenses incurred by you to meet up with the group.
Should, through unforeseeable circumstances such as flight delays, you are unable to meet the group at the stated meeting time, you will at your earliest convenience inform us of your approximate time of arrival at the departure point, where we will endeavour to make travel arrangements for you to join the trip at the earliest possible time. Such arrangements are an act of good faith and any excess costs involved can be passed onto the client at the company's discretion.

15. If you have any complaint about the holiday, you must make it known at the earliest opportunity to the leader and/or our local representative, who will normally be able to take appropriate action. If you are not satisfied with their response and you feel your enjoyment of the holiday is likely to be significantly affected, you should notify our head office in Mount Barker and we will do our best to resolve the problem. If at the end of the holiday, you feel your complaint has not been properly dealt with, we shall try and agree a settlement with you, but you must first notify us of your complaint in writing within 35 days of your scheduled date of return.

16. We are responsible to you for the proper performance of our obligations under the contract irrespective of whether those obligations are provided directly by us, or by third party service providers engaged by us acting within the proper course of their employment. We are liable to you for any damage caused to you by our failure to perform the contract or by our improper performance of the contract, unless that failure is:
a) attributable to you;
b) attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services and are unforeseeable or unavoidable;
c) due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control and could not have been avoided even if all due care had been taken;
d) due to an event which even with all due care we could not foresee or forestall.

17. In any event, you are strongly advised to insure yourself against any possible risk that may occur and in particular to ensure that you have sufficient insurance in respect of dependent relatives. You are required to carry proof of insurance with you and produce it if reasonably requested by company employees or suppliers. Except in instances of personal injury or death, where the Company is found to be liable for damages in respect of its failure to carry out the contract, the maximum amount of such damages, compensation and loss of enjoyment will normally, but not necessarily, be limited to three times the basic holiday price shown on the invoice. Where the damages relate to the provision of transport by air, sea or rail, or hotel accommodation, any compensation payable will be further limited by the EU Charter of Passengers Rights, the Warsaw Convention as amended by the Hague Protocol (air), the Athens Convention 1974 (sea), the Berne Convention 1961 (rail), and the Paris Convention 1962 (hotel accommodation), or any such statute or regulation as may from time to time amend or supersede any of the above. Copies of the conditions of carriage and any conventions which may apply are available on request. Any independent arrangements that you make which are not part of the holiday are entirely at your own risk.
You must comply with the conditions of carriage applied by land, sea and air carriers. The provisions of the Warsaw Convention 1929 (as amended) concerning the carriage of passengers and their luggage by air, and the airlines' conditions of carriage, may apply to you and your party during your flight, and during boarding and disembarkation. These provisions and conditions may limit or exclude liability for death or personal injury, or loss of or damage to luggage, and may make special provisions for valuables. We will supply a copy of the conditions of carriage applicable to your holiday, and of the Warsaw Convention, if you request them.
In the case of sea travel the provisions of the Athens Convention 1974 relating to the carriage of passengers and their luggage by sea may apply. This Convention and the sea carriers conditions of carriage may continue to apply to you and your party throughout your stay on board the ship, and during boarding and disembarkation. The Athens Convention, and the carriers' conditions of carriage, may limit or exclude liability for death or personal injury, or loss of or damage to luggage, and make special provisions for valuables. A copy of the conditions of carriage applicable to your holiday, and the Athens Convention referred to above, can be supplied on request.

18. Any likeness or image of you secured or taken on any of our holidays may be used by the company without charge in all media (whether now existing or in the future invented) for bona fide promotional or marketing purposes, including without limitation promotional materials of any kind, such as brochures, slides, video shows and the internet.

19. By completing the booking form you agree that, if necessary, the company may pass your contact details and numbers to any third party connected with the operation of the specific holiday on which you have booked. This information will not be used for any other purpose, nor will be passed to any other parties.

20. The booking conditions may only be waived or amended by written mutual consent. When you complete the booking form you agree to accept all these conditions, and when we accept your booking we agree to carry out our obligations to you as defined in the information provided to you.