By making a booking, the first-named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:

a) He/she has read these terms and conditions and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;

b) He/she consents to our use of information in accordance with our Privacy Policy;

c) He/she is over 18 years of age and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services.

d) He/she accepts financial responsibility for payment of the booking on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking.

Booking and Paying for your Tour 

A booking is made with us when you a) tell us that you would like to accept our written or verbal quotation; b) pay us a deposit (the applicable deposit will usually be £200/£400/£500 or £800 per person, however, we will advise you at the time of booking if a different level of deposit is required to secure a booking) or full payment if you are booking within 62 days of departure; and c) we issue you with a booking confirmation. We reserve the right to return your deposit and decline to issue a confirmation at our absolute discretion. A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we have issued you with a booking confirmation that will confirm the details of your booking.

* For tours booked via Solo Female Travelers, a different payment schedule applies and is as follows:

1. Deposit – £200 to reserve a spot on the tour.
2. 30% – A further 30% of the tour cost is due 150 days before departure.
3. Balance – The final balance is due 90 days before departure.

Please check your booking confirmation and any other documents that we issue very carefully and if there is any information that seems to be incorrect or missing, please let us know immediately as we may need to use these details to book tickets or part of the itinerary and making changes at a later date may not be possible. It may harm your rights if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within ten days of our sending it out.

The name in your passport must match the name on your confirmation invoice.

The balance of the cost of your arrangements (including any applicable surcharge) is due not less than 62 days prior to scheduled departure (or any such earlier due date that is detailed on your confirmation invoice). If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case the cancellation charges set out in Clause 8 below will become payable.

You can pay the deposit, balance or full amount by bank transfer or credit card. Details will provided with the booking form. 

2. Accuracy

We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in any advertising material that we publish are accurate, however, occasionally changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before your booking is confirmed.

3. Insurance

Adequate travel insurance is a condition of your contract with us. You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers all your personal requirements including cancellation charges, medical expenses and repatriation in the event of accident or illness. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover would otherwise have been available.

4. Pricing

The price of your travel arrangements has been calculated using exchange rates quoted on www.xe.com in relation to the following currencies as appropriate: Great British Pound, Kenyan Shillings, Ugandan Shillings, Rwandan Francs, Malawian Kwacha, Zambian Kwacha, Tanzanian Shillings, Namibian Dollars, Swazi Lilangeni, South African Rand, Moroccan Dirhams, Sierra Leone Leone, Mozambique Metical, Euro and US Dollar. 

We reserve the right to amend the price of unsold tours at any time and correct errors in the prices of confirmed tours. 

The price of your confirmed tour is subject at all times to variations in:

(i) transportation costs, including the cost of fuel; or

(ii) dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; or

(iii) the exchange rates used to calculate your arrangements.

Such variations could include but are not limited to airline cost changes which are part of our contracts with airlines (and their agents), cruise ship operators and any other transport providers.

We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus an administration charge of £1.00 per person. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your confirmed  travel arrangements (excluding any insurance premiums, amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements), you will have the option of accepting a change to another tour if we are able to offer one (if this is of equivalent or higher quality you will not have to pay more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us, except for any insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice.

Should the price of your tour go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your confirmed tour cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. 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.

There will be no change made to the price of your confirmed tour within 30 days of your departure nor will refunds be paid during this period.

5. Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

These Booking Terms and Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by English law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only. You may however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live in those places and if you wish to do so.

6. Cutting Your Tour Short

If you are forced to return home early, we cannot refund the cost of any services you have not used. If you cut short your tour and return home early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of accommodation and services provided, we will not offer you any refund for that part of your tour not completed, or be liable for any associated costs you may incur. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for curtailment and we suggest that any claim is made directly with them.

7. Changes by You

If you wish to change any part of your booking arrangements after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you must inform us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done by the first named person on the booking. Whilst we will do our best to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your requested change. Where we can meet a request, all changes will be subject to payment of an administration fee of £50 per person per change as well as  any applicable rate changes or extra costs incurred as well as any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Where we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking we will treat this as a cancellation by you. A cancellation fee may be payable. If you are prevented from travelling it may be possible to transfer your booking to another suitable person provided that written notice is given. An administration fee will be charged, details available upon request.

If any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you and satisfying all the conditions applicable to the arrangements) providing we are notified not less than 28 days  before departure and you pay an amendment fee of £50 per person transferring, meet all costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers and the transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.  If you are unable to find a replacement, cancellation charges as set out will apply in order to cover our estimated costs. Otherwise, no refunds will be given for passengers not travelling or for unused services.

Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended or transferred after they have been confirmed and any alteration could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements.

8. If You Cancel

If you or any member of your party decides to cancel your confirmed booking you must notify us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us at our offices and will be effective from the date on which we receive it. We recommend that you use recorded delivery. Since we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements, you will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges up to the maximum shown below. The cancellation charge detailed is calculated on the basis of the total cost payable by the person(s) cancelling excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges which are not refundable in the event of the person(s) to whom they apply cancelling:

We will deduct the cancellation charge(s) from any monies you have already paid to us.

Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended after they have been confirmed and any alteration or cancellation could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements in addition to the charge above.

If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

9. If We Change or Cancel

As we plan your arrangements many months in advance we may occasionally have to make changes or cancel your booking and we reserve the right to do so at any time.

Changes: If we make a major change to your tour, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. Examples of minor changes include alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours, change of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard, changes of carriers. Please note that carriers such as airlines used in the brochure may be subject to change.

Occasionally we may have to make a major change to your confirmed arrangements. ”Examples of “major changes” include the following, when made before departure:

• A change of accommodation area for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
• A change of accommodation to that of a lower standard or classification for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
• A change of outward departure time or overall length of your arrangements of twelve or more hours.
• A significant change to your itinerary, missing out one or more destination entirely.

Cancellation: We will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 62 days before your departure date, except for reasons of force majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. We may cancel your tour before this date if, e.g., the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached.

If we have to make a major change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of:

(i) (for major changes) accepting the changed arrangements;

(ii) having a refund of all monies paid; or

(iii) accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us, if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value).

You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer. If you fail to do so we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements.

Compensation

If we cancel or make a major change less than 62 days before departure, we will pay compensation as detailed below. The compensation that we offer does not exclude you from claiming more if you are entitled to do so.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We will not pay you compensation in the following circumstances:

• where we make a minor change;
• where we make a major change or cancel your arrangements more than 62 days before departure;
• where we have to cancel your arrangements as a result of your failure to make full payment on time;
• where the change or cancellation by us arises out of alterations to the confirmed booking requested by you;
• where we are forced to cancel or change your arrangements due to Force Majeure (see Clause 10).

In the event of a change or cancellation, we regrettably cannot reimburse you for any incidental expenses incurred by you  such as visas, vaccinations, equipment, transport, insurance or similar costs.

Please note: where accommodation with a higher price than the original accommodation is offered by us and accepted by you, the difference in price will be deducted from any compensation payable. In no case will we pay compensation if accommodation is offered by us and accepted by you with a higher price than that originally booked in the same location where no additional payment is made by you.

If we become unable to provide a significant proportion of the services that you have booked with us after you have departed, we will make alternative arrangements for you at no extra charge and, if appropriate in all the circumstances, will pay you reasonable compensation.

10. Force Majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions we will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by any event which we or the supplier(s) of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. These events can include, but are not limited to war, threat of war, civil strife terrorist activity and its consequences or the threat of such activity, riot, pandemics, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster and adverse weather, sea, ice and river conditions and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned’s control. Advice from the Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure.

11. Special Requests 

Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking. You should then confirm your requests in writing. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled.  The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed.  We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.

12. Disabilities and Medical Problems

We are not a specialist disabled tour company, but we will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your trip, please provide us with full details before we confirm your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements.  We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate in the tour. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.

13. Complaints 

We make every effort to ensure that your tour arrangements run smoothly but if you do have a problem during your tour, please inform the relevant supplier immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please contact us on +447809710257 if the problem cannot be resolved and you wish to complain further, you must send formal written notice of your complaint to us at Helen Davies, Rock My Adventure, c/o Robin Oatridge, 353-355 Station Rd, Bamber Bridge, Preston PR5 6EE or by e-mail to [email protected] within 28 days of the end of your stay, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you. Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint, and will affect your rights under this contract.

Please note that we do not offer an Alternative Dispute Resolution service.

14. Our Liability

(1) We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “organiser” under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 as set out below. Subject to these booking conditions, if we or our suppliers negligently perform or arrange the services which we are obliged to provide for you under our contract with you, as set out on your confirmation invoice, we will pay you reasonable compensation. The level of such compensation will be calculated taking into consideration all relevant factors such as but not limited to: following the complaints procedure as described in these conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your tour. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.

(2) We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:-

(a) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected;

(b) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or

(c) unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond ours or our supplier(s) control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or

(d) an event which either ourselves or suppliers could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.

(3) We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:

(a) loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money,

The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are assumed to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.

(b) Claims not falling under (a) above and which don’t involve injury, illness or death

The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is twice the price paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you or your party has not received any benefit at all from your booking.

(c) Claims in respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, or any stay in a hotel

i) The extent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate Conventions, which include The Warsaw/Montreal Convention (international travel by air); The Athens Convention (with respect to sea travel); The Berne/Cotif Convention (with respect to rail travel) and The Paris Convention (with respect to hotel arrangements). You can ask for copies of these Conventions from our offices. Please contact us. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport company’s own ‘Conditions of Carriage’ will apply to you on that journey. When arranging 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 the terms and conditions contained in those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract.

ii) In any circumstances in which a carrier is liable to you by virtue of the Denied Boarding Regulation 2004, any liability we may have to you under our contract with you, arising out of the same facts, is limited to the remedies provided under the Regulation as if (for this purpose only) we were a carrier.

iii) When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question.

(4) It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to ourselves and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.

(5) Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to ourselves or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.

(6) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description: (a) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you; or (b) relate to any business.

(7) We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our agreement or where they are not advertised in our brochure. For example any excursion you book whilst away, or any service or facility which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you.

15. Your Responsibility 

We accept your booking on the strict understanding that you agree to abide by the laws and customs of the country or countries visited on your tour. You must also comply with any safety, hygiene and security rules given to you by your Tour Leader during the trip. The decision of the Tour Leader or other person in a position of authority (for example a hotel manager or safari guide) will be final in all matters relating to the safety and well-being of the tour group and you must and comply with all reasonable requests made by these persons. If you are found to be breaking rules, laws or regulations and/or compromising the safety or well-being of yourself or others on the tour or hindering the progress of the trip, we may be forced to cancel your trip with us without any liability on our part (see Clause 10). Once you are excluded from the trip, we will have no further responsibility to you (including travel or accommodation arrangements) and we will not refund you or cover any expenses you incur as a result.

If you fall ill during the trip, we may need to make the necessary arrangements as we see fit and recover the costs from you at a later date.

When you book this tour you agree that you accept responsibility for any damage or loss that is caused by you or any member of your party and you must pay those affected (such as the Company, accommodation providers or suppliers) in full for any such damage or loss as soon as possible. If the charges imposed at the time are less than the final cost of the damage, then you will be responsible for paying the difference, alternatively if the final cost is less than you paid, you will be reimbursed. You will also be held responsible for any following claims that arise as a result of yours or any of your party’s actions. You will also be responsible for meeting any claims made against us at a later date and all costs incurred by us (this includes ours and the third party’s legal costs.) 

16. Excursions 

Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are taking part in your tour are not part of your contracted arrangements with us. For any excursion or other tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.

17. Financial security

The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay for your chosen arrangements and for your repatriation in the event of our insolvency. For these purposes, we protect money that you have paid us in relation to non air-package holidays, via a Trust Account held with Protected Travel Services, who hold the monies that you have paid for your arrangements in a trust account until you complete your tour.

18. Nature of the Tours and Acceptance of Risk

Your booking is accepted on the understanding that you:

(a) Are aware that, due to the nature of the tours that we operate, there are certain dangers and risks inherent in the performance of the tour, some of which may include the possibility of physical exertion, weather extremes, discomfort, loss of or damage to property and remoteness from normal medical services.

(b) Acknowledge that general standards of health, safety and hygiene in the countries to be visited will not be comparable to UK standards.

(c) Acknowledge that the nature of this type of travel requires a degree of flexibility and you must allow for certain changes as a result of this during the tour. The decision of the Tour Leader is final in respect to such changes as may be necessary and you agree to comply with any decisions made.

19. Marketing Materials 

For marketing purposes, any likeness or image of you taken on any of our tours may be used by the Company without charge for promotional or marketing purposes in outlets such as brochures, videos, social media and on the Company websites www.rockmyadventure.com and  www.heleninwonderlust.co.uk

20. Passport, Visa and Immigration Requirements and Health Formalities

It is your responsibility to check and fulfil the passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. We can only provide general information about this. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.

Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date and to have at least 2 blank pages per country visited. If your passport is in its final year, you should check with the Embassy of the country you are visiting. For further information contact the Passport Office on 0870 5210410 or visit www.passport.gov.uk.

Up to date travel advice can be obtained from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, visit www.fco.gov.uk.

Non British passport holders, including other EU nationals, should obtain up to date advice on passport and visa requirements from the Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of your destination or country(ies) through which you are travelling.

We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.

21. Conditions of Suppliers.

Many of the services which make up your tour are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned.

22. Foreign Office Advice

You are responsible for making yourself aware of Foreign Office advice and State Department warnings in regard to the safety of the countries and areas in which you will be travelling and to make your decisions accordingly. Advice from the Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure (See Clause 10).

23. Data Protection 

By the Data Protection Act 2018 we are considered to be a data controller. We need to collect this personal data from you to process your booking and to ensure that we meet all of your requirements. Personal details include names, addresses, passport details, medical and dietary requirements which may disclose your religious beliefs.

Occasionally we must pass on your personal details to third party suppliers who provide certain aspects of your tour (for example hotels and transport companies) or to authorities such as customs or immigration if required by law.

We have put in place appropriate security measures in place to protect the personal details you give us. As your travel arrangements are to take place outside the European Economic Area, (EEA), controls on data protection in your destination may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. If you provide us with personal details relating to any special requirements you consent to this information being passed onto any organisation or companies responsible for any part of your travel arrangements whether in the EEA or not. If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, we cannot provide your travel arrangements. We will not however, pass any information on to any company and/or organisation not responsible for providing any part of your travel arrangements.

By booking with us, you agree to us passing on your details as above for the purposes of this tour. You are free to write to us to ask what information of yours we are passing on to whom and why. We will only deal with the personal details you give unless otherwise permitted by the Data Protection Act 2018.

If we wish to use any of your personal details for marketing purposes, we will ask your permission first.

24. Covid-19

The initial deposit is non-refundable (unless we have to cancel the trip). If the trip goes ahead and you are not able to travel due to Covid-19 restrictions placed by your country of origin. Therefore, it is essential that you take out comprehensive travel insurance with Covid-19 cover at the time of booking

However, if you are able to notify us more than 62 days prior to your departure date, we will be able to transfer your deposit to a different tour without a transfer fee.

If you decide to cancel your trip because you do not wish to travel due to Covid-19, then the normal cancellation fees will apply and you will forfeit your deposit.

If we (Rock My Adventure) must cancel or postpone your trip as a result of restrictions imposed by the destination country or the UK we will give you the option to a) cancel your trip completely and receive a full refund on your deposit or b) move your deposit to another tour with no transfer fee.

We cannot offer refunds, replacement tours or repatriation flights if your tour is cut short whilst in-country due to lockdown restrictions imposed at the destination or your country of origin, therefore it is imperative that you take out comprehensive travel insurance which includes Covid-19 curtailment cover.

In the interests of well-being, we require all Rock My Adventure travellers to be vaccinated against Covid-19. This is to protect yourself, the group and the local people in the destinations we visit. Vaccinations are at your own expense and should be planned in good time (2nd vaccination at least 2 weeks before departure). We will require proof of vaccination at least 14 days prior to the trip start date.

You will also be required to adhere to any local rules and regulations of the destination. This may include: wearing face masks, quarantine or Covid-19 testing. It is your responsibility to check and fulfil the health requirements applicable to your itinerary. We can only provide general information about this.

You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure. We are unable to provide refunds if you are denied entry because of failure to comply with Covid-19 requirements.

All Covid-19 testing is at your own expense.