Please read carefully the terms in the conditions of contract. In completing and submitting the Booking Form, you agree to be bound by these conditions which constitute the agreement between World Expeditions Monde Ltd (World Expeditions) of which World Expeditions Schools is a division of and you. These conditions apply to the exclusion of any other terms or conditions unless they are set out in the Booking Form or are otherwise agreed to in writing by the parties. Previous dealings between the parties will not vary these conditions. No purported variation of these conditions will be effective unless in writing and signed by a person so authorized by World Expeditions.
By completing and submitting the Booking Form you affirm that you:
• are over the age of 18 and legally competent to give the waiver, release and indemnity contained in it;
• understand that this document is contractual in nature, has legal effect and is not merely a warning nor provided for information purposes;
• understand that WE have relied upon your execution of the document in allowing your and/or your child’s participation in the tour.
Where this document is signed for a participant under 18 years of age, then the parent/guardian signing this document covenants in terms of conditions 17 and 18, in respect of any claim, liability or cause of action that arises out of or is incidental to the child’s participation in the tour.
1. How to Book
To reserve your place on one of the tours, you should complete the Booking Form and send it, together with a non-refundable deposit as advised by your school coordinator. Some trips require a non-refundable additional deposit or instant payment for a permit. In these instances, refer to the individual trip notes for an explanation.
2. Payment
The prices quoted on your trip notes represent the most current prices, are per person and are subject to minimum numbers. Where minimum numbers are not met by the payment date, a small group surcharge will be offered to ensure the trips operation. The prices quoted are also subject to change under the conditions moreover detailed at paragraph 14 of these terms and conditions. The balance of the tour price is payable to World Expeditions Schools 90 days prior to departure, unless another payment calendar has been agreed to and displayed on your trip notes. Prices are quoted in US dollars to USA schools and Canadian dollars to Canadian schools (unless otherwise specified) and all payments must be made in the respective currency. If payment of the balance of the tour price is not received by World Expeditions Schools by the required time you will be taken as having cancelled the tour and cancellation charges in accordance with condition 4 will apply.
3. Amendments/Transfers
AMENDMENTS: To make amendments to your tour arrangements, you must notify World Expeditions Schools in writing. Each amendment to your tour arrangements will incur a $100 administration fee and you will be liable for any increase in airfares or operational expenses occasioned by the amendment.
TRANSFERS: If you wish to transfer from one tour to another, you must notify World Expeditions Schools and your school coordinator in writing. Once World Expeditions Schools receives your notice the transfer will take effect subject to the following. Transfers may only be made to another tour scheduled by your school with World Expeditions School and commences within 12 months of your original departure date and the following transfer charges will apply:
• If your notice is received more than 90 days prior to your original departure date, a $100 transfer fee will apply. In addition, any increase in airfares or operational services will be payable by you: or
• If your notice is received within 90 days prior to your original departure date 100% of your tour price will be forfeited.
In all circumstances the deposit or payment made to secure flights is non-refundable and the full amount received will be forfeited.
Note: Any requested amendment to tour arrangements or transfer from one tour to another is subject to availability and the agreement in writing of World Expeditions Schools, however, the transfer of a trip from one person to another is not permitted. World Expeditions Schools would waive the transfer fees should a formal Travel Warning, not present at the time of trip deposit, be issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs stating that Canadians or Americans should avoid all travel to the region where the tour takes place within 45 days of departure. Cancellation fees of prepaid service may apply, World Expeditions Schools would do its best to minimize the cancellation penalties and allow the group to transfer to an alternative trip to another destination.
4. Cancellations
If you wish to cancel your tour, you must notify World Expeditions Schools in writing. Once World Expeditions Schools receives your notice, cancellation will take effect subject to the following:
• If cancellation takes place more than 90 days prior to your departure date your full deposit will be forfeited.
• If cancellation takes place between 90 & 40 days prior to your departure date 50% of the tour price will be forfeited.
• If cancellation takes place less than 40 days prior to your departure date 100% of the tour price will be forfeited.
Deposits or payment made to the airlines are 100% non refundable.
5. Health & Fitness Requirements
You must be in good health and physical condition and are strongly advised to follow our pre departure fitness training recommendations. You may be required to submit our medical questionnaire as proof that you are fit enough to participate 90 days prior to departure. If you have a pre-existing medical condition, you must have your doctor complete a World Expeditions Schools medical clearance form to certify you as fit to participate. If you suffer from severe muscular, chest heart or bronchial disorders, or if you are an asthmatic, or if you are a diabetic, or if you have epilepsy, or if you have any allergies that require medicine and/or EpiPens, or if you are taking any medicine or seeing a specialist for anxiety, depression or any mental health reasons including eating disorders, or if you have high blood pressure, you will be required to supply a detailed action plan or treatment plan and have your doctor complete a medical clearance form to certify you as fit to participate. Tours take place in remote areas where there is little or no access to normal medical services or hospital facilities for serious problems. Evacuation, where necessary, can be prolonged, difficult and expensive. Medical and evacuation expenses will be your responsibility, but insurance may cover you depending on the circumstances. World Expeditions Schools reserve the right in its absolute discretion to refuse a participant the right to participate on a tour and our standard cancellation terms will apply in these circumstances.
6. Medical Disclosure
You declare and warrant that:
• you are in good health and mental and physical fitness at the time of booking this tour;
• you have disclosed to World Expeditions Schools every matter concerning your health and mental and physical fitness of which you are aware, or ought reasonably be expected to know, that is relevant to World Expeditions Schools’ decision to permit you to go on the adventure tour;
• immediately upon any adverse change in your health or fitness that may be likely to affect World Expeditions Schools’ decision to permit you to go on the adventure tour, you will notify World Expeditions Schools in writing of any such adverse change
•you acknowledge that the obligation to disclose under this condition continues from the time of booking the tour through to departure and extends for the duration of the tour.
• World Expeditions Schools are permitted to disclose medical information to our consultant doctor for an opinion.
• World Expeditions Schools’ consultant doctor may exclude you from a tour if he/she deems it necessary.
• You have taken the necessary precautions to immunise/vaccinate for the destination you are travelling to.
• You have taken out a travel insurance policy that adequately covers you for medical eventualities and or pre existing medical conditions
7. World Expeditions Schools staff, tour leaders and tour guides
In this condition, ‘nominated tour leader’ includes both the nominated tour leader and any other nominated person given at any time the task of leading or supervising any aspect of the tour.
• World Expeditions Schools’ tour leaders take their responsibilities seriously and if for any reason a tour leader believes, in his or her absolute discretion, that you should not participate in the tour, before your departure, he/she may exclude you from the tour. In this event, you will be offered the option of taking another tour considered suitable for you or a full refund. If for any reason during a tour the tour leader considers you should not participate further due to you committing an illegal act, or in the opinion of the tour leader, your behaviour is causing or is likely to cause danger, distress or annoyance to others, or your fitness or health (mental and/or physical) is questioned, he or she may direct you not to continue and you must follow the tour leader’s instructions. In this case you will not be entitled to any refund.
• World Expeditions Schools reserves the right to change, at any time, the tour leader of any tour. If that happens, World Expeditions Schools will try to ensure that the alternative tour leader has expertise commensurate with that of the original tour leader. Any such change by World Expeditions Schools will not give rise to any right on your part to cancel the tour or claim any expenses, loss or damage which may be suffered.
8. Cancellation due to tour booking numbers
World Expeditions Schools reserves the right to cancel any tour prior to departure in the event that there are too few people booked on a tour in which case you will be given a full refund of the tour price paid by you. You will not be entitled to claim any additional amounts or seek any compensation for any injury, loss, expenses or damage (either direct or consequential) or for any loss of time or inconvenience which may result from such cancellation (including but not limited to visa, passport and vaccination charges, or departure, gear purchases, airport and airline taxes).
9. Route changes, Postponement, Cancellation or Delay
World Expeditions Schools reserves the right to:
• change the date of departure or conclusion of the tour, or modify any aspect of the tour, or
• cancel or modify any routes within the tour or objectives set out in the itinerary, or
• substitute different or equivalent routes within the tour in place of cancelled or modified routes, or
• postpone, cancel or delay (either in relation to the departure or arrival times or the duration of the tour) any such aspect of the tour if, in the absolute discretion of World Expeditions Schools, it is necessary to do so due to inclement weather, snow or icy conditions or conditions that are otherwise likely to be hazardous or dangerous or due to any other adverse or threatening conditions whether political or military or terrorist or otherwise or if, in the absolute discretion of World Expeditions Schools, there is a likelihood of any such event occurring which may impact upon the safety of the participants, or if an act or omission of a third party prevents the tour or the aspect of the tour being undertaken in accordance with your booking or for any other reason considered necessary by World Expeditions Schools. In the event of any change, modification, cancellation postponement or delay under this condition, you acknowledge that you will have no right of refund of the tour price (whether in whole or in part) and no right to claim compensation for any injury, loss or damage or other additional expenses incurred by virtue of the change, modification, cancellation postponement or delay.
World Expeditions Schools also reserves, in its absolute discretion, the right to cancel any tour due to any government travel warning or advice, or any change in such warning or advice. In this event, condition 4 applies as if you had transferred or cancelled the tour at the date that World Expeditions Schools cancelled the tour due to the governmental travel warning or advice. Travel insurance may compensate you depending on the circumstances.
10. Itineraries
Itineraries and other details are published in good faith as statements of intention only and reasonable changes in the itinerary and related items may be made where deemed necessary or advisable by World Expeditions Schools. The information contained in World Expeditions Schools’ brochures, itineraries, and internet site is, to the best of World Expeditions Schools’ belief, correct at the date of publishing.
11. Insurance
Personal travel insurance is not included in the tour price. It is a condition of booking a tour with World Expeditions Schools, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are adequately insured for the full duration of the tour in respect of illness, injury, death, loss of baggage and personal items and cancellation and curtailment. You must provide evidence to World Expeditions Schools that you have obtained personal travel insurance. You must ensure that your personal travel insurance covers all of the activities you expect to participate.
12. Proof of citizenship or information required for travel
It is your responsibility to obtain proper identification or proof of citizenship as required by the authorities of the destination to which you are travelling. You will not be entitled to a refund if you are denied boarding or entry on any basis, including without limitation, improper documentation or failure to provide information. It is recommended that your passport is valid for six months beyond the date of your return home to your home country.
13. Airlines and other transport providers
Any material published by World Expeditions Schools, the Booking Form and these conditions of contract are not issued on behalf of, and do not commit any airline whose services are used or proposed to be used in the course of the tour. In the event that an airline’s proposed travel or fare schedule is amended or cancelled, such amendment or cancellation will not be considered a cancellation of the tour by World Expeditions Schools. Any flights or other transport forming part of the tour arrangements are subject to the conditions of the carrying airline or other transport entity, which in most cases limits the airlines’ or other transport entity’s liability to passengers in accordance with applicable international law and conventions. The liability of World Expeditions Schools, any airline or other transport provider is limited so far as possible by the following conventions: Warsaw Convention 1929, as amended by the Hague Protocol and Montreal Protocol in relation to air travel; or Montreal Convention 1999; the Berne Convention for rail travel 1980; Athens Convention 1974 for carriage by sea; and the Geneva Convention for carriage by road 1978.
14. Tour Prices
Package prices are per person based on ground costs, fuel prices, airfares, exchange rates and assumptions made at the time of printing the brochure. World Expeditions Schools tries its utmost not to increase tour prices (in full or part), however sometimes increases are outside its control. World Expeditions Schools reserves the right to amend tour prices (or any part) without notice at any time before and including the departure date. Amendments may be necessitated for many reasons including, but not limited to, exchange rate fluctuations, increased fuel costs, airfares, airport charges, increases in ground operator service fees, or the need to engage alternative air or ground operators. Any increase in tour prices must be paid prior to the departure date. Should the increase of your tour price be greater then 7% of your original tour price, you have the right to cancel your trip and get a refund for the monies paid for your tour. You will not be entitled to claim any additional amounts or seek any compensation for any injury, loss, expenses or damage (either direct or consequential) or for any loss of time or inconvenience which may result from such cancellation (including but not limited to visa, passport and vaccination charges, or departure, gear purchases, airport and airline taxes).
15. Exclusions from tour price
Without limitation, the following items are excluded from the tour price:
• personal travel insurance;
• visa, passport and vaccination charges;
• departure, airport and airline taxes;
• extra meals, transport costs, accommodation costs, or other expenses not included in the itinerary;laundry, postage, personal clothing, medical expenses & items of a personal nature; emergency evacuation and/or emergency search charges;
• additional expenses caused by delay, accidents or disruption of planned itineraries;
• tips, onboard beverages and excess baggage charges.
Refer to our tour notes for full details.
16. Force Majeure
If World Expeditions Schools is prevented (directly or indirectly) from performing any of its obligations under this agreement by reason of act of God, strikes, trade disputes, fire, breakdowns, interruption of transport, government or political action, acts of war or terrorism, acts or omissions of a third party or for any other cause whatsoever outside World Expeditions Schools' reasonable control, World Expeditions Schools will be under no liability whatsoever to you and may, at its option, by written notice to you either cancel the tour or take any other action as specified in condition 9.
17. Assumption of risk
You acknowledge that:
• by the very nature of adventure travel and trekking holidays, they are more challenging and demanding with a commensurately higher level of risk compared with conventional holidays, and involve potential exposure to injury and possibly death; and
• in the countries and regions in which adventure travel is undertaken, standards of accommodation, transport, health care, hygiene, safety and service provision generally are often not as high as those standards in your country of residence and may require flexibility and patience on your part; and
• operational control of the tour may be in the hands of a third party and that your right of action in regard to any shortcomings of that third party’s performance is against the third party and not against World Expeditions Schools; and
• the additional dangers and risks associated with adventure travel may include difficult and dangerous terrain; high altitude; extremes of weather, including sudden and unexpected changes; political instability; remoteness from normal medical services and from communications; and evacuation difficulties in the event of illness or injury; and
• the enjoyment and excitement of adventure travel is derived in part from the inherent dangers and risks associated with adventure travel and that those inherent dangers and risks are a reason why you wish to undertake the adventure tour, and
• you have submitted your booking for the tour after giving due consideration of relevant travel information including, without limitation, any relevant information or advice given by the governments of Australia, New Zealand and Canada, the British Foreign Office and US Department of State and that it is your responsibility to acquaint yourself that information or advice, for the above reasons you therefore accept the inherent and increased dangers and risks associated with the proposed adventure tour and the accompanying risk of injury, death or property damage or loss.
18. Disclaimer
You accept that:
• World Expeditions Schools acts as a booking agent for third-party tour operators and accepts no liability for the acts or omissions of those third-party tour operators; and
• World Expeditions Schools will not be liable for any breach of any law by any person with whom you travel on the tour; and
• you may not rely on any representations concerning the tour made by World Expeditions Schools which are not contained in these conditions.
19. Release and waiver of liability
• In consideration of World Expeditions Schools accepting your booking application and in consideration of you being permitted by World Expeditions Schools to join the tour to the extent permitted by law:
• you release, waive, discharge, hold harmless and agree to indemnify World Expeditions Schools and its officers, employees, agents, licensees, guides and other representatives and the land management authorities in the countries in which the tour is conducted (each of whom are collectively referred to as “World Expeditions Schools and its employees”) from all claims, actions or losses for bodily injury, property damage, wrongful death, loss of services, loss profits, consequential, exemplary, indirect or punitive damages or otherwise which may arise out of or occur during your travel in connection with the tour or any activities conducted in conjunction there within unless caused by the wilful negligence or wrongful act of World Expeditions Schools and its employees; and regardless of the situation or circumstances giving rise to the claim you waive any claims you have, or may at any time have, against World Expeditions Schools and its employees and you agree, by accepting the additional inherent dangers and risks associated with the tour, not to make any claim against or seek any compensation from World Expeditions Schools and its employees in respect of any personal injury, illness or death suffered by you or damage to or loss of property sustained by you as a result of your participation in the tour.
To the extent permitted by law, section 74 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 Commonwealth (as amended) does not apply to this contract. If section 74 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 does apply World Expeditions Schools’ liability is limited to resupplying the services or paying the costs of resupplying the services, whichever is the lesser.
20. Miscellaneous
A party will not be deemed to have waived any of its rights or remedies under these conditions or at law by allowing any time or indulgence or by not exercising any right or remedy arising out of any default by the other party.
If any part of a condition is illegal, unenforceable or invalid, it is to be treated as removed from the conditions, however, the remainder of the conditions are not altered.
21. Jurisdiction
This agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties will be construed and take effect in accordance with and be governed by the laws of Ontario.
Should any conflict arise out of the application of the present contract ,the Court of the province of Ontario will, at the exclusion of any other jurisdiction, proceed with all claims arising.