Terms and Conditions

Grampian Escapes & Tours (“the Company”) accepts your (“the Customer”) booking under the following terms and conditions.

1. General
   These terms and conditions, together with any other written information brought to your attention before we confirm your booking, shall form the basis of your contract with Grampian Escapes & Tours Ltd (SC572417) (‘us’, ‘we’ or the ‘Company’) in respect of the relevant tour or other holiday experience (together referred to in these terms and conditions as ‘tours’) to be provided by the Company. Please read these terms and conditions carefully and contact us if you have any queries.

Within these conditions, ‘you’ and ‘your’ means all persons named on the booking. By making a booking, the ‘lead passenger’ specified in the booking will be deemed to have accepted these conditions on behalf of all passengers named within the booking.

We endeavor to ensure that the information and prices in our brochures and on our website, are accurate; however occasionally changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You should check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before your booking request is made. All tours are sold subject to availability.

None of these terms and conditions are intended to contravene or contradict The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 (so far as applicable to your booking) or The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and your statutory rights under any such legislation are not affected.

2. Booking Process

Bookings can be made via our website, by telephone or by contacting us by email at hello@grampianescapesandtours.co.uk.

Your booking is not confirmed until we have issued your booking confirmation. At that point, a binding contract will be entered into between us. Unless otherwise agreed, a booking confirmation will only be issued once we have received full payment from you. We cannot be held responsible if any tour in which you are interested becomes fully booked or otherwise unavailable prior to full payment being received from you.

2. Pricing
   Admission fees or guided tours are not included in the tour price unless expressly stated in the tour description or packages are upgraded.

Unless otherwise expressly stated in the tour description, the cost of accommodation is not included in the price, although we can arrange accommodation on your behalf. If you wish us to do so, we will endeavor to book accommodation falling within the price bracket specified by you. If accommodation within the specified price bracket is not available or cannot be booked for any reason, we will discuss this with you before booking any alternative accommodation on your behalf. The costs of any special requests or supplements (including single supplements) will vary depending on, for example, the policies of the relevant accommodation providers or other suppliers. Please ask us about this at the time of making your booking enquiry.

3. Group Bookings

If you wish to make a group booking (being the booking of a tour for 10 or more individuals) then please contact us to discuss your requirements further. If we quote a price for a group booking which is based upon a specified number of individuals then, in the event of the size of the group increasing or decreasing in size, we may alter our quoted price accordingly to reflect the revised numbers. Any changes made following the issue of your booking confirmation will be dealt with as a requested change, as detailed in these terms and conditions. Please note that we reserve the right to charge a deposit in respect of group bookings and we will advise you of this when discussing your booking enquiry.

4. Amendments to bookings
   • Changes by you

If you wish to change any part of your confirmed booking, you should inform us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done by the lead passenger named on the booking. Whilst we will do our best to assist you, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your request.

Where we can meet a change request made by you, any changes made may be subject to an administration fee (as advised by the Company). In addition, you will also be required to meet any extra costs incurred by us (and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers) in making the requested change. Where we are unable to meet your change request and you no longer wish to travel based on the original booking, this will be treated as a cancellation of your booking and cancellation charges may be payable by you, as outlined below.

If, once your booking is confirmed, you are unable to travel for any reason then we will allow you to transfer your booking to someone else (introduced by you, and who satisfies all the conditions applicable to the booking) provided that:

• we are notified of this in writing at least 7 days prior to departure;
• an administration fee of person transferring (£5.00 or as advised by the Company) is paid;
• you and/or the transferee make payment of any costs and charges incurred by us and/or imposed by our accommodation providers or other suppliers, and
• the transferee agrees to these conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.

For the avoidance of doubt, no transfer requests or changes will be finally confirmed until full payment of all applicable charges referred to above have been received by the Company.

4.2 Changes by us

While the Company shall do everything reasonably possible to provide your tour itinerary and details as planned, the Company reserves the right to alter itineraries, transport or accommodation if required to do so. In the case of accommodation, a similar standard of accommodation will be obtained wherever possible. The majority of any such alterations will be minor and we will try to advise you of them as soon as possible.

In the unlikely event, however, that we are required to significantly alter a material part of your tour, we will notify you of this as quickly as possible to enable you to decide how you wish to proceed. In such event you will be entitled to take an alternative tour of equivalent or superior quality, if we are able to offer that, or to take a substitute tour of lower quality if we are able to offer that (in which event the difference in price between the original and the substitute tour will be refunded to you); or to cancel your booking and obtain a full refund of all monies paid by you.

Please be aware that the nature of travel involves risks and unpredictable weather and road conditions and we cannot, therefore, guarantee any departure or arrival times at any points of a tour itinerary.

5. Cancellations
   • Cancellations by you

If you wish to cancel your booking after our booking confirmation has been issued, you should inform us in writing as soon as possible – the effective date of cancellation will be the date upon which we receive such written notification. In the event of cancellation by you, cancellation charges may be payable, as set out below.

5.2 One Day Tours & Half-Day Tours:

For one-day & half-day sightseeing tours, the following cancellation charges shall apply (depending on the effective date of cancellation):

• cancellation more than 72 hours before the tour departure: you will be charged 10% of the price paid by you in respect of your sightseeing tour;
• cancellation less than 72 but more than 24 hours before the tour departure: we shall be entitled to charge 50% of the price paid by you in respect of your sightseeing tour;
• cancellations less than 24 hours prior to departure we shall be entitled of charge the full cost of your sightseeing tour, unless we agree (entirely in our discretion) to pay you a partial refund. We will advise you of our decision on this upon receiving your cancellation request/enquiry.

5.3 Group Bookings

For all group bookings (as defined above) the following cancellation charges shall apply (depending on the effective date of cancellation):

• cancellation more than 6 weeks before the tour date: no charge;
• cancellation between 6 weeks and 28 days before the tour date: you will be charged 10% of the price of the tour;
• cancellation between 27 days and 7 days before the tour date: you will be charged 50% of the price of the tour;
• cancellation between 6 days and 1 day before the tour date: you will be charged 80% of the price of the tour;
• in the event of a ‘no show’ you will be charged 100% of the price of the tour.

5.4 Accommodation
In addition to the cancellation charges outlined above, cancellation may also result in you being liable for cancellation charges levied by the accommodation providers with whom we have arranged accommodation on your behalf. We shall endeavor to advise you of their cancellation charges at the time of booking but typically the charge made will be the cost of one night’s accommodation for each separate accommodation booked Any such costs or charges should be payable to us, so that we may remit them to the relevant accommodation provider on your behalf.

5.5 Cancellation by Us
We will only cancel tours due to unforeseeable circumstances which are out with our control or which might jeopardize your safety. If we cancel your tour then we will always refund you, in full, for all sums paid by you.

6. Missed Departures
   You are responsible for ensuring that you have all necessary passports, visas and other travel documents and that you are at the correct departure point at the correct time. We cannot accept any responsibility for your failure to do so, nor any costs or expenses incurred as a result of you failing to do so (which will be treated as a cancellation by you). No monies will be refunded for any missed departures or unused services.
7. Refusal of Travel
   The Company reserves the right to refuse to carry any person whose conduct or manner is likely to cause offence or upset to other passengers. The Company also reserves the right to refuse travel to any person who is experiencing medical symptoms likely to cause ill health to others. It is therefore vital that you ensure that you are fit to travel on the departure date.

In either of the cases mentioned above, full cancellation charges shall be applied by the Company and the Company shall have no further liability to that passenger or to any person travelling with them.

8.0 Our Liability and Actions of Suppliers
Many of the aspects of your holiday experience (of which your tour may form part) are provided by independent suppliers, who provide such products and services based on their own terms and conditions. Tickets for travel on other carriers are subject to the normal conditions of carriage of the individual carrier.

The Company will not accept or have any liability for any acts or omissions (whether negligent or otherwise) of any supplier or person providing services relating to any tour unless such a person is employed by or under the direct control of the Company.

This does not, however, affect your statutory rights under The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992, to the extent applicable to your booking. To the extent that these Regulations do apply to your tour booking, then (subject to these terms and conditions) if we or our suppliers are in breach of contract and/or negligently perform or arrange the services which we are obliged to provide for you under our contract with you (as detailed in your booking confirmation) then we may be obliged to pay you reasonable compensation, which will be calculated taking into account all relevant factors (such as, but not limited to, the extent to which this affected the overall enjoyment of your tour). Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our suppliers have breached the contract or been negligent.

If we are found liable to pay you compensation under the above provision, then (subject to the following paragraphs) the maximum amount which we will be liable to pay to you in respect of any claim shall be limited to twice the price paid by the affected person, in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where you or your party have received no benefit from your booking. This limitation shall not apply to any claims relating to death or personal injury or fraud (or any other type of claim that cannot be excluded or limited at law). You must notify us of any potential claims under this provision at the earliest opportunity.

We will not be responsible for, nor will we be liable to pay compensation for, any loss, cost, damage or claim to the extent that it results from any act and/or omission by you;

the act or omission of any third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable;

unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our (or our suppliers’) control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been taken; or

any event which either we or our suppliers could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.

The Company cannot assume responsibility for any costs incurred for any travel arrangements purchased separately from the Company.

9. Special Requests
   Any special requests should be advised to us at the time of booking. Whilst we will try to accommodate your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled and failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part. Where appropriate, we will pass any special requests on to your accommodation provider(s), but we cannot be held responsible for their failure or inability to meet your request. Please also be aware that some accommodation providers may make an additional charge (payable locally) depending on the nature of your request. We regret that we cannot accept bookings which are conditional on any special request being met.
10. Disabilities and Medical Problems
    We will try to accommodate disabilities and medical problems where we can but please be aware that many of our tours may not be suitable. If you or any member of your party has any disability or medical problem which may affect their ability to travel on our tour then please provide us with full details at the time of making your booking enquiry, so that we can advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. If we are not informed of any disabilities or medical problems in this way then we cannot be held responsible for any cost or inconvenience incurred if we are unable to accommodate you or any member of your party.

If, acting reasonably, we are unable to accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned then we will not confirm your booking or (if you did not give us details of the disability or medical problem at the time of making the booking request) we shall be entitled to cancel your booking and to levy the relevant cancellation charges.

11. Children
    We regret that we do not carry children under the age of 5 on our scheduled tours. Otherwise, child prices will vary depending on, for example, the policies of relevant accommodation providers or other suppliers. Please enquire about this at the time of making your booking enquiry.
12. Luggage
    Unless otherwise notified, passengers are restricted to carry on bag per person. Luggage is carried free of charge but at the passenger’s own risk. It is the passenger’s responsibility to ensure that luggage is fit for travel, sturdy and waterproof.
13. Smoking
    Smoking is not permitted in vehicles but there are frequent stops on-route for passengers who wish to smoke.
14. Complaints
    We actively welcome your feedback, both in respect of our own services and those provided by other suppliers (such as accommodation providers). In the event that you have any complaint during the course of your tour then please bring this to the attention of your driver or tour guide as soon as possible, and we will endeavor to resolve the matter to your satisfaction. Any complaints regarding accommodation should, in the first instance, be raised with the relevant accommodation provider.

If your complaint is not resolved locally and you wish to complain further, then please contact us at hello@grampianescapesandtours.co.uk providing all relevant information necessary to enable us to consider your complaint. We would request that any complaints be raised with us within 28 days of the end of your tour, as otherwise our ability to investigate the complaint properly may be affected.

15. Insurance
    The Company strongly recommends that passengers arrange suitable travel, medical and cancellation insurance.
16. Your Protection
    Where applicable to your tour, all monies paid by passengers will be held in trust until the tour has been completed, in accordance with The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992.
17. Data Protection
    To process your booking and to ensure that your travel arrangements run smoothly, we will need to use the personal information which you provide to us (such as your name, address, contact details, any special requirements etc). We may also use the information provided to keep in touch with you and to advise you of the Company’s products and services (including special offers) from time to time. In addition, we may be required to pass this information on to third parties (such as accommodation providers or other suppliers relevant to your booking). We will not, however, pass your information on to anyone who is not involved in providing (or arranging the provision of) any product or service related to your booking.

Where you provide us with personal details such as those mentioned above, we are entitled to assume that you do not object to us using or disclosing your information for the purposes mentioned above, unless you advise us otherwise in writing. You are entitled to see a copy of your information which is held by us – please contact us at tours@rabbies.com if you would like to see this.

18. Marketing Imagery and Video

You consent to us using images and videos of you taken during the trip for advertising and promotional purposes in any medium we choose. You grant us a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable license to use such images for publicity and promotional purposes.

19. Force Majeure
    Unless expressly stated otherwise in these terms and conditions, we will not have any liability to you if we are prevented from fulfilling our contractual obligations to you because of any event which is out with our control (and/or out with the control of the supplier or provider of the service in question). Such events may include (but are not limited to) war or threat of war; terrorist activity or the threat of terrorist activity; civil commotion or riot; any action taken by a governmental or public authority; industrial disputes; collapse of buildings, fire, explosion or accident; traffic or road conditions or road closures; technical or mechanical breakdown; adverse weather conditions; natural disasters and all similar events or circumstances.
20. Enforceability of Terms
    If any provision of these terms and conditions is found to be illegal or unenforceable, that shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remainder of these terms and conditions.
21. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
    These terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Scots law and any matter or claim arising from them shall be dealt with only by the Scottish courts.