Booking Form and Terms and Conditions

To print out a booking form please click here.

Birding-South America is the trading name of a small, unincorporated bird watching and wildlife operator established in September 2004. Eustace Barnes and Chris Abrams have established the company to provide you with magnificent wildlife experiences.

We operate from:

George House, The Mall, Faversham. Kent ME13 8JL       

Telephone: 01795 538124

email: grallaria@aol.com

website: www.birding-southamerica.com

What the price includes:

Our price includes surface transportation, accommodation, meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), service charges, entrance fees, and leader services. In addition unlimited bottled water (or boiled and filtered water) will be provided, wherever possible, at locations where it is advisable on health grounds.

What the price excludes:

International and internal flights. International and internal departure taxes from airports. All expenses incurred before departure from, and after return to, the starting point of each tour in the country concerned (eg Lima, Peru), travel insurance, passport, visas and vaccination charges, excess baggage charges, private excursions, a la carte dishes, snacks, drinks, laundry, telephone calls, and anything else of a purely personal nature. You are also responsible for the cost of any meals and additional expenses incurred while the rest of the group are elsewhere (e.g. when electing to remain behind at the accommodation while the rest of the group are out). All clients are responsible for tipping where they feel it is deemed appropriate. In certain situations such as large currency variations, or a rise in fuel prices a surcharge may be payable.

Reservation:

Please read the Booking Form carefully for, upon completion, your signature and deposit payment enters you into a contract with Birding-South America where you are agreeing to accept all these conditions. If you verbally request to be included on one of our trips we will require confirmation in writing, of your request, within 7 working days. For our part when we confirm your booking, in writing, we are agreeing to provide you with the holiday you requested. Your contract with us and any matters arising from it shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law, and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts in England and Wales.

We provide you with an outline of what is included in the price of your holiday. Fuller details will be found in the "Pre-departure Pack" sent to you on receipt of your booking, and are part of the terms of your contract. If on receipt of this pack you are not satisfied with any of the details of the holiday, we will allow you to cancel your holiday with a full refund, provided we receive notification within two weeks of the date of your invoice.

Special Requests:

If you have any special requests, you should inform us of such requests prior to departure. We will advise the relevant supplier of your requirements but we cannot guarantee that such requests will be met. Furthermore, we have no liability to you if such requests are not met.

Deposits:

Once you have completed and signed your booking form you should send this to us together with the required deposit. This deposit is non-refundable unless we have to amend or cancel the holiday. Not everybody may be suitable to attend certain trips due to the nature of the trip and we reserve the right to deny booking applications should such conditions apply.

Balances:

You will receive an invoice showing the money paid and the balance due for the holiday you have requested, 12 weeks before the proposed departure date. Payment must be with us 21 days from the date of issue of this invoice. Late bookings, those made within 3 months of the departure date, must make the full payment at time of booking.

Sadly, we may have to cancel your holiday, without refund of your deposit, should this balance not be paid in full by that date.

We accept personal, bank and building society cheques for reservations and balances.

Cancellations:

Should you have to cancel your holiday, for any reason, please inform us in writing as soon as possible. Sadly, it may not be possible to return any deposits paid and each client should ensure that he is adequately covered by travel insurance. As administration costs are incurred by ourselves on handling any booking, we will retain your deposit upon cancellation and in addition, the following charges will apply:

Should you have to amend your trip through personal circumstances all individual costs must be borne by the client. Once again adequate travel insurance, which you must arrange separately, is essential.

If we have to cancel your holiday before the date of departure, you will have the choice of taking an alternative holiday (and where this is of a lower price, we will refund the difference), or withdrawing from the contract and accepting a full refund of all monies paid.

Insurance:

All our group members must be covered by insurance before setting out on holiday. To ensure we comply with EU laws we require details of your travel insurer and the period covered by your insurance. This must cover you fully against the cost of medical care and repatriation should you become too ill to continue with the holiday, and must above all cover you against the cost of helicopter evacuation from the mountains should sickness or injury necessitate such a course of action. You should also note that passenger liability insurance covering the vehicles that we hire, particularly in Third World countries, may be inadequate; it is therefore important that your insurance cover makes sufficient provision for your dependants in the event of an accident.

 
Substitution:

You may change your booking up to 2 months before departure by transferring it to another person if you are unavoidably prevented from travelling, and the transferee meets any conditions which may apply to the booking. You must inform us in writing of the substitution along with payment of an administration fee of £20 per person. Any additional costs incurred as a result of a substitution of whatever sort, imposed by our suppliers providing the component parts of the holiday, are your responsibility.

Passport and visa requirements:

You must ensure your passport is current and does not expire whilst you are away. Many of the countries we visit insist that your passport has at least 6 months to run after your visit. If a visa is required for your trip you will be informed. We will advise you of the visa fee and details of where the visa can be obtained.

Holders of passports other than a United Kingdom Passport should check with the relevant embassy of the country they intend to visit.

Itinerary alteration:

We contract only to aim at a proposed itinerary, not necessarily to fulfil it rigidly. We reserve the right to amend or curtail any itinerary if there are situations that arise outside of our control, and will not be held liable for any loss whatsoever caused as a result of any delay or alteration. This may affect the places which we plan to visit or the accommodation we have arranged. We will only do this when all alternatives have been pursued by the leader and/or our ground agent.

Should changes be made prior to departure we will inform but we are not obliged to do so or to pay you compensation. We will endeavour to not affect the standard of our holiday to you when making any changes or alterations.

Surcharges:

Such charges are rare but occasionally, we may have to add a surcharge to the cost of the holiday. Only an amount in excess of a 2% fluctuation will be passed on to you. 

As trips are planned so far in advance it is impossible for us to forecast rises in costs due to currency fluctuations. IIf this means paying more than 10% of the holiday price, you will be entitled to cancel your holiday with a full refund of all monies paid to us. Should you decide to cancel because of this, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days of the date of our surcharge invoice.

Behaviour:

Please follow the advice and guidance of the leaders when abroad. This is vital to ensure your safety and for the smooth running of the trip. We cannot be liable for consequences of any rash independent actions of our clients. Persistent poor behaviour on a tour affects the whole group and will result in immediate termination of the contract between Birding-South America and the client. 

We strongly condemn the collecting of any specimen from the natural world. Our holidays provide the opportunity to watch and photograph wildlife only; not to disturb it! All of our leaders have the right to dismiss any member of a group who insists on collecting plant, insect or other living material. 

In either of the above cases the client will be returned home at his or her own expense. A refund for the unused part of the trip will be made.

Birding-South America cannot accept any pets on any trip. 

We operate a non smoking policy whilst traveling or the while in the filed as a group. Clients are obliged not to smoke in areas which could be a fire risk.

Photographs:

We may wish to take a photograph of tour participants for our company literature. Please inform us at the time if you wish to be excluded from such literature.

Accommodation:

We use comfortable, good quality accommodation with en-suite facilities, wherever possible. Please bear in mind that in some developing countries good quality accommodation may not be available outside of major towns. Where we have to use accommodation below our normal standard you will be informed in the tour itinerary. Please remember that in some countries standards are not like those we appreciate in a developed country. There can be unpredictable water supplies, no mains electricity and faulty equipment. Again we will inform you of potential problems before you book.

Single rooms:

Whilst most clients seem content to share a room with another party of the same sex, single rooms are sometimes available on trips. Clients who wish to have a single room will be liable to a single room supplement. There may be occasions on some trips, however, when it is impossible to provide a single room. In this case clients will be expected to share and will not, of course be liable for extra charges for that part of the trip. Similarly you may be happy to share with another tour participant and we are unable to provide another person to share the room, in this case you will be required to pay a single supplement. (Smokers should note that smoking is not possible in your room if you are sharing with a non-smoker).

Responsibilities and liability:

We will use reputable agents on our holidays and will therefore accept responsibility should the services we are contractually obliged to provide prove deficient or not of reasonable standard. We will also accept responsibility for loss or damage due to the proven negligent acts or omissions of our employees or our sub-contractors, agents or suppliers or their servants and/or agents.

We will accept liability in respect of death, bodily injury or illness resulting from our proven negligence. We have no responsibility for the proven negligence of our contracted ground agents or suppliers or their servants and/or agents although every effort is made on our part to ensure that such services are the best available.

 
Where we have complied with our responsibilities we will accept no liability in respect of death or physical injury unless resulting from our proven negligence. We do not accept liability for delays in air flights, ship sailing times or other conveyances used in carrying out our tours. We do not accept liability for animal or snake bites.

Force majeure is unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which neither we nor our suppliers could avoid. We will therefore accept no liability in respect of losses or additional expenses incurred as a result of transport changes or delays, lost tickets, sickness, weather, war, threat of war or other political crises, strikes or acts of God, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial disputes, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions, level of water in rivers or other similar events beyond our control. All such losses or additional expenses will be borne by the client.
 

Health:
Some of our holidays may not be suitable for people with certain disabilities and medical conditions. Please ask us if in any doubt. In any case, if any client suffers from any disability or medical condition which may affect the running of the holiday, they must provide us with full details at the time of booking. We reserve the right to decline any booking whenever we feel unable to accommodate the particular needs of a particular client on that trip. We reserve the right to cancel a booking and impose the appropriate cancellation charges if disability and/or medical condition details are not provided.

 
It is the responsibility of the individual to obtain the necessary inoculations and health checks for the country to be visited prior to a holiday departure.

Telephone calls:

It is your responsibility to pay for all personal telephone calls made during the tour. Many hotels make excessive charges from your room and it is often much cheaper to use a telephone card/box or mobile phone.

Luggage:

We will inform you of any weight restrictions on luggage when you book your holiday. We do not accept any responsibility for excess baggage charges if you do not adhere to the weight restriction.

We suggest you pack your tripod in luggage for the hold along with sharp implements and any books not needed for your flight.

Hand luggage often has a size and weight restriction which you also need to consider. Ensure your optics are packed safely in hand luggage along with any necessary medication.

Complaints:
Please notify our leader of any complaint as soon as possible in order that we may assist you. If the complaint is not dealt with to your satisfaction there and then, the nature of the complaint should be stated, in writing, as soon as possible but within 28 days of the completion of the holiday. We will not be under any liability in respect of claims of which we are not notified in writing within 28 days of the date scheduled for your return.

[In the unlikely event that you are still unhappy, you may refer the matter to arbitration under AITO's independent Dispute Settlement Service (details on request) in order to bring the matter to a speedy and amicable solution. This scheme does not apply to claims of more than £1,500 per person, or £7,500 per booking form, nor for claims which are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness or the consequences there from.]