Golden Indian Ocean Terms

Your contract is with The Golden Holiday Company Limited. We hold ATOL number 2889 issued by the Civil Aviation Authority which provides protection in the event of our insolvency for all packages involving air travel. We are also fully bonded members of ABTA registered under number A7956 The conditions and our liability varies depending on whether you book a package holiday consisting of transport and accommodation booked at the same time at an inclusive price or ‘other travel arrangements’ which is anything else, including transport or accommodation booked and invoiced separately.

1. Making a booking: When you make a booking you undertake that you have the authority to accept these booking conditions on behalf of everyone travelling with you. A contract will exist as soon as we issue our confirmation invoice. This contract is made on the basis of these conditions, which are governed by English Law and the jurisdiction of the English Courts.

2. Price: We reserve the right to change the price of your arrangements from those shown in our brochure or website at any time before a booking is made. When you make a booking you must pay a deposit of £150 per booking for land only arrangements or £150per person for air inclusive holidays. Selected products require either a higher deposit or payment in full to be made at time of booking. Details on request. The balance of the price must be paid at least 8 weeks before your departure. If the deposit and /or balance is not paid on time we shall cancel your travel arrangements. If the balance is not paid on time we shall retain your deposit. The price of your arrangements will be quoted at the time of booking and shown on your invoice. For all bookings we will not change the price after the booking has been confirmed.

Prices are, however, subject to surcharges resulting from Government action (including the imposition of any new charges, taxes, levies, or changes to existing charges, taxes, or levies by Government or Government agencies in the U.K . or abroad).

3. If you change your booking: If, after our confirmation has been issued, you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, we will do our best to make these changes but it may not always be possible. Any request for a change must be made in writing by the person who made the booking in the first place. There will be an administration charge of £25 and any further costs which we may incur in making the change. These costs may increase the closer to the departure date that you request the change and certain air tickets may not be changeable at all after the booking has been confirmed. Any alteration to your flights could incur up to 100% cancellation charges for that part of the arrangements.

4. If you cancel your booking: You, or any member of your party, may cancel your travel arrangements at any time. The person who made the booking must write to confirm the cancellation and since we incur costs from the moment of booking, you will have to pay the cancellation figures shown on your invoice and set out below for all air packages. For all other arrangements we will advise you of the cancellation charges before confirming the booking. Please note that some services, such as air tickets, may have little or no refund value. If you have arranged travel insurance, the charges may be recoverable from the insurance company.

During peak times some hotels will levy higher cancellation charges. Details on request.

Special air fares are sometimes available and require full payment to be made by you at the time of booking with airline tickets being issued immediately. As these fares are very often non-refundable this will override the scale of cancellation charges shown above. Any changes to the scale will be advised to you at the time of booking.

5. If we cancel or change your holiday: We make plans many months ahead of travel and although unlikely, it is possible we may have to make changes occasionally and we reserve the right to do. Most of these will be minor and we will advise you as soon as possible. We also reserve the right to cancel your travel arrangements, for example if the minimum number of clients required to operate the arrangement is not reached but we will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 8 weeks before departure, except where you fail to pay the balance of money due or due to circumstances amounting to force majeure. If we are unable to provide the booked arrangements, you can either have a refund of all money paid or accept an offer of alternative arrangements of a comparable standard if available and we will refund the difference if the alternative is cheaper.

Minor changes include changes to carrier or time of flights by less than 12 hours, change to aircraft type or change of accommodation to another of similar standard. If however we make a major change we will inform you as soon as possible if there is time before departure. You can accept the changes, accept an alternative if one is available or cancel your booking and receive a full refund. In addition in all cases, except where the change results from events which amount to force majeure, we will pay compensation as set out below:
To all passengers excluding infants...

The compensation we offer does not exclude you claiming more if you are entitled to. ‘Force majeure’ means we will not pay compensation if we have to cancel or change your arrangements because of unforeseen circumstances beyond our control. These can include, for example, war, riot, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather.

6. Complaints: If you have a problem during your holiday please inform the supplier, such as the hotel and contact us immediately if things are not put right. If the matter is not resolved please write to us within 28 days of returning home giving you reference number and a short note of the problem. We will respond to you as soon as possible. Your rights may be affected if you fail to take any action whilst you are on holiday. Disputes arising out of, or in connection with, this contract which cannot be amicably settled may be referred to arbitration, if the customer so wishes, under a special scheme arranged by the Association of British Travel Agents and administered independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

The scheme provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on the customer in respect of costs. Full details can be provided on request. The scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5000 per person. There is also a limit of £25,000 per booking form. Neither does it apply to claims which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The scheme can however deal with compensation claims which include an element of illness subject to a limit of £1000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. The application for arbitration and the Statement of Claim must be received by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators within nine months of the date of return from the holiday. Outside this time limit arbitration under the scheme may be available if the company agrees, but the ABTA Code does not require such agreement.

7. Liability: In respect of package holidays only, we accept responsibility for ensuring that your travel arrangements which you book with us are as described. If we fail to provide the arrangements as promised, due to the fault of our employees, agents or suppliers, we will pay you appropriate compensation if this has affected your enjoyment of your travel arrangements.

We also accept responsibility for death, injury or illness caused by the negligent acts of our employees, agent’s suppliers or sub-contractors acting in the course of their employment in the provision of your travel arrangements. We will pay you such damages as might have been awarded in such circumstances under English law. However our liability will be limited in accordance with the conditions of the transport carriers we use which are incorporated in this contract and limitations within any relevant international Convention, for example the Montreal Convention for travel by air, the Berne Convention for travel by rail, the Athens Convention in respect of travel by sea and the Paris Convention in relation to hotel accommodation. We are to be regarded as having all the benefit of any limitation of compensation contained in any convention and you can ask us for copies of these conditions at any time.

For ‘other travel arrangements’ we only act as a booking agent for the supplier and The Golden Holiday Company Limited has no liability whatsoever for any aspect of the travel arrangements and accepts no responsibility for any loss, personal injury or death howsoever caused, except where caused by our own proven negligence.

You may be entitled to compensation from airlines if your flight is cancelled, delayed or you are denied boarding. Full details are available from the airline concerned but any compensation paid will be deducted from any amount due, if any, from us. 8. Conditions of Carriage: The contractual terms of the companies that provide the transportation for your travel arrangements will apply to this contract. These may affect your rights to claim compensation and you may ask for copies of the relevant conditions of carriage from our office. In accordance with Air Navigation Orders in order to qualify for infant status a child must be under 2 at the date of the return flight.

9. Passports and visas: It is the responsibility of all passengers to ensure they have valid 10 year passports, valid for at least 6 months after the expected date of return from travel. If you do not hold a full British Citizens Passport you may need a visa for certain destinations and you should check with the relevant Consulate as you will not be allowed to travel without the correct documentation.

10. Health and safety: We take all reasonable precautions to ensure that your travel arrangements are performed as safely as possible but standards of health and safety vary overseas and you should naturally take precautions as you would at home. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office may have issued advice about your destination and you are advised to check this information on BBC2 Ceefax page 470 or at www.fco.gov.uk/travel or telephone 0207 008.0232

11. Data Protection Act 1998: By making a reservation with us you agree to the use and disclosure of information given to us for the following purposes: to process your booking (when the information may be sent abroad) for market research and analysis, to prevent fraud and to enable us to contact you by letter, telephone or e-mail with details of our services. If you purchase our insurance we may pass your details to insurers.