Booking conditions

Your contract

Your contract is with Virgin Holidays Limited, a member of ABTA

The following Terms shall have the meanings set out below when used in these Booking Conditions:

Booking conditions definitions
'Virgin Holidays'	means Virgin Holidays Limited.
'Holiday'	means the Holiday booked by you or any person on your behalf.
'Travel Agent'	means any Agent through whom your booking with Virgin Holidays is made.
'Force Majeure'	means any circumstances which are unusual and/or unforeseeable which are beyond the control of Virgin Holidays, the consequence of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised, including (but not limited to) war or threat of war; riot; civil strife; hostilities; political unrest; government action; industrial dispute; natural or other disaster; nuclear incident; terrorist activity; weather conditions; closure of airports; fire; flood; drought; re-scheduling or cancellation of flights or alteration of the airline or aircraft type by an airline and technical problems with transportation that are outside our control.
'Major Change'	includes:- an alteration to your scheduled time of departure or return of 12 hours or more; and/or a change of UK departure airport (excluding change of London Airports); and/or; a change of hotel or apartment to a materially lower rating; and/or a significant change of resort area.

General
1. These conditions apply to all Holidays. All prices quoted are in Pounds Sterling. These conditions govern your relationship with Virgin Holidays and set out details of Virgin Holidaysï¿½ obligations in relation to any Holiday which you book or is booked on your behalf. Please read these conditions carefully before making a booking.
2. Please be aware that these terms include limitations on the liability of Virgin Holidays and its obligations relating to any Holiday and certain exclusions of Virgin Holidaysï¿½ responsibility. These conditions do not govern your rights and/or duties in relation to any other person or company whose services may be used on any Holiday.
3. These terms, together with our confirmation invoice, constitute the entire agreement and you confirm that you have not been induced to enter into the agreement by relying on any representations outside these terms and the confirmation. When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions together with all other information contained within this brochure. Please read these terms and conditions and information carefully since they set out the terms and conditions of the contract between you and Virgin Holidays.
4. If you had not seen these terms and conditions at the time of booking and you do not wish to proceed with your booking now that you have seen them, please return all documentation to us or to your travel agent, within 7 days of receiving your confirmation invoice. Your booking will be cancelled and your monies will be returned in full, provided you have not commenced your travel. This clause does not apply if your booking was made within 10 weeks of travel, or if you have booked a holiday requiring payment in full at the time of booking.
Your Holiday Contract
1. When a booking is made, the ï¿½lead nameï¿½ on the booking guarantees that he or she has the authority to accept and does accept on behalf of the party the terms of these booking conditions. A contract will exist as soon as we issue our confirmation invoice. This contract, which may include conditions which are incorporated by reference (please refer to Clause 20), is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by English Law, and the jurisdiction of the English Courts. You may, however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you wish to do so.
2. On receipt by Virgin Holidays or the relevant Travel Agent of your completed booking and deposit(s) we will reserve your Holiday in respect of all persons travelling. It is important to check the details on the invoice when you get it, or if booking late at the time of booking, that all the details are exactly as you requested. In the event of any discrepancy, please contact us or your Travel Agent immediately.
3. If you want to cancel or change your booking later, you may have to pay amendment or cancellation costs which may be as much as the whole Holiday cost.
4. All brochure descriptions are made in good faith and every care is taken to ensure their accuracy. However, in view of the detail contained therein and the fact that brochures are necessarily prepared some time in advance of distribution and of the Holidays, advertised activities, facilities, amenities, entertainment and schedules may, on occasion, be restricted, curtailed, changed or cancelled. Therefore, changes may be made to the particulars contained in this brochure at any time before the contract with you is made. In these circumstances we will notify you of any changes we know about prior to confirmation of your booking. If you have already booked, where possible, we will notify you as soon as we are aware, if there is time before you travel.
Travel Documents

All passport, visa, travel insurance and health certificate requirements are your responsibility and Virgin Holidays accepts no responsibility for any delay or expense incurred through any irregularity in your documents. You are advised to contact your Travel Agent, or us in the case of direct bookings, for exact details. In the event we are asked to reissue tickets that have been lost, destroyed or stolen and we agree to do so, any charges incurred as a result of this will be payable by you.
Your Financial Protection

The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay for the package holidays booked from this brochure and for your repatriation in the event of our insolvency. In relation to the air holidays in this brochure, we provide this security by way of a bond held by the Civil Aviation Authority under ATOL number 2358. If you book arrangements other than a package holiday from this brochure, the financial protection referred to above does not apply.
Your Holiday Price
1. A non-refundable deposit of ï¿½120 per person must be received before a booking can be confirmed. Please note that for some tours there are additional higher deposit requirements, and you will be notified of any such higher deposit at the time of booking. If a booking is made within 60 days of the departure date then the full amount is payable at the time of booking. The balance of the price of your travel arrangements must be paid at least 8 weeks before your departure date. If you book within 8 weeks of departure you must pay the total cost of the holiday at the time of booking.
  For insurance purposes any Clients 70 years of age and over, or those younger with pre-existing medical conditions are required to complete a medical form which must be signed and dated by a physician and returned with your final payment or you will not be permitted to travel. These forms will be included in your pre-departure documents.
  If the deposit and/or balance is not paid in time, we shall cancel your travel arrangements. If the balance is not paid in time, we shall cancel your booking and retain your deposit. All monies you pay to the Travel Agents are held by them on our behalf at all times. Direct payments to Virgin Holidays by credit card will incur a charge of 2% of the total value of your Holiday. Late bookings made within 10 days prior to departure may require ticket pick-up at the airport. An administration charge of ï¿½15 per ticket will apply for this.
2. The prices in this brochure are correct at the time of printing, however, Virgin Holidays reserves the right to raise or lower its prices at any time. Before you make a booking we will give you the up-to-date price of your chosen Holiday, including the cost of any peak-season supplements, upgrades or additional facilities which you have requested. Any increase in price may appear as a flight supplement. For packages, changes in fees (including transportation costs, fuel costs, dues, taxes, fees such as landing taxes or embarkation/disembarkation fees at ports/airports and exchange rates) and services mean that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked your holiday. However, there will be no change to the cost of your holiday within 30 days of departure. In relation to package holidays, 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. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus an administration charge of ï¿½1 per person together with an amount to cover the agentï¿½s commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your travel arrangements, you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday 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 monies paid, except for any amendment charges and cancellation charges already incurred. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy. 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 holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your holiday 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. The price of your travel arrangements was calculated using the exchange rates on 07 September 2007 and known costs on that date. For arrangements which are not packages, we reserve the right to pass on any cost increases to you in full.
If You Change Your Booking

If, after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, for example your chosen departure date or accommodation, we will do our utmost to make these changes, but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes to be made must be from the ï¿½lead nameï¿½ on the booking or your Travel Agent. You will be asked to pay an administration charge of ï¿½25 per person and any further cost we incur in making this alteration. 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. Only one change of departure date, per booking may be permitted. Further changes may be classed as Major Changes, which may result in cancellation charges being applied. Please Note: Certain travel arrangements (e.g. Apex Tickets) and published fares cannot be changed after a reservation has been made and any alteration request will incur a 100% cancellation charge.

Important Note: Name changes or departure changes are not always permitted by the carrier and/or hotelier and you may incur up to 100% charges. No amendments are permitted to your booking within 10 days of departure. Note: airlines may impose 100% cancellation charges.
If You Cancel Your Holiday
1. You, or any member of your party, may cancel your travel arrangements at any time. Written notification by mail or fax (not email) from the ï¿½lead nameï¿½ on the booking or your Travel Agent on your behalf, must be received at our offices. Since we incur costs in cancelling your travel arrangements, you will have to pay the applicable cancellation shown in the grid below:
  The above cancellation charges are a percentage of the total holiday cost, not including your insurance premium which is non-refundable. These charges are based on how many days before your departure we receive your cancellation notice and not when your correspondence was sent to us. Please note: airlines may impose 100% cancellation charges.
  
  Please note that, in the case of cancellation after receipt of documents, no refund will be given unless unused tickets are returned to Virgin Holidays. We suggest you return your unused travel tickets by recorded delivery. Insurance premiums are not refundable. Please note that, in the case of a part cancellation, for example if members of your party cancel, in addition to incurring the applicable cancellation charges, we will recalculate the Holiday cost for the remaining travellers. You may have to pay the extra room charges such as single room supplements. One person who occupies a twin room will probably have to pay a significant extra charge. Please Note: Cancellation charges made by our suppliers may be higher than the cost of the deposit and we reserve the right to pass such fees on to you. Virgin Holidays will advise of such fees before cancellation.

If We Change or Cancel Your Holiday

It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your travel arrangements, but we do plan the arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally we may have to make changes and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes will be minor and we will advise you or your Travel Agent of them at the earliest possible opportunity. However, some destinations can suffer from extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes. Due to their unpredictability, these are a Force Majeure event and we shall not be liable for any changes to your arrangements either before departure or during the Holiday, which in our opinion are necessary to protect your safety. In this event we will offer you suitable alternative arrangements, or, if you do not travel, return the monies you have paid to us. No compensation will be payable. We also reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your travel arrangements. For example, if the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached, we may have to cancel it. However, we will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 8 weeks before your departure date, except for reasons of Force Majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. If we are unable to provide the booked travel arrangements, you can either have a refund of all monies paid or accept any offer we make of alternative travel arrangements of equivalent or superior standard, or a choice of specified travel arrangements of a lower standard to the travel arrangements booked together with a refund of the difference in price. If it is necessary to cancel your travel arrangements, except where cancellation is due to non payment by you of your final balance or Force Majeure, we will pay to you minimum compensation as detailed.
Please note that carriers such as airlines used in the brochure may be subject to change. Some flights may have to stop en route for technical reasons. Where this is known in advance, details are given in the flight timetables, otherwise details will be forwarded to your Travel Agent. Planned flight times given in this brochure and on subsequent customer invoices are for guidance only. Alterations may be made by the various UK and overseas airport scheduling committees or for other reasons. Actual flight times will be shown on your tickets. All bookings are accepted, subject to the Civil Aviation Authority granting licences. Such changes are deemed to be a minor change. Other examples of minor changes include alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours, changes to aircraft type or change of accommodation to another of the same standard. In accordance with EU Regulation 2111/2005 we are obliged to advise you of the actual carrier operating your flight/connecting flight, and this information can be found within our brochure. Any changes to the actual airline after you have received your tickets will be notified to you as soon as possible and in all cases at check-in or at the boarding gate. Such a change is deemed to be a minor change. (c) If we make a Major Change to your Holiday, we will inform you or your Travel Agent as soon as reasonably possible, if there is time, before your departure. You will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements, accepting any offer we make of equivalent or superior quality alternative travel arrangements, accepting alternative travel arrangements from us of a lower standard to the travel arrangements booked together with a refund of the difference in price, if available, or cancelling your booking and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. In all cases (except where the Major Change arises due to reasons of Force Majeure, where no compensation is payable), we will pay minimum compensation as detailed in the table.

Holiday cancellation compensation payments
Period before departure within which notice of cancellation or major change is received by us in writing or notified to you	If we make a major change to your holiday	If we cancel your holiday - Amount you receive from us	If you cancel your holiday - Amount of cancellation charge plus deposit
More than 56 days	£0.00	Deposit only	Deposit only
29-56 days	£25.00	100% of holiday + £25.00	50%
15-28 days	£35.00	100% of holiday + £35.00	60%
7-14 days	£40.00	100% of holiday + £40.00	90%
Less than 7 days	£50.00	100% of holiday + £50.00	100%

Please note that the above payments are per full fare-paying passenger (excluding infants). For children invoiced at reduced rates, compensation will be paid on a pro-rata basis of the adult rate. Compensation will not be payable and we will not otherwise be liable to you if we are forced to cancel, delay or curtail or in any way change your Holiday as a result of Force Majeure as detailed previously.

Minimum Numbers on Tour

Before you book section on relevant pages will indicate whether a particular tour is subject to a minimum number of participants for its operation. We will advise you at least 60 days before departure if minimum numbers are not reached. You will then have the choice of booking an alternative holiday with us, changing your departure date at the appropriate additional cost, or having a refund of monies paid.
Flexibility
1. Before booking you must appreciate and acknowledge that the nature of this type of travel requires considerable flexibility and should allow for alternatives. The itinerary provided for each tour is merely representative of the types of activities contemplated, and we are under no contractual obligation to strictly follow it. It is understood that the route, schedules, itineraries, amenities and mode of transport may be subject to alteration without prior notice due to local circumstances or events, which may include sickness or mechanical breakdown, flight cancellations, strikes, events emanating from political disputes, entry or border difficulties, climate and other unpredictable or unforeseeable circumstances.
Acceptance of Risk

The Client hereby assumes all such risk and does hereby release Virgin Holidays from all claims and causes of action arising from any damages or injuries or death resulting from these inherent risks.
Local Conditions

You should be aware that you will be visiting places where the political, cultural and geographical attributes present certain risks, dangers and physical challenges greater than those present in our daily lives. By booking travel with us, you confirm that you have considered the potential risks, dangers and challenges, and expressly assume the risks attendant to such travel conditions. You are responsible for acquainting yourself with the customs, weather conditions, physical challenges and laws in effect at each stop along the itinerary and are encouraged to locate or make contact prior to departure with your local embassy or foreign office in each destination.
Authority on Tour

At all times the decision of the tour leader or representative will be final on all matters likely to endanger the safety and well being of the tour. By booking with us you agree to abide by the authority of the tour leader. You must at all times strictly comply with the laws, customs, foreign exchange and, drug regulations of all countries visited. You also agree to be bound by our responsible travel guidelines. If you are affected by any condition, medical or otherwise, you must advise us at the time of booking. Should you fail to comply with the above or commit any illegal act when on the tour or, if in the opinion of the tour leader, your behaviour is causing or is likely to cause danger, distress or annoyance to others we may terminate your travel arrangements without any liability on our part and you will not be entitled to any refund.
Local Payment

Most of our trips require a compulsory local payment. The local payment is required to be made to your leader on the first day of your trip, in cash in the specified currency. The local payment will be held by the leader and disbursed for your benefit in acquiring incidental in-country services. Further details and information on your local payment are shown in our brochures, website and in the trip notes. Paying locally facilitates the flow of funds to local suppliers in countries that we travel through and therefore helps to reduce the overall cost of your trip.
Flight Delay
1. Operators should seek to ensure that in the event of a delay exceeding 3 hours, customers should receive light refreshments.
2. In the event of a delay exceeding 6 hours, customers should receive a main meal.
3. In the event of a longer delay, wherever possible, customers should receive meals and accommodation appropriate for the time of day.
Flights and Other Services
1. You are reminded that Captains of aircraft have absolute authority over the aircraft and its passengers whilst boarding or in flight. The Captain or other authorised representatives of an airline can refuse to carry anyone, if they are unruly or are otherwise unfit to travel or are a danger to the flight or other passengers. If you are refused carriage in these circumstances, your Holiday will terminate immediately, as will the contract between you and Virgin Holidays, and Virgin Holidays will have no further responsibility or liability to you.
2. This brochure is our responsibility, as your tour operator. It is not issued on behalf of, and does not commit the airlines mentioned herein or any airline whose services are used in the course of your travel arrangements. Please note that, in accordance with Air Navigation Orders, in order to qualify for infant status, a child must be under 2 years of age on the day of its return flight.
3. When you book a Holiday with Virgin Holidays, you accept responsibility for the proper conduct for yourself and your party whilst on Holiday. Virgin Holidays reserves the right in its reasonable discretion to terminate your Holiday or that of any member of your party due to misconduct, and Virgin Holidays will have no further responsibility or liability to you. If your actions or those of any member of your party cause damage to the accommodation in which you are staying, or cause delay or diversion to any flight or other means of transportation, you agree to fully indemnify (i.e. compensate or reimburse) Virgin Holidays against any claim (including legal costs) made against Virgin Holidays by or on behalf of the owners of such accommodation or the operator of such flights or other means of transportation. For those who participate in sports, water sports and winter sports whilst on Holiday that have been organised and arranged completely independently of Virgin Holidays, it should be understood that participation is at the individualï¿½s own risk and it is your own responsibility to obtain the relevant insurance.
4. If You Have a Complaint
  
  ABTA and ABTA members help holidaymakers to get the most from their travel and assist them when things do not go according to plan. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTAï¿½s code of conduct. If you have a problem during your Holiday, you must inform the relevant supplier (e.g. your hotelier) and our tour leader/resort representative immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please follow this up within a reasonable period of time (we would suggest 28 days) of your return home. Your complaint should be in writing, to our Customer Relations Department at Virgin Holidays Limited, The Galleria, Station Road, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 1WW, 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. It is strongly suggested that you communicate any complaint to the supplier of the services in question, as well as to our tour leader/representative without delay and complete a report form whilst in resort. If you fail to follow this procedure, we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst you were in resort and this may affect your rights under this contract.
5. What Happens to Complaints
  
  It is unlikely that you will have a complaint that cannot be settled amicably between us. However, disputes to do with this contract which cannot be settled amicably, may (if you wish) be referred to arbitration under a special scheme which is arranged by the Association of British Travel Agents, but is administered quite 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 you in respect of costs. The scheme does not apply to claims for any amount greater than ï¿½5,000 per person or ï¿½25,000 per booking form. Also, it does not apply to claims which relate solely to physical injury or illness. The scheme can, however, deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness, subject to a limit of ï¿½1,000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. If you choose to proceed to arbitration under this scheme, you must send a written notice of your decision to ABTA within 9 months of your scheduled date of return. For further information about ABTA, the code of conduct and the arbitration scheme available to you if you have a complaint, contact ABTA, 68-71 Newman Street, London W1T 3AH. Tel: 0207 637 2444 or www.abta.com
6. Our Liability to You - Packages
  1. Subject to Clauses 19(b) and 20, we accept responsibility for ensuring that your travel arrangements, which you book with us, are supplied as described in this brochure. If, after departure, any part of your travel arrangements are not provided as promised, due to the fault of our employees, agents or suppliers, we will pay you appropriate compensation, if this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements. However, our liability in all cases shall be limited to a maximum of 3 times the cost of your travel arrangements.
  2. Subject to Clause 20, we accept responsibility for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do providing that they were at all times acting within the scope of, or in the course of, their employment in the provision of your travel arrangements. We will accordingly pay to you such damages as might have been awarded in such circumstances under English Law or the law you have chosen under clause 2(a). Please note that we will not be liable for any injury, illness or death, or consequent losses suffered by you or any member of your party, unless you are able to prove that such injury or illness was caused by lack of reasonable care and skill on the part of ourselves or our suppliers in the performance of our obligations under our contract with you. In all claims of whatever nature we will not be liable where the alleged loss or damage results from any of the following:
  1. The fault of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or
  2. The fault of a third party not connected with the provision of your Holiday which we could not have predicted or avoided or
  3. An event or circumstances which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have predicted or avoided even after taking all reasonable care or
  4. The fault of anyone who was not carrying out work for us (generally or in particular) at the time.
  Our Liability to You - Non Packages
  
  In respect of non-packages ï¿½ we promise to use reasonable skill and care in the performance of our contractual obligations, subject to and in accordance with these Booking Conditions. Our contractual obligations consist of using our reasonable skill and care in making your booking and arranging your accommodation/car hire/flight, as well as using our reasonable skill and care in choosing our providers. Please note, it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim. We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which does not result from any failure to use reasonable skill and care as referred to above. Please also note, we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised in our brochure and we have not agreed to arrange them for you. This also includes any excursion or activity you book or purchase locally in resort. The services and facilities included in your holiday will be deemed to be provided with reasonable skill and care if they comply with any local regulations which apply, or, if there are no applicable local regulations, if they are reasonable when compared to the local standards and customs.
7. Important Notice on Limits of Liability
  
  In respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, the extent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate conventions, which include The Warsaw/Montrï¿½al 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 accommodation arrangements). You can ask for copies of these conventions from our offices, The Galleria, Station Road, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 1WW. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport companyï¿½s own ï¿½Conditions of Carriageï¿½ 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 ï¿½Conditions of Carriageï¿½. You acknowledge that all of the terms and conditions contained in those ï¿½Conditions of Carriageï¿½ form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those ï¿½Conditions of Carriageï¿½ shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract.
8. Air Carriers
  
  In accordance with EU Directive (EC) No. 2111/2005, Article 9, we are required to bring to your attention the existence of a ï¿½community listï¿½, which contains details of air carriers that are subject to an operating ban within the EU community. The community list is available for inspection at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/air/safety/flywell_en.htm Under EU law you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from your airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details of these rights will be published at EU airports and will also be available from airlines. However, reimbursement in such cases is the responsibility of the airline and will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday cost from us. If your airline does not comply with these rules, you should complain to the Air Transport Usersï¿½ Council on 020 7240 6061 or at www.auc.org.uk
9. Data Protection/Privacy
  
  In order to process your booking and meet your requirements we must pass your personal details on to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements. We would also like to hold your information (including any email address), where collected by us, for our own future marketing purposes within the Virgin Group (for example, to inform you of promotional/competition offers or to send you our brochure). If you do not wish to receive such approaches in future, please inform us as soon as possible. For full details of our data protection and privacy policy, and an explanation of how your personal details will be used by us, please refer to our website at virginholidays.com
  
  If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your participation in the tour, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm the booking or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.