Travel Advice and Documents
We recommend that you seek advice from the Foreign Office regarding your holiday
destination(s) prior to your reservation. This is easily available by telephone,
teletext or through the Internet. Your Travel Agent should also be able to assist.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel Advice Unit may have issued information
about your holiday destination(s). You are advised to check this information
on BBC2 Ceefax page 470 onwards or on the Internet under the address:
www.fco.gov.uk/travel/
by telephone on 0845 850 2829 or by email to consular.fco@gtnet.gov.uk
Alternatively, you can contact the ABTA Information Department on 0901 2015050 (calls are charged at 50p/minute). Your Travel Agent can also assist.
REMEMBER YOUR PASSPORTS...AND DON'T FORGET YOUR VISAS!
You MUST have a FULL and VALID passport and you should check with the relevant
Embassy for current requirements.
Some destinations require you to have 6 months' validity on your passport from the return date of travel. You should check with the relevant embassy for current requirements as these are subject to change.
Visas are required by British citizens for a number of our destinations, and a change may be applicable, for up-to-date information check with the relevant embassy. This information is correct at the time of going to press (27 May 2007). However, circumstances can change and it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct travel documentation. All other passport holders should check with the relevant embassy or consulate.
All British passport holders will now only be permitted to enter the States if they hold a machine-readable passport. All passports issued within the UK since November 1991 are machine-readable. This is not the case for all UK passports issued overseas, so please contact the British Passport Office if this applies to you or you are not sure.
If you haven't yet got a valid passport, we recommend that you should apply for one at least 8 weeks before your holiday departure date. The Passport Service has to confirm your identity before issuing your first passport and everybody aged 16 years or over applying for their first passport will need to have an interview as part of the application process. Please note that this new process will increase the time it takes for your application to be processed. In all cases, the Passport Office advises you not to book any travel arrangements until you have received your new passport.
The name on each person's ticket MUST match the name as stated in their passport. When making your booking, please ensure the information given to us is correct. Failure to do so may result in significant charges being incurred, as some airlines treat an amendment as a name change and will charge accordingly.
Know what? If you turn up for your flight with an invalid passport or no visa when you need one, we will be very sympathetic but...YOU CANNOT BOARD THE FLIGHT.
To check if your passport is machine-readable:
There are 2 lines of letters, numbers and '>'s printed at the bottom of
the personal information page. On older machine-readable passports look for
a white strip at the bottom of the page containing your personal details/photograph;
in the newer machine-readable passports look for these lines on the pink page.
If there are no lines of text on the white strip or the pink page then your
passport is NOT machine-readable.
Passports issued on or after October 26, 2006, must also include an integrated
circuit chip capable of storing the biographic information from the data page,a
digitised photograph and other biometric information. If your passport was issued
on or after this date and does not have this information, you WILL require a
visa.
For up-to-date information, please contact the British Passport Office on 0870
5210 410 or www.ukpa.gov.uk
or the US Embassy on 020 7499 9000 or www.usembassy.org.uk.
UK Passport Information
If you are 16 or over and haven’t yet got a passport, our recommendation
is that you should apply for one at least 8 weeks
before your holiday. The Passport Service has to confirm your identity before
issuing your first passport and from October 2006 will ask you to attend an interview
in order to do this.
Kids
ALL CHILDREN MUST have their own passport. This includes newborn babies and
all children up to the age of 16. Children aged 16 or over must have their own
passport. NB: Some destinations require a letter of authority if children are
not accompanied by both legal guardians. Please check with us for further information if this applies to you.
Innoculations and Medical Precautions
For the Latest information we recommend you check with your Doctor for the
latest advice or pick up DHSS Leaflet T4. However for all of our destinations
it is a good idea to be up to date with your injections for Polio, Tetanus and
Hepatitis.
Unaccompanied Age Restrictions
For those wishing to travel unaccompanied by a parent or guardian, the minimum
age is 18 years. However, some hotels and resorts do not allow under 21s in
a room by themselves - please check at time of booking for details or call 0870
220 2788.
Special Requests
We will consider special requests such as high floor, pool view, vegetarian
meals, seating requests etc, if we are advised at the time of booking. Whilst
we will do our best to meet any requests, no guarantee is given as this does
not form part of your holiday contract.
Baggage Allowance
23kg per person on South African, Australian and Asian flights and 2 pieces
up to 23kg per piece per person on Transatlantic and Caribbean flights on board
Virgin Atlantic. IMPORTANT - The weight allowance of the 2 pieces cannot be
combined. All individual pieces exceeding 23kg will be charged as excess baggage. 1 piece of hand baggage (5kg) is permitted for essential items only. If you are flying
with another airlines or have internal flights booked, please check the baggage
allowance as it may differ from Virgin Atlantic. Excess charges will apply if
you exceed the allowance permitted; please check with the applicable airline
for more details. Some airlines and/or transfer companies may charge for golf
club carriage. Oversize items such as surfboards, will be charged for by the
airline and the local transfer company. Infants receive NO baggage allowance.
All Inclusive Packages
Meals, if included, are based on table d’hôte menus. All inclusive
does not necessarily mean that unlimited food and beverages are available 24
hours a day. Hotels often place restrictions on restaurants and meal arrangements.
Your All-Inclusive package may not include bottled mineral water. You may be
charged for motorised water sports and have time limits on some sporting activities.
Some sports/facilities may have age or experience restrictions. Advertised water sports
activities may be withdrawn if there are not enough participants for your chosen
activity. In addition, we reserve the right to refuse your participation in any
organised Virgin Holidays' water sports activities, if in our or our supplier’s
opinion it would be unsafe for you to do so either for reasons of force majeure
or medical reasons. Facilities such as tuition, FREE scuba-dives, health and
beauty treatments etc are, when stated, offered FREE, but the number of sessions
per guest will be limited.
Meal Basis
Please note that when booking a hotel on Half-Board or Full-Board basis, unless
otherwise stated, your meal will usually be served buffet style in the hotel’s
main restaurant. Should you wish to dine in any other hotel restaurant or dine
from the à la Carte menu, a supplement will apply.