USA, CANADA & SOUTH AMERICA - Scenic Tours

Travel InformationBooking ConditionsWe’ve compiled some helpful information to answer frequently asked questions and to help you prepare for your holiday. If youhave any further questions, then please feel free to call one of our expert travel advisors on 0800 566 8777.Please read these booking conditions carefully before booking. By paying your deposit, you agree to the followingBooking Conditions.Passports & VisasYou must have a valid UK or EU passport with at least 6months validity from return date into the UK. It is yourresponsibility to ensure any visas required for countries tobe visited on the tour have been obtained prior to the tourdeparture date. Failure to obtain correct documentation willmean you may be denied boarding and/or entry into certaincountries. Passport and visa entry requirements and costs areyour sole responsibility. We cannot accept any liability if you arerefused entry onto any transport or into any country due tofailure on your part to carry correct documentation. If failure tohave any necessary travel or other documents results in fines,surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed on us, youwill be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly.How to contact the Passport ServiceGeneral passport enquiries should be directed to the Identityand Passport Service on telephone 0870 521 0410 or visittheir website: www.ips.gov.ukVisa informationUSA - Passengers intending to enter or transit throughthe United States of America must have a valid, machinereadablepassport and MUST complete the ESTA (ElectronicTravel Authorisation System) form before departure, costingapproximately £10* per person. Please visit the followingwebsite: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov. Passengers who have notcompleted the form will be denied boarding and entry.South America - UK nationals require a passport, but a touristvisa is not required for Argentina, Brazil or Peru for a stay ofup to three months for British Citizens. In Argentina there is adeparture tax of $18 USD for any international flights payablelocally. Visa information relates to British passport holders andto stays of 30 days or less, and in all cases to clients whosepersonal or professional circumstances do not preclude theirentry to a country, or their transit through it.It is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct visasfor your tour. Requirements may change and you mustcheck the most up-to-date requirements in good timebefore your departure.Health & fitnessScenic Tours’ holidays require clients to have a good level ofhealth and fitness. Please ensure you select a suitable holidayfor your level of fitness as walking and getting on/off transportis required in many areas and good mobility is needed.Scenic Tours strongly recommends a visit to your doctorand dentist before your trip. You must ask your doctor forcurrent inoculation requirements. At the time of going toUSACanada& AlaskaSouthAmericaprint, malaria tablets are recommended for travel in Amazonareas and a vaccination for Yellow Fever is required for travelin some areas of South America. For further information onhealth, please consult the Department of Health leaflet T7.1(Health Advice for Travellers) which is available from theDepartment of Health on 0870 1555 455 or via its websitewww.dh.gov.uk and most Post Offices.Scenic Tours reserves the right, at its discretion to cancelyour booking and refund the money paid by you, less anyunrecoverable costs, if it is deemed you are not suitable forthe trip booked. For South America a Scenic Tours healthand fitness form will be included with your Booking Adviceand must be completed and returned to Scenic Tours priorto departure. Please ensure that a member of our teamsends this to you. Wheelchairs cannot be carried by the cruiselines detailed in the itineraries in the brochure.Pre-existing medical conditionsIt is your responsibility to advise Scenic Tours of any preexistingmedical conditions that might reasonably be expectedto increase the risk of you requiring medical attention, or thatmight affect the normal conduct of a trip and the enjoymentof other trip members.Altitude sicknessSome South American cities are situated at altitudes of 3200metres above sea level or higher. At these levels, altitudesickness (caused by lack of oxygen at high altitudes) affectsmost people to some extent. How altitude sickness affectsyou can range from mild to severe and occurs because lessoxygen is reaching the muscles and the brain, requiring theheart and lungs to compensate by working harder. Symptomsof Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) usually develop duringthe first 24 hours at altitude but may be delayed by up to 3weeks. Mild symptoms include headache, lethargy, dizziness,difficulty sleeping and loss of appetite. Please consult yourdoctor before departure to ensure you have an adequatelevel of fitness and health and complete a Scenic Toursmedical form which must be signed by your doctor.Special requests & dietary requirementsYou must advise Scenic Tours in writing of any specialrequests and dietary needs at the time of booking. Specialrequests are a request only. Scenic Tours will make everyreasonable effort to accommodate your special and/or dietaryrequests but cannot guarantee that such requests can be met.ClothingWe recommend casual and comfortable clothing. PleaseMar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct NovºC ºC ºC ºC ºC ºC ºC ºC ºCNew York 10 7 12 16 8 11 22 9 10 26 11 11 29 11 11 28 10 11 24 9 10 18 7 12 12 6 10Washington 13 7 9 19 8 8 24 9 10 29 11 10 32 11 9 31 10 7 27 9 9 20 8 9 14 6 8Chicago 8 6 7 15 7 9 21 9 10 27 10 10 29 12 10 28 11 10 24 9 9 17 7 8 9 6 9Grand Canyon 12 10 4 16 12 3 22 13 1 28 13 8 30 12 5 28 12 6 24 11 4 18 10 4 12 9 3Las Vegas 21 10 1 26 11 1 32 12 1 37 13 1 40 11 1 39 11 1 34 11 1 27 10 1 19 9 1Los Angeles 21 11 6 23 12 2 23 13 1 26 13 1 28 13 0 29 13 1 28 11 1 26 10 2 23 9 3San Diego 19 8 5 20 8 2 20 8 1 22 8 1 24 10 1 25 9 0 24 9 1 23 8 1 21 8 3San Francisco 17 9 8 17 10 4 18 11 2 19 12 1 19 14 1 20 12 1 21 11 1 21 9 3 17 8 8Victoria 10 6 7 13 8 4 16 9 3 19 10 3 22 13 2 22 11 2 19 8 4 14 6 7 9 4 14Jasper 4 7 1 10 8 2 15 10 3 19 11 5 22 12 6 22 11 5 16 9 4 10 7 3 -1 6 3Banff 4 5 2 9 6 3 14 6 6 19 7 6 22 8 5 22 7 5 16 5 4 10 4 3 1 2 3Vancouver 9 6 11 12 8 8 16 9 6 19 10 5 22 13 4 22 11 4 18 8 6 13 6 11 9 4 17Alaska - 4 7 2 6 10 1 15 10 2 21 11 3 22 8 5 19 5 7 12 4 6 -1 3 5 -11 2 3Lima 11 7 7 17 7 9 23 5 13 28 2 2 30 1 11 29 1 10 25 2 10 19 3 8 11 4 8Machu Picchu 19 6 11 19 7 5 19 8 1 19 8 1 19 8 1 19 8 1 20 7 2 20 7 7 20 7 8Cuzco 19 5 11 19 7 5 19 8 1 19 9 1 19 9 1 19 9 1 20 7 2 21 7 5 21 7 8Iguazu Falls 31 5 1 27 5 1 24 5 1 22 5 1 23 5 1 26 4 1 27 4 1 28 5 2 30 7 1Buenos Aires 31 7 9 29 7 11 28 5 9 27 4 10 26 5 11 27 6 4 28 6 3 30 7 2 31 8 1Rio De Janeiro 29 8 10 28 8 14 27 8 9 25 8 8 26 8 6 26 8 6 25 7 9 26 7 9 27 8 10Key: ºC - Average Daily Maximum Temperature (centigrade) - Average Daily Sunshine Hours - Average Monthly Rainfall (cm)bring comfortable walking shoes for sightseeing. Layers ofclothing mean it is easier to cope with the often varied weatherconditions you might experience and it is always advisable tocarry a waterproof rain coat. Dinners are informal affairs withsmart casual dress being the norm. Loose, lightweight, modestcottons and linens, with warmer clothes for winter and coolerevenings, are culturally and climatically suitable.Canada - Onboard Holland America there are formal nightswhere women usually wear a dress, suit, cocktail dress orgown and men wear a jacket and tie, dark suit or dinner jacket.Currency and credit cardsCurrency will vary depending on your destination, pleaserefer to your bank or local foreign exchange bureau. Manylocations accept major credit cards and cash machines arelocated at many stops (your Tour Director will be able toadvise you of locations in each destination). Prior to departureyou should confirm that your card and PIN will work onarrival in your destination.Baggage allowanceYou are entitled to carry one suitcase per person with thetotal sum of its length, width and height not exceeding 160cm(62 inches) and weight 20kg (42 lbs). Personal and valuableitems such as make-up, cameras, medication, money/creditcards etc. should be carried in a travel bag or on your person.You must ensure that luggage meets the weight requirementsas overweight or oversize items will not be carried.Please note: The following specific baggage weight andpacking restrictions apply:- Machu Picchu – due to luggagerestrictions imposed by Peru Rail for travel to Machu Picchuyou will need to take a bag of no more than the followingdimensions to pack for your overnight stay, a bag or backpackmust not exceed 5kg/11pounds and/or 62 inches/157cm(length + height + width). Suitcases will be transferred to theCuzco hotel for you arrival into Cuzco.Seat rotation on coachesWe offer a fair system of seat rotation, to allow all passengersto experience a variety of views from different parts of thetouring coach. Exceptions cannot be made to this policy.Porterage and tippingHotel Porterage for one piece of luggage, weighing no morethan 20kg, per person is included in the price of your holiday.Please note that onboard the Amtrak and during internalflights in the USA, a porterage service is not available.*Correct at time of printing and is subject to changeIMPORTANT: The following terms and conditions togetherwith the general information contained in our tour brochureform the basis of your contract with Scenic Tours (UK) Limitedtrading as Scenic Tours. Please read them carefully as they setout our respective rights and obligations. By asking us to confirmyour booking, we are entitled to assume that you have had theopportunity to read and have read these booking conditions andagree to them. Except where otherwise stated, these bookingconditions only apply to tour arrangements shown in this brochure(including pre and post tour accommodation, activities and otherservices) which you book with us in the UK and pay for beforedeparture from the UK and which we agree to make, provideor perform (as applicable) as part of our contract with you. Allreferences in these booking conditions to “holiday”, “booking”,“tour” or “arrangements” mean such tour arrangements unlessotherwise stated.In these booking conditions:“Force Majeure” means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s)in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Suchevents are likely to include (whether actual or threatened) war, terrorism,exceptional water levels, fire, flood or any other unusual weather conditions,loss of power, epidemics or pandemics, industrial disputes, slow-downsor other strike activities, riots or civil disturbances, acts of government,government agencies or other authorities, inability to obtain any necessarylicence or consent through no fault of our own and any other event orcircumstances beyond the control of us or any supplier of any part of yourtour. “You”, “your” and “yourself” means each person who makes a bookingwith us for a tour and/or who is named on the booking (including anyonewho is added or substituted at a later stage) and, where appropriate, all suchpersons. “We”, “us” and “our” means Scenic Tours (UK) Limited trading asScenic Tours.Bookings1. All bookings are made pursuant to these terms and conditions.2. It is a condition of booking that you are fit and able to take care of yourselffor the duration of the tour. We welcome passengers with disabilities orspecial needs provided they are accompanied by a companion capableof providing all assistance required. If you have any medical conditionor disability which may affect your tour or any special requirements as aresult of any medical condition or disability (including any which affect thebooking process), please tell us before you confirm your booking so thatwe can assist you in considering the suitability of the arrangements and/ ormaking the booking. For passengers travelling to South America, a medicalform is required to be completed and signed by a doctor to confirm thatyou are fit to travel at altitude. We reserve the right to refuse to carry anyperson who we deem cannot fully care for themselves on tour withoutassistance or whenever we reasonably feel unable to accommodate theneeds or restrictions of any particular passenger. We regret that we cannotprovide individual assistance to a passenger for walking, dining, pushingtheir wheelchair, getting on and off motorcoaches or other transportationvehicles or other personal needs. Passengers who need such assistance mustbe accompanied by a companion who is capable of providing all assistancerequired. You must also notify us of any changes or deterioration in thedisability or medical condition or development of any disability or medicalcondition after booking. We further reserve the right to cancel your bookingand impose cancellation charges if we are not fully advised of any relevantdisability or medical condition at the time the booking is made and/ orpromptly notified of any development, change or deterioration occurringafter booking. On occasions, the decision to cancel can only be made at thetime the person concerned joins the tour as it may only be apparent at thisstage that their disability or medical condition cannot be accommodated.Any passenger affected by a disability or medical condition must ensure theyhave notified this to their travel insurers and that their travel insurance willcover it. We may refuse to allow you on the tour or may have to terminateyour participation in your tour if your mental or physical condition is suchas to render you, in the reasonable opinion of any representative of oursor any carrier or other person in authority, incapable of caring for yourselfor a hazard to yourself or other passengers. We will not be liable for anyexpenses arising from your being precluded from joining or completing thetour for any such reason and no refunds or compensation will be paid.3. The operation of all tours is conditional on us securing the minimumnumber of bookings required to operate the tour and to ensure an enjoyablegroup atmosphere. Where sufficient numbers cannot be achieved, wereserve the right to cancel or change a scheduled tour. Please also seeclauses 21 and 22. We will endeavour to make any decision to cancelor significantly change a tour no less than 60 days prior to the scheduleddeparture date of the tour but in any event will notify you no less than 30days prior to the departure date of the tour.4. If you have any special requests (including dietary requirements) you mustnotify us in writing at the time of booking. Please note special requests cannotbe guaranteed. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach ofcontract by us. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passedon to the supplier of any service(s) or the inclusion of the special request onyour confirmation invoice or any other documentation is not confirmationthat the request will be met. Unless and until specifically confirmed by us inwriting, all special requests are subject to availability. We cannot accept anyconditional bookings, i.e. any booking which is specified to be conditionalon the fulfilment of a particular request. All such bookings will be treated as“standard” bookings subject to the above provisions on special requests.Payment5. To secure any booking, you must pay the applicable deposit of a minimumof £1250 per person if travelling in economy flight class, £1,950 per person iftravelling in premium economy class, £3,750 per person travelling in businessflight class or full payment if booking 90 days or less before the start of thetour. The deposit or full payment, as applicable, must be received by uswithin seven days of booking to ensure a place on the tour is held. Bookingswill be automatically cancelled if the applicable deposit or full payment, asapplicable, is not received by us within this seven day period and we willhave no further liability to you. A payment supplement may apply to creditcard transactions.6. Deposits are non-transferable and non-refundable except as expressly setout in these terms and conditions. We therefore recommend that you haveadequate insurance to cover this.7. The balance of the tour price (after deduction of the applicable deposit)must be received by us no less than 90 days prior to the start of your tour.If we do not receive all payments due (including any payment supplementwhere applicable) in full and on time, we are entitled to assume that you wishto cancel your booking. In this case, we will be entitled to keep all depositspaid or due at that date. If we do not cancel straight away because you havepromised to make payment, you must pay the cancellation charges shown inthese terms and conditions depending on the date we reasonably treat yourbooking as cancelled.Credit Card Surcharge8. If you pay us by credit card, the following surcharges will be added to yourtour price. We do not accept payment by debit card.Credit Card Surcharge on Deposit Surcharge on TourPrice or FeesVisa 3% 3%Mastercard 3% 3%Your contract9. Subject to availability we will confirm your booking verbally (if youhave made a telephone booking) or by email (if you have made an emailbooking). For all other bookings we will confirm your booking by issuing ourconfirmation invoice. Even if you have received verbal confirmation or emailconfirmation we will also send you a confirmation invoice. This invoice willbe sent to the lead name on the booking. Please check this invoice carefullyas soon as you receive it. Contact us immediately if any information on theconfirmation or any other document appears to be incorrect or incompleteas it may not be possible to make changes later. We cannot accept anyliability if not notified of any inaccuracy in any document within 14 days of oursending it out (5 days for tickets). We will do our best to rectify any mistakenotified to us outside these time limits but you must meet any costs involvedin doing so.10. A binding contract between you and us comes into existence whenwe dispatch our confirmation invoice for all bookings. We both agree thatEnglish law (and no other) will apply to your contract and to any dispute,claim or matter of any description which arises between us (“claim”) (exceptas set out below). We both also agree that any claim (and whether or notinvolving any personal injury) must be dealt with by the Courts of Englandand Wales only unless, in the case of court proceedings, you live in Scotlandor Northern Ireland. In this case, proceedings must either be brought in thecourts of your home country or those of England and Wales. If proceedingsare brought in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may choose to have yourcontract and any claim governed by the law of Scotland/Northern Ireland asapplicable (but if you do not so choose, English law will apply). If a disputearises between the parties in connection with these terms and conditions, theparties undertake in good faith to use all reasonable endeavours to settle thedispute by way of good faith negotiation.What are your tour obligations?11. (a) You must follow the Tour Director’s instructions at all times toensure on tour safety. You acknowledge that failure to do so will result inrestricted access to areas on tour, or if necessary for your own safety and/orthat of other passengers, withdrawal from the tour. (b) If we, or our staff orsuppliers are of the view you are negatively affecting your own health, safetyor environment or that of other passengers, we can oblige you to withdrawfrom the tour immediately. We will not be liable to you for any loss, cost ordamage resulting from your withdrawal. If you are withdrawn from the tour,you must make your own return travel arrangements at your own expense.(c) You must make your own enquiries regarding your tour, including beingaware of any relevant government travel or safety warnings.Tour price12. We reserve the right to increase/decrease our advertised tour pricesat any time before your booking is confirmed. We also reserve the right tocorrect any errors in any tour price. We will advise you of any error of whichwe are aware and then the applicable price at the time of booking. Oncethe tour price has been confirmed at the time of booking, clause 14 belowwill apply.13. Once your tour price has been confirmed at the time of booking, thensubject to the correction of errors, it will only be increased or decreasedin the following circumstances. A surcharge or refund (as applicable) will bepayable, subject to the conditions set out below, in the event of any changein our transportation costs or in dues, taxes, fuel or fees payable for servicessuch as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports orairports increase or decrease in the exchange rates which have been used tocalculate your tour price.Even in the circumstances set out in above, only if the amount of the increasein our costs exceeds 2% of your tour price (excluding insurance premiumsand any amendment fee) will we levy a surcharge. If any surcharge is greaterthan 10% of your tour price (excluding insurance premiums and anyamendment fee), you will be entitled to cancel your booking and receivea full refund of all monies you have paid to us (except for any amendmentfee) or alternatively purchase another tour from us – see clause 21. Youhave 14 days from the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice to tell usif you wish to cancel or purchase another tour where applicable. Otherwise,we are entitled to assume that you do not wish to do so and will pay thesurcharge. Any surcharge must be paid with the balance of the tour price orwithin 14 days of the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice, whicheveris the later. Please note that travel arrangements are not always purchasedin local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the tourprice due to contractual and other protection in place. A refund will only bepayable if the decrease in our costs exceeds 2% as set out above. Where arefund is due, we will pay you the full amount of the decrease in our costs.No surcharge will be levied within 30 days of departure. No refund will bepayable if any decrease in our costs occurs during this period either.Tour features14. The features of the tour are set out in the tour brochure.15. We make no representations about the features of any tour other thanthose expressly set out in the tour brochure and these terms and conditions.What are our tour obligations?16. We will use reasonable endeavours to provide the tour you havebooked in accordance with your itinerary. However, due to the natureof travel it may not always be possible for us to adhere strictly to youritinerary. Where, due to circumstances out of our control, we are unable toprovide the tour in accordance with your itinerary, we will use reasonableendeavours to provide or arrange appropriate alternatives.Brochure validity17. The tour brochure and these terms and conditions are valid for thedeparture dates as stated in the tour brochure unless extra dates are addedor otherwise expressly advised by us.Variation or cancellation by us18. Subject to clauses 20, 21 and 22, we reserve the right to alter orchange the accommodation, carriers, vehicles, vessels or any otherservice(s) which form part of any tour at any time for any reason and cancelor alter the itinerary and/ or tour at any time without notice as we considernecessary for any reason whatsoever including road, weather or trafficconditions, non-performance of suppliers, industrial action, operationalconditions and requirements, water level problems, excessive winds orForce Majeure. Errors in the details of advertised and/or confirmed toursand/or other details occasionally occur and we reserve the right to correctthese whenever they occur.19. In the event of industrial action affecting air, rail, cruise or other tourrelated transportation we will make every effort to contact the lead name andadvise of alternative arrangements (if any). However, if contact is not made,you should phone 0161 236 2444.20. Most changes made to a confirmed tour are minor. Occasionally, wehave to make a significant change to or cancel a confirmed tour and wemust reserve the right to do so. A significant change is a change made beforedeparture which, taking account of the information you give us at the timeof booking or which we can reasonably be expected to know as a touroperator, we can reasonably expect to have a significant effect on your tour.If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon aspossible. If there is time to do so before departure, you will be offered thechoice of the following options:- (a) (for significant changes) accepting thechanged arrangements or (b) purchasing alternative arrangements from us, of84 Travel Informationwww.scenictours.co.ukTo book your holiday call 0800 566 8777Booking Conditions85