Strand Travel Limited trading as: WildWings (including Wild Insights, Island Ventures and Grape Escapes) and WildOceans.

These are the terms and conditions which will apply to your air inclusive holiday. Please read them carefully as you will be bound to them.

1. When you make your booking you must complete a booking form accepting on behalf of all your party the terms of these booking conditions and pay a deposit of 10% per person (unless otherwise stated). A contract will exist when on receipt of your deposit we issue a confirmation invoice. (We reserve the right to decline any booking)

All payments must be made in pounds sterling and all cheques must be drawn on a UK clearing bank. All other forms of payment including Euro cheques and foreign currency will incur additional bank charges. These additional charges will be added to your account. Foreign currency payments will be converted to sterling on the day that we receive payment and any shortfall or gain will be notified to you in writing.

All passengers must be fit to travel at the time of booking and expected to still be so at time of travel. Health advice is available at www.doh.gov.uk/traveladvice . It is a general condition that all tour customers must have valid travel insurance for their trip, which must provide sufficient cover for the experience/s they are booking, also bearing in mind their ongoing health and age. All participants should also ensure they have valid travel documents such as a passport and any visas that may be required for the booked trip.

2. WildWings/WildOceans reserve the right to cancel a tour up to fifty six days prior to departure, should minimum numbers not be attained (up to 30 days prior to departure WildOceans O.S.E trips only).

3. We also reserve the right to change advertised vessels and tour leaders at any time, although in practice do not intend to do so (but real world factors such as illness have to be taken into account). If the minimum number on a tour is not attained we will withdraw the UK leader and run the trip with the overseas leader/s rather than cancel your holiday.

4. The balance of the price of your holiday must be paid by twelve weeks before departure . If the balance is not paid in time we reserve the right to cancel your holiday, retain your deposit and apply cancellation charges set out below. For some holidays we may ask for an interim payment to guarantee the airfare element. If you make any changes to your booking after it has been confirmed, an administration fee of £20 per change may apply.

5. You, or any member or your party, may cancel your holiday at any time providing that the cancellation is made by the person signing the booking form and is communicated to us in writing. As this incurs administrative costs, we will retain your deposit and in addition may apply cancellation charges up to the maximum shown below. The cancellation charge is calculated as a percentage of the holiday price dependent upon the period before departure when written cancellation is received.

Cancellation
More than 84 days before departure: Loss of deposit
84 – 71 days before departure 25% of total price.
56 - 70 days before departure 50% of total price.
29 - 55 days before departure 75% of total price.
0 - 28 days before departure 100% of total price.

Note: If the reason for cancellation is covered under the terms of an insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges. No refunds will be made in the event of interruption or cancellation by the passenger after the start of the travel.

6. If you have a problem during your holiday, please inform our tour manager or local representative immediately who will endeavour to put things right quickly. If your complaint cannot be resolved locally, please follow this up within 31 days of your return home by writing to our Tours Manager at WildWings/WildOceans, 577/579 Fishponds Rd, Bristol BS16 3AF, UK giving your original booking reference and all relevant information. It is unlikely that you will have a complaint that cannot be settled amicably between us.

Disputes relating to your holiday which cannot be amicably settled may, if you wish, be referred to arbitration under a special scheme administered by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme, details of which can be supplied on request, provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration based on documents alone with restricted liability for you to pay costs. This scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5,000 per person or £25,000 per booking form. Neither does it apply to claims which are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness or the consequences of such injury or illness. The rules of the scheme provide that the application for arbitration must be made within nine months of the date of return from the holiday.

7. The prices quoted are based on known costs and exchange rates: US Dollar 1.6 Euro 1.1. These prices may, however, be subject to surcharges as a result of increases of costs caused by government action, changes in currency exchange rates, over-flying charges, airport charges and increases in scheduled air fares. In the event of an increase in the cost of the holiday WildWings/WildOceans will absorb an amount equivalent to 2% of the holiday price, excluding insurance premium. If the amount of the surcharge exceeds 10% of the holiday price, the client may elect to cancel the holiday and receive a full refund of all monies paid. The client must exercise his right to cancel for this reason within 14 days from receiving written notification of the surcharge from us, otherwise the surcharge will be deemed to have been accepted by the client.

The client shall be notified in writing of any surcharge payable 30 days before departure. Airline and or ship fuel surcharges may be applicable at any time.

8. It is unlikely we will have to make any changes to your holiday, but we do plan the arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally, changes may be made, which we reserve the right to do at any time. Most of these changes are minor and we will advise you (or your agent if applicable) at the earliest possible date. Flight timings and carriers are subject to changes as a result of airline procedures. If a major change becomes necessary, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible, if there is time before departure. Should your tour have to be cancelled by us, including within 8 weeks of your departure date for reasons of 'force majeure' (circumstances such as, but not limited to, war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear activity, disease, fire or adverse weather conditions), you will be offered a full and prompt refund (excluding insurance) of all monies paid by you. A 5% discount shall apply to your next booked holiday with us.

9. We accept responsibility for ensuring the holiday which you book with us is supplied as described in this brochure and the services reach a reasonable standard.

We accept responsibility for any death, bodily injury or illness caused to you as a result of the proven negligent acts and/or omissions of our employees and agents and our suppliers and subcontractors and their servants and/or agents while acting within the scope of, or in the course of their employment. Except as provided in paragraphs (a) to (d), we accept responsibility for any damage caused to you as a result of any failure to perform, or improper performance of the services we have agreed to provide to you. We will not be responsible to you where such failure or improper performance is not due to our fault or that of our suppliers because:

a) Such failure is attributable to you or any member of your party.
b) The unforeseeable or unavoidable fault of a third party unconnected with the provision of any services to be provided under contract.
c) Unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of WildWings/WildOceans and/or supplier
d) An event of 'force majeure'

Nevertheless, we will in the circumstances set out in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) above, promptly try to help you if you are in difficulty. In addition, if through no fault of your own you suffer personal injury or illness or one of your party dies during your holiday then, even though this may not be as a result of any of the holiday services, we will(subject to our reasonable but sole discretion and where appropriate) give you general assistance including financial assistance; and meet the initial costs of any legal action in relation to a claim against a third party arising out of your holiday.

We will give this general and financial assistance provided that you request it within 90 days of the event which led to such personal injury, illness or death and provided that our total financial liability for such assistance will not exceed £5,000 regardless of the number of people involved. If you are successful in claiming any of your costs against a third party or if any policy of insurance held by you provides cover for these costs then you must repay any financial assistance we have given as soon as you recover it.

Subject to the limitation of liability set out in the following paragraph, our liability to you for any loss or damage which you may suffer (other than personal injury resulting from the non-performance or improper performance of the services involved in the holiday) is limited in accordance with any limitation clause in the trading conditions of the supplier.

Our liability to you for the non-performance or improper performance by air carriers, sea carriers, rail carriers or hotel keepers of any services to be provided by them as part of your holiday is limited to the amount you can validly recover against such carrier or hotel keeper:
a) in accordance with any applicable domestic law or the laws of the United Kingdom, for claims other than for personal injury arising out of travel and carriage within the United Kingdom or which is otherwise not international; and b) for all claims arising out of any other travel, carriage or accommodation, in accordance with the international convention which governs such service, including those which have not been ratified by the United Kingdom.

WildWings/WildOceans shall in no circumstances be liable in respect of consequential loss or damage, detention, delay or overcharge howsoever caused.

10. Our leaders have full authority on tour and you should abide by their instructions. We reserve the right to dismiss any participant from a tour who in the opinion of the leader commits any illegal act, collects any living material from the wild, or whose behaviour severely affects other members of the group’s enjoyment. Any person dismissed from a tour shall have no cause for complaint or refund, and will bear any additional costs in returning home themselves.

11. It is the responsibility of each passenger to ensure they have a valid passport and any applicable visas plus any compulsory vaccination certificates at the time of travel. Advice for UK passport holders can be found at www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo

12. Consumer Protection
The inclusive air holidays in this brochure are ATOL Protected, since we hold an Air Travel Organiser’s License granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 5429. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. We are also bonded members of ABTA and IATA.

13. This contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions which are governed by English Law and is subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

Important Notes:
1. The nature of many of the trips means we will be travelling in sometimes remote and sometimes ‘third world’ conditions, with local bureaucracy, poor roads etc Each tour itinerary and/or sea voyages are the proposed one only and we reserve the right to change the itinerary subject to local conditions and weather on the day. Customers should also bear in mind ‘health and safety’ standards abroad generally do not match those in the UK and EU.
2. Birds, cetaceans and other wildlife are free and mobile. We cannot guarantee the sighting on a trip of any species but of course our tours are all timed to maximise the chances of seeing the majority of target species. Previous trip reports are available.
3. All wildlife should be respected and participants should be aware of potentially aggressive species and keep a safe distance from them. Wildlife should not be disturbed by participants and tapes should not used in the applicable breeding season.
4. Customers travelling with a number of the overseas operators we represent and work with, will travel under those operators booking conditions which will be supplied upon request. These will include Space Adventures Ltd, Manta Marine, Quark Expeditions Inc, Birdsafarisweden, Heritage Expeditions, ALE, CITravel, Probirder, Frontiersnorth, Wildland Tours, Oceanic Society, Inca, Peregrine Shipping, Oneocean Expeditions, Oceanwide Expeditions, SOA Charters, RM Tours/SPNI, Elcotour, Fantastico Tour, Educational Travel, Birdservice, Nathab, Caligo Ventures, Incredible Adventures, Silversea Cruise, Birding Australia, Waterproof Expeditions, Zegrahm Expeditions, SASPO UK and others.

Data Protection Statement
In order to process your booking and to ensure that your travel arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements we need to use the information you provide (such as name, address, age, passport details and any special requests). We take full responsibility for ensuring that proper security measures are in place to protect your information. We must pass the information on to our relevant suppliers which may also include public authorities (eg customs/immigration).

If your destination is outside the EEA, controls on data protection may not be as strong as in the UK. If we cannot pass this information on to the relevant parties we cannot provide your booking. In signing our booking form you consent to the relevant information being passed on to the relevant parties. We will send you future mailings of our forthcoming programmes only, we do not provide our customer information to any other third parties. Please contact us if you wish to removed from our mailing lists at any time.