Terms & Conditions

The holidays featured are operated by The South African Travel Shop (the Company). The South African Travel Shop is a member of ATOL. The following conditions, together with the information set out in the relevant brochure descriptions will form part of your contract with the company.

1. BOOKING YOUR HOLIDAY

To secure your booking you should complete and sign the The South African Travel Shop Booking Form and forward to the company together with the relevant payment (see section 2 below). A contract will exist when we issue our confirmation invoice. Special requests should be indicated on the booking form. The company will try and arrange for special requests to be met but these cannot be guaranteed. The Company will not be liable if any special request is not met. If you arrange your holiday direct with the Company all correspondence will be forwarded to the lead passenger on the booking form unless otherwise stipulated. If your booking is made through a travel agent then all communications by the Company will be made to that address.

2. PAYMENTS

A deposit of 25% of the holiday cost - subject to a minimum of £250.00 per person and £2000 per booking - plus insurance premium if applicable, is payable together with a completed and signed booking form. Upon receipt of this the Company will forward our confirmation invoice; payment of the balance is due no later than 8 weeks prior to departure. If the booking is made within 8 weeks of departure, full payment is required at the time of booking. If the holiday is made through a travel agent, all monies paid by the client to the travel agent, under or in contemplation of a contract with The South African Travel Shop are held by the travel agent as an agent of The South African Travel Shop. If payment is not received on the due date the holiday or travel arrangements will be liable to cancellation which will lead to loss of deposit. Tickets and other documents will normally be forwarded 10-14 days prior to departure.

Payment will be accepted by:

• Visa Debit and Switch Cards – Our preferred method.
• Visa, MasterCard and American Express (Payments subject to a small percentage surcharge depending on card used).
• Cheque – Allow 10 days from postage to clearance. Our preferred method.
• Bank Transfer - Details available on request. Our preferred method.

The total price will be determined only after all specific items are selected and will be communicated to you prior to completion of the reservation. Selected items will be detailed on your invoice. The South African Travel Shop reserves the right to re-invoice your reservation should any error or omission be made in computing the total cost of all components/travel arrangements required. Rates are subject to change for rates beyond the control of The South African Travel Shop, including but not limited to, increases in or establishment of fuel or other surcharges, departure taxes and passenger facility charges, including all rates of exchange. All airport taxes, security charges and air passenger duty are included in all package holidays and fly-drive prices, unless otherwise specified.

3. PRICE POLICY

Prices in the brochure were calculated on the basis of known costs as at 01 December 2005 using the exchange rates as advertised on www.xe.com on 22 January 2006. The price of unsold holidays may increase or decrease at any time. The price of your holiday will be confirmed at time of booking. When you have booked your holiday and paid your depositor the full amount if you book within eight weeks of departure. The price of your holiday as shown on your confirmation invoice is guaranteed and will not be subject to any changes or surcharges unless an airline increases fuel surcharges (of which you will be notified) or you elect to change the confirmed booking (see Clause 5). At no time is the Company liable to give a breakdown of costs due to the nature of the holiday bought by the client. Due to the financial commitments made by the above Company we regret we are unable to make reductions in the holiday prices should the £ strengthen.

4. CANCELLATION BY THE CUSTOMER

Any cancellation by the client must be advised in writing to the Company (signed by the same person who signed the booking form). Cancellation will only come into effect on the day written advise is received by the Company. Recorded or Special Delivery is strongly recommended. Upon receipt the following charges (excluding insurance premium and amendment charges paid) will be payable by the client, depending upon the number of days prior to departure.

Days prior to departure date when written DAYS advice of cancellation received

Up to 60days prior deposit forfeit

• 59 - 45days prior 45%
• 45 - 25days prior 75%
• 24 - 15days prior 90%
• 14 - 00days prior 100%

Due to some airline and hotel requirements during peak periods various cancellation charges may apply—the rates above will not be applicable. The charges will be advised at the time of booking.

5. CHANGES MADE TO A CONFIRMED BOOKING

The facility is available and an administration fee of £45.00 per alteration will be charged. Alteration of a booking within 8 weeks of departure date may incur additional costs. PLEASE NOTE: Most flight tickets cannot be changed without payment of cancellation charges and/or the cost of a replacement ticket.

6. ALTERATION TO A CONFIRMED BOOKING WHILE ABROAD

We regret that no credit or refund is possible for any unused services provided in the cost of your holiday. If you decide to alter your travel arrangements whilst abroad, then this is your own responsibility and The South African Travel Shop or the Company’s Agents are not responsible for any extras or difficulties that may arise with onward travel as a result of such alterations. No credit or refund is possible for any lost, mislaid, stolen or destroyed travel documents which could be the subject of a claim on your own insurance.

7. CANCELLATION OR ALTERATION BY US

We reserve the right to cancel your holiday at any time. In the event of the Company having to alter, amend or cancel the holiday on or before the date when the balance of payment becomes due, you will be offered a choice of an alternative holiday of at least comparable standard if available and if this is not acceptable, a full refund of all monies received by the Company will be due. In the unlikely event that we have to cancel or materially alter a holiday after the due date (always providing that the balance has been paid) but more than 14days before the intended date of departure. Compensation of £10.00 per person per affected day will be paid to the client or £15.00 per person per affected day in the event of cancellation or material alteration within 14days of the intended departure date.

Circumstances amounting to "force majeure" include any event which we or the supplier of the services in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid such as war, or threat of war, civil strife, riot, terrorist activities, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, sickness, bad weather, the acts of any Government or public authority and all similar events which are beyond our control. It is regretted that under such circumstances, there will be no compensation payable. Please note, we are reliant on information provided by the Foreign Office.

8. OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

The Company applies all reasonable checks to ensure that those involved in the preparation and provision of your holiday maintain the appropriate standards. The descriptions, information and opinions in this brochure by the Company in respect of airlines, hotels and other suppliers whose services are used are given in good faith, based on the latest information at the time of printing.

The Company accepts responsibility for acts/and or omissions of all those in our employment. In addition the Company accepts responsibility if you suffer death or personal injury as a direct result of the holiday arrangements failing to be as described and of a reasonable standard. However the Company will not accept responsibility if there has been no fault on the part of the Company or its suppliers and the loss, death or personal injury suffered is attributable to your own acts or omission, to the acts or omissions of a third party not involved with providing the services which make up your holiday or to the unusual or unforeseeable circumstances whose consequences could not have been avoided or anticipated. If any client suffers death, illness or injury whilst overseas arising out of activity which does not form part of the inclusive holiday arrangements or excursion arranged through us, we shall, at our discretion offer assistance, provided we are advised of the incident within 90 days of the occurrence.

Where legal action is contemplated, our authority must be obtained prior to commencement of proceedings and be subject to your undertaking to assign any costs recovered or any benefits received under an appropriate insurance policy to ourselves. All assistance is provided subject to a maximum total cost to ourselves of £2500 per booking form. All responsibilities and obligations in respect of carriage by air and sea are limited in the manner provided in the relevant International Conventions. Copies of the relevant International Conventions and the Conditions of Carriage of the Carrier are available on request from this office.

ACCURACY:

Whilst we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our work, please check all details immediately and advise us of any discrepancies. The names shown on all travel documents should match exactly those on your passports. If you are getting married or changing name, the name(s) on your passport should reflect those on your travel documents. Failure to comply with this could result in amendment charges being levied or possible cancellation of your flights.

9. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CLIENT

Any passports, visas, health certificates, International Driving Licences and other travel documents required for the holiday must be obtained by the client, whose responsibility it remains to ensure that these are all in order and to meet any additional costs incurred (whether by the client or by the Company on the clients behalf) as a result of failure to comply with such requirements.

You are responsible to arrive at stated departure times and places and any loss or damage which you suffer through failure to do so lies with you. The Company has no liability whatsoever to you through your failure to do so. The Foreign & Commonwealth Advice Unit may have issued information about your holiday destination. You are advised to check this information on BBC2 (Ceefax) page 470 onwards or on the Internet under the address http://www.fco.gov.uk/. Alternatively, you can contact the ABTA information Department on 0901 2015050 (calls charged at 50p min).

10. AIRPORT DELAYS

We use the schedule services of the world’s major international airlines. These are rarely subject to lengthy delays. In the unlikely event that this does happen, arrangements for meals, overnight accommodation, etc. should be met by your airline. Conditions of carriage are available on request.

11. RECONFIRMATION

On arrival at any destination or stopover point it is imperative that you reconfirm the reservations, timings and check-in details of your flight with the airline concerned, at least 72 hours prior to your departure date. This also applies to your first flight from the UK. This action allows the airline to inform you of any unforeseen delays or changes to your itinerary and provides the airlines with a contact for you.

12. LOST OR STOLEN TICKETS

Should tickets become lost or stolen, it is necessary to complete an indemnity form to be passed to the airline. Some carriers are then prepared to issue replacement tickets immediately but may impose a fee for this. Other airlines require full payment to issue replacement tickets and will refund the amount paid for the original documents at a later date. Clients should be aware that this process can take up to 18 months.

13. COMPLAINTS

Most problems can be sorted out straight away if we are advised about them at the time they occur. If you have a complaint you must report it immediately and directly to the supplier (e.g. Hotel Manager), or the emergency contact numbers provided with your travel documents; failure to follow this procedure, may affect your rights under this contract, as we have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify the problem/s. If the problem cannot be resolved locally and you wish to complain, full details must be received in writing to: Customer Relations Department, The South African Travel Shop, SAPRO House, Brock Lane, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 1LP within 28 days of return.

Correspondence will be automatically acknowledged and dealt with under the guidelines set by ATOL for responding to such letters. Please bear in mind our need to investigate matters raised with suppliers or agents involved.

PLEASE NOTE:

The South African Travel Shop will not deal with any complaints raised later than 28 days of your return date to the UK, there are no exceptions to this rule. It is your responsibility to ensure that we receive all the required information within the specified time. Failure to do so will result in you forfeiting your right to any compensation or claims. Please ensure that if you lodge your complaint through the travel agent with whom you booked originally, that you ensure that all relevant documentation arrives within the specified time. If you lodged your complaint through a travel agent then The South African Travel Shop will send all correspondence back to your booking agent.

14. CONSUMER PROTECTION

The air holidays are ATOL Protected, since we hold an Air Travel Organiser’s License granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 2968. 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. In order to ensure that the monies you pay for your holiday are protected, we will issue a confirmation invoice showing the details of the services you have booked including the price and the amount of money paid by you. You should check these details carefully and contact your travel agent or us immediately if there are any discrepancies.

15. INSURANCE

We believe it is essential to take out travel insurance when you go on holiday. Please ensure that you speak to your consultant or Travel Agent about the required insurance. The South African Travel Shop can not be held liable for any claims arising due to customers not having/not having the correct/sufficient travel insurance or cover. We accept no responsibility at any time for any insurance claims, unless the client have purchased insurance through our recommended insurance company. Clients are requested to sign an IDEMNITY FORM if they wish not to purchase our travel insurance. Failure to sign the required from will act as confirmation of our indemnity. If you choose to purchase your insurance through a 3rd party, then The South African Travel Shop will require your policy number and name of supplier prior to the release of your travel documents.