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These Terms and Conditions were last updated on January 1, 2023.
All travel packages, vacations, tours sold by AMTA are subject to these conditions and the other general information in this document, brochures and custom itineraries, American Travel Abroad, Inc (referred as “AMTA”) (headquartered at 505 8th Avenue, Suite 801, New York, NY, United States), its branches, owners, directors, officers, employees and affiliates, does not own or operate any entity which is to or does provide goods or services for your trip including, for example, ownership or control over hotels or other lodging facilities, airlines, vessels, buses, vans or other transportation companies, local ground operators, providers or organizers of optional excursions or equipment used thereon, food service or entertainment providers, even if some of those entities the AMTA name on signs. All such persons and entities are independent contractors.
As a result, AMTA is not liable for any negligent or willful act or failure to act of any such person or entity, or of any other third party. Without limitation, AMTA is not responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to person, property or luggage, death, delay or inconvenience in connection with the provision of any goods or services occasioned by or resulting from, but not limited to, acts of God, acts of government, force majeure, acts of war or civil unrest, insurrection or revolt, strikes or other labor activities, criminal or terrorist activities of any kind, or the threat thereof, overbooking or downgrading of accommodations, structural or other defective conditions in hotels or other lodging facilities, mechanical or other failure of airplanes or other means of transportation or for any failure of any transportation mechanism to arrive or depart timely or safely, dangers associated with or bites from animals, pests or insects, marine life or vegetation of any sort, dangers incident to recreational activities such as scuba diving, zip lining, snorkeling, paddle boarding, swimming, kayaking, sailing, canoeing, rafting, hiking, bicycling, rock climbing, etc. sanitation problems, food poisoning, lack of access to or quality of medical care, difficulty in evacuation in case of a medical or other emergency, illness, epidemics or the threat thereof or for any other cause beyond the direct control of AMTA.
In addition, I release AMTA from its own negligence and assume all risk thereof.
I am aware that travel in general terms that I am undertaking involves hazardous activities, some in remote areas of the world, with a risk of inconvenience, illness, injury, or death which may be caused by forces of nature, animals, insects or flora, the negligence of AMTA, or other persons and companies known or unknown, or of negligent, willful, or criminal conduct of third parties. I am aware that weather conditions may be severe, adverse and/or unpleasant. I am also aware that medical services or facilities may not be readily available or accessible during some or all the time during which I am participating on the trip. To partake of the enjoyment and excitement of this travel trip I am willing to accept the risks and uncertainty involved as being an integral part of my journey.
I hereby accept and assume full responsibility for all risks of illness, injury, or death and of the negligence of AMTA or of any third parties.
I acknowledge that I have voluntarily applied to participate on the trip designated on this application (or a trip which I may change to) and that I have read the description of the trip as it appears in the current AMTA brochure, any supplements and itineraries relating to the trip, together with all information contained in this application. I am voluntarily participating in this trip with knowledge of the hazards involved. I am also aware that additional waivers may be required by local tour providers to participate in certain activities during my trip.
I agree that any dispute concerning, relating, or referring to this Agreement, the brochure or any other literature concerning my trip, or the trip itself, shall be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act. 9 U.S.C. §§1-16, either according to the then existing Commercial Rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) or pursuant to the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules & Procedures of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. QAMS). Such proceedings will be governed by substantive (but not procedural) New York law. The arbitrator and not any federal, state, or local court or agency hall have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, conscionability, or formation of this contract, including but not limited to any claim that all or any part of this contract is void or voidable. Please understand that by agreeing to these terms and conditions, you (and we) are waiving our right to a trial by jury.
Each person in a party must sign the Release, Assumption of Risk, Binding Arbitration Agreement and Other Important Considerations concerning your AMTA trip. If any participant is under 18 years of age, a parent or legal guardian must sign on the minor's behalf. In the event any one or more person(s) does not sign, that person(s) cannot go on the trip and the cost to the remaining participants will be increased to reflect the added costs to AMTA of running the trip with fewer participants. You accept responsibility for the increased costs and understand that all incremental costs must be paid prior to departure.
(1) The procedure for making a booking is available in your itinerary on our AMTA website. All bookings are subject to the Release, Assumption of Risk and Binding Arbitration Agreement. You must return the Statement of Agreement signed by all travelers and a completed AMTA booking form no later than 15 days after paying your deposit.
When we have received these documents and any applicable payment(s) due at the time of booking - see (2) below, we will confirm your arrangements with our suppliers and subject to availability of the requested arrangements send you a confirmation invoice. If a delay in receiving your Statement of Agreement prevents us from booking elements of your trip, such as the flights, we may have to requote these elements and pass any associated costs on to you. You accept responsibility for the increased costs and understand that all incremental costs must be paid prior to departure.
Please check your confirmation invoice and all future travel documents carefully as soon as you receive them and contact us immediately if you think any details are incorrect. We cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracies (for which we are responsible) in any document within 10 days of our sending it out. We will do our best to rectify any mistake notified to us outside these time limits, but you must meet any costs involved in doing so.
If you do not submit the required documents back to us before you travel, you are subject to cancellation with no reimbursement.
The deposit is part payment for your trip. The deposit required will be shown on the quote page of your itinerary. In addition to the deposit, full or part payment of certain elements of your trip such as flights may be required at the time of booking or at some point between booking and balance due date. Also see clause (4). The deposit and all such additional payments are non-refundable unless we cancel your trip. The balance must be paid not later than the date specified on your confirmation invoice. This is normally no less than 8 weeks before the departure date. However, there are a few destinations or trip components that require payment no less than 3 months before the departure date which will be specified on your confirmation invoice. Please note if we do not receive all payments due (including any surcharge where applicable) in full and on time, we are entitled to assume that you wish to cancel your booking. In this case, we will be entitled to keep all amounts paid or due at that date. If we do not cancel immediately because you still have promised to make payment, you still must pay the cancellation charges shown below based on the date we treat your booking as cancelled.
Full payment is required at the time of booking for all bookings made after balance due date as above.
On occasions, we may be asked by suppliers to make payment to them earlier than normal. Such requests may, for example, be made to secure accommodation and other services during periods of peak demand. Failure to comply with these requests may result in the loss of confirmed arrangements. Where this situation arises, we reserve the right to ask you to make payment of the requested sum within a certain period and prior to balance due date. We will of course endeavor to avoid doing so if we can. Any such early payment will be nonrefundable.
If, after the contract between us has come into existence, you want to change your itinerary we will pass your request on to the relevant supplier. However, we cannot guarantee that such changes can be made. Where a change can be made, we will charge for any additional costs incurred including any costs imposed or incurred by any of our suppliers and including for example cancellation charges that may be incurred for sectors cancelled. Note that a change of name on or other alteration to an airline ticket will usually incur a 100% cancellation charge and full rebooking fee.
If you have to cancel part of the booking or cancel the entire booking once it has been confirmed by us, written notification must be sent to us by certified mail or by email. As proof of receipt by email of your notification to cancel you must receive and retain written acknowledgement from AMTA. Charges will be applied from the date your letter or email is received, according to the scale below. The charges are applied as a percentage of the total trip cost excluding any amendment charges and any amounts paid in addition to the deposit at the time of booking or before balance due date.
The following per person cancellation charges apply if your final balance due date is 61 days prior to departure. Please note, different cancellation charges apply in relation to certain products - please see your confirmation invoice for details.
A deposit of $250 for tours per person is required at the time of booking. The balance is due 45 days prior to departure.
Period before departure date within which written notification is received at our offices
Cancellation charge per person, as a percentage of the total trip cost
46+ days - balance due date
$250 non-refundable deposit
45-21 days before departure
50%
20-0 days before departure (including No Show)
100%
We will do our best to implement any changes to your arrangements you request once they have commenced, but we cannot guarantee this will be possible. In the event of such amendments being made you will be liable for any cancellation charges that may be levied for the services originally booked, and for the cost of booking the revised arrangements and the arrangements themselves. As a basic principle, no refunds will be paid to clients who do not complete a trip. However, where we ourselves are able to obtain a refund from hotels or principals for services not used, we will pass this on to you, less any administration charges. If you have taken out travel insurance you may, depending on the details of your policy, be able to recover the cancellation charges.
We start planning the trips we offer many months in advance. Occasionally, we must make changes to itineraries; hotels and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed. While we always endeavor to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so. However, we will only cancel your confirmed booking after balance due date where you have failed to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us to cancel (such as paying on time) or where we are forced to do so because of "force majeure" as defined herein. We will not cancel after this date for any other reason.
We cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected, or you otherwise suffer any loss, injury, death, inconvenience, or damage because of circumstances amounting to "force majeure". "Force majeure" means any event or circumstances which we or the supplier of the services in question could not foresee or avoid. Such events and circumstances may include, acts of God, actual or threatened, war, insurrection, riots, strikes, civil action, decisions by governments or governing authority, technical or maintenance problems with transport, changes of schedules or operational decisions of air carriers, terrorist activity or the threat thereof, industrial action, natural or nuclear activity, epidemics/pandemics or the threat thereof, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.
Significant increases in aviation fuel and other energy prices as well as fluctuations in exchange rates and other factors may necessitate an increase in trip prices before or after you book. If you purchase domestic or international air through AMTA as part of the trip, no surcharges will be imposed (except in the unlikely event of an increase in governmental taxes) after final payment. Surcharges, however, may be imposed at any time up to final payment. If, however, you purchase a land-only package (no air booking), AMTA reserves the right to surcharge for these increased costs even after final payment. We reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in quoted prices at any time before your trip is confirmed. We will advise you of any error of which we are aware and of the then applicable price at the time of booking.
The flight details shown in your itinerary are for guidance only and are subject to change. Final details will be confirmed on the documentation within your Travel Organizer, sent approximately 14 days prior to departure. The times shown on all tickets are local times and check in for both outward and return flights is at least 3 hours prior to the departure times on the travel documents. It is possible that flight times may be changed even after tickets have been issued. We will contact you as soon as possible if this occurs.
We can accept no responsibility if you arrive late for the check in and miss your flight as a result nor can we accept responsibility for any loss by you of your trip/flight travel tickets, vouchers, or coupons.
The name on your airline tickets must be identical to the name on your passport.
Air travel is subject to operational decisions of carriers and airports which may result in delays and diversions. Please note that carriers sometimes change the departure time of flights at short notice, and in some instances, schedules shown in the computers of intercontinental carriers differ from those actually flown by smaller local carriers. It is your responsibility to be meticulous in locally reconfirming directly with the carrier operating the flight. We accept no liability for the consequences of flights missed owing to the passenger's failure to reconfirm.
We and our local ground-handlers reserve the right to remove you from any trip if you endanger yourself or others or disrupt the general well-being of the trip itself. In any such case, there will be no refund. When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you. Full payment for any such damage or loss (reasonably estimated if not precisely known) must be paid direct at the time to the accommodation owner or manager or other supplier. Baggage and personal effects are always the sole responsibility of the participant.
It is the responsibility of the traveler to become informed about the most current travel information, advisories and warnings by referring both to the U.S. State Department's travel website at www.travel.state.gov or by phone at 1-888-407-4747 and by accessing the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices. In the event of an active State Department Travel Warning against travel to a specific location on your itinerary, AMTA will reroute your trip to avoid that specific locale. If it cannot do so and if the traveler still chooses to travel to the locale of a warning, the traveler assumes all risk of personal injury, death or property damage that may arise out of, or which relates to the type of events warned against.
We do not provide or arrange excursions other than those you have arranged with us, and which are listed in your itinerary. Our local representatives or guides may put you in touch with local organizers of excursions if you request them to, but we can have no liability for such excursions, as your contract for such excursions will be with a local company providing the services and not with us.
The information and prices shown in our brochures and/or itineraries may have changed by the time you come to book your trip. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the brochures, itineraries, and prices at the time of printing or when they are given to you, regrettably errors and/or changes do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen trip (including the price) with us at the time of booking.
AMTA may take photographs or video of its trips and trip participants. I grant AMTA permission to do so and for it to use same for promotional or commercial use without payment of any compensation to participant.
Participants are solely responsible for ensuring their passports are up to date, do not expire for at least 6 months after the trip return date (a requirement to enter many countries), have two completely blank pages (for some countries) and have all necessary visas. Any failure of a participant to have proper visas and/ or passport will likely result in the participant not being able to leave the country or enter a destination and no refund will be available in any such case. For up-to-date visa requirements US citizens should visit www.travel.state.gov. Citizens of other countries should check with the relevant embassy in their own country.
Round trip air transportation by participating IATA or ARC carriers. Airfare based on non-refundable coach class fares. Once tickets are issued, cancellation penalties up to 100% and change fees will be assessed.
Twin-bedded rooms with bath or shower in deluxe, first-class, or standard hotels (see hotel listing). On rare occasion, it may be necessary to substitute a hotel in a different category. Should this occur, an appropriate refund will be made for the applicable portion of the tour. A limited number of single rooms are available at the supplementary charge shown for each tour. Triple rooms usually consist of standard double or twin beds, plus an additional sofa bed, folding bed, or cot for a third person.
Service charges, as imposed by hotels and taxes by local administrations and government authorities on accommodations and meals are included in the tour price. Tips to tour directors, drivers, etc., are at travelers’ discretion.
NOTE: Terms and conditions are subject to change without prior notice.
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