- On Confirmation of your booking, and by paying a deposit/advance, the person who makes the booking is taken to have accepted Secrets of India’s booking conditions on behalf of all persons named (if any) on the booking. Once we have received the applicable payment(s) due at the time of booking, we will send you your booking confirmation (subject to availability of the requested arrangements). Please check your/your guests’ booking confirmation and all tickets/documents carefully as soon as you receive them and contact us immediately if you think any details are incorrect. We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within 24 hours of our sending it out. We will do our best to rectify any errors notified to us after this, but you must meet any costs involved in doing so.
- The deposit//advance is part payment of the holiday/travel/MICE cost. It will be shown on the quotation/cost page of your itinerary/proposal. In addition to the deposit/advance, full or part payment of certain elements of your holiday/travel (such as flights etc) may be required at the time of booking or at some point between booking and balance due date (all such other payments individually and together referred to as “Advance Payment” in these booking conditions). The balance must be paid as per the date specified on the booking cost/proposal. If we do not receive all payments due in full and on time, we will remind you that payment is due before treating your booking as cancelled by you. If further time for payment is agreed at your request but payment is still not received, you must pay the cancellation charges based on the date we treat your booking as cancelled by you.
- Full payment is required at the time of booking for all bookings made after the balance due date, it will informed to you on email or in your cost/proposal terms and conditions.
- Payment has to be made via bank transfer as per the bank details provided in your invoice or separately. We do take payment via credit card (select visa & master cards) it involves a surcharge which has to be paid by the client(s).
- Unless specified otherwise, the offered price in booking cost/proposal is valid for 7 days from the day when it is given. If there is major fluctuation in the foreign currency, the price will be revised to reflect this.
- 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 or vendor policy. Whilst suppliers may have no contractual right to make such requests, failure to comply with them may result in the loss of confirmed arrangements. Where this situation arises, we reserve the right to ask you to make an Advance Payment within a stipulated period and before the balance due date. We will of course endeavour to avoid doing so if we can. Any such early payment can be non-refundable or the vendor may issue a credit note.
- If, after the contract between us has come into existence, you want to change your holiday we will pass your request 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 or services cancelled. You should note, for example, that a change of name or other alteration to an airline ticket will usually incur a 100% cancellation charge and the full applicable cost of rebooking the flight at the time the change is made.
- You may cancel your confirmed booking at any time before departure. Where you wish to do so, a written notification must be sent to us by email. If your notification is provided by email, as proof of receipt you must ensure you receive and retain written acknowledgement from Secrets of India. If you wish to cancel your booking, you will be charged a cancellation fee calculated as a percentage of the total holiday cost as given in your proposal/cost. The percentage payable depends on the date your written notification is received by email notification is acknowledged by Secrets of India. In the event of cancellation, please note that any Advance Payment made as referred hereinabove shall be non-refundable unless such amounts are recovered from suppliers. In calculating cancellation fees, we have taken account of the costs incurred by us in arranging and booking the holiday, as well as any cost savings and the generation of income from other bookings which may be able to offset our loss from cancelled services, but please be advised that this may not be achievable due to the tailor-made nature of our holidays. In the event of cancellation of part of your booking, the cancellation charge payable by you will comprise any direct costs and charges we incur as a result of such cancellation, our reasonable administration costs of dealing with the cancellation arrangements, plus any Advance Payment which relates to the cancelled part of the holiday. We will endeavour to mitigate these costs to the extent we can reasonably do so.
- We will do our best to implement any changes to the 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 applied in respect of the services originally booked, and for the costs involved in booking the revised arrangements as well as for the cost of the new arrangements themselves. It is unlikely that refunds will be paid to clients who do not complete a tour/holiday. 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 reasonable administration charges.
- Please refer to the Cancellation policy given in your itinerary cost/proposal. Plus, any Advance Payment made as referred herein above, unless such amounts are recovered from suppliers. To the extent we can mitigate these losses, the cancellation fee will be adjusted accordingly. Note in the case of a cancellation notification date which is 45 days or less prior to the departure date, the cancellation charge will be a flat 100% of the total holiday cost given the close proximity to travel and a very high likelihood that we will be unable to mitigate any costs at this point. The cancellation fee will be capped at the total cost of your holiday and will never exceed this amount.
- It is a condition of our acceptance of your booking with us that you have suitable travel insurance of your own for your trip. It is your responsibility to ensure you are adequately covered by insurance for all elements of your trip. Please read your policy and take it on holiday with you. You must check the policy terms prior to purchasing your insurance.
- Changes to confirmed holiday/travel arrangements sometimes have to be made. Most changes will be insignificant, and we have the right to make these. Where an insignificant change is made before departure, we will notify you. No compensation is payable for insignificant changes.
- Occasionally, it may be necessary to cancel confirmed holiday arrangements. We have the right to terminate your contract and cancel your holiday in the event we are prevented from performing your confirmed arrangements as a result of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances and we notify you of this as soon as reasonably possible. Where we have to cancel your holiday in these circumstances, we will refund all monies you have paid to us (bank transfer charges and currency conversion, if any, will be paid by you) within 30 days of the effective date of cancellation but will have no further or other liability to you including in respect of compensation or any costs or expenses you incur or have incurred. We will of course endeavour to offer you comparable alternative arrangements where possible which you may choose to book in place of those cancelled. We also have the right to cancel if you fail to make the payment as per the terms of this contract and you shall be responsible for the losses suffered by Secrets of India.
- Please bear in mind that Covid-19 and the measures and other action being taken by governments, public authorities, and businesses to manage its effects (including implementation of mandatory social distancing, face masks/coverings, hand sanitization, and temperature checks) is likely to have an impact on holiday arrangements for a considerable period of time. We may, for example, be unable to provide certain advertised services or facilities as a result. Such measures/actions may be introduced or changed with little or no prior notice. Greater flexibility is therefore likely to be required for the foreseeable future which we would ask you to bear in mind at all times, both before and after departure. Any impact which such measures/action has on your holiday will not constitute a significant alteration to your contracted arrangements and will not entitle you to cancel without payment of the applicable cancellation charges or to receive a full or partial refund in respect of services that are not available as a result.
- If unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occur in the place of destination of your holiday or its immediate vicinity and significantly affect the performance of the contracted arrangements or the carriage of passengers to that destination, you will be entitled to cancel before departure without payment of cancellation charges and receive a full refund of all monies you have paid to us as and when we receive the payment from our vendor(s)/supplier(s) (except for any previously incurred cancellation or amendment charges). Where applicable, you must notify us of your wish to cancel for this reason in writing. Providing we are in agreement that you are entitled to do so following this clause, we will send you a cancellation invoice to confirm the cancellation and refunds shall be made as per terms and conditions mentioned hereinabove. We will notify you as soon as practicable in the event of this situation occurring.
- Except as expressly set out in these booking conditions, we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation or other sums where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected, or you otherwise suffer any loss or damage as a result of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances. In these booking conditions, unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances means a situation which is beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Such situations are likely to include, whether actual or threatened, war, insurrection, riots, strikes, civil action, decisions by governments or governing authorities, technical or maintenance problems with transport, changes of schedules or operational decisions of air carriers, terrorist activity, industrial action, natural or nuclear activity, epidemics/pandemics, adverse weather conditions and fire.
- Unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances include the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts such as travel restrictions and the measures and other action being taken by governments, public authorities and businesses to control and manage its effects (such as the implementation of social distancing). When we refer to the Covid-19 pandemic in these booking conditions, we mean the pandemic resulting from the illness or disease caused by the novel coronavirus which is now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and any mutations or variants of the same and/or any other coronavirus (and its mutations and variants) which is treated as part of the same pandemic and/or another pandemic however described.
- We promise to make sure that all parts of the holiday we have agreed to arrange, perform or provide as part of our contract with you are arranged, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care.
- In addition, we will not be responsible if you do not enjoy your holiday or suffer any problems because of a reason you did not tell us about when you booked your holiday.
- Please note: we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised by us as forming part of your holiday and we have not agreed to arrange them as part of our contract and any excursion or activities you purchase during your holiday.
- If you have any complaints about any aspect of your holiday/travel arrangements, you must inform our local representative or tour leader immediately and the supplier of the arrangements concerned. Problems can most easily be dealt with on the spot. Please note, if you do not report a problem or complaint straight away which, if it had been reported at the time it occurred, could have been quickly resolved, we cannot accept any liability in respect of that problem or complaint. It is sensible to expect a client travelling in the developing world to be reasonably resourceful if things go wrong. If you experience any difficulties. If the issue cannot be resolved locally you can contact us and we shall resolve the same at the earliest. In the unlikely event that an acceptable solution cannot be found, you should then write to us within 10 days of your return with the full details of your complaint. If you fail to follow this simple complaints procedure, we are unlikely to be in a position to properly investigate the matter and may have been deprived of the opportunity to remedy it during your holiday.
- Secrets of India act in the capacity of an agent for the hotels, airlines, transporters, railways and contractors providing other services. All contracts and tickets, exchange orders and receipts issued by us are subject to the terms and conditions under which they provide these services. We shall not be held responsible for any delays or alterations in the program or any expenses incurred directly or indirectly due to flight cancellations, natural hazards, breakdown of transport, accidents, breakdown of machinery or equipment, weather, illness, political closures, landslides or any untoward incidents. We shall not be held responsible for any loss, damage or injury to a person, property or otherwise in connection with accommodation, transportation or other services, directly or indirectly resulting from an act of God, fire, danger, accident, strikes, civil disturbances, war, customs or medical department regulations, defaults or any other conditions beyond our control.
- We do not have any insurance policies covering the expenses for sickness, accidents, and losses due to theft or any other reason. Clients are advised to seek such insurance arrangements in their home countries. Also, all personal property and baggage at all times are at the client’s risk.
- Obtaining visas shall be the sole responsibility of the clients, who hereby undertakes not to hold Secrets of India liable under any circumstances whatsoever, for visas not applied for, refused and /or delayed documents and/ or delayed documents and/ or entries to/ from the countries visited, for the sole responsibility to grant the travel documents rests and vests with the authorities concerned. Without prejudice to the above preceding clause, an express notice is given to all concerned by Secrets of India that they shall only assist passengers in securing and obtaining the necessary travel documents to the best of their ability where applicable.
- Check-in time is 1400 hrs and check out time is 1100 hrs. Early arrivals are subject to availability. For a guaranteed early check-in, a reservation will need to be made starting from the previous night. Late checkouts are available on request but are subject to availability and payment.
