99 U S A ( To l l - f r e e ) 1- 877- 381- 2 9 14 E m a i l inf o@the culturalexperience.com U S A ( To l l - f r e e ) 1-877-381-2914 E m a i l info@theculturalexperience.com IMPORTANT INFORMATION bOOKING PROCEDURE 1) Telephone us on 0345 475 1815 or (from outside the United Kingdom) +44 1722 340699 or 1-877-381-1914 (from the USA, toll-free) to discuss any tour, enquire about availability or reserve and pay for your holiday. Please ensure that you have your passport to hand and that you have familiarised yourself with our booking conditions printed below. 2) Or fill out the booking form opposite for all members of your party, select your preferred form of payment for your non-refundable deposit and send it to us. 3) If you are booking your tour less than 10 weeks prior to departure then the full payment must be made with your booking. 4) We will acknowledge your booking within 10 days of its receipt by way of a confirmation invoice, and if applicable, an ATOL certificate. bOOKING CONDITIONS Please read these booking conditions carefully, as along with our Privacy Policy, they form the basis of the contract between you and Midas Tours Limited trading as The Cultural Experience (TCE). An expanded version of these booking conditions is available on our website www.theculturalexperience.com bOOKING & PAyMENT All bookings must be secured by payment of the requisite non-refundable deposit or the full price of the tour if booking less than 10 weeks prior to departure. Payment can be made by credit card (excluding AMEX) debit card, cheque, (payable to ‘The Cultural Experience’), international money order in Sterling (GBP), or bank transfer (in Sterling GBP only) net of all bank charges. For bank transfers originating from bank accounts outside the United Kingdom an additional fee of £10 is payable. There is no charge levied against payments made by consumer debit and credit cards. All commercial / business payment cards will incur a 2.5% processing fee. Upon receipt of your payment, we will issue a booking confirmation invoice and, if applicable, an ATOL certificate. At this point, a binding contract will exist between you and TCE. Please let us know within 10 days of its issue if any of these documents contain any errors, paying particular attention to ensure correct spelling of passenger name. The balance of the price is payable not less than 70 days prior to the departure date. If the balance has not been paid by 56 days prior to departure, we may cancel the booking and levy the cancellation charges set out below. FINANCIAL PROTECTION The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under ABTOT Combined and The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for The Cultural Experience, ABTOT number 5390, ATOL number 10153, and in the event of their insolvency, protection is provided for the following: 1. non-flight packages; 2. flight inclusive packages that commence outside of the EU, which are sold to customers outside of the EU; and. 3. flight inclusive packages, flight only and linked travel arrangements (LTAs ) sold as a principal under ABTOT Combined. ABTOT Combined cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if you are abroad. Please note that bookings made outside the EU are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with The Cultural Experience. In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call their 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company. You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/ contents/made When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday from us, you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. The price of our ATOL-protected flight inclusive Packages includes the amount of £2.50 per person as part of the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) we pay to the CAA. This charge is included in our advertised prices. We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate or holiday itinerary, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate or itinerary (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder or supplier may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder or supplier will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder or supplier. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder or supplier, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ABTOT Combined scheme. If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate or holiday itinerary, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder, alternative supplier or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, ABTOT Limited may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ABTOT Combined scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to ABTOT Limited any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re- assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ABTOT Combined scheme. For further information visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk or the ABTOT website at www.ABTOT.com FITNESS TO TRAVEL All tours involve a fair amount of walking often over uneven cobbled streets, hillsides or steps. Participants on all tours should be able to walk or stand for at least sixty minutes without aid or requiring a rest. Use our Activity Level Guide to measure your ability to join a tour. If you have any concerns in this regard, please contact us for advice. We will refuse to carry anyone who has failed to notify us of any disability requiring assistance during the period from booking the tour to its departure. Subsequent to the tour’s departure anyone who in TCE’s opinion cannot meet the criteria contained in our activity level guide may have their holiday terminated and we will impose any applicable cancellation charges. We may ask for a confirmation letter from your GP certifying that you meet the activity level criteria prior to accepting you on a tour. You must be able to carry your own luggage as porterage is not provided. TRAVEL INSURANCE To participate in any of our tours you must ensure that you have adequate holiday insurance to cover cancellation and curtailment up to the cost of the holiday for each participant, medical expenses, emergency repatriation, loss of luggage, travel delay plus loss of personal items and cash. We strongly recommend that you and all members of your party be adequately insured at time of booking. You must let us have details of your insurance policy at least four weeks prior to departure. PASSPORTS & VISAS For many countries, the passport needs to be valid for at least six months beyond your date of return. The cost of visas is not included in the price of each tour. Approximately eight weeks prior to your departure we will mail you the requisite supporting documentation for your visa application together with the relevant embassy contact details and the name of a visa handling company. Some countries allow you to purchase your visa on entry. Of the countries we plan to visit in this programme presently, Turkey, Russia, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Jordan, and India require visas to be obtained in advance. The USA requires advance ESTA authorisation.