Article 1: Scope of application
The General Terms and Conditions of Sale are applicable to all travel packages offered by NATURE EXPERIENCE, including organized tours, transportation, logistics services and any other services (air tickets, accommodation, food, excursions or activities, guides, cruises, etc.) taking place on Ecuadorian territory.
Article 2 : General information
NATURE EXPERIENCE is a tour operator based in Quito, Ecuador, legally constituted and, as such, subject to all laws and regulations governing tourist activity in this country.
Registration for one of our tours implies unreserved compliance with Ecuadorian laws governing tourism, with our General Terms and Conditions of Sale and/or our Special Terms and Conditions of Sale, as well as with the instructions and recommendations stipulated in the various leaflets attached to the travel documents.
The customer expressly acknowledges that he/she has read the information relating to the trip he/she has chosen, thanks to the information provided by NATURE EXPERIENCE.
Article 3: Reservations and confirmations
All reservations, confirmations and cancellations must be made in writing or by e-mail.
The reservation of a trip to Ecuador will be confirmed upon receipt of the value of the travel deposit.
In order to confirm the reservation of a program or any other service in Ecuador, the information sheet for each participant, duly completed in full and signed by the customer, must be submitted to NATURE EXPERIENCE. In the same way, the present document (General Sales Conditions) must also be signed and returned to NATURE EXPERIENCE, in order to validate the registration. The signatory is responsible for all persons registered on the same document.
The organization contract will take effect when the client receives written confirmation from NATURE EXPERIENCE that the deposit has been received.
Receipt of the deposit implies reservation of the holiday, subject to availability.
The invoice will be sent to the customer within five (5) days of registration.
Article 4: Prices of services
The agreed prices are fixed in US dollars (USD) and include all services mentioned in the trip description, subject to obvious material error.
Tour prices are per person based on double room/cabin occupancy. Under no circumstances may the prices published or communicated to the customer cover the supplement for accommodation in a single room/cabin.
If an individual passenger decides to rent a room/cabin exclusively for himself, a supplement, depending on the service, will have to be paid.
Any increase in national air fares must be borne by the customer. Under no circumstances will NATURE EXPERIENCE be held responsible for this additional cost.
Article 5
A – Payment
All reservations will be considered as confirmed on the date of receipt of the initial deposit of 30% of the value of the stay and 100% of the cost of internal flights, or the amount agreed with the customer, which will be included in the invoice. Different payment conditions apply to Galapagos cruises. They will be specified on a case-by-case basis according to the boat selected.
The first payment must be made within seven (7) days of receipt of the invoice.
The remaining balance must be paid no later than 45 days before the start of the trip.
B – Special Sales Conditions
At the customer’s request, a single payment may be made with the first instalment. The customer must request this change as soon as possible.
C- Exchange rates
Price revision: Our quotations are calculated in US Dollars, the prevailing local currency. Our commitment relates to this amount, the equivalent value in euros being indicative and calculated on the basis of the USD/EUR exchange rate on the day of the quotation. On the dates of payment of the deposit and the balance of the trip, the amounts to be paid will be calculated on the basis of the USD/EUR exchange rate in force at the time the payment link is sent.
Article 6: Individual and/or group cancellations
All cancellations must be made in writing, indicating the references of the trip to be cancelled.
- For cancellations made more than 90 days before the start of the trip, a penalty of 10% of the total value of the trip excluding internal flights will be applied, with a minimum of 200 USD (in total).
- For cancellations made between 90 and 46 days before the start of the trip, a penalty of 30% of the total value of the trip, excluding internal flights, will be applied.
- For cancellations made between 45 and 31 days before the start of the trip, a penalty of 50% of the total value of the trip, excluding domestic flights, will be applied.
- For cancellations made between 30 and 8 days before the start of the trip, a penalty of 80% of the total value of the trip, excluding domestic flights, will be applied.
- For cancellations made less than 8 days before arrival in Ecuador, a penalty of 100% of the total value of the trip per person will be applied.
For reasons of regulations and standards internal to the archipelago, the cancellation conditions for stays in the Galapagos are distinct and are as follows (case of cabotage stays):
- More than 60 days from your arrival date: penalty of 50% of the invoiced amount, excluding internal flights.
- Between 59 and 36 days from your arrival date: penalty of 80% of the invoiced amount, excluding internal flights.
- Less than 35 days from your arrival date: penalty of 100% of the invoiced amount.
In the event of cancellation by one of the participants in a group trip, the final price of the trip for the other participants will be revised pro rata on the basis of the number of confirmed travelers.
Article 7 : Modifications
NATURE EXPERIENCE may invoice the traveller for all costs resulting from modifications expressly requested by the traveller. Any modification is accepted if it is feasible.
Any trip shortened or any service not used by the traveller, for whatever reason, cannot give rise to a refund.
NATURE EXPERIENCE cannot be held responsible for unused services or possible modifications to the trip or cruise in the event of cancellation, suspension, change of schedule or delay in domestic flights.
No refunds will be made for unused services, itinerary changes or total loss of travel if passengers arrive late at the airport and miss their flight.
Article 8: Luggage
During air transfers, passengers’ baggage is the responsibility of the airline. Any dispute during these transfers must be dealt with directly between the customer and the airline. NATURE EXPERIENCE may, however, support passengers’ complaints to the airline without committing itself to any result.
NATURE EXPERIENCE cannot be held responsible for any damage whatsoever to personal objects or valuables (camera, jewelry, cash, etc.) belonging to the traveler.
Likewise, NATURE EXPERIENCE cannot be held responsible in the event of loss or omission of said objects or personal purchases made during the trip or cruise for which the customer is responsible.
Article 9: Cancellation of air services
In the event of cancellation by the customer of air space booked on internal flights, the applicable penalty will be specified according to the airline used and the ticket category. Internal flights between the Galapagos Islands are non-refundable.
Article 10 : Refunds in the event of cancellation
In the event of cancellation, refunds will be made within a maximum of three months.
Article 11 : Cancellation before departure by the organizer
Cancellation by the organizer may occur up to the last minute in circumstances beyond its control: serious failure of a service provider, political and social unrest, force majeure, natural disasters, strikes, road blockages, security or health problems, etc. The agency’s primary concern is the safety of travellers, and reserves the right to cancel, postpone or modify the content of the trip. Where possible, participants will be informed in advance of the context and options for modifications. In the event of changes to the itinerary due to external events, a new quote will be drawn up and offered to the participant(s).
In all cases, NATURE EXPERIENCE will do its utmost to protect the interests of travelers by proposing, depending on possibilities and availability, an alternative offer which may or may not require additional costs to be borne by the participant(s). Whenever possible, but without obligation, a partial refund or compensation may be made on amounts already paid (deposit or balance of the trip), depending on the costs already incurred, the costs of modifications and the cancellation conditions of our service providers.
Article 12: Currency exit tax and transfer charges
Pursuant to Executive Decree no. 1058 of 14/05/2008, a foreign currency exit tax (ISD) of 5% of the amounts transferred will be applied to each transfer made from Ecuador to any other foreign country. The corresponding transfer fees will also be deducted from the amounts refunded.
Article 13 : Possible changes to the tour
The agency, the guide or Tour Leader and the Galápagos National Park may modify the various itineraries of a trip without prior notice if they consider it necessary, compulsory and/or urgent.
If the trip is interrupted during the stay, for any reason beyond our control or that of the client, NATURE EXPERIENCE will do its utmost (but without guarantee) to obtain compensation, at least partial, for unused services.
Article 14 : Responsibility of NATURE EXPERIENCE
NATURE EXPERIENCE and its agents or legal representatives act as organizers. As such, they work with various service providers, transport companies, accommodation providers and other intermediaries required for the organization of stays, trips or cruises. NATURE EXPERIENCE therefore acts as an intermediary between the customer and the service providers (carriers, hoteliers, charterers, boat owners, etc.). NATURE EXPERIENCE should not be confused with the latter, who in any case retain their own responsibility. NATURE EXPERIENCE declines all responsibility in the event of non-performance of services by service providers, with the exception of faults or non-performance resulting directly from acts or omissions caused by the immediate employees of NATURE EXPERIENCE.
NATURE EXPERIENCE is responsible for the proper performance of the contract in accordance with the expectations that the traveller may reasonably have based on the provisions of the travel arrangement contract. In the event of non-performance by any of the service providers of any of the obligations described, NATURE EXPERIENCE undertakes to assist the traveller in exercising his/her rights with the service provider(s) concerned.
NATURE EXPERIENCE is obliged to use its best endeavours during the execution of the contract to help and assist the traveller in difficulty. In this case, NATURE EXPERIENCE may invoice the traveller for any additional costs incurred.
NATURE EXPERIENCE undertakes to take all necessary measures to limit the risk of contamination by Covid during your stay. However, in the event of contamination at any time during your trip, NATURE EXPERIENCE cannot be held responsible for the economic, health or any other consequences related to this contamination.
Article 15 : Traveler’s responsibility
The traveller must provide NATURE EXPERIENCE with all useful information that is expressly requested.
If the traveller provides incorrect information, resulting in additional costs for NATURE EXPERIENCE, these costs may be re-invoiced to the traveller.
Each traveler must hold individual civil liability insurance as well as individual multi-risk coverage in order to be protected against incidents or accidents that may occur before or during the trip.
In all cases, we ask our clients to provide us with their personal insurance details (policy number and telephone number) before their arrival, and recommend that they take a copy of their policy with them on their trip, as they will be responsible for declaring any claims to their insurance company (our guides and representatives will be happy to help in this process).
Each participant must comply with the requirements and formalities imposed by national, legal and medical authorities at all times during the trip. Under no circumstances will NATURE EXPERIENCE be able to substitute itself for the individual responsibility of the client, who must complete all administrative and medical formalities in person before departure (passport, visa, vaccination booklet, etc.), as well as throughout the duration of the trip, including compliance with the country’s customs formalities regulating the export of objects purchased locally, such as carpets, antiques, etc.
Failure to comply with these regulations, the impossibility for a customer to present documents in order on the day of departure, any delay (even resulting from a case of force majeure during air, rail or land pre-carriage for which we are not suppliers), involve the sole responsibility of the participant who will bear the costs incurred.
Given the special nature of our trips, each participant must comply with the advice and instructions given by the guides or Tour Leader in charge of the group and representatives of NATURE EXPERIENCE or any other institution, nature reserve or lodge visited during the tours. The latter cannot be held responsible for any incidents, accidents or personal injury that may result from a careless personal initiative on the part of one or more participants.
In addition, each participant must be aware that he/she may run risks of any kind due to local conditions (distance from medical centers, lack of means of communication, etc.). He/she assumes these risks in his/her own name and in the name of his/her beneficiaries, with full knowledge of the facts, and undertakes not to hold NATURE EXPERIENCE responsible for them.
National parks, like all other Ecuadorian protected areas (public or private), are governed by strict rules. Respect for these rules, a good state of mind and a certain sense of conviviality are essential assets for the type of trips we offer. The organizer, the guide or the Tour Leader reserve the right to exclude at any time from a group any person whose behavior is deemed to endanger the safety of the group and the well-being of the participants or the sites visited. In such cases, no compensation will be payable.
Article 16: Use of travelers’ comments
Customer comments on their trip or on NATURE EXPERIENCE’s services, whether sent by e-mail, annotated on evaluation forms or posted on the Internet, may be copied onto one or more of NATURE EXPERIENCE’s travel websites, in their entirety or in fragments. The agency undertakes not to modify the meaning of the comments in the event of partial copying of these comments.
Article 17 : Jurisdiction and applicable law
Any dispute relating to the performance, interpretation and validity of the present contract, which cannot be settled amicably, shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of the Chamber of Commerce of Quito, which shall apply Ecuadorian law.
NATURE EXPERIENCE Cia Ltda.
RUC (Trade register): 1792654432001
Register with the Ministry of Tourism #17.01.50.5570
Register of the Chamber of Tourism #0206937
