Terms and Conditions
These terms and conditions govern the relationship between you, the tour participant, and us, Athara Adventures LLC (“Athara Adventures”). They outline, among other things, our cancellation policy, your responsibilities as a tour participant, and certain limitations of liability. By booking a tour with Athara Adventures, you confirm that you have read and that you understand these terms and conditions, and that you agree to and accept them as stated.
You may not join a tour without meeting all Athara Adventures requirements. You should monitor Athara Adventures and country-specific health and travel requirements, as they are subject to change, at times rapidly.
Reservations and Payments
To participate in an Athara Adventures tour, participants must be at least 21 years of age, with case-by-case exceptions for minors traveling in the care of a parent or guardian.
A $500 per person tour deposit is required at the time of booking to secure your reservation. Payment of your deposit constitutes:
Your representation and warranty to Athara Adventures that you meet all eligibility requirements for the tour that you are booking; and
Your agreement to these terms and conditions as stated.
The payment schedule for each tour is as follows:
1st payment: 25% of the tour total (less your $500 tour deposit) is due 180 days (six months) prior to the tour start date;
2nd payment: 25% of the tour total (less your $500 tour deposit) is due 120 days (four months) prior to the tour start date; and
3rd payment: Remaining 50% of the tour total (less your $500 tour deposit) is due 60 days (two months) prior to the tour start date.
To secure your reservation on a tour departing within 60 days after booking, full payment is required at the time of booking. Athara Adventures reserves the right to cancel your reservation if final payment is not received by the due date, and cancellation charges will apply. Unless otherwise specified by Athara Adventures, listed tour prices are per person and based on double occupancy.
Cancellations and Refunds
If you need to cancel your tour, you must do so in writing. The following terms apply to tour cancellations:
If you cancel your booking within seven days of the booking, you will be entitled to a full refund except as provided below regarding cancellations less than 120 days (four months) prior to the tour start date;
If you cancel your booking between 173 and 120 days (four months) prior to the tour start date, you will be entitled to a full refund less $500;
If you cancel your booking less than 120 days (four months) prior to the tour start date but before your tour has commenced, you will not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid by you; however, you will be entitled to a credit towards a future tour within the 24-month period after the cancellation date; and
Athara Adventures will have no obligation to issue any refunds if, after your tour has commenced, you are unable to participate in or continue with your tour, or you are removed from your tour due to your failure to abide by these terms and conditions.
Athara Adventures tours are limited to a maximum of ten participants. All tours require a minimum number of participants to operate, as determined from time to time in the sole discretion of Athara Adventures. Athara Adventures reserves the right to change the departure date of any tour as well as cancel any tour that does not reach its minimum level of participation. If enough participants book a tour but unexpected cancellations drop the number of participants below the participation minimum, Athara Adventures may, in its discretion, agree to run the tour subject to each tour participant’s payment of an additional tour surcharge to be set by Athara Adventures, failing which Athara Adventures reserves the right to cancel the tour in its sole discretion. If additional participants join and the required number of participants is re-attained, any surcharge will be refunded. If Athara Adventures elects to cancel your tour on the basis that the minimum group size is not attainable, you may choose to obtain a full refund or to apply your payment as a credit against another tour booking within the 24-month period after the date of cancellation of your tour.
Your Responsibilities
By booking and participating in a tour, you agree to:
Prepare for the tour by familiarizing yourself with the trip itinerary and trip preparation materials sent by Athara Adventures;
Bring appropriate gear and clothing as advised by Athara Adventures;
Obtain all necessary visas, when applicable;
Follow considerate standards of personal hygiene in order to reduce risk of contracting illness and diseases;
Follow considerate and respectful social behavior with trip leaders and other tour participants;
Act in an appropriate and courteous manner befitting the customs of countries you visit;
Complete the tour itinerary as scheduled (or as adjusted by your tour leader as necessary); and
Respect the countries you visit by using environmentally safe products, staying on established routes of travel and following local trail maintenance and Leave No Trace standards.
Athara Adventures reserves the right to decline to accept or retain any person as a tour participant should such person’s behavior, health or mental condition impede the operation of the tour or violate the standards described above.
Health and Fitness
All tour participants are required to complete a health and travel attestation on the registration form at the time of booking. Visit www.atharaadventures.com for our current health and safety requirements for the tour and a list of documents that will be required prior to the start of your tour. Athara Adventures reserves the right to update its health and safety requirements at any time before the commencement of your tour. You acknowledge that the country in which your tour is operating may have additional health and safety requirements, and you agree to abide by all of those additional health and safety requirements.
Athara Adventures will send information on its physical requirements for each tour with its pre-tour materials. Physical requirements are indications of the level of fitness generally required for a particular Athara Adventures tour, but are not definitive. Athara Adventures is not a medical facility and has no responsibility regarding medical advice, medications, inoculations or mental or physical fitness that you or your doctor deem necessary for your safe participation on a tour. You are solely responsible for ensuring your suitability to participate in an Athara Adventures tour. Athara Adventures and its tour leaders reserve the right to refuse your participation in a tour, or continued participation in a tour, if, in their sole discretion, your participation may adversely affect your or others’ health, safety or enjoyment. Athara Adventures is not responsible for the costs or quality of any medical treatment you may require during your tour. You are solely responsible for bringing and properly using any medications and equipment required for your safe participation on your tour. By booking a tour, you represent and warrant to Athara Adventures that you have the physical and mental capacity to participate on the tour.
Data Privacy
You expressly authorize Athara Adventures and its contractors to collect, store, disclose, transfer, use, and otherwise process any information relating to you, or which, either alone or when combined with other data, may be used to identify you (“personally identifiable information” or “PII”) in accordance with this data privacy section. PII includes, without limitation, your full name, date of birth, street address, email address, passport number, driver’s license number, credit card and financial account data, telephone number, biometric data, and medical and health records. You acknowledge that PII will be processed in accordance with the laws applicable at the time and location of processing. You further acknowledge that PII may be processed in accordance with any additional privacy policy that is applicable to such processing (including Athara Adventures’s privacy policy available at www.atharaadventures.com, as it may be updated from time to time).
Publicity
By participating on a tour, (1) you agree that Athara Adventures may, in its discretion and without compensation to you, publish, display and use photographs and video featuring you for the purpose of marketing Athara Adventures and its service offerings (the “Purpose”), and (2) you authorize Athara Adventures to copyright in its own name, use, reproduce, and publish photographs and videos that may pertain to you, individually or in a group, including your image, likeness and voice in any medium, including, but not limited to, print, electronic media, or Internet, without compensation and without your right to inspection, in each case for the Purpose.
You expressly agree not to sell, convey, transfer, use, or publish any photograph, video recordings and other visual or audio portrayals of you and/or any other participant in combination with tour leaders for any commercial purpose or in any media broadcast or for any other non-private use, in each case without the express prior written consent of Athara Adventures.
Assumption of Tour Risks
The tour involves activities that are inherently hazardous. You acknowledge that, during your tour, you will likely be exposed to dangers and hazards, which could include, without limitation, adverse weather, difficult terrain, equipment failures, illnesses and disease, and negligence by others. You further acknowledge that, as a consequence of these risks, you may be seriously hurt or killed, and that you may suffer property damage. Hospital facilities, qualified medical care, and emergency medical evacuation may be limited or unavailable during portions of your tour and, where available, may be expensive. You acknowledge that Athara Adventures assumes no responsibility for providing medical care during your tour and that you will have to pay for any medical care and/or evacuation that you incur.
By booking and participating in a tour, you agree that you are freely assuming the above-mentioned risks and any harm, injury or loss that may occur to you or your property as a result of your participation in a tour, including any risks caused by the negligence of Athara Adventures, its employees and officers, its contractors, and other tour participants.
By booking and participating in a tour, you are agreeing to WAIVE AND RELEASE ALL LIABILITIES, CAUSES OF ACTION, CLAIMS AND DEMANDS against Athara Adventures, its members, managers, employees, agents, vendors and contractors (collectively, the “Released Parties”), where such LIABILITIES, CAUSES OF ACTION, CLAIMS AND DEMANDS arise in any way from any injury, death, loss or harm (whether foreseen or unforeseen) that occur to you or to any other person or to any property during your tour or are in any way related to your tour. This release includes, but is not limited to, claims for the negligence of the Released Parties and claims for strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities. This release does not extend to claims for intentional or reckless misconduct, or any other liabilities that applicable law does not permit to be released by agreement. You also agree NOT TO SUE or make a claim against the Released Parties for death, injuries, loss, or harm that occur on your tour.
By booking and participating in a tour, you promise to INDEMNIFY, HOLD HARMLESS AND DEFEND the Released Parties against any and all LIABILITIES, CAUSES OF ACTION, CLAIMS AND DEMANDS that arise from your acts or your failures to act (including your own negligence) during or relating to your tour. In accordance with this promise, you will reimburse the Released Parties for any damages, settlements and defense costs, including attorneys’ fees, that they incur because of any such claims made against them. You agree that in the event of your death or disability, these terms and conditions, including the indemnification obligation in this paragraph, will be binding on your estate and that your personal representatives, executors, administrators or guardians are obligated to respect and enforce them.
If you are traveling with a person under the age of 21 under your care or custody, you hereby acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for and accept the responsibility for supervising such person throughout the duration of the tour, and you hereby agree to RELEASE, HOLD HARMLESS, INDEMNIFY AND DEFEND the Released Parties from all liabilities and claims that arise in any way from any injury, death, loss or harm that occurs to such person during the tour or in any way related to the tour. This includes any claim of such person and any claim arising from the negligence of the Released Parties.
Without limiting any other provision of these terms and conditions, (1) in no event will Athara Adventures be liable or responsible to you for more than amounts previously paid by you to Athara Adventures, and (2) in no event will Athara Adventures be liable or responsible to you for any special, consequential, indirect, incidental or special damages of any kind, whether such damages arise in contract, negligence, tort, statute, equity, law, or otherwise, even if Athara Adventures has been advised or is otherwise aware of the possibility of such damages.
Suppliers
Athara Adventures organizes, promotes, and sells tours incorporating equipment rental services, guide services, transportation services, sightseeing services, and hotel accommodations, in each case that Athara Adventures purchases or reserves from various suppliers (collectively, “Suppliers”). Athara Adventures does not own or operate any of these Suppliers. Suppliers are independent contractors and are not agents or employees of Athara Adventures. As such, Athara Adventures is not responsible for any negligent or intentional act or failure to act of any Supplier or of any other third party. Some tours include visits to shops and merchants. Athara Adventures is not responsible for any purchases you make during your tour, whether that merchant is part of the scheduled itinerary or not.
Trip Changes
Athara Adventures reserves the right to decline to accept or retain any person as a participant in any tour. Athara Adventures reserves the right to cancel or alter any tour without advance notice. Hotels and other accommodations are subject to change. Athara Adventures strives to maintain each tour as originally advertised. On occasion, conditions beyond the control of Athara Adventures may necessitate changes, modifications, or alterations to the tour itinerary; the substitution of accommodations; or the omission or substitution of specific advertised activities. Athara Adventures may make such decisions in its sole discretion and is not responsible or liable for any expenses or losses that may result from those decisions.
Single Travelers
Athara Adventures utilizes a variety of accommodations, such as hotels, gites, and hostels. For tours with these types of overnight accommodations, participants will share rooms and solo travelers will, to the extent possible, be paired with other solo travelers. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate specific room sharing requests. A single supplement may be available for select tours. Please contact our reservations department for pricing and availability.
Passports
All international tours require a valid passport meeting all requirements of the applicable country of travel. All information on your passport, including name, passport number and expiration date, are needed at time of booking. If your destination requires a visa for your travel, you are solely responsible for obtaining that visa. Please contact the appropriate consular office for any requirements pertaining to your tour. While Athara Adventures will endeavor to provide updated passport and visa requirements for your country of travel, you are ultimately responsible for securing all travel credentials necessary for your tour, and Athara Adventures will not be liable or responsible to you if you are unable to participate on your tour due to a lack of necessary travel documentation, regardless of any travel information Athara Adventures provides to you in advance of your tour.
Insurance
Athara Adventures strongly recommends that you obtain travel insurance. Depending on the type of tour that you have booked, Athara Adventures may also require that you secure or show proof of other insurance.
Applicable Law; Binding Arbitration; Waiver of Jury Trial
These terms and conditions and all documents governing your tour, and all matters arising out of or relating to your tour, are governed by the laws of the state of Vermont, USA. By booking a tour with Athara Adventures, you irrevocably agree to resolve all disputes between you and Athara Adventures concerning, relating or referring to these terms and conditions or any other documents concerning your tour, and the tour itself, by binding arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1-16, pursuant to the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules & Procedures of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (JAMS). In other words, by booking a tour, you agree that you will not sue Athara Adventures in a court of law for any reason and that you will, instead, submit any disputes to binding arbitration as provided in these terms and conditions. Such arbitration proceedings will be governed by substantive (but not procedural) Vermont law without consideration of the Vermont Arbitration Act and will take place in Burlington, VT. The arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, conscionability, or formation of these terms and conditions and all other tour documentation, including, but not limited to, any claim that all or any part of these terms and conditions or any other tour documentation is void or voidable. By agreeing to these terms and conditions, you waive your right to a trial by jury.