Booking Terms and Conditions

Your Booking Contract
Your contract for all holidays is with Charika Holidays, No 386A, Gonahena, Kadwatha, Stri Lanka .

Acceptance of Booking Conditions
Applicable Booking Terms and Conditions for your booking are those that were in force on the date shown on your Travel Voucher. Booking Terms and Conditions may be subject to change without warning at our own discretion. The latest Booking Terms and Conditions are displayed on our websites. These booking conditions are devised for the protection of all parties. Any use of the charikaholidfays.com website, or any written communication with us, for the purposes of travel arrangements, confirms that you are aged 18 or over.

Confirming Your Booking
In the case of all bookings, you will be issued with a pro forma invoice. The pro forma invoice value includes our charges and the reimbursable costs incurred on your behalf. Your booking will be confirmed by the issue of a Travel Voucher. Payment of deposit confirms that you have read and accepted our booking conditions. If you fail to meet the payment deadlines stated on the Prp Forma Invoice, we reserve the right to cancel your booking and will inform you of this. Bookings should be paid either by:
(i) On-line credit/debit card payment.
(ii) Bank transfer.

Payment Terms
Upon receipt of Proforma Invoiuce, up to 50% of the invoice amount should be paid.
Balance 50% to be paid 30 days before ariival in Sri Lanka.
Once 100% of the payments received, Travel Voucher and Final Invoice will be issued confirming the booking.
Customers must pay all bank charges in the case of a bank transfer. Failure to do so will invalidate your booking and will bring further charges to cover bank charges.
There will be no additional postage fees, booking fees or other hidden charges.
Late payments risk cancellation.

Cancellation by Us
We are committed to high levels of professionalism to protect your booking. But we reserve the right to cancel your booking in any incidence of Force Majeure (see clause below). In this event we will refund the entire amount already paid by you and, wherever possible, offer an alternative booking of comparable type and quality for your consideration.

Cancellation by You
In event of cancellation, in whole or part, we voluntarily return all recoverable costs, above and beyond the limits laid down in our Booking Conditions.
In the case of cancelled tailor-made itineraries, we reserve the right to levy additional admin costs of up to 5 per cent of total booking cost when calculating recoverable costs. Your refund may be subject to bank charges. We do not normally refund for early checkouts or no-shows. Any individual wishing to cancel a booking must immediately notify us by email, quoting booking reference number. The cancellation is timed from 0900 on the next working day to enable us to contact Suppliers. In the event of a group cancellation (by the tour leader),we will hold each individual equally liable for cancellation costs.

Cancellation by You Due to Unavoidable and Extraordinary Circumstances
Your personal safety is our prime concern. If, and only if the appropriate government body officially advises (after your booking has been made) against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka we will recognise your right to cancel your confirmed holiday, without paying a cancellation charge. This clause will become active if your holiday is imminent which in this case is defined as less than 14 days before your first booking with us.
Your refund may be subject to bank charges. We may offer you the alternative of an appropriate credit note to reinstate your holiday at any time in the following 12 months. We accept no responsibility in the case of any independent arrangements you may have made that do not form part of our contract, or if you have failed to take out travel insurance as stipulated in our Booking Conditions. This clause overrides other cancellation clauses.

Itinerary Changes Made by Us
We are committed to high levels of professionalism to protect your booking as it is shown on your Travel Voucher. Adjustments will only be made in unavoidable or overriding circumstances. All efforts would be made to ensure that these adjustments are in the spirit of the original itinerary and would be discussed with you. If exceptional circumstances (eg overbooking of hotel) demand an emergency change of accommodation while you are on holiday, we will refund you appropriately if the replacement hotel is cheaper and pay any additional transfer costs.

Itinerary Changes Requested by You
We aim to offer flexible itineraries. Once an itinerary is finalised, requests for changes to a group or individual itinerary will always be considered, but they may incur charges.

Information Provided by You
All information you provide should be true and accurate. We will treat it confidentially and will only use your personal information for purposes outlined in our Privacy Policy, as detailed on our website. We may need to disclose your personal information to other members of our corporate family and to third parties, including, but not limited to, hotels, accommodation providers, transport providers, experience and activity providers and governmental agencies; for purposes including but not limited to, contacting you, facilitating the planning or execution of your holiday, trip, tour or services, complying with legal obligations, improving your experience and facilitating our marketing activities. We do not share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes. We have a strict anti-fraud policy and take responsible steps to protect personal information such as credit card details.

Information Provided by Us
We will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that information provided is free from errors and omissions and will correct any errors or omissions once notified. We cannot, however, be held responsible for misinformation that a reasonable person could not have expected us to know. Our opinions are our own. Whilst we rigorously strive for accuracy, these opinions are necessarily subjective to some degree. Occasionally, temporary local circumstances — for example, emergency maintenance work, power cuts or off-season closure – can make advertised facilities unavailable.

Behaviour
We expect reasonable behaviour at all times. If, in the considered opinion of our representatives or suppliers, your behaviour could cause danger to yourself or others, damage or persistent offence (including racism),you will be informed of the fact, and your booking may be terminated without compensation. You may also be held responsible for wilful damage.

Customer Care and Complaints Procedure
We are fully committed to high levels of customer care at all stages of your holiday. This includes solving any problems at source to the benefit and contentment of all parties. Any complaints must be pursued as soon as possible with the supplier of the service (eg hotel manager) and our customer care department. If matters are not satisfactorily resolved, you must notify us within 24 hours, by e-mail, in a further effort to rectify the situation amicably. We provide you with appropriate contact numbers before travel and it is your responsibility to keep them safely. We reserve the right to refuse any liability or compensation if this arbitration procedure is not strictly adhered to.

Disabilities, medical conditions, allergies or dietary preferences:
It is essential that you advise us before your booking is confirmed whether you have any disability, medical condition or allergy which may affect your holiday or compromise your safety, or any special requirements as a result of any disability, medical condition or allergy so that we can jointly address the suitability of the proposed booking. Please also inform us of any dietary preferences.

Flight Times and Other Essentials
Check your flight times on receipt of your tickets carefully. Minor adjustments to flight times may be made by the airline after the issue of our Travel Voucher. We do not accept responsibility for these. You should also ensure that your travel documents, passports, visas, driving licence, insurance details and moneys are in order.

Force Majeure
We cannot accept responsibility for Force Majeure – defined in these booking conditions as any specific event which we, as the supplier of the services, could not reasonably have foreseen, influenced or avoided. These include war, or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorism, contamination, epidemics/pandemics, extreme or unusual weather conditions, volcanic eruptions, industrial disputes, changes to sports itineraries, natural and nuclear disasters, fire, flight cancellations or rescheduling by airlines or any similar event beyond our control.

Insurance
Every holidaymaker must possess valid travel insurance, and details of the policy must be stated before travel – unless we give specific written exemption. Individuals must ensure that this travel insurance offers acceptable cover for the type of holiday undertaken. We reserve the right to refuse travel for all those inadequately insured.

Inoculations
All tourists are strongly advised to check with their own medical advisers at least a month before travel on recommended inoculations, the need for malaria tablets, and to take other medical advice where their own health record suggests it is necessary.

Minor Policy
We are committed to safe travel. As such, we do not normally make arrangements for unaccompanied minors under 18 years old.
Nature of Overseas Travel
Delays, moments of discomfort and risk can naturally occur in all travel in the tropics; insects in rooms are common. A booking with us is an implicit acceptance of these facts. Clients are advised to take sensible precautions at all time, and familiarise themselves with up-to-date information from independent and reliable sources.

Negligence and Breach of Contract
We take our responsibilities under the terms of the Booking Contract seriously. But we will only accept liability for any incidents that arise as a direct result of our proven negligence, or that of our suppliers, in failing to comply with local regulations or standards, in respect of arrangements forming part of your package holiday itinerary, This includes injury, illness, trauma or death. Please note, it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us. Note: We do not accept liability for the negligence of our suppliers in the case of accommodation-only bookings where you have chosen not to utilise our holiday package service.
Furthermore, we will not be responsible for any injury, illness, trauma, financial or possession loss, damage, or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following:
The fault of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or
The fault of a third party not directly connected with the provision of your holiday which we could not have predicted or avoided or
An event or circumstance which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have predicted or avoided after taking all reasonable care
An event which is outside the scope of the stated holiday itinerary.
An event that can be classified as Force Majeure (see above)

Personal Loss, Injury and Illness (Unconnected with Arrangements Made by Us)
Should you, or any member of your group, suffer loss (such as baggage or valuables),serious illness, personal injury or death during your holiday, we, or our stated representatives, will provide sympathetic advice and guidance at our/their discretion. This must be carried out in conjunction with your personal travel insurance policy.

Price Guarantee:
We guarantee that your holiday will not be subjected to surcharges. We will not surcharge for exchange-rate fluctuations. In the unlikely event that we are forced to propose a price increase of more than 5% of the total price, you are entitled to cancel without paying a termination fee.

Representatives
Support on your itinerary is provided in the first instance by your chauffeur-guide if – as recommended – you have booked transport with us. All those who provide transport services on behalf of Charika Holidays are registered with us. Further support is available from our dedicated customer care staff in Colombo, We do not provide holiday reps.

Shopping
We never, under any circumstances, recommends or guarantees the value or the quality of any additional product not clearly itemized on the Travel Voucher and which may be purchased during an itinerary arranged in part or whole by the company, even in the case where the product may have been discussed between a client and an employee, chauffeur or representative of the company. Determining the value of a product is entirely the client’s responsibility. We have no duty to intervene in such circumstances.

Security Deposit (Villa Bookings Only)
A security deposit may be required by some villas upon arrival and paid directly to the villa supplier. The deposit will be used as security for any damages and/or additional charges incurred during your stay, as determined by the agent after reasonable advice. This amount, subject to any deductions, will be returned following your date of departure. We would advise you of this.