Our booking conditions
Your challenge booking is with Dream Challenges, The Clock Tower, 4 Oakridge Office Park, Southampton Road, Whaddon, Salisbury, SP5 3HT.
Telephone: 01590 615 708
Email: bookings@dream-challenges.com
Booking conditions for events and challenges deemed as packages, or linked travel, under the Package Travel Regulations. These booking conditions do not apply to one-day events (such as ‘Ride the Night London’) that do not include linked travel, flights, or accommodation.
These booking conditions set out the terms on which you contract with us, and this contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by English Law and the jurisdiction of the English Courts. If you reside in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may choose the applicable law and jurisdiction if you wish to.
In these booking conditions, “you” and “your” includes all persons named on the booking (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date). “We”, “us” and “our” means Dream Challenges. Dream Challenges Limited is a subsidiary of Specialist Tours Limited (company number 08395250). Except where otherwise stated, these booking conditions only apply to challenge and event arrangements that you book with us and which we agree to make, provide or perform (as applicable) as part of our contract with you. All references in these booking conditions to “challenge”, “event”, “holiday”, “booking”, “contract” or “arrangements” mean such package holiday or event arrangements unless otherwise stated.
Key Points
You enter into a booking with us when we issue our booking confirmation/invoice. If you then cancel, there will be cancellation charges. Initially, as a minimum, this may only be a registration fee, but it can go up to 100% of your total challenge costs.
In certain circumstances you may be able to make changes to your booking however charges will apply. We can change and cancel your booking.
We are responsible for providing to you the challenge or event you book, but there are legal limits.
Dream Challenges holds ATOL number 10456, issued by the Civil Aviation Authority. For all other packages, The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.
1. Booking
All information provided in the e-brochure or website is, to the best of our knowledge or belief, correct at the time of publication. We will advise you of any changes that are fundamental to the contract, or that we believe will affect your enjoyment of the challenge.
When you make a booking, you will be required to pay a non-refundable registration fee which will vary dependent on the specific challenge you are booking. This will be shown or advised at the time of booking and confirmed in your booking confirmation. It may also be necessary to collect payment at the time of booking for other (non-refundable) costs, for example flight tickets and transfers, etc. In the case of bookings made after the balance due date, we will require full payment for the challenge if there is a balance remaining.
You must be at least 18 years old to make a booking and you guarantee that you have the authority to accept, and do accept, these terms and conditions for all members of the party (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date), and in particular payment for all the persons on the booking. We reserve the right in our absolute discretion to refuse to accept any booking without necessarily specifying a reason.
A contract is made when we accept your booking and issue our written booking confirmation/invoice. If we cannot accept or confirm the booking, any money paid will be promptly refunded. On receipt of the booking confirmation/invoice it is important to check the details and if there is any inaccuracy this must be notified to us immediately. It may not be possible to make changes or corrections later, or additional costs may be incurred, which we will have to pass on to you.
To be confirmed on a challenge you must have paid in full if self-funding, met the minimum sponsorship target if choosing that payment option, returned your completed medical form signed by you and sent us proof of your travel insurance by 12 weeks before the departure date of the challenge.
2. Payment
We hold your registration fee (and any additional payment required at the time of booking) towards the full cost of the challenge (registration fee plus tour cost). The balance must be received by us no later than the final payment due date shown on your booking confirmation/invoice, as appropriate to your challenge. If you do not pay the full cost within the time specified, we may treat your challenge as cancelled by you in which case the cancellation charges shown in point 3 – “Cancellation By You” – will apply.
Registration fee payments:
A non-refundable registration fee is paid on booking of a place on a challenge.
Interim payments You may be required to make an interim payment on your challenge and this will be explained in the information online before you book. Example: The Inca Trail Trek 2024 and 2025 have an interim payment of £200 which needs to be paid 10 months before the departure date. This must be paid to continue your booking on the challenge and not paying will be taken as a cancellation by you and the normal cancellation charges will apply. Interim payments are non-refundable in the same way as the registration fee unless we cancel your challenge.
Final Balance payment: The full balance remaining after any registration fees and interim payments is due by 12 weeks prior to the challenge departure date for overseas self-funded challenges departing in 2024, and at 14 weeks prior to departure date for challenges departing in 2025.
Final Sponsorship deadline: The full minimum sponsorship will need to have been raised and donated to your chosen charity by 12 weeks prior to departure for any charity-funded place when choosing the minimum sponsorship payment option.
For some events, such as one-day mass participation events, a sponsorship deadline date of 6 weeks prior to the event date is given and will be stated on the website when booking.
Extension booking payments:
When booking an extension package with us, you will be asked to pay a non-refundable deposit towards the extension. The remaining balance for the extension must be paid by 12 weeks before the departure date along with your remaining tour cost balance, airport taxes and fuel surcharge. The deposit and balance payments for extensions packages are subject to the same booking conditions as the main challenge package and the cancellation charges described in clause 3.
Ways To Pay: We accept payment by Visa, MasterCard, cheque or bank transfer, for which no levy is charged by us. Your bank or credit card provider may charge an additional financial processing charge and we cannot be responsible for any such charges.
Please Note: If you are paying from an overseas bank account, we will charge an additional £10 for overseas bank charges incurred by us. A surcharge of 2.5% will be applied for card payments made with cards registered outside the EEA and USA.
Your Challenge Price
a) Prior to booking, the cost of the challenge will be displayed on the website.
b) We reserve the right to notify you of any alteration in the advertised or quoted price and any changes in challenge arrangements.
Note: We make every effort to ensure that the most up to date and correct prices are shown on our website. If you do not wish to accept the corrected and actual price of the challenge, we will cancel the booking and provide a full refund of any monies you have already paid. Alternatively, you may amend your booking or select an alternative challenge at the applicable and correct price.
c) From time to time we offer discounts and special offers on the price of the challenge. Please note that only one discount or special offer can be applied to any challenge at one time and multiple discounts cannot be applied.
Accommodation
Single supplements are payable for sole occupancy of a room. A single room does not guarantee the provision of a double or twin room, and in some instances may be smaller. A ‘double’ bed is often two single beds pushed together, sometimes with double bed base linen (although it is not unusual for single duvets to be provided in some hotels for doubles). In some cases where stated on the challenge webpage, you may be sleeping in a tent, lodge, open hammocks, homestay or other accommodation. In some circumstances this will be sharing with more than one other person in a communal dorm or tent for example. We will make every effort to accommodate single room requests, but this can’t always be delivered.
3. Cancellation and variation by you
Cancellation By You
If you or any member of your party wish to cancel your challenge, or if you fail to pay the full cost of the challenge within the specified time you will be liable, as a minimum, to pay the charges detailed below up to the point of cancellation, in addition to any non-refundable items*. Or, in the case of failure to pay, at the date that we deem your booking to have been cancelled. Notification from the person who made the booking must be received at our offices. The cancellation charge will be calculated according to the date this is received, or the date upon which your cancellation is treated as occurring because of non-payment.
*Non-refundable challenge costs charged for including upgraded air tickets, hotel upgrades, extensions, extra nights, transfers etc., will be charged at 100% and the charges shown below will then apply to the remainder of the challenge cost and any amendment charges are not refundable. Additional accommodation costs for reduced occupancy or other components, may be payable in the event that one or more passengers cancels but where remaining passengers still wish to travel.
Group Bookings: Cancellation charges will apply to any guests in the group who may wish to cancel in the unlikely event of cancellation by the lead passenger.
Note: If your cancellation falls within the provisions of your travel insurance policy, you may be able to make a claim that must be made direct to your insurance company.
Cancellation Charges – if you cancel your challenge:
In order to compensate our expenditure, we charge a cancellation fee according to the following scale:
2024 departures:
For bookings made before 1st December 2023:
Up to 70 days before departure: Registration fee
69 – 56 days: Registration fee and 35% of challenge costs
55 – 43 days: Registration fee and 55% of challenge costs
42 – 29 days: Registration fee and 75% of challenge costs
From 28 days to departure: Registration fee and 100% of challenge costs
For bookings made on or after 1st December 2023 and before 18th March 2024:
Up to 84 days before departure: Registration fee
83 – 64 days: Registration fee and 35% of challenge costs
63 – 46 days: Registration fee and 55% of challenge costs
45 – 31 days: Registration fee and 75% of challenge costs
From 30 days to departure: Registration fee and 100% of challenge costs
For bookings made on or after 18th March 2024:
Up to 84 days before departure: Registration fee
83 – 64 days: Registration fee, 35% of challenge costs and any invoiced flight or hotel costs
63 – 46 days: Registration fee, 55% of challenge costs and any invoiced flight or hotel costs
45 – 31 days: Registration fee, 75% of challenge costs and any invoiced flight or hotel costs
From 30 days to departure: Registration fee, 100% of challenge costs and any invoiced flight or hotel costs
2025 departures:
For bookings made before 1st December 2023:
Up to 70 days before departure: Registration fee
69 – 56 days: Registration fee and 35% of challenge costs
55 – 43 days: Registration fee and 55% of challenge costs
42 – 29 days: Registration fee and 75% of challenge costs
From 28 days to departure: Registration fee and 100% of challenge costs
For bookings made on or after 1st December 2023 and before 18th March 2024:
Up to 84 days before departure: Registration fee
83 – 64 days: Registration fee and 35% of challenge costs
63 – 46 days: Registration fee and 55% of challenge costs
45 – 31 days: Registration fee and 75% of challenge costs
From 30 days to departure: Registration fee and 100% of challenge costs
For bookings made on or after 18th March 2024:
Up to 98 days before departure: Registration fee
97 – 84 days: Registration fee, 15% of challenge costs and any invoiced flight or hotel costs
83 – 64 days: Registration fee, 35% of challenge costs and any invoiced flight or hotel costs
63 – 46 days: Registration fee, 55% of challenge costs and any invoiced flight or hotel costs
45 – 31 days: Registration fee, 75% of challenge costs and any invoiced flight or hotel costs
From 30 days to departure: Registration fee, 100% of challenge costs and any invoiced flight or hotel costs
If you have paid the Challenge Tour Cost directly to Dream Challenges.
If you cancel your booking, the cancellation charges referred to above will apply. You will receive a refund of any monies paid by you directly to DCL relating to the Challenge Tour Cost paid after deduction of the cancellation charges set out above.
If the Charity has paid the Challenge Tour Cost to Dream Challenges.
If you cancel your booking, the cancellation charges referred to above will apply. DCL shall refund to the Charity any monies relating to the Challenge Tour Cost paid by it to DCL after deduction of the cancellation charges set out above. You agree that the Charity shall be entitled to keep any such refunded monies and shall not be obliged to pay them to you.
We will observe travel advice provided by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Should circumstances dictate, we may have to cancel your booking if the performance of your challenge, or the carriage of passengers to your destination, is significantly affected by unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances. In such circumstances, we will arrange for your booking to be cancelled and for you to receive a full refund.
Variation by You
Booking alterations: If, after our booking confirmation/invoice has been issued, you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, for example your chosen departure date or accommodation, we will do our utmost to make these changes (subject to agreement by our suppliers) but it may not always be possible. Any associated costs of the changes imposed by our suppliers and any extra arrangements will be payable by you and are non-refundable. Quotes normally have a 24-hour time frame before they expire and the price is therefore subject to change. You should be aware that these costs could increase as the departure dates come closer and you should contact us as soon as possible.
Booking transfer to another person: You can transfer your existing booking to another person suggested by you (subject to agreement by our suppliers) *. Notice must be received at our offices, this can be by phone, or in writing, either by email or letter from the person who made the booking at least 28 days before departure. The replacement traveller must satisfy and fulfil any conditions that apply to the challenge, and all costs of the original booking and both you and the new traveller are responsible for paying all costs we incur before the transfer can be made by us. The cost of the transfer will consist of both an administration charge of £50 and any costs which our suppliers impose.
* If you are unable to travel, you may wish to check whether cover is provided for your cancellation within the terms of your travel insurance policy as this may incur less cost to you.
Note: Certain travel arrangements may not be transferrable after a reservation has been made, for example, some airlines may require payment of 100% cancellation charges and the cost of a new ticket for ANY variation that is made, and changes to other arrangements may incur a cancellation charge of up to 100%.
Booking transfer to an alternative challenge: It may be possible at our discretion for you to transfer to another challenge. However, this is subject to availability and the time frame of departure. You must transfer within 24 hours of notifying Dream Challenges. Payment of an administration fee of £100 per person, any associated costs of the change imposed by our suppliers and any extra arrangements (i.e. flight/room upgrades) will be payable by you.
A transfer is treated like a booking and subject to these same booking conditions from the point of you requesting the transfer.
While on a challenge: If you decide to cut short your challenge for your own reasons, or not stay at accommodation that has been booked for you, take any pre-booked meals, excursions or other challenge components, then we are unable to offer you any refund or cover any costs. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for such curtailment, so we suggest that you check the conditions and requirements of your policy.
4. Cancellation And Variation By Us
We start planning the challenges we offer many months in advance. Occasionally, we have to make changes to and correct errors and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed or cancel confirmed bookings, events or activities. Challenges to remote and, in some cases, underdeveloped parts of the world carry the risk that parts of the challenge may be subject to alterations beyond our control, sometimes at short notice. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so.
Cancellation By Us:
We reserve the right to cancel your booking. We will not cancel your confirmed booking after the final ‘balance due’ payment date, except for unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (see Point 5) or failure by you to pay the final balance of your challenge.
Minimum Numbers – Some of our challenges require a minimum number of participants to enable us to operate them. If the minimum number of bookings required for a particular challenge or flight have not been received, we are entitled to cancel it and will notify you prior to the final ‘balance due’ payment date. Please note that in such cases, we are not able to accept responsibility for any costs you may have incurred, including costs of other travel arrangements made in association with the cancelled challenge, unless booked through Dream Challenges.
We are happy to give you an indication at any time of the current number of participants booked on a challenge, but this should not be taken as any guarantee whether the challenge will or will not go ahead as booking numbers can fluctuate.
If your challenge is cancelled, you can either have a refund of all monies paid or accept an alternative challenge of comparable standard from us if we offer one (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value).
Cancellation as a result of Global Travel Disruption
If it becomes necessary to cancel your challenge as a result of global travel disruption, we reserve the right to refund the cost of your challenge in the form of credit for a limited amount of time, to be used against any other challenge with Dream Challenges. If you do not use this credit within that time, a refund would be payable. This change to the standard booking conditions would only apply if approved by the UK Government and enshrined in the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations (PTRs) as an emergency measure to support tour operators in extraordinary circumstances such as the 2020 and continued Covid-19 outbreak. The exact credit terms and timeframe would be defined by the PTRs.
Variation By Us:
It is a term of your booking that we are able to make changes to any aspect of your booking. If the change is insignificant, we will ensure that you are notified about it. Examples of insignificant changes include a change of airline or aircraft type, alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours, change of airports and/or local connecting transport, Tour Manager and changes to supplementary arrangements such as site visit, or change of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard.
Occasionally, we may have to make a significant change. If we are constrained by circumstances beyond our control to alter significantly any of the main characterises of the travel services that make up your package, you will have rights set out below.
- We will contact you and you will have the choice of accepting the change or having a refund of all monies paid. You can also accept an alternative challenge, where we offer one (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of lower value) or purchase an alternative challenge subject to availability and applicable cost. We will tell you the procedure for making your choice. Please read any notification of changes carefully and respond promptly as if you do not respond to us within the timescale given, your booking may be cancelled.
Very rarely, we may be forced by ‘circumstances beyond our control’ (see Point 5) to change or terminate your challenge after departure but before the scheduled end of your time away. This is extremely rare, if this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain these from our suppliers) or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.
We do not control the day to day management of your accommodation, and in exceptional cases it is possible that we may be advised that the reserved accommodation has been overbooked. If this happens before your departure or on arrival in a location, we will endeavour to provide accommodation of at least the same standard in the same area. If only accommodation of a lower standard is available, we will refund the difference of the price between the accommodation booked and that available.
5. Circumstances Beyond Our Control
Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation, reimburse expenses, or cover losses where the performance of our obligations under our contract with you is prevented or affected by, or you otherwise suffer any damage, loss or expense of any nature as a result of ‘circumstances beyond our control’. In these booking conditions, ‘circumstances beyond our control’ means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include actual or threatened war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity and its consequences (including suspected terrorist activity and all action taken during any “terror alert”), industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, epidemics and pandemics, unavoidable technical problems with transport, airport or airspace closures, as well as other air traffic management decisions (that may result in long or overnight delays or cancellations), fire, concert/event changes or cancellation and all similar events outside our control. This list is not exhaustive.
Brexit – at this current time and until negotiations are completed and full details are known, it is not possible to foresee any impact, changes or restrictions there may be on flight operations between the EU and the UK or the effect this may have on booked challenge arrangements.
Activities – Worldwide weather patterns are becoming ever more erratic and unpredictable. If it is not possible to operate certain excursions for this reason, we will endeavour to offer alternatives if this is possible. Such circumstances are totally beyond our control and you therefore should proceed with your booking on this basis.
Public Holidays, Sporting & Local Events – In addition to public holidays, many countries host other national or international events or there may be local festivals, which may impact on local/tourist services or travel arrangements, including the reduction or closure of facilities, route diversions etc, during your visit. We have no control over these events, and as dates and details of arrangements are often changeable year on year, it is not possible for us to guarantee to forewarn you of specific details that may be relevant to your challenge, or accept any responsibility for disruption that may be caused. During public holidays, shops, restaurants and tourist attractions may also be closed.
Third-Party Information & Websites – Your booking is based on the information supplied to you by Dream Challenges. We understand you may conduct additional research into your challenge through other third parties and associated websites, but as we have no control over such information this does not form any basis of our contract with you.
Wi-Fi – Where the provision of Wi-Fi may be indicated in a property description, no guarantee is given or implied that it will be operative during your challenge and its availability is outside our control. Some properties may charge for this service and the areas where it is available may be limited and not necessarily available in guest rooms. In all cases, no compensation or refund will be paid in the event that it is not available for whatever reason.
Dietary Requests & Allergies – even nowadays, in some destinations, basic well-known dietary requirements (such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free etc.) are often misunderstood and seldom catered for adequately, despite the best intentions and assurances from our local operators, hoteliers and restaurateurs. While we are happy to pass on any such requests, we cannot guarantee choice or availability – especially with any airline meal options. We cannot accept detailed lists of specific dietary or food preparation requests and are unable to accept any other requests (eg. personal preferences) that are not for medical or religious reasons. Note: Whilst on your challenge it is your responsibility to double check and reconfirm any allergy or dietary requirements directly with the various suppliers.
Other Hotel Guests – it is not unusual for hotels or other accommodation types to receive group bookings (sometimes with large numbers) from guests participating in conventions and conferences or other gatherings. At certain times of the year, there may be an influx of groups such as students on organised educational visits (popular during school holidays), associations or clubs. This may result in hotel facilities being much busier than usual or additional demands on hotel staff and services, but we are unable to accept any responsibility for any inconvenience caused by such groups or their activities.
Foreign And Commonwealth Travel Advice, Health, Visas And Documents
- a) Your specific passport and visa requirements, and other immigration requirements including, inoculations and health certificates are your responsibility and you should confirm these for all countries to, or through which you are intending to travel and cover all costs for this. Requirements should be checked well in advance of travel and we do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel because you have not complied with any passport, visa or immigration requirements.
- b) Essential information for British citizens (only), including health, passport and visa requirements along with up-to-date Foreign Office travel, safety and security advice can be obtained from https://www.gov.uk/travelaware. We also strongly recommend that you sign up for the latest email updates as travel and safety information can change at any point without notice.
- c) If you or any member of your party is not a British citizen or holds a non-British passport, you must check passport and visa requirements with the Embassy or Consulate of the country or countries to, or through which, you are intending to travel and consult the relevant authority for the latest travel and safety advice for the destinations you are visiting.
- d) We recommend that you consult your doctor well in advance of travel for the latest advice on inoculations and health certificates. You can also obtain the latest health information ahead of travel by visiting the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNac) website https://www.travelhealthpro.org.uk.
- Challenge Participation
It is a condition of participation in our challenges that you agree to accept the authority and decisions of our employees, challenge leaders, and agents whilst on a challenge with us. If in the opinion of such a person your health or conduct at any time, before or after departure, appears likely to endanger the safe, comfortable or happy progress of a challenge, you may be excluded from all or part of the challenge and/or we may terminate your challenge, and any additional costs incurred by you as a result of such exclusion will be your responsibility. In the case of ill health, we may make such arrangements as we see fit and recover any resulting costs from you.
Note: While there are no maximum age limits or specific health requirements on our challenges, please note that certain destinations and challenge activities require a degree of mobility and fitness to get the most out of the challenge, and completing it safely.
6. Medical details, health and fitness, and your responsibilities.
Every participant taking part in any challenge is required to complete a medical questionnaire and agree to the following:
- I understand that this challenge is physically strenuous, and I commit to achieving the required level of fitness. I have followed the training plan provided for this challenge and I am able to sustain the level of activity described in the itinerary for the duration described.
- I understand and accept that the decision of Dream Challenges doctors and staff is final and if they feel it is in the interest of my safety, or the safety of anyone else on the challenge, I may have to stop my participation in the activity.
- To the best of my knowledge this is a true and accurate description of my medical history.
- I understand that in signing this form, I am confirming that I am able to safely complete the challenge and have no medical or fitness reason that would prevent me from completing the challenge.
- I have taken medical advice from my treating doctor or GP: if I ticked ‘yes’ to any of the medical questions in this medical form; if I am over 65 years of age; if I have a pre-existing medical condition; if I am taking any medication (prescribed or ‘over-the-counter’); and if I have had hospital treatment within the last 12 months. It is my responsibility to ensure that I am medically fit to take part in the challenge.
- Dream Challenges have my permission to release this information to their Medical Consultant and if necessary, to contact my GP for further details.
- In the event of illness or accident during the event I give my permission for a Dream Challenges Event Doctor or First Aid trained event staff to initiate medical treatment and in the case of emergency to arrange any necessary medical / surgical treatment and to sign any consent form on my behalf.
- Dream Challenges has my permission to notify my next of kin if I am hospitalised.
- I will advise my insurer of my medical condition. Should I fail to do this, I understand that I will be liable for any medical costs incurred whilst on the challenge as a result of any condition not disclosed.
- I will be liable for any medical treatment costs or emergency medical evacuation costs whilst on the challenge that is not covered by a suitable insurance policy.
- It is a requirement of Dream Challenges’ insurance that we provide details of treatment received by participants for illness or injury occurring whilst on a Dream Challenge event. Signing this form will indicate that you agree to this information, which may include relevant past medical history, being forwarded to our insurers.
- Any issues or claims arising from medical treatment from the trip doctor accompanying your Challenge are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales and must be brought within the UK.
7. Our Liability To You
We make every effort to ensure that the challenge arrangements we have agreed to provide as part of our contract with you are delivered with reasonable skill and care. It is the laws and regulations of the country in which the services are actually provided which apply to your challenge arrangements and not those of the UK or your home country and any resulting complaint or claim will be judged on this basis. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as being properly provided. Please note, it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care have not been used if you wish to make a claim against us. In addition, we will only be responsible for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for agents and suppliers). Also bear in mind that standards of, for example, safety, hygiene, and quality may vary and services and transport your challenge involves may differ to the stringent standards we are accustomed to in the UK or your home country. Including for example, the absence of seatbelts on coaches contracted outside the UK as this is not always a legal requirement elsewhere.
Certain challenges involve risks and hazards of travel to and in remote and/or uninhabited areas where injury, illness, death, delay, or unanticipated events may occur as a result of forces of nature, wildlife and adverse weather conditions. Medical services or facilities may not be readily available or accessible in some parts, and the medical facilities that do exist could be of inferior quality compared to what is available at home. In remote regions risks may include but are not limited to: mechanical breakdown of expedition vehicle(s); becoming stranded in remote and/or uninhabited areas; being subjected to rugged terrain and a harsh climate; encounters with wild animals, insects and pests, and the possibility of illness, injury or death therefrom; the uncontrollable and unpredictable behaviour of wild animals in their natural habitat; the possibility of not seeing certain animals; and dangerous weather and climate conditions.
You must inform us without undue delay of any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services included in your challenge. If any of the services included in your challenge are not performed in accordance with the contract, or improperly performed, by us or the travel service suppliers, and this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements, you may be entitled to an appropriate price reduction or compensation or both. We will not be liable where any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services is due to: you or another member of your party; or a third party unconnected with the provision of the travel services in the package and is unforeseeable or unavoidable
Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury or illness, shall be limited to a maximum of three times the cost of your travel arrangements (excluding amendment charges). Our liability (if we are found liable to you on any basis) will also be limited in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to:
- a) The contractual terms of the companies that provide the travel services that made up your package. These terms are incorporated into this booking contract; and
- b) Any relevant international convention, for example the Montreal Convention in respect of travel by air, the Athens Convention in respect of travel by sea, the Berne Convention in respect of travel by rail and the Paris Convention in respect of the provision of accommodation, which limit the amount of and conditions under which compensation can be claimed for death, injury, delay to passengers and loss, damage and delay to luggage (there are strict Conditions of Carriage obligations for making claims for missing or damaged baggage that must be followed). We are regarded as having all benefit of any limitation of the extent of or the conditions under which compensation is to be paid under these or any conventions.
You can ask for copies of the travel service contractual terms, or the international conventions from Dream Challenges.
Where a carrier or hotelier would not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable international convention or regulation in respect of a claim or part of a claim, we similarly are not obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim.
Under EU law (Regulation 261/2004) you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from your airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights – see Point 11 below.
If it is impossible to ensure your return as scheduled due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, we will bear the cost of necessary accommodation, if possible, of equivalent category, for a maximum of three nights if this is not provided by your airline, in accordance with Regulation 261/2004. The limit doesn’t apply to persons with reduced mobility and any person accompanying them, pregnant women and unaccompanied minors, or persons in need of specific medical assistance, provided that you notified us of these needs at least 48 hours before the start of your challenge.
Note: this entire clause does not apply to any services which do not form part of your contract with us i.e. ‘OWN ARRANGEMENTS’. This includes for example, any additional services, including excursions, that you organise independently, or services which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where these are not organised by us as part of our contract with you. We recommend that sufficient and appropriate insurance is taken out. In addition, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description (1) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you or (2) which did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees, or where we are responsible for them, our suppliers or (3) arises out of use of our services for special projects or research whether in connection with study, employment or otherwise or (4) is connected with any business.
We further advise you, and you agree that in the event of any claim against us, that such claim shall be governed by English Law and Jurisdiction shall lie in any Court of Competent Jurisdiction in the United Kingdom and you further acknowledge these requirements and waive any objection(s) thereto.
8. Travel Delays And Carriage By Air
Should delays due to weather conditions disrupt your itinerary, additional costs may be incurred and these would be the responsibility of you, the client. You will be assisted by the airlines in accordance with the airlines’ policy on delay. We cannot accept liability for any delay which is due to any of the reasons set out in Point 6 of these booking conditions (which includes the behaviour of any passenger(s) on the flight who, for example, fails to check in or board a flight on time).
Under EU law (Regulation 261/2004) you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from your airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details of these rights will be publicised at EU airports and will also be available from airlines. However, reimbursement in such cases will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your challenge cost from us. Your right to a refund and/or compensation from us is set out in these booking conditions. If any payments to you are due from us, any payment made to you by the airline will be deducted from this amount. You are required to make any claim under this regulation directly with the airline, but if your airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Civil Aviation Authority on 0207 453 6424 https://www.caa.co.uk.
Where long flight delays result in lost challenge time, we are unable to offer any refunds for unused accommodation or other services as reimbursement will not be made by our suppliers in these circumstances, and hotel rooms are held for delayed arrivals and not re-let. We strongly recommend you have adequate insurance provisions in place to fully cover such eventualities.
We are unable to guarantee that all parties will be seated together. With some airlines it is possible to request, or in some cases, reserve certain preferred seats on the aircraft (most airlines will make an additional charge for this). We are happy to assist with this, but this is an additional service over and above your contractual arrangement for ‘carriage by air’ with the airline. Airlines reserve the right to make changes to any specific seat numbers for operational or safety reasons either before, or on the day of departure and you will be notified of any such change upon check-in. Where applicable, any additional charge made for pre-booking specific seats, will be refunded.
In accordance with EU Directive (EC) No 2111/2005 Article 9, we are required to bring to your attention the existence of a “Community list” which contains details of air carriers who are subject to an operating ban within the EU. The Community list is available for inspection at https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/safety/air- ban_en
In accordance with EU Regulations we are required to advise you of the actual carrier(s) (or, if the actual carrier(s) is not known, the likely carrier(s)) that will operate your flight(s) at the time of booking. Where we are only able to inform you of the likely carrier(s) at the time of booking, we shall inform you of the identity of the actual carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of this. Any change to the operating carrier(s) after your booking has been confirmed will be notified to you as soon as possible. If the carrier with whom you have a confirmed reservation becomes subject to an operating ban as above as a result of which we/the carrier are unable to offer you a suitable alternative, the provisions of point 5, “Cancellation and Variation by us” will apply.
We are not always in a position at the time of booking to confirm the flight timings, which will be used in connection with your flight. The flight timings shown in our brochure, on our website and/or detailed on your booking confirmation/invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration. Flight timings are outside our control. They are set by airlines and are subject to various factors including air traffic control restrictions, weather conditions, potential technical problems and the ability of passengers to check in on time. Specific instructions relating to departure and travel arrangements will be sent with your air or other travel tickets approximately 2 weeks before departure. You must check your tickets very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct and up to date flight times. It is possible that flight times may be changed even after tickets have been despatched – we will contact you as soon as possible if this occurs. Any change in the identity of the carrier, flight timings, and/or aircraft type (if advised) will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying our normal charges except where specified in these conditions. We advise that you keep check on your flights departure information on the day of departure in case of any late flight changes.
In accordance with EU legislation, we are required to draw your attention to restrictions concerning the import of food items which cannot be brought into the EU (including the UK), from outside the EU. For details please see http://ww2.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/food/personal-imports/ or contact this office.
9. Insurance
It is a condition of booking with us that you and all members of your party obtain travel insurance for all overseas and UK challenges and we strongly recommend insurance cover for all other challenges and that you do not travel against medical advice. The cost of repatriation, medical and other treatment overseas can be high and we are unable to assist in meeting those costs. You should organise it immediately when you book to ensure you have cover against possible cancellation charges, medical treatment and repatriation. Should you have your travel insurance in place we will need to know the details of your policy 12 weeks before departure at the latest. It is a requirement of your booking that you provide us with an emergency contact number while you are away stating your relationship (e.g. family member, neighbour, workplace). This is purely for your benefit in the unlikely event of you becoming ill or incapacitated on a challenge. It is also a requirement that you provide us proof of travel insurance before travelling overseas with us.
We do give details of an insurer that we have found may give you the correct cover for our challenges but you must decide whether this is the correct and adequate with advice given by the insurer or other insurance advisor. We don’t give insurance advice or necessarily recommend that this insurer or any insurer is providing you correct and adequate cover. Any contract you enter with the insurance company is a contract between the insurer and you and is not part of any contract with Dream Challenges. Any complaints, claims or amendments are your responsibility and must be discussed and resolved directly with the insurer.
10. Special Requests And Medical Conditions Or Disabilities
If you or any member of your party have any special requests, you must advise us at the time of booking. Although we will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant supplier, we regret we cannot guarantee any request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed on to the supplier or the inclusion of the special request on your booking confirmation/invoice or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met. Unless and until specifically confirmed, all special requests are subject to availability. For your own protection, you should obtain confirmation in writing that a special request will be provided (where it is possible to give this) where it is important to you.
We regret we cannot accept any conditional bookings, i.e. any booking which is specified to be conditional on the fulfilment of a particular request. All such bookings will be treated as “standard” bookings subject to the above provisions on special requests.
If you or any member of your party has any medical condition or disability which may affect your challenge or has any special requirements as a result of any medical condition or disability (including any which affect the booking process), you must tell us before you confirm your booking so that we can assist you in considering the suitability of the arrangements and/or making the booking. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking and whenever any change in the condition or disability occurs. You must also promptly advise us if any medical condition or disability which may affect your challenge develops or worsens after your booking has been confirmed.
Dream Challenges cannot provide individual assistance with boarding coaches or other forms of transport, baggage handling, walking or other personal requirements, etc. and guests should be confident that they can do these tasks unaided. We are happy to give advice and assistance with the choice of your challenge which will be dependent upon the nature of any disability. Our brochures also give a simple guide per challenge regarding the difficulty, terrain and equipment used etc. In order to ensure your enjoyment of the challenge, we ask all clients to provide full details of any disability or special requirements at the time of booking. Some suppliers such as airlines and cruise lines may request certification from your GP to confirm that you are fit to travel. We regret that we cannot be held liable for any costs you may incur as a result.
You are urged to contact our Sales department for further information if you have any difficulty in walking or mobility problems and they will be pleased to advise you on the suitability of any particular challenge but ultimately this will be your decision and responsibility.
11. Client Behaviour
When you book a challenge with Dream Challenges you accept responsibility for the proper conduct of you and your party. Dream challenges reserves the right in its reasonable discretion to terminate the challenge of any member of your party whose conduct is disruptive or detrimental to the enjoyment of other clients, or whose conduct may prejudice the reputation of Dream Challenges with our suppliers or hotel owners. In that situation we shall have no further responsibility or liability to you. The departure of a coach, ship, train, plane or other modes of transport will be not be delayed for passengers who are not on board by the stated boarding time.
12. Complaints And Assistance On a challenge
If you have any reason to be unhappy with any element of your challenge, we would ask you first to bring this to the attention of the person in charge of the relevant service, on the spot. If this is not possible please either contact our local representative or our UK office, using the number provided with your travel documents. It is essential that you do this to enable us to try and put matters right where possible. If a problem remains unresolved during your challenge you should make a complaint which must be received at our offices within 28 days of the completion of your challenge giving all other relevant information. This can be in writing, either by email or letter from the person who made the booking. We will reply to you within 28 days of receipt of your complaint. Please keep your complaint concise and to the point. If you fail to follow the requirement to report your complaint while on a challenge we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify it and this may affect your rights under this booking.
If you’re in difficulty whilst on a challenge and ask us to help, we will provide appropriate assistance, in particular by providing information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance; and helping you to find alternative arrangements and any necessary phone calls/emails. You must pay any costs we incur if the difficulty is your fault.
The terms of this contract are exclusively governed by English Law and the jurisdiction of the English Courts.
13. Protecting Your Money
We provide full financial protection for our package holidays/challenges.
- Flight-inclusive challenges (only valid for UK residents): we hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence issued by the CAA (ATOL No. 10456) which provides for your protection in the event of Dream Challenges Ltd insolvency. The price of your air packages includes the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) we pay to the CAA. This charge is included in our advertised prices. the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) we pay to the CAA. This charge is included in our advertised prices. When you buy an ATOL-protected flight or flight-inclusive challenge 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. Not all challenge or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL scheme as explained below.
- Challenges without flights arranged by us: The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Dream Challenges, and in the event of their insolvency, protection is provided for non-flight packages.
ABTOT cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if transportation was included in your package. Please note that bookings made outside the UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with Dream Challenges.
In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call our 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
You can find out more about ABTOT here: https://www.abtot.com/
14. Data Protection
To enable us to process and fulfil your booking, we will ask you to provide us with personal information including, but not limited to, name, address, email address, telephone number, details of group members that are travelling, as well as any special needs, health, medical, mobility or dietary requirements. Dream Challenges is the data controller of any personal information that you provide to us under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the UK Data Protection Act 2018.
To ensure that your challenge is appropriate for your specific needs that you have disclosed to us, for example, a medical condition or reduced mobility, we or the suppliers of your travel arrangements may require further details. We will ask for your explicit consent to collect and share this information as necessary with the suppliers of your travel arrangements to fulfil your booking.
We may pass personal information that you provide to us (including health and mobility information as explained above) on to relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements such as airlines, hotels, transport companies and local tour operators and destination management companies as necessary to fulfil your contract with us. We may also pass your personal information to the charity/charities you are fundraising for so that they may contact you to provide fundraising assistance to enable you to fulfil your contract with us.
If you travel outside the European Economic Area (EEA), your personal information may have to be sent to suppliers and other third parties outside the EEA where controls on data protection may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. This may also apply to any sensitive information that you give to us such as details of any health issues, disabilities, or reduced mobility. If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, whether in the EEA or not, we cannot properly affect your booking. We will ensure that adequate safeguards are in place before transferring any of your personal information outside of the EEA.
For other details of how we may use your personal information and your rights in relation to your personal information, please see our Privacy Policy https://www.dream-challenges.com/privacy-cookies/ for further details.
Promotional Material
Dream Challenges reserves the right to use any images and videos for Legitimate Interest to promote future challenges taken on a challenge by its employees or forwarded by any person on the challenge or connected to the challenge, on its website, in its social network marketing activities or for use in any other relevant promotional material. As you are taking part in a group event it is not always possible for us to identify individuals, especially if in a large group. Should you wish not to be included in any photographs or videos, please inform a member of staff prior to challenge departure.
Please note: We are committed to the on-going training of our staff, and this may involve the recording of telephone conversations.
By booking online, or over the phone, you are stating that you have read and agreed to our Privacy Policy which can be found by visiting: https://www.dream-challenges.com/privacy-cookies/
We are Dream Challenges Ltd, registered limited company no. 7648540.
The Clock Tower, Unit 4 Oakridge Office Park, Southampton Road, Whaddon, Salisbury, SP5 3HT.