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GENERAL
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Pricing:
The
price for the land portion of the trip is called Land Cost
and includes:
-All accommodations in hotels, inns, mountain huts, camps
and tents; -Ground transportation in private vehicles or domestic
buses depending on the itinerary including reception &
transfer from the nearest airport; - Meals in the field as
specified in each program except for those meals in cities
or towns where the travelers will feel inclined to make their
own choices; -All trekking, horse-riding, diving, marine and
river arrangements in the field (as specified in each program)
including group equipment, permits and mules or pack horses
if specified; -Entries and park fees; -Expert leadership including
English speaking guides in all our fixed departures trips.
The guide/participant ratio varies from 1/5 to 1/10 depending
in the type of program;
Costs not included in the trip are some meals as noted in
the itinerary, soft drinks and liquor, medical expenses, cost
of hospitalization or evacuation, laundry, airport departure
taxes, visas, international and domestic airfares, gratuities
and insurance. Please refer to the trip itinerary for detailed
information on what is included and not included in the Land
Cost. If a trip must be extended or an itinerary modified
due to weather, road conditions, lack of transportation, political
or civil disputes, medical emergency or other causes beyond
our control, the associated costs including any nonrecoverable
costs are not included in the trip rates or refunds. In such
circumstances it is your responsibility to pay directly for
actual extra costs in the field (i.e. food, transport, accommodations,
etc.). Obtain trip cancellation/interruption insurance!
Prices listed on our website and marketing material are subject
to change since the trip dates and prices have often been
published more than a year in advance. Between that time and
the time of the trip's actual departure, we are occasionally
faced with exceptional cost increases or currency fluctuations
that we cannot absorb. We do everything we can to keep our
prices the same as published.
Tier Pricing:
In order to operate small groups, some trips are priced according
to the number of full-price passengers on the trip. Cascada
Expediciones staff, invited passengers as travel writers,
photographers or tour operators' representatives under a familiarization
trip and other discounted travelers are excluded from the
count for this purpose. We initially invoice you at the highest
tier level price. If the price drops due to an increase in
the group size, you will be refunded the difference.
Accommodation:
The prices correspond to accommodations in a share basis.
If the passenger is traveling alone and there is no one with
whom to share, or if he/she wishes single accommodation, then
he/she will be asked to pay the Single supplement Fee listed
in the Price-List. Accommodations in hotels are based on double
occupancy. Accommodations in tents are based on double occupancy.
The criteria for picking out the accommodations are a mixture
of comfort, security, location and local atmosphere.
Meals:
All meals on the field are included as well as all others
to be taken in places such as National Parks where the travelers
will not be able to purchase their own food or where we consider
it is not recommendable to do so. Please refer to each trip
itinerary for information on which meals are included and
not included. The meals included are shown as B=breakfast,
L=lunch, L-=box-lunch, D=dinner.
We have put a lot of effort into developing hearty meals for
our trips and are proud of the results. Each trip will have
its own particular menus depending on the local food and typical
dishes prepared in the area.
We can easily accommodate vegetarian and special diets in
our trips.
Insurance:
Travel protection is essential for your peace of mind;
unexpected medical emergencies or illness before or during
your trip and several other contingencies could make you lose
pre-paid, non-refundable trip payments. Emergency medical
transport and air ambulance during your trip to a remote location
might be extremely expensive and will probably not be covered
by your medical health plan.
That is why it is compulsory that you purchase personal travel
insurance. This insurance must cover personal accident, medical
expenses, air ambulance, loss of effects, repatriation costs
and all other expenses which may arise as a result of loss,
damage, injury, delay or inconvenience occurring during your
trip. We also suggest you to purchase cancellation and curtailment
insurance. When obtaining travel insurance, you must ensure
the insurer of the type of travel to be undertaken, especially
when "adventure activities" are included in your
trip.
There are several insurance companies offering travel protection
plans through the web. Cascada Expediciones has selected some
of them for your convenience. Click
here to check different alternatives.
Medical
& Health:
It is mandatory that clients with medical problems make
themselves known to us well before departure. The trip leader
has the right to disqualify anyone, at any time, during the
trip if he feels the trip member is physically incapable and/or
if a trip member’s continued participation will be detrimental
to the individual involved or the group. Refunds are not given
under such circumstances.
Because of the fact that Hospital facilities for serious problems
are often unavailable and evacuation can be prolonged, difficult
and expensive, it is that we assume no liability regarding
provision of medical care at any time during the trip. This
statement is included on the Release & Assumption of Risk
form provided by our company. All passengers over 65 are requested
to fill out a Medical Certificate that would entitle him/her
to safely accomplish the trip he/she is applying for. .
Physical and/or Technical Certificates:
These certificates are issued in addition to the general
medical certificate and are asked to secure a safe accomplishment
of the activities included on certain specific mountaineering
and kayaking trips.
Physical Certificate:
The following programs will require the passenger to be physically
qualified to be accepted on the trip. This is not a technical
demand but a provision towards the physical condition of the
participant and the enforcement to be accomplished during
the excursion:
High Altitude Mountain Trips: Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado,
Parinacota
Technical Certificate:
The following programs will require the passenger to be physically
and technically qualified to be accepted on the trip. This
is a provision towards the level of skills owned by the participant
and the degree of technical difficulty and risk involved on
the trip: Rafting River Futaleufú; Intermediate and
Experts River Kayaking;
Responsibilities
of Trip Members:
Trip members are responsible for understanding the conditions
implied in the Trip Itinerary and selecting a trip that is
appropriate to their interests and abilities. In order to
assist you we grade each trip with a Trip Rating. We are also
happy to discuss the trip with you, as well as provide you
with names of past participants who can discuss their experience
with you.; Trip members are held responsible for being in
sufficient good health to undertake the trip; - for bringing
appropriate clothing and equipment as advised in the equipment
list; - for following normal standards of personal hygiene
in order to lessen risk of traveler’s diseases; - for
following normal social behavior patterns with fellow trip
participants; - for acting in an appropriate and respectful
manner in accordance with the customs of areas visited;- for
completing the itinerary as scheduled (or as adjusted in the
field as necessary).
Normally the travelers will be asked to carry a day-pack containing
the extra personal belongings they wish to take such as: camera,
glasses, extra clothing, etc. In the 10day Patagonia trekking
and Aconcagua, Plomo, Parinacota, Ojos del Salado ascents,
travelers will be asked to carry their own personal items
including back pack, sleeping bag, pad, daily box-lunch and
others. The 10-day Patagonia trip offers the option to hire
a porter. In camping trips, the cooking and the cleaning will
be the responsibility of the guiding Staff and they may ask
the passenger for help in setting up his/her tent;
Reasonable changes may be made in the itinerary due to weather
conditions or if judged to be in the best interest and well
being of the participants;
Booking
Information
Reservations and Payment:
To make a booking definite on any of our regular departure
trips, the participant should be holding a 20 % nonrefundable
deposit . The rest of the total amount shall be deposited
30 days before departure. In case of booking a private departure
trip, the 20% nonrefundable deposit shall be done 60 days
before departure.
Cancellation
and Refund Policy:
If it becomes necessary for you to cancel your trip, money
will be returned less the cancellation fees charged by Cascada
plus any additional nonrefundable cancellation fees and payments
already advanced to airlines, hotels and other local suppliers.
a- Cascada Land cancellation fees for regular departures:
these are departures with fixed dates. Cancellation of the
confirmed booking outside 30 days prior to departure entails
loss of deposit, which is 20% of the total trip cost. Thereafter
the following applies:
30 - 23 days 40% of total fare
22 - 14 days 60% of total fare
13 - 0 days 100% of total fare
b- Cascada Land cancellation fees for private departures:
these are trips operated in a non-fixed date or as special
requests. Cancellation of the confirmed booking outside 60
days prior to departure entails loss of deposit, which is
20% of the total trip cost. Thereafter the following applies:
60 - 45 days 40% of total fare
44 - 31 days 60% of total fare
30 - 0 days 100% of total fare
No partial refunds will be given for unused trip arrangements
for any reason whatsoever. We therefore recommend you to take
out travel insurance to safeguard against cancellation and
curtailment.
Cascada reserves the right to cancel any trip due to insufficient
sign-up or logistical problems that may impede trip operations.
In such a case you will be given full refund of the amounts
paid to Cascada by you. Cascada will not be responsible for
additional expenses incurred by you in preparing for the trip
(i.e., nonrefundable air tickets, visa fees, equipment, medical
expenses, etc.). The refund of all land payments received
shall release Cascada from any further liability.
Payment
Procedure
In order to make a payment to Cascada Expediciones you
can use any of the following ways:
1) CREDIT CARD
Please ask for the "credit
card payment form", fill it and fax it to our office
+56 2 2151949. The accepted cards are Visa, Magna, Diners,
Mastercard and Amex.
2) WIRE TRANSFER SWIFT
Our sales representative will let you know our bank coordinates
in New York. Be sure to specify on the payment details your
full name, the trip name and date in order for us to know
from whom we are getting the money.
- Once you are done with your bank, please send us a fax or
email with the SWIFT form you kept in order to let us know
that you have already paid.
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