LAST UPDATED: 26 June 2020.
No doubt you’re wondering how your holiday plans will be affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These are unsettling times for all of us but here at Marmot Tours, we want to reassure you that we’re following the advice of the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and ABTA, and closely monitoring this as the situation develops.
We are also monitoring the airlines and flight cancellations, as well as country quarantine policies, and considering how these will affect each departure individually.
We understand that many people are anxious at present and that this isn’t helped by the ever-changing landscape of this pandemic. We completely understand that you may have queries regarding your holiday plans and how they may be affected by the current situation. It’s our mission to leave no stone unturned when it comes to planning your holiday and helping you have the very best possible experience on two wheels. We also care deeply about the Marmot community and our many loyal clients, so we’ve put together a few Q&A’s which are typical of the queries we’re receiving at the moment.
The UK FCO has advised against all non-essential travel worldwide for an indefinite period, and as we are a UK company, we must adhere to this guidance. At present, we’re still hopeful that our holidays will go ahead as planned but we realise that this situation is developing rapidly and may change, so we will post any updates on this page. It goes without saying that the safety of our clients, guides and staff is of paramount importance to us. We would advise you to read the current advice from the FCO here. As members of ABTA we are also taking their advice and you can read some helpful information they have compiled here.
“Is my European cycling holiday still going ahead?”
The UK FCO is currently advising against all non-essential travel worldwide for an indefinite period, and other countries have their own travel bans in place for their citizens. We’re still hopeful that most of our trips will go ahead as planned, but this may change. If the UK FCO advises against all but essential travel to your holiday destination 30 days before the start of the holiday, then we will naturally (and very sadly) be unable to run the trip. In this instance, please be assured that we will refund you in accordance with the regulations stipulated by ABTA at the time.
Sadly, we have now been forced to cancel all our trips departing throughout May, June and July so if you were due to go on holiday with us then, we will have already been in touch with you.
We are still ever hopeful that our trips from August onwards will go ahead as expected. If we haven’t contacted you about your holiday that’s taking place from mid-July onwards, then currently it’s going ahead as planned, though this may obviously change, depending on the advice from the UK FCO. If this happens, we will be in touch with you no later than 30 days before the start of the holiday to discuss your options. We ask that you please bear with us while we get in touch with everyone personally.
“I’m not sure I want to go ahead with my holiday. What are my options?”
If you choose to cancel your holiday, then our normal Terms & Conditions do apply. You can read them here.
However, we appreciate that some of you have concerns about travelling this year – maybe you’re a non-UK client and are facing different travel restrictions imposed by your own country, or you may be vulnerable and already know you don’t want to or can’t travel at all this year. Whilst we’re still hopeful that we’ll be able to run your upcoming 2020 holiday, we’ve listened to your comments and can now confirm you can rebook on any of our 2020 or 2021 trips (with no admin fee) as an additional option, as long as you inform us at least 30 days prior to the departure date of your current booking.
“Can I use my deposit on another trip in the future?”
Yes, you can transfer your deposit to another available holiday within 2020 or 2021, as long as you let us know 30 days in advance of your original holiday departure date. Please note there is limited availability on 2020 trips now, but all our existing itineraries for 2021 are now published on our holidays page (we’ve also got some new, exciting itineraries in the pipeline so keep checking back for these!)
If you would like to do so, please email us your preferred holiday dates so we can pencil you in for a spot. You’ll then be able to make your booking on the Link and we’ll transfer any monies already paid to your new holiday. Please note that due to the impact of the pandemic we will need to increase the deposit amount to £400 from 1st August 2020 onwards. However, for any bookings we receive before then, the deposit will still be £300.