The following terms and conditions are valid for all road cycling holiday bookings and form the basis of your contract with Marmot Tours Ltd. They set out our respective rights and obligations and you should therefore read them carefully before booking your road cycling holiday with us.

1. Booking procedure

To make your booking, each person must complete our online booking form. For a Raid Challenge, you must be 18+ years of age.  For one of our flexible pace Classic road cycling holidays, we will accept bookings from the age of 16+ if accompanied by a cycling parent or carer, subject to their commitment to cycle with their child.

Your booking is subject to the following conditions: You are responsible for all payments due in respect of the arrangements booked. The booking form must be submitted online with a deposit of £400 per person (unless booking 12 weeks or less before departure, in which case full payment must be made at the time of booking). In addition, it is essential you take out appropriate insurance cover at the time of booking. You must make your own insurance arrangements and you are referred in particular to clause 4 below. Upon receipt of your booking form and all appropriate payments, we will confirm your booking by issuing an email of confirmation and a final invoice. All bookings are subject to availability. The confirmation email will detail any special arrangement that we have agreed to provide and forms the contract between you and Marmot Tours. It is important that you check the confirmation email and invoice upon receipt and raise any queries immediately, as we cannot guarantee that changes requested later will be possible; if they are possible, they may incur an additional administration fee. It is your responsibility to ensure that all details contained in the confirmation email and invoice are correct.

2. Existence of a contract

The binding contract between us comes into existence when we dispatch our confirmation email and invoice to you.

3. Payment

We require a minimum payment of £400 per person as a non-refundable deposit, prior to confirmation of your holiday. For bookings made 12 weeks or less before departure, full payment is required immediately upon receipt of your invoice. The balance payment of the holiday price must be received by us not less than 12 weeks prior to departure. We will send a confirmation email and invoice upon receiving your online booking and a balance payment reminder will be sent 12 weeks prior to the trip, when the final payment is due. You will be sent information on payment options with the confirmation email. If payment is not received in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you. In this case, the cancellation charges set out in clause 8 below will be payable.

4. Holiday / Travel insurance policies

Due to the dangerous nature of adventure and activity holidays, it is a condition of your contract with us that you are adequately insured for your cycling holiday. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are properly insured. The risks listed below are set out for your consideration only and are not intended to be exhaustive. We recommend that you are insured to be covered for the list below as a bare minimum, in particular including:

(a) medical treatment and repatriation;
(b) cancellation and curtailment of your holiday (including for cancellations within the 60 day period before the start of your holiday, when cancellation charges apply;
(c) loss or theft of personal belongings;
(d) hospital benefits;
(e) personal accident;
(f) personal liability;
(g) travel delay
(h) emergency rescue
(i) legal expenses.

You must ensure that your personal belongings (including your bike) are insured up to the appropriate value as Marmot Tours can accept no responsibility for loss or damage to your personal belongings. You are strongly advised to seek advice from your insurance broker and/or your insurance company to ensure you have adequate insurance. 

You must provide us with your insurance details before the start of your holiday. If you do not have adequate insurance you will not be able to partake in the holiday. We reserve the right to cancel your holiday without compensation or refund if you fail to provide us with any information required regarding your insurance or if we are reasonably of the view that the insurance arrangements you have made are not adequate.
You agree to indemnify us from any claim whatsoever arising from your failure to comply with this condition 4.

5. Marmot Tours Ltd liability insurance

If you would like to see a copy of our Professional Indemnity Insurance (with Insurers Campbell Irvine), please contact us.

6. The cost of your road cycling holiday arrangements

The cost of your holiday and any optional extras such as single room supplement or bike hire are fixed, no surcharges will be added. Trip information includes details of what is included in the holiday cost, and of any possible extra costs that you may undergo should you choose to partake in activities not included in the holiday.

7. Changes to your road cycling holiday made by you

Should you wish to make any changes to your holiday after we have sent your confirmation email, you must advise us by email. Whilst we will endeavour to assist where we can, we cannot guarantee we will be able to meet such requests and there may be an administrative cost involved.

If you cancel a previously booked hire bike, extra transfer, or single room supplement within 30 days of departure, the amount paid will be held by Marmot Tours Ltd. In the event of you cancelling your holiday altogether, cancellation charges will apply to all aspects of the holiday (including basic cost, single room supplement, bike hire, and additional transfers) in accordance with section 8.

8. Cancellation of your road cycling holiday by you

If you wish to cancel your holiday after the confirmation email has been issued by us, you (or a member of your party) must advise us immediately by email. Cancellation charges will then be payable as set out below. Our cancellation charges are calculated to cover our costs of making your booking, our obligations to our suppliers, and the risk that we may be unable to re-sell your cancelled arrangements.

Period before holiday start date within which email notification of cancellation is received by us, and cancellation fee payable:
More than 60 days: £400 deposit held by Marmot Tours Ltd
31-60 days: 50% of total price paid or payable will be held by Marmot Tours Ltd
30 days or less: 100% of total price paid or payable will be held by Marmot Tours Ltd.

The person who agreed to our Terms and Conditions as part of their booking form is liable to pay cancellation charges as outlined in this clause.

If your cancellation charges are covered by your insurance, we will provide you with the necessary paperwork to support your claim.

9. Changes to your road cycling holiday made by us

We try to avoid making changes to your holiday. However, sometimes changes are unavoidable for reasons outside our control and it is sometimes necessary to make alterations to holiday details both before and after bookings have been confirmed. We reserve the right to make such changes when necessary.

One situation where we retain the right to make alterations is regarding those booked on a twin-share basis.  If you have not specified who you would like to share a twin room with during the booking process, then we will allocate you a roommate of the same gender.  If the person you have specified to share a twin room with during the booking process does not come on the trip, we reserve the right to adjust our rooming so that you share with an alternative client of the same gender.

On occasion, it may be necessary to make a significant change to your holiday. A significant change is typically one involving a change of your arrival or departure time by more than 12 hours, or a change of accommodation. If it is necessary to make a significant change before departure, we will advise you as soon as practicable. In accordance with the UK Package Travel Regulations we will then offer you the choice of:

(a) accepting the changed arrangements as notified to you, or
(b) purchasing an alternative holiday of a comparable standard if available (if the holiday is less expensive than the original one we will refund the difference, if it is more expensive you will have to pay the difference), or
(c) cancelling your holiday and receiving a full and prompt refund of all monies paid to us.

If the significant changes to your holiday are made for reasons that are NOT outside our control, you may also be entitled to compensation in line with the UK Package Travel Regulations.

10. Cancellation of your road cycling holiday by us

On rare occasions, it may be necessary to cancel a confirmed holiday and we reserve the right to do so. However, we will endeavour not to cancel within six weeks of departure unless you have failed to make payment in full and on time, or we are forced to do so as a result of circumstances beyond our control. Where your holiday is cancelled other than due to your default in payment, we will offer you the choice of purchasing an alternative holiday of a comparable standard if available (if the holiday is less expensive than the original one, we will refund the difference, if it is more expensive, you will have to pay the difference) or receiving a full and prompt refund of all monies you have paid to us.

In addition, if we notify you of cancellation eight weeks or less before departure, you may be entitled to compensation in line with the UK Package Travel Regulations. Note that there are circumstances in which compensation will not be payable, and no liability beyond offering the above-mentioned choices is required in the following circumstances:

(a) where we are forced to cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care, or

(b) where an insufficient number of people book your chosen holiday and we notify you that we are cancelling for this reason not less than eight weeks before departure.

In all cases, our liability is limited to offering the above choices and compensation payments where applicable. No compensation is payable if we notify you of cancellation more than eight weeks before departure. We cannot be responsible for any costs or expenses you may incur as a result of cancellation. Very rarely, we may be forced to curtail your holiday after the date of departure where circumstances occur amounting to “force majeure” as described in clause 11 below. In this very unusual situation, we regret we cannot make any refunds (except where refunds are obtained from any supplier), nor meet any costs or expenses you may incur as a result, nor pay any compensation.

As noted in section 4 (Insurance), we reserve the right to curtail your holiday if you have no suitable insurance policy arranged.

Cycling Helmets: We reserve the right to curtail your holiday if you refuse to wear your cycling helmet whilst on your bike. On completing your booking form, you agree to our condition to wear a helmet (for your own protection in case of an accident), whilst on your bike.

Default in Payment: We reserve the right to cancel your booking 10 weeks before your holiday start date if we have not received the invoiced amount due.  We will send you a reminder of payments due 14 weeks before your holiday, and a request for payment 12 weeks before your holiday. If necessary, we will send a second reminder of overdue monies.  If you do not contact us to arrange an individual payment plan, then at 10 weeks before your holiday, we reserve the right to cancel your booking.  We cannot be responsible for any costs or expenses you may incur as a result of this cancellation.

11. Unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances

We regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances. For the purposes of these terms and conditions ‘unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances’ include but are not limited to the following events outside of our control: war, the threat of war, airport/ airspace closures or other flight disruptions, epidemic & significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of a serious disease at the travel destination, natural or nuclear disaster, serious security problems such as terrorist activity, civil unrest or events arising out of political instability, industrial dispute or strikes, bad weather (actual or threatened), and UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advising against travel to a particular destination.

12. Our liability to you

We accept responsibility for ensuring that all parts of our contract with you are properly performed subject to the following exceptions. We will not be liable where any failure to perform or improper performance of our services is due to:

(a) the actions of you or another member of your party;

(b) a third party unconnected with the provision of your holiday and whose actions were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or

(c) unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (as defined in clause 11).

Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury or illness, shall be limited to a maximum of the price paid in total for your holiday with Marmot Tours. Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, or expense which:

(i) based on 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

(ii) 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.

Additionally, we cannot accept liability for any business losses. Where any claim or part of a claim concerns or is based on any travel arrangements made by us which are provided by any air, sea, rail or road carrier or any stay in a hotel, the maximum we will have to pay you in respect of that claim or part of the claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the maximum which would be payable by the carrier or the hotel keeper concerned under the applicable international convention in that situation. You must give credit for all payments due or received from any carrier or hotelkeeper which in any way relate to the claim in question. Where any payment is made to you or any member of your party that person must assign to ourselves or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party. You must also provide us and our insurers with all assistance required.

13. Protecting your money

We provide financial protection for our package holidays by way of a bond held by ABTA – The Travel Association, 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ, www.abta.com. You agree to accept that in the event of our insolvency ABTA may arrange for the services you have bought to continue, or for a suitable alternative to be provided at the same cost as your original booking. You also agree to accept that in circumstances where the travel service supplier provides the services you have bought, you agree to pay any outstanding sum under your contract with us to that alternative travel service provider. However, you also agree that in some cases the services will not be provided, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under ABTA’s Scheme of Protection (or your payment card issuer where applicable) for a refund of the monies you have paid.

14. Complaints and assistance

If you have a complaint about any of the services included in your holiday and/or need assistance whilst away, you must inform your Marmot Tours guide or our office (by email at [email protected]) without undue delay, who will offer such assistance as they are able. If the issue is not resolved during your holiday, please follow this up within 14 days of your return home from your holiday by emailing us with full details of your complaint. If you fail to follow the requirement to report your complaint during your holiday, we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify the issue and this may affect your rights under this booking.

We are a member of ABTA (membership number Y6184). We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. We can also offer you ABTA’s scheme for the resolution of disputes which is approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. If we can’t resolve your complaint, go to www.abta.com to use ABTA’s simple procedure. Further information on the Code and ABTA’s assistance in resolving disputes can be found at www.abta.com.

15. Conditions of suppliers

Please note that all services are provided subject to the conditions of the relevant supplier. Some of these conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with the appropriate international conventions.

16. Flights

We do not arrange the flight element of your holiday. It is your responsibility to make these arrangements and to ensure that your flights coincide with your required dates and times of arrival and departure (see clause 16 below). We do not accept any liability for any curtailment of your holiday because of any delay arising from your flight arrangements. We regret that we cannot offer any assistance in the event of a delay of your outward or homeward flight.

17. Transfers

Airport Transfers are included only at the specified times. If you cannot get to the airport in time to meet the transfer to which you have been allocated, or if your flight is delayed by more than one hour and this causes you to miss your allocated transfer, then we will not be liable for any costs that you incur due to alternative travel arrangements necessary for you to rejoin the trip; we expect such costs to be covered by your travel insurance policy.

18. Special requests

If you have any special requests, please clearly note them on your booking form. We will pass on requests to suppliers or other service providers but we cannot guarantee any requests will be met. Only requests relating to services or facilities provided directly by Marmot Tours can be guaranteed, provided the request has been confirmed by us in writing. Unless we have agreed in writing to provide such a service or facility, failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part.

19. Your obligations

You must consult with your doctor about your suitability to take part in the activities arranged as part of this cycling holiday, which are inherently physically challenging. In particular, you must consult with your doctor regarding any previous or existing medical conditions. All previous or existing medical conditions must be disclosed to us and to your insurance company at the time of booking. By completing the booking form you confirm to us that your mental and physical condition is sufficient and fit for the purpose of participating in the cycling holiday you have booked. We reserve the right to require the production of a medical certificate at any time prior to the commencement of your holiday.

When you book a cycling holiday with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or loss must be made at the time to ourselves or the third party concerned. If you fail to do so, you must indemnify us against any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions.

We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. If in our reasonable opinion or the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, you or any of your party behave in such a way as to cause or to be likely to cause distress, danger, or annoyance to any third party (including other clients on the holiday) or property damage, we reserve the right to terminate the holiday of the person concerned without notice. In this situation, our responsibilities towards that person (including any return transport arrangements) will immediately cease and we will not be responsible for meeting any costs or expenses they may incur as a result. We will not make any refunds or pay any compensation in these circumstances.

20. Passport and visa requirements

We regret we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any flight or into any country due to failure on your part to carry the correct passport, visa or other documents required by any airline or authority. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct travel documents necessary for your holiday.

21. Descriptions and content of website

We believe that the information, description, and details of the road cycling holidays on our website are accurate and correct to the best of our knowledge. We have given all such details, information, descriptions, and details in good faith and any changes are likely to be minor and should not affect your enjoyment of your cycling holiday.

22. Governing law and jurisdiction

Your contract with us is made in England and shall be governed by English law. You submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in England.