We strive to make our policies clear and concise. Please read the following clauses carefully before placing a booking with us. If you do not agree with these terms or do not understand them, please contact us at hello@banjotours.com. Only place a booking if you agree with all these terms.
1. CONTRACT
All bookings you make on this website are made between you (referred to as “you, customer, passenger, client, pax”) and Banjo Tours (referred to as “we, us” in this contract). By booking a ‘service’ with us, you are considered to have agreed to the present Booking Conditions which are legally binding and your booking will be accepted by us on this basis.
2. PRICING STRUCTURE
All prices published on our website are final. We offer two different pricing options for most of our services:
- Option a) simply book a trip by paying the corresponding price according to YOUR party size (e.g. if the 'per person' price based on a group of two, on a Standard tour is USD 955 each, your final price will be USD 955 x 2 = USD 1910). Upon placing your booking and payment (full or deposit), your departure is 100% confirmed on the date of your choice. You may choose to keep your group OPEN in case other people want to join you on your same date (trip will be shared) and if that is the case, your final balance will be adjusted according to the final size of the party or a refund for the difference will be provided. Alternatively, you may choose to keep your group CLOSED which will essentially make your group private (no others allowed to join, no price difference/adjustment).
- Option b) if you would like to reduce your price, you may join an existing OPEN/AVAILABLE group (if available on your date) or attempt to start a new shared group. You may join or request to open a date before committing to a booking/payment. We will publish a date on our website but note that this does NOT guarantee departure until a booking and payment have been placed. Your final price will be dependent upon the final number of participants in your group.
3. DEPOSIT PAYMENT FOR MULTI-DAY TRIPS AND/OR OTHER SERVICES REQUIRING A DEPOSIT
You are required to pay a minimum, non-refundable deposit per person for our multi-day tours and other services in order for your booking to be confirmed. The amount of this deposit varies according to the type of service (most 50%) but you are informed of this amount at all times. By agreeing to pay the required deposit, you and Banjo Tours agree to the following:
- You agree that by paying the deposit, you are confirming your participation in the tour, trip, activity and/or service and that all deposits made will be non-refundable (see our Cancellations and Refunds policy).
- We agree that by receiving a deposit payment from you, we are obliged to fulfill the tour, activity or service that you paid the deposit for, upon receipt of the applicable balance, unless the tour, activity or service is cancelled either by you or us according to our Cancellations and Refunds policy.
Please note that if you are joining a group on a shared-basis, payment of a deposit does not automatically guarantee your participation in the service/trip until the rest of participants have completed their payment. In the case of private groups, your deposit payment DOES guarantee your departure immediately unless it is not possible for us to run the trip for reasons outside of our control in which case our Cancellations & Refunds policy will apply.
NOTE: No service/trip/tour can be confirmed without prior deposit payment. It is not possible to pay on the first day of the service/trip/tour. Do not consider your booking as "Confirmed" if no payment has been received by us before the departure date.
4. BALANCE
Balance must be paid in full no later than 15 days before departure (except in certain cases when a different deadline was requested and accepted/confirmed by us; e.g. customer(s) requested cash payment in which case it is possible to pay up to 24 hours before departure at our La Paz office, see below) . The method of payments accepted are:
- Credit card - via email invoice, will be sent by us to the booker's registered email address (see clause 17)
- PayPal - via email invoice or by manually entering the payable amount in the following secure website: https://www.paypal.me/banjotours
- Cash - can be paid in USD or BOB (Bolivianos at the official exchange rate) in our office in La Paz only until 24 hours before departure (if you cannot make this deadline, pay credit card or PayPal)
5. FIXED-DATE DEPARTURES
Some of our trips have a set departure date/price that is provided by us based on factors that make it necessary to do so for the convenience of our customers (e.g. season, weather, demand, etc.). These dates generally cannot be modified (unless customer opts for a 'private' departure). These trips can only depart as long as the minimum number of participants has been reached or if the client changed his/her booking to a flexible, private departure date.
In the unlikely event that you are booked for a fixed-date departure and we are not able to reach the minimum number of customers necessary making it impossible to run the trip/service, we will offer you an alternative date, private flexible departure or a refund if applicable. Dates are least flexible when forming groups of unrelated people in order to make up a group and make a departure/price viable. Customers might need to change their preferred dates if able, in order to join a larger group for the departure to become viable.
Most trips have a flexible departure date. The departure date may be requested by our customers or suggested by us, but the actual departure could take place on any given date of the year (except on selected national holidays which we will advise).
Dates are completely flexible when requested on a private-basis by our customers (e.g. customer selects his/her date of choice). Please be advised that in order to qualify for a flexible, private departure, customers must pay the corresponding amount according to their group size.
7. PRIVATE AND SHARED SERVICES/TRIPS/TOURS
All services offered by Banjo Tours are on a private-basis by default, unless specifically requested otherwise by a customer. On a private trip, no third parties will be allowed to join the group and all transport, accommodation, guiding, etc. will be provided for the customers who requested such private service/trip/tour only (vehicles, hotel rooms, etc will be private except when otherwise stated on the service/trip/tour description page).
On the other hand, if you requested to book a "shared" service/trip/tour, you agree to share vehicles, boats, guides, restaurants, accommodation and other facilities with other customers and local people if applicable. Banjo Tours does not discriminate against personalities, nationalities, religion, sexual orientation, language, ethnic background or political views of any of the other participants if you choose to join a group. You do so by free will and at your own risk but we will naturally ensure at all times that a respectful and responsible relationship exists among all participants to the best of our ability.
8. FULL PAYMENT FOR DAY TRIPS AND OTHER SHORT SERVICES
For some of our tours and/or services, full payment is required at the time of booking. This is the case for most day trips and day tours. Upon receipt of total required payment, the tour and/or service has a status of CONFIRMED and you agree to the following:
- You agree that by making full payment, you are confirming your participation in the tour, activity or service required and such payment is non-refundable (see our Cancellations and Refunds policy) and that in the case of a cancellation a written cancellation request must be received by Banjo Tours.
- We agree that upon receipt of payment in full, we are obliged to fulfill the trip/service in a timely manner, unless we have to cancel for a valid reason in which case the service is considered “CANCELLED BY US” and a refund or credit may be applied according to our Cancellations and Refunds policy
9. SOLO TRAVELLERS
Solo travelers are welcome to book all of our tours or request tailor-made services. Solo travelers must be aware that most tours require a minimum number of customers booked in order to depart but they can also depart with a minimum of one person provided the person is willing to pay the respective price for one passenger.
Alternatively, solo travelers should try to encourage other people to join him/her given that prices are lower the more people in the group. We attempt to form groups in order to allow solo travelers to join an existing group or form a new one in order to make his/her payment lower but we cannot always guarantee this.
10. CANCELLATIONS BY BANJO TOURS
We may cancel a tour or service at any time prior to departure. A cancellation at any time prior to departure is possible if, due to social and political instability, terrorism, natural disasters, and other events beyond our control, it is not possible for us to operate the planned tour or service.
If we cancel a tour and/or service for reasons under OUR direct control, you have the ability to transfer the amount paid to a different departure date or receive a refund according to our Cancellations and Refunds policy.
In circumstances where the cancellation is due to events outside our reasonable control such as social conflict, political instability, terrorism, natural disasters, cancelled flights, road closures and other events beyond our control, refunds will not be offered (see Cancellations and Refunds policy). Banjo Tours is not responsible for any incidental expenses that you may have incurred as a result of your booking including but not limited to visas, vaccinations, travel insurance or non-refundable flights.
11. CANCELLATION BY THE CUSTOMER
If you cancel some of or your entire tour and/or service, your forfeit any deposits paid unless the cancellation was made within 24 hours of placing your booking and it is more than 30 days before departure (if booking was placed less than 30 days before departure, you have a window of 12 hours to cancel without any penalty). After 24 hours have passed, all deposits are non refundable under any circumstances. Please see our Cancellations and Refunds policy for details.
12. BOOKING AMENDMENTS
If you would like to switch from one tour to another or transfer your booking to a third party you must notify us at least 30 days prior to the proposed departure date but we cannot guarantee availability nor that we will able to honor your request (amendments are not possible for bookings made less than 30 days). There will be no switching or transfer fees so long as there is no change in the type of service or departure date and availability exists on a different date or group.
Transfers to a third party are only permitted where the transferee meets all the requirements in relation to the trip.
13. CLAIMS AND COMPLAINTS
Should you have any complaint about any tour or service provided by us, you must notify us upon completion of the tour, trip or service. Address your complaints or claims to admin@banjotours.com
14. DEPARTURE GUARANTEE
All of our services/trips/tours are guaranteed to depart once they have one fully-paid traveler (private-basis, based on the applicable rate) unless minimum group size is specifically stated on the tour or service page/email (shared-basis). In cases where you may have made a deposit and we were not able to fill a tour with the minimum number of people (shared-basis), we reserve the right to cancel the tour at our own discretion and you will be communicated in due time, as well as receive a refund (if applicable) of your deposit according to our booking conditions.
15. ACCEPTANCE OF BOOKING AND CONFIRMATIONS
Once we accept your booking you will be issued a confirmation invoice/ticket via email. A contract will exist between us from the date we issue this confirmation invoice/ticket. Please refer to your confirmation email for details regarding final payments (balance, etc.).
16. NO-SHOW
If you fail to show at the agreed place for a pre-booked trip, tour or service, there will be no refund of any deposit or payment that you might have made. See our Cancellations and Refunds policy for more details.
17. PAYMENTS AND CREDIT CARDS
All credit card payments are processed by our secure payment processors Stripe and PayPal. All major credit cards and certain debit cards are accepted. There are no additional fees to the prices we publish and/or confirm when you request a booking with us (except in cases when we specifically state otherwise). You do not need an account with PayPal in order to pay with your credit card, but you may be required to sign up for a new account depending on the country from where the booking is made. All payments are processed on a secure, external system and therefore, your payment information is not visible to us at any time; thus, we do not store your credit or debit card information in our servers as we never have access to it.
18. YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
In order for us to confirm your tour or service you must provide all requested details at the time of booking. Necessary details may include all or some of the following: full name as per passport, date of birth, nationality, passport number, passport issue and expiry date and any pre-existing medical conditions you have which may affect your ability to complete your travel arrangements. Your booking cannot be confirmed without provision of these details. We will not sell, reveal or make wrong use of your personal information according to our Privacy Policy.
19. INCLUSIONS
All our tours and services include what is specifically stated on the product/service page, which typically is:
- The services of a tour guide or group leader in our multi-day trips according to the package of your choice
- All accommodation as listed in the What’s included section of the tour page
- All transport as listed in the What’s included section of the tour page
- Meals as listed in the What’s included section of the tour page
20. EXCLUSIONS
Anything not listed in the What’s included section of the tour/service page is deemed to be under your responsibility including:
- Airport transfers, taxes and excess baggage charges unless otherwise specified
- Meals other than those specified in the What’s included section of the tour page
- Regular and alcoholic beverages other than those specified in the What’s included section of the tour page
- Travel insurance
- Personal expenses and extra services or tours
21. TRAVEL INSURANCE
Travel insurance is compulsory for all travelers taking a tour, trip and/or service with Banjo Tours. Your travel insurance must provide cover against personal accident, death, medical expenses and emergency repatriation. We will not ask to see proof of your insurance for our day trips and day tours, although you are/will be notified that you must have insurance. For multi-day trips you must provide proof of your travel insurance prior to commencing the tour. If you fail to acquire appropriate travel insurance, you book at your own risk and in the unlikely event of a medical emergency, accident or event of that nature, you are solely responsible for your own expenses.
22. ACCEPTANCE OF RISK
You acknowledge that the nature of our tours and services is adventurous and participation involves a degree of personal risk. You will be visiting places and taking part in activities where the physical and psychological challenges may be greater than those you may be used to on a regular basis.
It is your own responsibility to acquaint yourself with the social, language and political issues of our country and you acknowledge that your decision to take our tours and/or services is made taking into consideration this information and you accept that you are aware of the personal risks involving participation in these activities. By placing a booking with us, you explicitly agree to our Waiver Release of Responsibility which is legally binding.
23. CHANGES AND FLEXIBILITY
You acknowledge that the nature of our tours and/or services requires considerable flexibility and you should allow for alternatives. It is understood that the itinerary provided for each tour and that the route, schedules, itineraries, amenities and mode of transport may be subject to alteration without prior notice due to local circumstances or events within or outside our control. Any changes will be notified in a prompt manner to you and will be done for the benefit of all the participants.
24. APPLICABLE LAW
These Booking Conditions, Cancellations and Refunds policy as well as our Privacy Policy are governed by the laws and policies of the Plurinational State of Bolivia and any legal disputes or claims are governed by the laws of this country.