Airfares
Air travel is arranged with independent airlines. Botanica will arrange air travel as advertised in connection with your holiday package or otherwise arranged with Botanica. All airfares are subject to flight and booking class availability. Airfares will be booked and ticketed upon receipt of your deposit to avoid price or tax increases. Airport taxes vary for each departure point and routing of airline. Airline schedules are subject to change without notice. Once air tickets are issued, airline amendment and/or cancellation fees apply and, in some cases, are non-refundable. Name changes and voluntary date and schedule changes will incur fees. Botanica is not liable for delays or disruptions of air travel. Once tickets are issued Botanica will have no other liability and will not be responsible for refunding the cost of any services booked in conjunction with the flights.
Airline Loyalty Points Eligibility
Botanica uses the services of a range of airlines in its packages. Botanica does not warrant that its airfares attract loyalty points as airlines control the application of loyalty points in all cases. Requests to use loyalty points to upgrade travel need to be directed to the airline concerned by the member.
Travel Insurance
Travel Insurance is not included in your holiday package. For your protection, you are required to purchase comprehensive travel insurance that includes (without limitation) coverage for the full cost of your holiday package, medical expenses, loss of luggage, land content and airfare charges that may occur due to cancellation, impossibility of performance or other frustration, disruption, loss of deposit or strikes.
Travel Information & Documents
After booking you will receive an invoice with all important information relevant to your holiday package. We strongly recommend you check the details carefully and read the included information. Please ensure that you check your flight timings carefully on your tickets, particularly early morning departures. Approximately 21 days before departure you will receive your e-ticket together with your final itinerary. However in the case of late bookings, charges or late payment, tickets may be emailed to you.
Special Requests
Where a special request (e.g. diet, room location, twin or double bedded room, a particular facility at a hotel, flight seat requests and/or particular meals) is an important factor in your choice of holiday, you must advise us when your booking is made. Botanica will pass your request onto the hotel, airline or other supplier but cannot guarantee that it will be accommodated. Botanica will also pass on any dietary requests to the airline but we strongly recommend that you check directly with the airline once your tickets have been issued. The provision of any special request does not constitute a term of your contract with us. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed on to the supplier or the inclusion of the special request on your 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.
Credit & Debit Card Surcharges
If you pay Botanica by credit or debit card, surcharges will apply. In the case of credit cards a surcharge of between 1% and 3% (depending on the card used), will be added to the tour price. In the case of debit cards a charge of 0.45% will be added to the tour price.
Accuracy
Botanica has endeavoured to ensure that the information provided about accommodation, itineraries etc., is correct to the best of its knowledge at the time of publication. However, advertised descriptions and facilities and prices may change after publication. We recommend that you confirm the details of your chosen holiday package at the time of booking. Additionally, flight times, carriers and routes are given for guidance only as there may be changes. Final details will be shown on your tickets. Holiday package or excursion itineraries may change or be different from those described in our collateral as a result of local conditions, weather conditions, annual events. Botanica will endeavour to notify you of any significant changes prior to your departure.
Flight Changes
The flight timings detailed on your confirmation invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation. Flight timings are set by airlines and affected by events outside our control. Scheduled and charter flight timings, and days of operation are also subject to change. Botanica will advise you of any significant changes as soon as it is informed by the airline. Minor timing changes will be shown on your flight tickets. Any change in the identity of the airline, flight timings or aircraft type (if advised) will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying any applicable cancellation fees except where specified in these booking conditions.
Out of Date Range Flights
If airlines have not published their schedules or airfares at the time of your booking, Botanica will estimate the cost of airfares connected with your holiday package. When the airline releases flight inventory and airfares, Botanica will confirm seats and pricing by sending you an updated invoice. Once flights have been confirmed by you and payment has been received, Botanica will issue your tickets.
Force Majeure
Force Majeure event means the occurrence of an event that is beyond Botanica’s reasonable control and which could not have been reasonably prevented by Botanica, which includes, but is not limited to: (a) war, armed conflict, criminal damage, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity or the threat of any such acts; (b) natural disaster (including but not limited to flooding, fire, earthquake, landslide), adverse weather conditions, high or low water levels; (c) nuclear or other industrial accident causing environmental pollution or contamination; or (d) change in law, meaning, enactment, amendment (including repeal) in the law or administration of any law in Australia or any jurisdiction or territory relevant to the booking contract, which includes changes in statute, regulation, determination, by-law, declaration, license and the common law as applicable from time to time, including changes or amendments in regulations or access to services, sites or countries caused by declared epidemic or pandemic events.
Termination of Booking Contract or Change of Travel Arrangements due to Force Majeure
If Botanica, in its reasonable opinion, considers that any Force Majeure event prevents Botanica (whether directly or through its employees, contractors, subcontractors and agents) from lawfully or safely providing any products or services subject of the booking contract with you, Botanica may immediately by written notice: (a) terminate the booking contract (in whole or in part); or (b) change your travel arrangements as reasonably practicable to ensure your safety and invoice you for any additional costs.
Limitation of Liability in the Event of Force Majeure
In the event that Botanica cancels or changes your travel arrangements in any way due to a Force Majeure event, Botanica will not be liable to you in contract, tort, statute or restitution for any loss (including, but not limited to, loss of deposit or purchase price and loss of enjoyment), damage, costs, charges, expenses or injury resulting from or in connection with (whether directly or indirectly): (a) the cancellation or change to your travel arrangements; or (b) the Force Majeure event. Botanica is not liable to refund any part of the deposit or purchase price paid by you if Botanica subsequently changes or cancels your travel arrangements in connection with a Force Majeure event.
Force Majeure events are unpredictable and beyond Botanica’s control. As you are required to purchase travel insurance to adequately protect yourself against these risks, your policy needs to respond to these risks.
You acknowledge and accept that these terms are reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate interests of Botanica based on expected non-recoverable costs and expenses to be incurred by Botanica, including but not limited to overhead expenses and works or services performed personally by Botanica, leading up to the commencement of the holiday package, alternatively prior to the Force Majeure event.
Local Purchases
Botanica is not responsible for any items you may purchase locally i.e. jewellery/furniture etc. You acknowledge that you are solely responsible for any import duty or freight costs.
Personal Belongings & Lost Items
For security reasons, valuables should be kept to a minimum and packed in your hand luggage along with your medicines. It is your responsibility to look after your property at all times and you must ensure you are adequately covered by comprehensive travel insurance in the event of any loss.
Data Protection Policy
Any personal information (including sensitive information and health information) that Botanica obtains and retains from you or about you is necessary for our business purposes. Our Privacy Policy details why we collect this information, who we may disclose it to (including overseas recipients), and the main consequences if we do not collect it. Our Privacy Policy also contains information about how you may seek access to, or correction of, the personal information held about you, and our complaint resolution procedures. Our Privacy Policy is available at www.botanica.travel/privacy or by request to us. By providing personal or sensitive information to us, you are agreeing to the terms of our Privacy Policy.
Limitation of Liability
1. Our holiday packages include the services of independent providers, such as hoteliers, airlines, cruise companies and other operators, who are not agents, servants or employees of Botanica. Although we take care in selecting the independent service providers and the optional excursions conducted by some independent service providers, Botanica is not responsible for the conduct of the independent service providers, their servants and agents or for any ramifications of that conduct. Optional excursions may, depending on your holiday package, include activities such as climbing, exploring, bike riding, swimming and snorkelling. You accept and assume the risk involved with these activities.
2. If, in the opinion of any representative of Botanica, your mental or physical condition, or general behaviour is such as to affect your own health and safety, render you incapable to care for yourself, cause you to become a hazard to yourself or other passengers or result in you becoming objectionable to other passengers or staff, you will not be permitted to embark or continue on the whole or any part of the holiday package. Botanica representatives are empowered to ask guests to depart a holiday package if they are displaying known COVID-19 symptoms. Abuse or harassment of any kind toward crew, contracted suppliers or other guests may result in immediate removal from a holiday package. Guests will be responsible for arranging and paying for their own transport home if they are asked to leave the tour. Botanica is not liable to you for any costs associated with such decision and you will not be refunded for any part of the holiday package.
3. Botanica accepts no responsibility for any death, injury, illness, loss (including loss of enjoyment), damage, detention, delay (including mechanical breakdown) beyond its control.
4. Any term, condition or warranty expressed or implied by statute or otherwise in respect of the holiday packages contained in any of our collateral are excluded to the full extent permitted by law. Nothing in these booking conditions excludes, restricts or modifies the application of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) as amended, consolidated, supplemented or replaced.
5. To the full extent permitted by law, Botanica’s liability arising under or in connection with these booking conditions: (a) is limited to the re-supply of the products or services or the payment of the cost of re-supply of the products or services to you; and (b) excludes liability for any indirect or consequential losses suffered by you or any third party, howsoever caused, including but not limited to pure economic loss or any special, extraordinary or punitive damage to you or any other party.
6. Your travel agent will forward deposits and other payments to us on your behalf, but your travel agent is not our agent for the purpose of receipt of monies. Receipt of deposits and subsequent payments by the travel agent does not constitute receipt of those monies by us and the travel agent has no authority expressed or implied to receive monies on our behalf. There is no liability on the part of Botanica in respect to any monies paid to your travel agent unless and until Botanica notifies you (by way of a booking confirmation advice or payment receipt advice) that monies have been received by Botanica. Botanica reserves the right to cancel any ticket or booking or refuse to carry any passenger where payment has not been received by Botanica within the specified time.
7. Specific meal requests are requests only and cannot be guaranteed.
Medical Assistance
Botanica does not employ medical staff on its tours. If you require medical attention, local medical services can be contacted immediately. You are responsible for all charges that result from a visiting a medical facility, or for a medical practitioner visiting you. Botanica is not responsible for the type or quality of the medical services you may receive.
Smoking
Government regulations forbid smoking in tourist coaches however frequent stops are made for those wishing to smoke. Smoking is not permitted in hotel rooms or ship cabins. Requests for smoking/non-smoking rooms will be passed on to hotels but cannot be guaranteed.
Responsible Service of Alcohol
Our staff are trained in the responsible service of alcohol and are obliged by law to refuse service to any guest who, in their reasonable opinion appears to be intoxicated or behaves in an aggressive or offensive manner.
Service Enquiries
If a problem occurs during your holiday you should, in your own interests, advise your tour director so that steps can be taken to resolve the matter. If you remain dissatisfied, any complaint must be made in writing to Botanica within 30 days.
Luggage Limits
Each passenger is entitled to take one piece of luggage that does not exceed 160cm (63 inches), or weigh more than 20kg (44 pounds). Some journeys may have different requirements and this will be advised in your documentation prior to departure. Dimensions for checked baggage are calculated by adding together the width, height and depth of the piece of baggage. An extra charge will be imposed to cover porterage handling of any additional luggage. Your tour director will advise you of the exact additional charge.