"ON YOUR TRAVELS"   01462 672 397     8 The Wynd, Letchworth, SG6 3EN     map     about us

Tradewinds Terms and Conditions


1. Our Agreement - You must be at least 18 years old to make a booking with us and the first name person travelling on the booking must be at least 18. When you make your booking a contract is made when we or your travel agent confirm your booking. We will send you an invoice within 7 days of confirming your booking for your Package or Accommodation Only. You should check this carefully to confirm that it matches what you booked. If any element of your travel arrangements is on request, your contract with us will be a conditional contract until we or your travel agent confirm availability. You must sign a booking form at the time of making your booking which is your commitment to pay for the whole holiday. You must pay a deposit when booking which will be deducted from your final balance. You will be told the up to date price of the deposit before you book. At the date of printing the deposit is £125 per person. There is an additional deposit for wedding bookings of £100 and this is required for free weddings also. Certain destinations and bookings during some holiday and festival periods may require a higher deposit due to higher cancellation charges imposed on us by suppliers. There is an additional deposit for cruise bookings of £75 to cover higher cancellation charges imposed by the cruise lines. You must pay the balance to your travel agent or to us (as applicable) 8 weeks before you leave. If you do not, we may cancel your booking and you will have to pay cancellation charges as set out in Section B paragraph 4 or Section C paragraph 5, as appropriate. You may pay by cash, cheque or credit card. If you wish to pay by credit card, there is a 2.5% credit card charge per booking. The person signing the booking form accepts full responsibility for paying for the whole party on the booking and for keeping everyone informed of the booking details. If you pay money for your holiday to a Tradewinds appointed travel agent, they will hold that money as our agent until they pay the money to us.

2. Our Prices The prices in this brochure apply at the time of printing and may change before you make your booking. We or your travel agent will be able to tell you the price of your chosen holiday and of any other services advertised in this brochure before confirming your booking. All prices quoted in this brochure are calculated based on known costs and exchange rates as follows: AED 6.82; HKD 14.52; MUR 52.4; SCR 9.68; SGD 2.98; THB 71.85; USD 1.8; MYR 7.04; SAR 11.05. Hotel prices are based on two people sharing. Apartments, studios and other similar accommodation are priced on the share basis shown on the price panel.

3. Accuracy Of Brochure Outside the peak season it is common for facilities and services to be less widely available and we cannot accept liability for this. If we know about building work or other noise likely to affect your holiday, we aim to tell you before you leave. We have compiled the information in our brochure as accurately as possible at the time of going to press. However, as the brochure is prepared well in advance of the commencement of the programme, there may be occasions when an advertised facility or amenity is not available during your holiday. As we do not own or manage hotels or apartments, we do not have any direct control over the day to day running of a property ie. certain facilities may require maintenance or improvement, amenities may be changed, cancelled or curtailed due to weather conditions, lack of demand etc. Should facilities be altered or withdrawn for reasons outside our control, we will try to notify you of such changes if possible.

. Behaviour We can end your holiday if your behaviour or that of any member of your party is likely in our opinion to cause distress, damage, danger to or to annoy any of our other customers, employees, property or anyone else. If you were prevented from travelling because any person in authority thinks you appear to be unfit to travel or likely to cause discomfort to or disturb other passengers, we will not be liable to provide the rest of your holiday and will not be liable for any refund, compensation or any other costs you have to pay. We cannot accept liability for the behaviour of others in your accommodation, or on your flight or if any facilities are removed as a result of their action.

5. If You Have A Problem If you have a problem while you are on holiday or travelling abroad, you must report it immediately to the relevant supplier (eg hotel or airline) and/or our local representative or agent (or, if none, Tradewinds). Unless there is a valid reason why you failed to report your complaint we will not consider ourselves to be liable. In respect of Packages, if we cannot resolve the matter to your satisfaction by the time you return to the UK, you should contact our Customer Services Department within 28 days of returning home. If you do not do so, this may affect our ability to investigate complaints and may impact on the way that your complaint is dealt with. Tradewinds do follow ABTA guidelines when dealing with complaints, however as Airlines are not bound themselves by ABTA's rules, replies to Airline queries may take longer. Please do not enclose any original tickets or receipts with your initial correspondence, instead enclose copies. Disputes arising out of, or in connection with, this contract which cannot be amicably settled may be referred to Arbitration, if you so wish, under a special Scheme arranged by the Association of British Travel Agents, and administered independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The Scheme provides for a simple and inexpensive method of Arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on the customer in respect of costs. Full details will be provided on request or can be obtained from the ABTA Website (www.abta.com). The Scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5000 per person. There is also a limit of £25,000 per booking form. Neither does it apply to claims, which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The Scheme can however deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness subject to a limit of £1000 on the amount the Arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. The Application for Arbitration and Statement of Claim must be received by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators within 9 months of the date of return from the holidays. Outside this time limit Arbitration under the Scheme may still be available if we agree, but the ABTA Code does not require such agreement. There may be occasions where at the time of booking we agreed to changes to the contract terms. Other than this, no travel agent can change the terms of the contract which includes any statements appearing in this brochure, including descriptions of any hotel or apartments without our specific agreement.

6. Financial Protection The Packages in this brochure are ATOL protected and we hold an Air Travel Organiser's Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is 1179. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. Your non-ATOL protection is administered by the Federation of Tour Operators. Members of the Federation of Tour Operators (formerly Tour Operators Study Group) - founded in 1967 - provide around 90% of all overseas package holidays sold in the UK. They have provided effective financial protection to customers since 1970, and work to promote holidaymaker's interests to the governments, hotels, airport authorities and others who have a part to play in ensuring high standards of customer satisfaction and environmentally sustainable tourism.

7. The 1998 Data Protection Act And You The 1998 Data Protection Act and You - Tradewinds is a trading name of MyTravel Tour Operations Limited part of MyTravel Group plc which includes their associated companies (the "Group"). A complete list of companies within the Group is available on request. Information that you provide us will be held on the Group's computers (and in other ways) for use by us and other Group companies for the following purposes: • Booking Information: Information about you (and your travelling party) may be passed to holiday providers, border control authorities and others and may include things such as religious beliefs, dietary requirements, your (or your travelling party's) physical or mental health. This information may also be transferred abroad. • Insurance: If you apply for insurance, then we may process information (including medical information) about you (or your travelling party) and pass it to the insurers. • Statistical Analysis/Market Research • Fraud Prevention/Debt Collection • Contacting You: We may contact you via email, letter or phone with details of Tradewinds Holidays', MyTravel Tour Operations', MyTravel Groups' or selected suppliers' products and services including financial services which may be of interest to you. We may also monitor and/or record your telephone conversations with the Group for security purposes and to ensure consistent customer service levels (including staff training). By entering into a contract with us you agree to the use and disclosure of information by the Group as described.

8. Your Holiday Price The price of your travel arrangements can be varied due to changes in transportation costs eg fuel, scheduled airfares and any other airline surcharges which are part of the contract between airlines (and their agents) and us, Government action such as increases in VAT or any other Government imposed increases, currency in relation to adverse exchange rate variations. We cannot control the costs of accommodation and reserve the right to pass on any increase levied by the relevant accommodation provider. In the case of any small variation, an amount equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges will be absorbed or retained. For larger variations this 2% will still be absorbed for increases, but not retained from any refunds. In either case there will be an administration charge of £1 per person for Packages, [and £20 per person for Accommodation Only], together with the amount to cover agent's commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your travel arrangements, you may cancel your travel arrangements and receive a full refund of all monies paid, except for any amendment charges. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. Whether or not you cancel, where you have purchased a package, you will also be entitled, on the terms set out in respect of major changes in Section C paragraph 3, to accept an offer of alternative travel arrangements from us if we are able to do so, together with compensation as set out below in Section C paragraph 3. Please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency, and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.

9. Insurance It is a condition of booking a holiday with us that you take out our insurance, or another policy offering the same or greater protection. The cost of medical treatment overseas can be high, and if you do not have insurance, we will not be able to help you pay those costs.

10. Travel Documents It is your responsibility to have valid travel documents. If Tradewinds or the relevant carrier is fined as a result of you holding incorrect documents, we will ask you to pay this amount.

11. Special Requests We draw a distinction between Special Requirements which are items essential to your holiday enjoyment and Special Requests. If you advise us of a Special Requirement before you leave, we will do our utmost to honour that Special Requirement. We cannot guarantee anything with regard to Special Requests and therefore, if we cannot meet your Special Request, we will not pay any compensation.

PACKAGES -

1. Our Agreement Your contract is with and operated by MyTravel Tour Operations Limited trading as Tradewinds (ABTA V6896, ATOL 1179).

2. For the purposes of these conditions a Package means the following: A combination of at least two of the following: • Transport • Accommodation and/or • Another service forming a significant part of your holiday. These elements must be booked at the same time at an inclusive price, and for which full payment is made to us prior to departure

3. If we change your booking or cancel your Package before you leave If we change your booking or cancel your Package before you leave - We try to avoid making any changes to your Package. However we may need to make changes as our holidays are planned many months in advance. If we make any changes before you book, we or your travel agent will tell you before the booking is made. We will try to tell you about any minor changes before you depart. Flight times shown in this brochure are for guidance only and may change. The confirmed flight times will be shown on your tickets which you should check carefully when you receive them. Sometimes we may have to make major changes to your holiday. If this is the case we will always try to find an alternative of equal or superior quality and we will pay you compensation according to the table below. A major change may include the following (please note these are examples only and there may be other changes which constitute major changes): • We need to reduce your stay in the resort by over 12 hours. • We have to change your accommodation to a lower Tradewinds rating. • We have to change your holiday to a different country or different area of the same country. If we make a major change, you may accept that change and receive compensation or cancel your holiday and receive a full refund and compensation. The compensation we will pay is shown in the table below. Please note that the figures quoted are by way of guidance only and may in appropriate circumstances be increased. However, in no case will we pay compensation if the change is due to events listed in the Important Note below:

3. If We Change Your Booking Or Cancel Your Package Before You Leave We try to avoid making any changes to your Package. However, we may need to make changes as our holidays are planned many months in advance. If we make any changes before you book, we or your travel agent will tell you before the booking is made. We will try to tell you about any minor changes before you depart. Flight times shown in the brochure are for guidance only and may change. The confirmed flight times will be shown on your tickets which you should check carefully when you receive them. Sometimes we may have to make major changes to your holiday. If this is the case we will always try to find you an alternative holiday of equal or superior quality and we will pay you compensation according to the table below. A major change may include the following (please note these are examples only and there may be other changes which constitute major changes): • We need to reduce your stay in the resort by over 12 hours. • We have to change your accommodation to a lower Tradewinds rating. • We have to change your holiday to a different country or different area of the same country. If we make a major change, you may accept that change and receive compensation or cancel your holiday and receive a full refund and compensation. The compensation we will pay is shown in the table below. Please note that the figures quoted are by way of guidance only and may in appropriate circumstances be increased. However, in no case will we pay compensation if the change is due to events listed in the Important Note below:

Period of notice we give to you or your travel agent / Compensation for each full fare paying passenger

More than 56 days - NIL

43 to 56 days - £10

29 to 42 days - £20

15 to 28 days - £30

0 to 14 days - £40

Important Note Compensation arrangements do not apply to circumstances beyond our control. We can cancel or amend your holiday without paying compensation in the following circumstances: War, threat of war, riots, civil strife or terrorist activity, industrial disputes, natural or nuclear disasters, fire, airport closures, bad weather conditions and similar events beyond our control.

4. Changes after the start of your holiday Very occasionally we have to change your holiday arrangements after you arrive in the resort, in which case, we will try to place you in accommodation of the same or higher standard in the same or similar resort. We will pay you compensation as per the scale shown in paragraph 3 above. You will have the right to cancel your holiday if the alternative offered by us is not acceptable to you for good reason. In this event, you will have the right to be returned by the same means of transport to your original departure point at no extra cost provided that transport is available and where appropriate receive compensation. This does not impose an obligation on us to make specific transport arrangements for you if none are available. The Important Note in paragraph 3 above regarding compensation also applies after the start of your holiday.

5. If you want to cancel If you want to cancel your confirmed booking, the person who signed the booking form or who entered into the contract must send signed instructions to us or to your travel agent. You must pay cancellation charges on the scale shown below. These charges reflect our estimated loss as a result of dealing with your booking to the point of cancellation, and any other losses we may have to pay. You must pay cancellation charges on the scale below (for the avoidance of doubt, the cancellation charge applies to the entire cost of your holiday including the cost of any wedding package which you have booked). In the event you cancel the wedding package element of your holiday alone, but continue with the rest of your holiday then these charges will also apply to the wedding package element which you have cancelled. Once tickets have been issued, 100% cancellation charges apply regardless of the period of notification.

Period before you leave within which we receive written notice / Amount of cancellation charge shown as a percentage of the total holiday price

57 days or more - Deposit plus all amendment fees

43 to 56 days - 30% plus all amendment fees

22 to 42 days - 60% plus all amendment fees

11 to 21 days - 75% plus all amendment fees

4 to 10 days - 90% plus all amendment fees

0 to 3 days - 100% plus all amendment fees

In resort - 100% plus all amendment fees

NOTE - you may be able to make a claim under your travel insurance policy if your cancellation falls within the conditions of the policy. Insurance premiums are not refundable.

6. Our Responsibility We arrange contracts for holiday arrangements through suppliers who we have taken reasonable care to make sure have good reputations and run safe and efficient businesses. We monitor and control the performance of our suppliers and judge their performance against the standards and customs in the country where the services are provided. We will pay compensation if those suppliers fail to provide the services they agreed to provide. We will accept liability for claims for personal injury arising as a result of our staff and suppliers being negligent while in the court of their employment or contract. Excursions or any sightseeing trips which you book and pay for through us, or overseas representatives or tour managers while you are actually on holiday. We, our servants and agents are acting as booking agents for the relevant excursion providers. Excursions are not packages and are not governed by the Package Travel Regulations 1992. Unless you suffer personal injury or death caused by our negligence, we do not accept any liability for any loss or damage you may suffer from any excursion. Any arrangement which you make while you are on holiday and which are not made through us are ones for which we have no responsibility or liability. We cannot accept liability in the following circumstances. • If you or any member of your party is at fault. • If the failure is the fault of someone else not concerned with providing the services which make up the holiday which we have confirmed to you. • Any unusual or unexpected circumstances beyond our control, which we could not have avoided even if we had used all reasonable care possible. • Any event which we or the supplier of any service could not help, expect or prevent. Any sums received by you from suppliers, such as from airlines due to the Denied Boarding Regulations (in this case sums paid by the airline constitute the full amount of your entitlement for compensation for all matters flowing from airline's action) will be deducted from any sum paid to you as compensation by us. We will offer prompt help to you if you suffer any difficulty while you are on holiday. If, through no fault of your own you suffer illness, personal injury or death during the period of your holiday arising out of an activity which is not part of the holiday arrangements we have sold you, we will help sort out any claim you may have against anyone else. This may include providing translation services, communicating with authorities and others in foreign resorts. We cannot accept liability for any payment unless you have told us within 90 days of the incident that you want to make a claim and we have given our written permission. We may ask you to pay back any payment we have made if you make a successful claim against the other person or you have suitable legal indemnity insurance. If our suppliers can exclude or limit liability under any international convention, we will rely on that exclusion or limitation. Any compensation we pay for claims against us, other than compensation for personal injuries will not be more than three times the cost of your holiday. Under EU law you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from your Airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or a delay to a flight. Full details of these rights will be publicised at EU Airports and will also be available from Airlines. However reimbursement in such cases is a responsibility of the Airline and will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday/flight cost from us. Your right to a refund and/or compensation from us is set out in Clause 3 and any refunds and/or compensation from the Airline for denied boarding, cancellation or delays to flights will reduce the amounts you are refunded and/or compensated by us. If your Airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Airport Transport Users Council on 020 7240 6061 www.auc.org.uk. To the extent any refunds or other payments are due to a group member, these will be paid to the lead name and it is the lead name's responsibility to allocate accordingly amongst the group members.

7. Flight Delays Whilst we try to avoid flight delays they occasionally happen. It may be possible for you to make an insurance claim for any flight delay and/or cancellation through your personal travel insurance policy.

8. Air & Sea Carriers The liabilities of air and sea carriers are generally governed by the Montreal or Warsaw Convention (as applicable), Hague Protocol or Athens Convention. We rely on the terms and limitations contained in these conventions. Air and sea carriers produce conditions of carriage which form part of your contract both with us and with the air and sea carrier. You can get a copy of these conditions from your travel agent or from us. You must keep these conditions when you book your holiday.

9. If you want to change your booking We will always try to assist you if you wish to change your booking details, although we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. All amendments are subject to availability and any airline restrictions and you will be responsible for paying any difference in the cost of the Package which results from your requested change. For changes notified to us 57 or more days before your departure we will charge you a non-refundable amendment fee of £20 per person per change to a maximum of £200 per booking for changes made on the same day. In the event that you are prevented from proceeding with any Package for reasons beyond your control, and not simply due to a change of mind, we will allow you to amend your booking but we will require information on the reason which prevented you travelling to consider such an amendment. In such circumstances, if the change increases a holiday price by £100 or more per person, we will waive this amendment fee (except where the departure date of the booking changes, amendment fees will apply). If you change your booking within 56 days of departure, cancellation charges on the scale on page 66 will be imposed, including the 100% cancellation charge payable once tickets have been issued, as described in paragraph 5. Changes that take the departure date of the holiday beyond the current brochure validity will be treated as a cancellation, and cancellation charges on the scale above in paragraph 5 will be imposed. If you have paid accommodation supplements and the number in your booking or your accommodation changes, you may be liable for additional supplements. You may not amend from a holiday featured in this brochure to a special offer holiday. Any changes to departure date, accommodation, flight or length of holiday must apply to all members of your booking. Changes to all names on the booking will be treated as a cancellation. Insurance premiums are not transferable to another passenger. Changing your holiday to another MyTravel Group holiday constitutes a cancellation, and cancellation charges on the scale above in paragraph 5 will be imposed. Name changes, destination changes and date changes involving scheduled airlines are normally regarded as a cancellation and re-booking regardless of the notice given to us of your requested change and the cancellation charges in paragraph 5 will be imposed. Our Pre-Travel Services Department can sometimes make the necessary amendments without having to treat such changes as a cancelled booking but this option is at the entire discretion of the airline and is also subject to availability and subject to you paying the administrative charges of the airline and our usual amendment charge of £20 per person per change. To make any changes to your booking please contact your travel agent, or if you have booked direct with Tradewinds, please call Pre-Travel Services on 0870 751 0006. Please note that you must provide the full names of all passengers travelling as those names appear on the passenger's passport. This will be phonetically checked with you, and any changes to names of passengers thereafter will be deemed as a change to your booking.

10. Late Availability (a) Any late availability Tradewinds holidays which are not booked from Tradewinds Worldwide, Weddings, Dubai, Indian Ocean, Australia, Sandals, Florida or America & Canada brochures do not include special offers and reductions which are featured in these brochures. (b) Holiday insurance must be purchased at the time of booking. (c) There may also be additional charges at your accommodation for certain facilities. (d) If travelling on a late availability holiday where car hire is included, extra charges will be incurred for the purchase of the Loss Damage Waiver Insurance package payable in resort. (e) Should you book the holiday shortly before departure there may be a TOD (Ticket on Departure) charge levied for bookings with imminent departures and this will be communicated to you at the time of booking.

11. Baggage Liability for baggage while in the hands of air or sea carriers is governed by the Montreal Convention or Warsaw Convention (as applicable), Hague Protocol or Athens Convention. We rely on the terms and limitations in these Conventions. For claims for missing or damaged baggage you must follow the rules either on the back of your ticket or on the Conditions of Carriage provided by the airline you travel with (see paragraph 8 of this section). You must follow these rules. While we are in control of any baggage, we will accept liability for it if you can prove negligence. We will only pay up to £1000. We will not accept liability for high-value items, which you should insure for the appropriate amount.

12. Special Air Fares If an element of your Package is a special offer air fare, the following conditions apply in addition to the terms and conditions set out elsewhere in this Booking Agreement and in the event of any inconsistency the conditions set out below shall prevail. The special offer air fare tickets are printed within a set period prior to the date of departure. Once such tickets are printed the ticket has no refund value whatsoever. Additionally, the airline may refuse to issue replacement tickets for lost or stolen tickets and new tickets may have to be purchased by you. In addition to the standard deposit of £125 per person, you must pay a further £150 per person at the time of booking to cover cancellation charges imposed by the airline after the date on which the tickets are printed. In the event that you cancel your booking prior to the date on which the special offer air fare tickets are printed, we agree to reimburse to you the additional £150 per person paid, but not the standard deposit of £125 per person. The terms and conditions relating to "If you want to cancel" as set out in paragraph 5 will also apply. If you want to cancel your booking after the date when the special offer air fare ticket is printed, you will not be entitled to any refund of either the standard £125 per person deposit or the special offer air fare ticket deposit of £150 per person. The terms and conditions relating to "If you want to cancel" as set out in paragraph 5 will also apply. Name changes in respect of special offer air fare tickets are not permitted at any time after your booking has been confirmed. A name change will be treated as a cancellation and re-booking and airlines will charge a 100% cancellation fee and the cost of issuing a new ticket. The cost of the new ticket may be greater than the original special offer air fare ticket.


What to do in OMAN ?

Muscat City
At dusk, the lights from the old shops and mosque on the corniche provide an enchanting setting. Visit the magnificent Al Alam Palace, the Omani Museum, the colourful Muttrah Souq and the Grand Mosque.


Desert Trips
Drive into the desert and enjoy a spectacular sunset from the sand dunes of the Wahiba Sands.


Wadis
Breathtaking scenery abounds at wadis all over Oman. You can take glorious walks or swim in the turquoise pools.


Turtle Watching
For an unforgettable evening, visit the beaches of Ras Al Jinz where up to 13,000 turtles come to lay their eggs.


Cruising
A sunset cruise is the best way to see Oman's stunning unspoilt coastline. Muscat is at its most atmospheric at dusk.

    See Attractions for
    more details