GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

On this web site/homepage two different types of tours are offered, namely; individuals tours arranged by bapato.com themselves and full organized tours arranged by bapato.com, backpackers or other partners of bapato.com. For each tour booking the responsible Tour Operator is named. For tours arranged by other partners or backpackers but for which bapato.com only acts as agent, the terms and conditions of the operator of the tour apply, and for such tours bapato.com does not accept liability.

1. THE BOOKING
   
   
   1. All prices and services are correct at the time of printing. All prices, services and departures are subject to change without prior notice. bapato.com reserves the right to alter the published price of any tour due to increasing tariffs, costs and entry fees or changes of exchange rates, such amounts shall be determined at the sole discretion of bapato.com. bapato.com reserves the right to decline any booking without outlining its reasons therefore.
   2. With the booking of a tour, the traveller enters into a binding contract with bapato.com. The contract is also binding on all fellow travellers on whose behalf the traveller has made the booking and he/she has to accept the responsibility for their contractual obligations, like for his/her own. The contract becomes effective when bapato.com accepts the booking. bapato.com will provide the traveller with a confirmation of the tour in writing or in electronic form either at the time of accepting the booking or immediately when the travel contract is settled.
   3. bapato.com will not accept any booking where the booking or indemnity form is unsigned or incomplete in any respect. Should the contents of the confirmation of the tour deviate from the contents of the booking, it implies a new proposal from bapato.com. In such a case, the travel contract, based on the new proposal, becomes effective only when the traveller explicitly expresses his/her acceptance of the new proposal through, for example, payment of the travelling costs.
   4. No booking shall be considered confirmed until a written confirmation slip has been sent to the agent or client and the full amount due paid and all cheques honoured.
   
   
2. DEPOSIT & PAYMENT
   
   
   1. At settlement of the travel contract a non-refundable 20% (twenty) deposit of the travelling costs is payable.
   2. This amount forms part of the payment for the trip and shall be offset to the total amount charged to the client or agent.
   3. The balance is to be paid not later than 6 (six) weeks prior to commencement of the tour, bapato.com reserves the right to treat the booking as cancelled and the deposit shall be forfeited.
   4. In case of a short-notice booking, i.e. 14 days (fourteen) days or less from the start of the tour, the total cost of the tour is immediately payable. Only after full payment of the travelling costs will the traveller receive the tour vouchers.
   5. If, after the final payment date and after a reminder from bapato.com that payment should be made, payment is not effected immediately, bapato.com has the right to cancel the tour and to charge the client cancellation costs according to paragraph V. below.
   
   
3. PRICE ADJUSTMENT
   
   
   1. Should the tour only start after four months or longer after the travel contract had been finalised, bapato.com reserves the right - in the case of an increase in transport costs, costs of petrol, fees for specific obligations, like harbour or airport duties, or changes in the exchange rates applicable to the specific tour - to change the costs accordingly.
   2. The client must be informed about this.
   
   
4. AUTHORITY ON TOUR
   
   
   1. The decisions of guides or drivers on tour shall at all times be final and binding.
   2. The client must at all times comply with the laws, customs and foreign exchange regulations of all countries visited.
   3. Should the client be in any contravention of the above or the client is a nuisance to the group the guides or drivers may order the client to leave the tour without any claim to a refund. The client shall be obliged to make their way home at their own expense.
   
   
5. CANCELLATIONS
   
   
   1. A traveller can at any time before the start of the tour withdraw from the travel contract, provided that bapato.com is informed about the withdrawal. It is advisable to inform bapato.com about a withdrawal in writing.
   2. Should the traveller withdraw from the travel contract or does not undertake the tour, bapato.com will be entitled to charge the following cancellation fees:

      up to	30 days before the start of the tour	25% of total tour price
      from	29 to 21 days before the start of the tour	40% of total tour price
      from	20 to 11 days before the start of the tour	60% of total tour price
      from	10 prior to the tour departure date	80% of total tour price
      if	the traveller does not turn up for the tour	100% of total tour price

   3. Any passenger joining a tour after the departure date, or not at all, or leaving before the completion of the tour for any reason whatsoever, is not entitled to any refunds whatsoever from bapato.com, or entitled to claim any costs for any added expenses.
   4. Requests for changes from travellers regarding travelling times, accommodation, tour destinations and points of departure (e.g. airports or train stations), can only be considered, insofar as it is practicable, before and not after 30 days from the start of the tour. Processing fees of 50,00 Euro per traveller will then be charged.
   5. 5. In the case of changes, new bookings, or cancellation of flight tickets which have already been issued, charges will be made according to the conditions/fees of the airline involved, as is applicable in cases of not turning up for a flight ("no show").
   
   
6. Cancellation by bapato.com
   
   
   1. bapato.com reserves the right to cancel any tour at its sole and absolute discretion, without prior notification in instances where this is unavoidable. However, in this instance bapato.com agrees to refund all monies already paid by the client. This shall be the bapato.com sole responsibility to the client and no claim for any damages, howsoever arising, shall accrue against bapato.com.
   2. Special packages tours, to find under web site "OFFERS" are subject to a minimum booking of 5 (five) passengers. If that number is not obtained, bapato.com reserves the right to cancel the tour. In such a case, bapato.com will immediately inform the travellers who have signed up for the tour about the non-feasibility and cancellation of the tour and refund all travelling costs that had been paid to those who had signed up for the tour.
   3. If a traveller, after he/she has been warned, persists in deranging/upsetting the execution of the contract, bapato.com can, after the start of the tour and without observance of days of grace, end the contract. In such a case bapato.com can claim the total price of the contract.
   
   
7. PASSPORTS, VISAS AND HEALTH
   
   
   1. It is the client's sole responsibility to ensure that passports, visas, health certificates, proof of vaccinations and any other required documentation are all in order for the countries to be visited. bapato.com cannot be held liable for any consequences, damages or claims if the client prior to commencement of the tour does not correctly attend to the client's documentation and related matters.
   2. For the correctness of the information provided by the consulates, however, bapato.com cannot accept responsibility and is not liable for.
   3. The traveller him/herself is responsible for the observance of the rules and regulations regarding passport, visa health certificates matters during the tour.
   4. The client accepts that to participate in the tour requires a measure of physical fitness and health and it is the client's obligation to ensure that they are medically fit to embark on the tour.
   5. We do however require a medical certificate or doctor's letter in respect of all clients over age 65, confirming that they are medically fit to undertake the tour.
   
   
8. INSURANCE, BAGGAGE & RISK
   
   
   1. Comprehensive travel and cancellation insurance is mandatory on all tours. It is recommended that insurance against withdrawal or non-execution from the tour by the traveller be taken out at the same time when the booking is made.
   2. The traveller also has the opportunity to take out further insurance through bapato.com, e.g. health, travel liability, travel accident/mishap and luggage loss/damage. It is the client's responsibility to ensure that they have this insurance in place and the required paperwork to prove such before embarking on the tour.
   3. Any resulting consequence of not having this paperwork is the sole responsibility of the client. All baggage and personal effects are at all times the client's responsibility and bapato.com does not accept any liability for any loss or damage of any personal effects, howsoever arising.
   4. bapato.com retains the right to refuse excess baggage. For more details please contact bapato.com before the tour does start.
   5. The client accepts, that all tours of an adventurous nature, involve an element of personal risk. Neither bapato.com nor any of its agents shall be held liable in any way for any injury, loss of life or damage to property, howsoever caused and the client hereby indemnity and hold bapato.com, its agent, assigns and servants harmless from any such claim.
   6. The client accepts full responsibility for all risks involved.
   
   
9. ENDING & CACELLATION DUE TO "FORCE MAJEURE"
   
   
   1. If a tour is disrupted or endangered by an unforeseen, unexpected or uncontrollable event (Force Majeure), e.g. war, internal unrest, strike, epidemic, nature catastrophe, supreme power order, e.g. refusal of landing rights or other similar events bapato.com as well as the travellers, can cancel the contract immediately.
   2. In such cases, additional costs of evacuation will be shared by bapato.com and the traveller on a 50/50%-basis, but remaining additional costs will be the responsibility of the traveller.
   3. bapato.com is not liable for the non-execution/interruption or dissatisfaction of services related to events which were negotiated solely as services from a third party (e.g. sport events, theatre visits, exhibitions, excursions etc.) and for services which generally and specifically were described as additional activities.
   
   
10. COMPLAINTS & CLAIMS
    
    
    1. The traveller must immediately point out any shortcomings/faults in the travel arrangements or service to responsible person on site. If the tour leader, drivers, backpackers or any other partners of bapato.com does not agree or is not accessible, bapato.com must immediately be informed of the shortcomings/faults and be requested to remedy the problem.
    2. bapato.com can remedy the problem by offering substitute arrangements of equal value. bapato.com can, however, also refuse redress if it requires disproportionate expenditure to the original costs of the arrangements.
    3. Contractual claims due to non-contractual fulfilment of the tour become null and void one year after the completion of the tour according to the contract.
    
    
11. MONTREAL AGREEMENT (28 May 1999)
    
    The traveller herewith agrees with the travel organiser that he/she accepts, in his own name, the rights incumbent upon him according to the Montreal Agreement, especially indemnity against non-transportation, flight delays, over bookings, cancellation of flights or late arrival of luggage, first of all (primarily) against the executive air freight carrier - i.e. the aviation contractor who transports the traveller.
    
    
12. MARKETING
    
    bapato.com reserves the right to use any photographs and video taken during tours for use in marketing or any other advertising material and the client hereby gives consent of such photographs to be used and for bapato.com to retain copyright over such photographs to be used and for bapato.com to retain copyright over such material.
    
    
13. BLIGATIONS
    
    
    1. The contents of the tour contract is exclusively determined by the descriptions, illustrations and price quotations in the prospectus which is valid for the time frame indicated, or a similar tour description copy from bapato.com. Changes or additional agreements which deviate from the tour conditions or obligation descriptions offered in the quotation, need the explicit confirmation by bapato.com.
    2. In the case of valid, important and unforeseeable reasons, bapato.com, before the contract is finalised, reserves the right to announce a change in the catalogue as well as the prospectus, about which the traveller must be informed before finalising the booking.
    3. In case of bona fide unforeseen circumstances, e.g. a fire in booked accommodation or the cancellation of a flight, over which bapato.com has no control whatsoever and which occur after the finalisation of a contract, bapato.com reserves the right to make changes in the bookings or flights to best suit the traveller and to least upset his/her itinerary.
    4. bapato.com, however, is obligated to inform the traveller about such changes immediately.
    
    
    
14. COURT OF LAW
    
    This booking and subsequent contract shall be deemed to have been concluded in Cape Town, South Africa and shall be interpreted according to the laws of the Republic of South Africa. The Court of Law for any form of law suit against bapato.com is the residential address of the bapato.com head office Cape Town. The parties consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrates Court of Cape Town in terms of the provisions of Section 45 of Act 32 of 1944 as amended but it is specifically agreed that bapato.com at it's instance will have the discretion to sue in the High Court if it deems is appropriate.
    
    
    
15. FINAL STATEMENT
    
    Should any of the aforementioned stipulations be invalid or become invalid, it will not affect the validity of the remaining stipulations and the travel contract. Obvious printing and calculation errors justify disputes the travel contract.
    
    
    

Please read our Partner-Terms

Download the terms as PDF