Booking Terms and Conditions

Company Details

Dragoman Overseas Travel Ltd.
Head Office: Camp Green, Kenton Road, Debenham, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 6LA

Reg. Office: Camp Green, Debenham, Suffolk, IP14 6LA

VAT Number: 571435640
Registration Place: Cardiff, United Kingdom

BOOKING TERMS & CONDITIONS

We are currently not taking bookings.

Booking Jurisdiction

English Law (and no other) will apply to your contract and to any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between  yourself and Dragoman Overseas Travel Ltd. This is the case even if the booking conditions of a specific agent says otherwise. Please do NOT book a trip if you cannot accept this.

Booking A Trip & Your Health

In booking a trip you do need to be healthy enough to participate in the trips. Although we do not have age limits (except you must be 18 or over – apart from family trips), you do have to be able to physically and mentally cope with the lifestyle of an overland trip.

When you read the booking conditions, be especially aware of your responsibilities for your own health and suitability to this kind of travel.  Just so we are very clear, we would like you to also read the Trip Suitability section below.

 

TRIP SUITABILITY

Adventure Itineraries & Risk

Dragoman is an overland operator & we run unpredictable overland adventure journeys. These are off the beaten track trips often in areas without western infrastructure. As many of the areas do not adhere to western safety standards & may have political or economic instability, there will be higher risk & un-predictability associated with Dragoman’s form of travel, than you would find in your usual life or other forms of travel. This is the nature of grass-roots overland travel. Please do NOT book a trip if you cannot accept this.

Overland Lifestyle & Flexible Itineraries

Dragoman trips can be quite demanding & you must be prepared to participate. This may involve demanding physical activities, such as lifting, pushing vehicles, digging, collecting wood, etc. The more you put in the more you will get out. We will often camp & when wild camping we rely entirely on our own provisions. You are expected to put your own tents up & to participate in all forms of camp life including cooking for the group on a rotation basis. The hotels, hostels & homestays we use can vary greatly in standards as we try to use locally run accommodation where possible & often western style hotels are unsuited to overland travel or are unavailable or unaffordable in many of the areas we visit. Please do NOT book a trip if you cannot accept this.

Every overland journey WILL be different & although we intend to follow routes that we publicise, we will often change itineraries. That is the nature of real travel, the ups & downs, the joys & the frustrations; itineraries are an intention only & will change depending on circumstances. Vehicles can develop mechanical issues and we may have to change to use other forms of transport, such as buses, trains, etc. Mechanical issues, unexpected border closures, roads get blocked, adverse weather and others can all affect the running of a trip. Equally, a local wedding, a festival or maybe just pure hospitality will mean we spend a night unplanned. Please do NOT book a trip if you cannot accept this.

Your Health & Suitability

You need to be in good physical health in order to participate fully in our trips. When selecting your trip please make sure that you have read through the itinerary carefully and assessed your ability to cope with our style of travel. It is your responsibility to ensure that you will be suitable. To help you assess if the trip is suitable please refer to the physical ratings. The rating for each trip are a good indication of how challenging they are and in some cases you should be prepared for long driving days and limited facilities. We are always happy to give additional advice if you have any concerns. Please note, that if, in the opinion of our leader, you are unable to complete the itinerary without undue risk to yourself and/ or the rest of the group, Dragoman reserves the right to exclude you from all or part of the trip without a refund.

You should consult your doctor for up-to-date medical travel information prior to travel, particularly if you have a pre-existing medical condition. We also advise you to declare any pre-existing medical condition to your travel insurer on purchase.

You will be obliged to disclose any medical condition or medication that you are taking to your tour leader at the start of your trip for health and safety purposes. If at the time of booking you have any concern at all about a medical condition that may prevent you from participating fully in the trip, please let your travel agent or Dragoman know as soon as possible. If upon disclosure, our operations team is of the opinion that the trip is not suitable for you, then we reserve the right to cancel your booking or alternatively to limit your participation in certain activities.

Altitude

If you are travelling to any areas of Altitude with Dragoman (The Andes, Himalayas, Tibet, Kyrgyzstan and Western China), you must think carefully about how fit you are and will altitude be an issue. Some pre-existing medical conditions are known to severely worsen at high altitude and be difficult to adequately treat on the ground, leading to more serious consequences. It is imperative that you discuss your pre-existing medical condition/s with your doctor. We understand certain medications are reported to aid acclimatising to high altitude; please discuss these options with your doctor. For trips that travel to areas of high altitude, the tour leader will issue you with a self assessment altitude questionnaire which allows you to monitor how you are coping with the altitude and informs you of danger signals so that you can reports these as soon as possible, either to the tour leader or a medical professional.

Health & Vaccinations

Recommended vaccinations and other health protection can be found in trip notes on our website, with Dragoman customers entitled to 10% off vaccinations at Nomad clinics.

Passport & Visas

It is your own responsibility to ensure that are in possession of a full passport with at least 6 months validity from date of your return. You will also need to make sure that you have sufficient blank pages for any visa stamps. For more details see our trip notes and website.

Foreign Office Travel Advice

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) (http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel) provides destinational travel advice for UK nationals. Dragoman monitors the advice from the FCDO and any decisions taken regarding a trips safety and security will use the vast experience of the company’s 31 years of operating as well as the FCDO advice.

We strongly recommend that you read the information about the country you are planning to visit – each country has a summary and general information as well as advice on safety & security, local laws & customs, entry requirements and health.

If you are not a UK national please make sure you have checked your own country’s travel advice for your destination/s:

The US Department of State: http://travel.state.gov
Canadian Foreign Affairs: http://www.voyage.gc.ca
Australian Government Travel Advice: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au
NZ Government Travel Advice: http://www.safetravel.govt.nz

You will have seen from the preceding section that overland travel is not suited to everyone. It is a type of travel for those who want to participate, don’t mind discomfort or uncertainty, are happy with a flexible itinerary, enjoy camping and thrive on the thrills of travel.