What you need to know

If any part of these Booking Conditions is found to be invalid, or unenforceable, then the remainder of the conditions will not be affected, and remain valid and enforceable.

Friendship Hosts One, occasionally two, Friendship Hosts are on hand for all holidays featured in this brochure except where local staff fulfil this role on our behalf – In the small number of places where a full time Friendship Travel Host is not present, our local agent will provide this sevrice. On Ski and Summer Activity holidays this is carried out by local Hosts and hotel staff.

Star ratings The star ratings we use are our own assessment, which may differ from official gradings.

Booking your own flights Please note that we add a £20 administration fee to your invoice if you make your own flight arrangements. This makes a contribution towards the extra work involved in keeping track of your flight times and changes. Also please note that if your independently booked flights do not dovetail with our transfer times, an additional fee of £30 per transfer is charged.

How to pay Payment can be made by bank transfer, cheque, debit or credit card. Prices in the brochure and web site are all ‘from’ and a guide price depending on where you wish to fly from.

Travel Insurance You must have adequate travel insurance to travel with Friendship Travel and this is part of our T&C’s. The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) provides for only basic medical treatment within EU member countries and is NOT an insurance policy. We do not sell holiday insurance.

Special Offers – All early booking upgrades and special offers shown in the brochure or on our website are subject to availability and can be withdrawn by the hotelier at any time. Reductions shown in offers are already applied in price panels.

BOOKING CONDITIONS

These booking conditions and the other information in this brochure/web site set out the terms on which you enter a contract with Friendship Travel Ltd.  This agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of Northern Ireland and the parties hereto hereby agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Northern Ireland.

Your commitment to us

DEPOSIT AND PAYMENT When you make your booking you accept (including on behalf of anyone else you book) the terms of these booking conditions. You must pay a deposit of £75 for UK breaks, £175 for holidays in Europe, £300 for long haul holidays. If your airline requires a full payment of the flight costs at time of booking, your deposit will be higher. Deposits are non-refundable and may not be transferred. You should also pay your insurance premium in full. A contract exists when we issue our confirmation invoice (by email or post). All monies paid to a travel agent are held by him/her on our behalf. You must pay your balance at least 10 weeks before departure. If you do not, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled, in which case you could be liable to pay us cancellation charges as set out below. If your booking is made within 10 weeks of departure then full payment must be made. All payments are fully protected and bonded by ATOL 6683.

CHANGES BY YOU If you want to change any details of your booking after the verbal or written confirmation is issued you should inform us (or your travel agent), in writing by post or email. We will do our utmost to help, providing the changes are practicable and made more than 10 weeks before departure; however these changes will incur an administration fee of £30 per person and, if applicable, cancellation charges made by suppliers. If the change is made within 10 weeks of departure, this is treated as cancellation and cancellation charges will apply.

Amount of notice you give before departure Amount of cancellation fee (expressed as a % of total holiday price)
More than 70 days Full flight costs plus £100 accommodation charge.
29-70 days Full flight costs plus 60% of accommodation costs or deposit if greater
15-28 days Full flight costs plus 80% of accommodation costs or deposit if greater
0-14 days 100% of holiday costs

FLIGHTS – special conditions: If your holiday includes a low cost or non refundable flight, the full amount is payable on booking. These flights are non refunadable, so if you cancel no refund at all can be given. If you ask us to book low-cost flights we will do so using your credit card, which means that your flights are subject to the airline’s amendment and cancellation policies and are not protected by CAA bonding. Where we book a low cost flight for you to make a package with ATOL bonding we do charge a £30 admin fee for booking the low cost flight.

If we book connecting flights for you, we cannot be held responsible if one airline changes their times and you miss a connection. If possible, we will book a ‘through ticket’ with one airline (for example BA from Scotland to London and connecting to the Caribbean), then any flight changes or cancellations are covered by the airline. When booking connecting flights please allow plenty of time between flights and ensure a good travel insurance policy is taken out to cover costs if flight times change.

We regret that no refunds can be made until full travel documentation has been returned to us. No refunds will be made on insurance premiums. We strongly advise you to take advantage of the travel insurance described in this brochure, which includes protection against cancellation charges. If not, you must take out alternative insurance with at least an equivalent cover.

Our commitment to you

CHANGES OR CANCELLATIONS BY US Certain holidays need minimum numbers before we can operate them and we have the right to cancel such holidays if that number is not achieved.

It is unlikely that we would have to make any changes to your holiday but we do plan the arrangements many months in advance. Sometimes changes have to be made which we reserve the right to do at any time. Most of these changes are minor, but where they are significant, we will inform you or your travel agent when you book, or if you have already booked as soon as is reasonably possible before your departure. If the change is of a major nature (e.g. involves a delay in departure or return of more than 12 hours or a change of hotel accommodation to a lesser category than originally booked or to a totally different destination) you will have a choice of the following:

a) Accepting the change of arrangements;

b) Accepting another available holiday from us, at the appropriate price.

c) Cancelling your holiday.

If you choose a) or b) we will pay reasonable compensation as shown. If you choose c) we will refund you all the money you have paid to us plus reasonable compensation on the scale shown below:

Period before departure within which major change is notified Compensation per paying passenger
More than 70 days None
30-70 days £10
13-29 days £20
0-12 days £30

IMPORTANT – PLEASE NOTE We cannot accept liability or pay compensation if we are forced to cancel, or in any way change your holiday due to a pandemic, war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions, or any other reason outside our control amounting to force majeure.

PRICES Please note our prices are listed as * – which means it is from and only a guide price. These change depending on when you book, the UK airport you fly from and whether you prefer a AM or PM flight The price we confirm at the time of booking is the price you would be charged. Our prices are based on the ‘Financial Times guide to World Currencies on 1 June 2020 for our holidays. Our holidays and prices are planned many months in advance. Following the issue of our holiday invoice, we reserve the right to increase your holiday price if the costs to us of providing your holiday rise by more than 2% due to currency flucations. Any increase will be no more than 10%.

DISABILITIES AND MEDICAL CONDITIONS 

The Equality Act 2010
This law applies to services provided in the UK and not those provided overseas. However, we believe in trying to make our holidays as accessible to as many people as possible. You must tell us before you book of any special needs you may have as result of any disability or medical condition, whether physical or mental health and we will do all we can to accommodate you. This includes making any reasonable adjustments to the holiday itself and/ or to the booking process. You may be asked to answer a few short medical questions. This information will be treated confidentially and will only be used to check that you are suitable for your chosen holiday, and that any special requirements are passed on to our suppliers. If your situation changes after you have booked (including where any medical condition or disability deteriorates or develops) you must let us know straight away. Travel with us may involve visiting remote areas, where medical care may not be easily accessible and medical facilities may not meet the standards of those found in the UK. We and our suppliers make no representations and gives no warranties in relation to the availability or standard of medical facilities in those regions. Whilst we will endeavour to make any reasonable adjustments to the holiday itself, sometimes this may not be possible. Examples of where we may not be able to make a reasonable adjustment include:
• Providing wheelchair access ramps to overseas hotels in remote locations;
• Our staff pushing a customer in a wheelchair throughout the duration of the holiday, or other customers on the trip.
• Provision of daily personal care whether for a physical or mental health condition.
• Regrettably we are unable to accommodate motorised scooters.

Please note that personal care cannot be provided by any member of our staff

It is your responsibility to tell us before you book whether you have any special requirements, limited mobility or medical conditions either physical or mental health that might affect your ability to take part on our holidays. A reasonable level of fitness is required for all our holidays as some walking will be involved. If you are in doubt about the suitability of any of our holidays, please just ask but, it is vital that you seek confirmation from your own Doctor to establish that you are sufficiently fit both physically and mentally, to travel and to undertake the excursions that may be included. Where we can we will make any reasonable adjustments but where we cannot make such adjustments we may have to cancel your booking. It is our intention to make our holidays as accessible to as many people as we can, especially those with disabilities. We cannot do this if you don’t tell us of your needs so you must mention any relevant information to us before you book. In particular to establish:
i. Any special requirements for air, coach, ferry or cruise ship travel so these are passed on to our suppliers;
ii. That we are aware whether your mobility may be limited and therefore whether the holiday is suitable for you or not;
iii. Whether you are taking medication and might require medical attention during your holiday;
iv. Whether there might be any pre-existing medical conditions either physical or mental health that should be disclosed to your insurer.

We will assume, unless you inform us otherwise, that you are in a good state of health both physically and mentally, to participate in the holiday. If you do not tell us about any disability or medical condition which may affect your holiday arrangements and any resulting special needs, and we find ourselves in the position where you are at your UK departure point or on holiday and are unable to participate fully, then we reserve the right to:
1) Organise extra assistance or make any adjustments so you can continue with the holiday and pass on the costs of doing this to you.
2) Arrange your return to the UK, or to your home address if you haven’t left the UK and pass on the costs of doing this to you.

We very much hope that all our customers will be completely open, honest and upfront with us so the above situation does not occur. However, we do reserve the right to take action in the interests of your health and safety and the health and safety of our staff and other customers should we need to. We can only accept your booking upon the clear understanding that we cannot be liable if you do not inform us of such a condition and an airline or other supplier refuses to accept you as a passenger.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY When you contact us to make a booking we act as agent for the relevant carrier/hotel which will be disclosed on your documentation. We reserve the right to substitute the carrier if necessary. When we have confirmed your booking a contract exists under which we accept responsibility for the provision of all the services described in our invoice. We have taken care in choosing the hotel accommodation, other services and facilities for inclusion in the holidays we offer and have described them in this brochure in accordance with the latest information we have at the time of publication.

We accept responsibility for ensuring that all the elements of your holiday are as described in our brochure and on our website are of a reasonable standard. We also accept responsibility for every service which we are contractually obliged to provide, irrespective of whether such services are provided by our own employees or agents, or by sub-contractors or suppliers. In the unlikely event that your holiday is not supplied as specified, reasonable compensation may be paid. If you or any member of your party suffers death, bodily injury or illness arising from the negligence of our employees, agents, suppliers, their sub-contractors, servants and or agents, we may accept responsibility provided that they are acting within the scope of or in the course of their employment when the accident occurred.
– Some services can change from time to time. If the client considers any particular facility to be vital to their holiday, they must advise Friendship Travel in writing of this no later than 4 weeks prior to departure.
– Where the services in question consist of carriage by air or sea, Friendship Travel shall be entitled to limit its obligations and liabilities in the manner provided by international conventions in respect of air or sea carriers.

Our liability, except in cases involving death, serious illness or injury, shall be limited to a maximum of three times the total cost of your travel arrangements. Our liability will also be limited in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to –
1. The contractual terms of the companies that provides the transportation for your travel arrangements. These terms are incorporated into this contract; and
2. Any relevant international convention for example the Montreal Convention in respect of air travel. We are to be regarded as having all benefit of any limitation of compensation contained in these or any conventions.
You can ask for copies of the transport company’s contractual terms, or the international conventions by writing to our offices.
In all cases our liability will be limited in the manner provided by the relevant International Conventions.

COMPLAINTS Our aim is to ensure that you have a trouble-free holiday. However, there are some aspects of your holiday which are not under our direct control.

In the unlikely event that you have a problem or complaint during your holiday you must bring it to the attention of our local office/agent and/or hotelier so that they have an opportunity to put it right at the time. If the problem is still unresolved you should contact Friendship Travel immediately to allow us the opportunity to deal with it while you are still on holiday. Customer compliant forms are available in resortand should be completed during your holiday. 

If the matter cannot be resolved locally and you wish to take it up with us on return, please write to Friendship Travel (email not accepted) within 28 days of your return from holiday. Please quote your booking reference number and give full details so we can make a thorough investigation.

TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS All flights are based on the scheduled services of the operators as listed. On occasions, it may be necessary to operate with alternative carriers. Such changes which are known to us will be advised at the time of booking, significant ones will be notified to you by your travel agent as soon as possible, but will not constitute an automatic right to cancel or receive compensation.

EXCLUSIVITY Where Friendship has exclusive use of a property, this means that normally no other paying guests are resident, but please note the hotel owner reserves the right to welcome family/friends to the property. If we have not sold all our rooms, we give any unsold rooms back for the hotel to re sell to direct clients.

GULET CRUISES We reserve the right to operate a smaller ship/shared ship with other adults (not classed as a major change), subject to booking levels. Weather and operational conditions may impact on sailing itineraries: the captain’s decision is final.

INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR If the behaviour of any member of any party is considered likely to cause offence, danger, damage or distress to others we reserve the right at all times to cancel or terminate a holiday completely. If this situation arises, our responsibility will cease and the company will be under no obligation to cover expenses incurred and neither will we consider or accept any claims for compensation or refunds whatsoever.

VACATION OF ROOMS Your room must be vacated at midday on the day of departure. If you arrive on a night flight your room will have been available from the afternoon of the first day. On your departure day it may be possible to keep your room for longer, at an additional cost.

VISAS A tourist visa maybe required for some of our destinations. Please check with us before booking.

Friendship Travel Ltd, 10 Antrim Business Centre, Antrim, BT41 4LD. UK. ATOL – 6683

Updated May 2023.