Terms & Conditions

1. Definitions:

In the terms and conditions set out in this document, the following terms shall, unless contrary to the context, have the meaning specified.

“You means the person/s in whose name and / or whose behalf the Booking is made. Alternatively, the reference may be made in the third person as “Tour Participant” / “Guest” / “They” / “Client” / “Them” / “His” / “Her”.
“We” / “Us” / “Company” means theultimateindia.com.
“Infant” / “Child” mean respectively a person below the age of two years and a person more than the age of two and below the age of twelve years.
“Contractor” / “Supplier” means supplier of any infrastructural facility and shall include hotel managements, airlines, caterers, restaurants, places of entertainment like theme parks, museums, art galleries, attractions / excursions, shipping company, railway, ferry, cruise, coach who are to provide the services to the Client.
“Tour Cost” means the tour cost mentioned in the Price Grid / brochures / online and other payments such as taxes, surcharges etc payable by the client to the Company.

2. Website Information – Disclaimers:

Price grid, web pages and other documents and in describing the services therein. However, we are not liable for any typographical / printing errors

Products are created several months in advance and the descriptions of services are as accurate as possible. However factors and circumstances beyond our control may result in changes in the services / itineraries to which you are entitled to are described in the itinerary, inclusions on the website or the proposal and / or the price grid or the voucher as the case may be. The products and services displayed may have changed. The photos of meals / sightseeing are for reference and may differ from the actual meals / sights. Distance between places and temperatures are approximate and can change depending on travel, road conditions and climatic changes.

3. Itinerary May Change At Any Time

We reserve the right to alter, amend, change or modify the tour package and itineraries before or during the tour. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you promptly of such changes / events sufficiently in advance during booking or prior to departure of the tour. If such changes / events incur during the tour, our tour manager or local representative will inform you of the changes on the spot and we solicit your full co – operation in accepting such circumstantial changes. Therefore, no grievance regarding any itinerary / service change which we are constrained to make, will be entertained during or after the tour. Such changes may be necessitated due to factors beyond our control such as Force Majeure events, strikes, fairs, festivals, sport events, weather conditions, traffic problems, overbooking of hotels / flights, cancellation / re-routing of flights or railway, closure of / restricted entry at a place of sightseeing. Generally, we try to avoid dates when big Fairs, Exhibitions and other events are held in certain cities as hotels are fully booked several years ahead. Change in itinerary may also be required or necessitated on account of actions, inactions, defaults or condition of guests in the group. We will make reasonable efforts to keep the overall package of services unchanged. However, we shall not be liable to refund any amount or pay any compensation on account of any change in itinerary. In case the alternate arrangements made are materially superior as compared to the ones described in the Brochure, we may charge extra for the same at the time of booking or in the course of the tour.

4. The Tour Cost Includes And Excludes

Please refer to the inclusions and exclusions for each individual package. All services will be as per those specified / confirmed and paid for as per the service voucher and invoices. If the guest avails any service which is not included in the holiday package or gets upgraded, then the payment for the same will have to be cleared by the guest directly.

5. Conditions Of Passage

These conditions are applicable to every guest of theultimateindia.com, who books a Tour. In the event you book through a tour arrangement of any other tour operator, the ‘Terms and Conditions’ specified by such tour operator, including their payment schedule, cancellation, refund etc. shall be applicable, in addition to our ‘Terms and Conditions’ while determining the contractual relation between you, the Tour Operator and theultimateindia.com.

6. Cancellation / Amendment By Company

We reserve our right to amend or cancel a tour booked by you, without assigning any reason. Such amendment or cancellation may be due to circumstances beyond our control. In such cases, we will offer you alternative tour dates / tours or you would have the option of traveling as individual travelers, if you were booked on a group tour. If the alternative date / tour is not acceptable, we would refund the money paid by you after deducting any costs incurred by us on your behalf, within a period of forty five days from the date of amendment or cancellation.

However, we would not be responsible or liable to pay any compensation or damages or consequential loss or to refund any other expense incurred by you

7. Cancellation Of Booking By You

Should you wish to cancel your booking, you must notify us in writing. Such notification shall be deemed to have been given to us only on the date of the receipt of your letter, since we can act only on receipt. Please state the reason for your cancellation as it may be covered by your insurance policy. Claims must however be made direct to your insurance company. The following cancellation charges shall apply irrespective of the reason for cancellation.

You understand and acknowledge that these charges are a genuine pre-estimate of the damages that we will suffer on account of cancellation. You understand that these damages are called liquidated damages in legal language, which are payable without proof of actual damages. You agree not to dispute such deductions or to demand proof of actual damages.

WHEN A CANCELLATION IS MADE	CANCELLATION CHARGES PER PERSON
Clear 45 working days or more prior to the date of departure of the Tour or for non-payment of the balance Tour Cost.	Booking Amount
Clear 44 to 31 working days prior to the date of departure of the Tour.	Rs. 30,000/-
Clear 30 to 16 working days prior to the date of departure of the Tour.	Rs. 40,000/-
Clear 15 to 07 working days prior to the date of departure of the Tour	Rs. 50,000/-
Less than 07 clear working days prior to the date of departure of the Tour.	100% of Tour Cost
FOR TOURS WITH CRUISE Less than clear 80 – 50 working days (depending on the cancellation policy of the particular cruise liner) prior to the date of the departure of the tour for the Cruise portion.	100%
FOR HOTELS Less than clear 15 working days or depending on the cancellation policy of the particular hotel prior to the date of the departure of the tour for the Hotel.	100%

Different cancellation charges may be applicable during Peak Season (X’Mas & New year period i.e. 20th Dec to 10th Jan; Chinese New Year, Carnivals), Festivals of the city, country you visit, Trade Fair / Special Event periods in respective city of travel.

If you wish to cancel your booking, you need to inform us by any of the following methods, provided that such information should be given on a working day within working hours:

Cancellation shall take effect only from the time the written request reached the Company at its office in Mumbai on working days within office time at the details listed above. However, in the following cases you shall be deemed to have cancelled the tour even if no cancellation notice is issued by you:

In case of visa rejection, you would be deemed to have cancelled on the date of intimation of such rejection. Please see our Visa Guidance section for further details

If you fail to pay the tour costs in time or if you commit any other default in relation to your booking, we may treat such failure or default as a cancellation of the booking by you. In such case, the cancellation charges shall be computed with reference to the date on which we issue you a notice of cancellation;

If on your failure of payment or other default, no notice of cancellation is issued by us but your payment or default remains outstanding on the date of departure, the booking shall be deemed to have been cancelled by you without any advance notice, inviting the highest cancellation charge.

8. Amendment Of Booking By You

If you wish to amend or change your booking, you have to communicate your request to us in writing. Such requests for change or amendment will be accepted subject to availability. In case the amendment is carried out within the cancellation period, then a cancellation charge shall apply. Please note the cancellation charges specified in the preceding section.

9. Changes In Pricing

theultimateindia.com reserve the right to change the rates at any time, even after bookings have been made and confirmed, as a result of changes in government taxes or other matters outside its control, such as currency fluctuations. Any increase in rates as a result of currency fluctuations in respect of existing bookings shall only be made where the currency fluctuation exceeds 3%.

Rate Of Exchange Applicable To Refunds

Please note that refunds of foreign exchange component of the tour cost will be based on our buying rate of that date. When we receive Indian rupees from you in relation to a booking, we convert them into the foreign exchange component of the tour cost at our selling rate, then applicable. However, when we refund the foreign exchange component to you in Indian rupees, we do so at our buying rate applicable on the date of refund.

10. Our Scope of Services

We are travel and holiday organizers only. We inspect and select the services to be provided to you. However, we do not own, operate or control any airline, shipping company, coach or coach company, hotel, transport, restaurant, kitchen caravan, attraction / excursion or any other facility or provider that is engaged to provide you services during the course of your tour.

Therefore, Please Carefully Note That:

You will need to adhere to the conditions, rules and regulations of each service provider. The company is not responsible for the consequences if you breach such rules and regulations;
If you cause any injury or damage affecting the service provider, then you may be liable directly to the service provider and if the service provider recovers any monies from us for such injury or damages, we shall separately charge you for the same;
We cannot be held responsible for any delay, deficiency, injury, death, loss or damage occasioned due to act or default of such service providers, their employees or agents.

11. Meals

Please refer to the itinerary in the brochure / website / itineraries for details of the meals which would be served to you on your tour. Unlike an airline, we cannot process a special meal, nor can we guarantee a special diet. We do not assure special meals or special timings or extra halts for infants, children, or passengers with diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure or any other condition. If you have any such special requirements arising from medical conditions or from the needs of your children or otherwise, travel on coach / group tours is not recommended.

In the event that you wake up late and miss breakfast and in the event that you are out on your own and reach late and miss dinner, then no claim can be made by you for the meal which you have missed and not utilized. Buffet Breakfast if included in the hotel / holiday price is served at fixed hours in the morning, approximately between 0730 hours – 1000 hours at a designated area in the hotel. Any requirement beyond the hours of operation would be subject to an additional charge. Breakfast in your room and / or a la carte menus will have an additional charge. We, however, reserve the right to change the meal arrangement, where circumstances compel us to do so.

12. Hotels

We cannot guarantee the availability of adjoining rooms / interconnecting rooms / non-smoking room / rooms on the same floor etc.

The check in time is usually 1400 hours and check out time is usually 1100 hours. In Australia, the check in time is 12 noon and the check out time is 1000 hours. The check in time in USA is 1500 hours and check out time is 1100 hours. In certain hotels, though the check in time is 1500 hours, guest may have to wait for some hours till the rooms are cleared.

The relationship manager will attempt to facilitate all early check in and late checkout requests. These requests are at the discretion of the hotels and are always subject to availability. The charges towards the same need to be paid by the guests as per the hotel’s policy.

Children Accommodation

A child travelling for whom ‘without a bed’ charge has been paid would not be entitled to a separate bed in the hotel. In case ‘with bed’ charge has been paid for the child and you decide not to avail such facility whilst on the tour, you would not be entitled to any refund. In case you decide to seek an extra bed for the child booked on ‘without bed’ basis on the tour, this will be provided subject to availability and you shall be bound to pay any additional amount charged by the concerned hotel directly.

13. Surface Transport

Depending upon your requirement, theultimateindia.com offers different levels of transportation service for Airport transfers / Port transfers / Inter-city transfers / Sightseeing:

Private transportation for airport / port / private transportation for airport, port and sightseeing: This service offers the guest their own privacy and convenience to travel at a pre-decided time. In certain destinations the driver acts like guide whereas in other destinations, the guest will have a separate licensed English speaking guide for sightseeing services.

Seat in coach transfer service: This service is based on (SIC) Seat in Coach / Van / Hotel Shuttle. This is a shared vehicle transfer, where the coach / van are shared with other tourists. SIC Transfers / tour operates at a pre- decided time and designated point. Guest may have to wait till the vehicle fills up with passengers. Surcharges are applicable for Night Transfers (2130 hrs – 0700 hrs) and will be advised at the time of booking. Guests may not be dropped to their actual hotel and they would have to take an additional transfer to their hotel on their own.

Departure Transfers: For departure transfers please reconfirm the timings with the local supplier 24 hours prior to departure as per your flight details.
Self Drive Vacation: The rental conditions of the car rental company will be applicable at all times.

14. Sightseeing On A Seat – In – Coach Basis

Please refer to the Meeting point and drop off point carefully; it can be either at the guest’s Hotel Lobby or any other Hotel in same area. It can also be the Ground handler`s office or any other location.
Unless otherwise communicated to us and additional charges paid, no transfers will be provided to reach or return to your hotel from the meeting point and the disembarkation point.

It is essential that the itineraries, schedules and timing are strictly adhered to by the guest so as to ensure that all the services can be duly provided. If the guest misses any service due to unpunctuality, theultimateindia.com shall not be liable to refund any amount or pay any compensation for any change in itinerary or for missing any service due to unpunctuality.

Scheduled sightseeing may comprise visits to more than one country. theultimateindia.com will not accept any responsibility should a guest not be able to proceed with such a tour as a result of their not being in possession of any required documentation such as a valid passport or visa. Failure to have such documentation may result in them being refused entry into a country the tour visits and no refunds will be given in this event.

On tour, scheduled sightseeing tours occasionally do not operate for local reasons, apart from the minimum requirements specified above. In the event that it becomes necessary to cancel a tour for any reason, at least one of the following alternatives will be offered.
To continue with the requested tour but at an alternative time or date.

To change to a different tour.

theultimateindia.com will not accept any claims for compensation in the event that a scheduled sightseeing did not operate.

Children travelling free may not be entitled to meals and must be carried on the lap of an accompanying adult if no seats are available.
Where a hotel pick up is offered, suppliers will pick up the guests from the majority of the major hotels in the city, but not necessarily from all hotels. If the supplier is unable to pick up from a requested hotel, an alternative pick up point will be suggested.

Suppliers of sightseeing tours reserve the right to alter itineraries or to cancel tours at short or no notice for any reason.
Please note that smoking, consumption of alcoholic beverages and snacks is strictly prohibited on coaches. Please keep the coach clean to avoid discomfort to yourself and other tour participants.

Please take care not to leave behind any property in the coach while disembarking. The Company would not be responsible or liable in case of loss of such property under any circumstances.

15. Baggage

Airlines have restrictions on the kind of baggage, number and weight of baggage that you can carry and you are requested to please refer, carefully read and understand the baggage rules and regulations of the individual airlines, as the same gets updated from time to time.

We are not liable, in any manner, if the guests are unable to carry any baggage or if they have to pay any extra- charges due to restrictions imposed by the airline. Guest shall be liable to pay all such charges directly to the airline. Also, we are not liable for any loss or damage to baggage while it is in the custody of the airline.

16. AIRLINES (In Case Of Airfare Inclusive Packages)

We shall in no circumstances whatsoever be liable to you or any person travelling with you, for loss of baggage by the airline, failure to provide meal of your choice by the airline, denied boarding or down gradation due to overbooking or any other reason, failure on the part of the airline to accommodate you despite having confirmed tickets, quality or quantity of meals offered by the airlines, flight delay or rescheduling, flight cancellation, changes of flight schedule or routing, change of airline mentioned at the time of booking. In these circumstances, we will not be liable for the injury, loss or inconvenience suffered by you but you will be free to pursue your remedies against the concerned airline.

17. Airline Date Change before Departure

For escorted group departures, if you wish to travel in advance or return at a later date after the tour ends, then you must pay the applicable difference between the group airfare within the package holiday tour cost and the market airfare for the changed sector. The same will be quoted by us to you on your request.

18. Airline Date Change after Departure

It is absolutely necessary to have your return air seats to India confirmed prior to your departure from India. If you wish to change the date of your return journey after departure from India, you will have to pay a “Change in Reservation Fee” if any, directly to the airline, subject to availability of seats in the same booking class. This fee may range between USD 75 to USD 200 or more per person and we will not be responsible for the same.

19. Airline Confirmation and Re-Confirmation

Though you may receive a confirmed air ticket for a particular sector, airlines often overbook seats, due to which the airline may offload even confirmed passengers and may accommodate them on a subsequent flight. We will not be responsible for any such offloading nor for any consequence of such offloading including delay, inconvenience or loss of tour services. You are advised to report at the airport check in counter at least 3 to 4 hours prior to the departure time. Seat allocation for group check in is a matter of airlines discretion and availability of seats is not in the control of theultimateindia.com. Hence theultimateindia.com shall not be held responsible if you do not get seats together or do not get your preferred seats. Please note that in case you are returning on a later date after the tour ends, the responsibility to reconfirm air tickets 72 hours prior to the departure would be solely yours.

20. You Are Responsible For Your Documents And Possessions

You will have to take the risk and responsibility of all your baggage, belongings, currency, valuables, documents and personal effects (collectively ‘baggage’) at all times during the tour, whether during travel on the airline or during your stay in hotel or during your travel in coaches, while on excursions or otherwise. If you forget to carry or if you lose essential travel documents such as passport, visa, tickets etc., you may be compelled to curtail the tour and you may have to incur extra expenses, for which you alone shall be responsible. In view of what is stated above, please carefully note that:

We shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage in respect of your baggage etc. or their contents whether due to theft, accident, negligence or otherwise;
We shall not be responsible for any cancellation or curtailment of your tour compelled by any such loss of baggage etc. and we shall pay no compensation or refund to you;
Some coverage in respect of baggage loss or damage may be provided by insurance (please note in the Insurance section).

It is advisable that you do not carry valuables on the tour. However, if you carry any valuables, we recommend that you use all available facilities to keep them secure during your tour. In this regard, some hotels provide Safe Deposit Lockers (which may be charged separately). In case of airlines, we recommend that you declare your valuables to the airline at the time of check-in and pay an additional charge, as may be stipulated by the airline, to make the airline responsible for valuables. Without such declaration, airlines can invoke limitation of liability protections provided in international conventions and laws.

If your baggage is lost or misplaced at any time during the course of your tour, it is your responsibility to take all appropriate actions to file complaints with the concerned authorities, including police, airline office etc. In the case of escorted group travel, please understand that as the Tour Manager is responsible for the whole group of tour participants, he may not be in a position to escort you to lodge a complaint with the authorities, as it could compromise the convenience and time of the group.

Travel Documents and Clearances

It shall be solely your responsibility to hold valid travel documents and statutory clearances, to enable you to travel on the tour such as passports, visas, confirmed air-tickets, insurance and medical insurance certificates and other statutory certificates including immigration clearance. Please note that your Passport must be valid for at least six months subsequent to the scheduled departure date of the tour. If you cancel the tour due to non availability of the passport etc, you will be liable to pay cancellation charges.

Visa Guidance Services

It is convenient and safe to have the visa process facilitated by theultimateindia.com Limited from the concerned Embassy / Consulates / Authority on your behalf based on the documents provided by you. In certain embassies you may be required to make a personal appearance and to register yourself for biometric identification. However please note that theultimateindia.com cannot guarantee a visa. Even if you do not get your visa, you will be liable to pay the applicable charges.

It is your responsibility to promptly furnish to us all documents required for application of your visas etc. latest by 45 days prior to the departure date. In fact, in the current scenario it would be far more prudent to furnish all documents at least four months before the departure date. Given the security concerns and the cautious approach adopted by embassies and consulates, visa processing can take quite long. Please note that we may receive documents submitted late but we are not responsible for rejection or non-receipt of visas due to inadequate or late submissions. You are required to furnish only genuine documentation.

Granting / rejection of visas is the sole discretion of embassy / consulate. We only act as a facilitator for obtaining visas. The Company cannot be held liable for rejection of visas and any other incidental or consequential loss, damage, cost or expense.

We would not be responsible in any manner whatsoever for any clerical error done by the concerned embassy / consulate regarding the name, attachment of wrong photograph, duration and type of visa (single / multiple entry) or passport number. We always use services of reputed courier companies for the purpose of transmission of passports to the embassies / consulates and to you in various cities. We will not be responsible for any loss or damage whether direct, indirect, incidental or consequential caused due to transmission delays or loss of passport or documents in the course of transmission of documents by us to the embassy or to you or in the course of transmission of documents by the embassy / consulate to us. We would however, make best attempts to trace your documents or assist you in obtaining alternative / certified copies of the lost documents. If you are unable to travel on the tour originally booked by you because either you could not get your visa in time or due to an error of the part of the embassy / consulate, an incorrect visa is issued to you, you shall have the option to postpone your tour to any other future date or transfer your tour to any other tour and in such case the amendment fee for shall apply, in addition to cancellation charges.

Please note that if the rejection of visa is intimated by the embassy / consulate within the cancellation period specified in the section titled CANCELLATION OF BOOKING BY YOU then the cancellation charges as appearing in that section would apply. Please further note that for the purpose of ascertaining the applicable cancellation rates, the cancellation would be deemed to have been made on the date we receive intimation of visa rejection from the consulate / embassy. Should you choose to re-apply after visa rejection, then you shall do so at your own risk and cost. If the visa is rejected a second time, the applicable cancellation rates will be based on the date of receipt of intimation of the rejection of second visa application and so the charges may be much higher than the rates which would have applied on the first rejection. Should we not receive any intimation from the consulate / embassy either accepting or rejecting a visa application prior to the departure date of your tour, the maximum cancellation charges shall apply. It is made clear that the cancellation charges shall apply in addition to the retention of visa service charges.

Liabilities

Please go through the terms and conditions carefully to understand your rights, responsibilities, risks and the extent of our liabilities.

As earlier stated, being tour organizers, we will not be liable to you for any loss, injury or damage in respect of life, limb or property, sickness, delay, discomfort, anxiety, service denial, service deficiency, additional expenses incurred by you or for any direct, indirect, consequential loss and / or damage or any kind suffered by you howsoever caused arising out of any act, omission, default of any contractor / supplier or of any servant or agent employed by the contractor / supplier or of any third person who may be engaged or concerned in the provision of accommodation, meals, transportation, entertainment, refreshment or any other service comprising the tour package. In view of this, please note that we shall have no liability in the following circumstances (amongst others):

Failure on the part of airline to accommodate passengers (despite having confirmed tickets) or cancellation, change of route, delay of flights.
Overbooking of seats / rooms by the airline / hotel.
Loss of / delay of baggage by airline / coach / cruise / train.
Any death, personal injury, sickness, accident, loss, delay, discomfort, increased expenses, consequential loss and / or damage or any kind of theft howsoever caused;
Rudeness or unprofessional behavior of staff of airline / hotel etc., quality of meals, facilities given etc.
Any kind of service denial or deficiency by any contractor / supplier. Further, please note that in any case, our liability arising from this contract shall not exceed the total amount paid for the tour holiday. Further, under no circumstances shall we have any liability in respect of any indirect, special or consequential losses whatsoever. As earlier stated, any loss or damage to your baggage will be borne entirely by you and we shall not be liable for the same in any manner.

We shall not be responsible and / or liable for any damages caused to you due to reasons beyond the control of the Company (Force Majeure / Vis Majeure). Any overstay expenses due to delay or changes in bus / flights / ships / trains or cancellation of special bogie or other services due to sickness, weather conditions, war, threat of war, strikes, rebellions, disturbances, unrest, curfew or any other cause whatsoever, shall be borne entirely by you and we shall not be liable for the same.

We are not liable for any acts, omissions or defaults of other tour participants which may result in injury, damage to your life / limb or property or interfere with enjoying any services to be provided on the tour. The immunities provided under this contract to the Company shall be available to the Company’s Managers, including Tour Managers, Employees, Servants and Agents but not to the contractors / suppliers selected by the Company.

Please note that we will be entitled to retain custody of your documents or properties entrusted to us till we receive payment of all amounts that are due to us in relation to your booking / travel.

Tipping

Tipping is customary (unless otherwise stated on the website) in all parts of the world for services rendered (e.g. porters, coach drivers, tour leaders, guides etc). We recommend a tip of USD 5 per person per day.

No Refund For Unutilized Services

It is clearly understood that there shall be no refund or compensation whatsoever for unutilized services. This general rule applies to all kinds of non-utilization or under-utilization of tour services, whether of the whole or part of the tour and whether as a matter of your choice, or caused by your fault or compelled by circumstances such as ill-health, weather, external factors etc.

As a consequence of the above rule, please note that no refund will be admissible in the following circumstances (amongst others):

In the case of group tours, there would be no refund if you fail to join the group at the commencement of the tour or join the group later or leave the group before culmination of the tour for any reasons whatsoever.
There will be no refund if you fail to or are unable to utilize any of the services on the tour like airline travel, hotels, sightseeing, rides, cruises, meals, entrance fees, optional tours etc due to any reason whatsoever such as late reporting, ill health etc.

Grievance

In case of your grievance concerning services of any independent contractor should be communicated on the emergency telephone number given to you immediately, followed by an email to myquery@theultimateindia.com as immediately as possible and a copy thereof should be marked to the independent contractor, whereby theultimateindia.com has the chance to rectify any problems, if the grievance is genuine. Failure to do so will result in the guest losing any right as to compensation or refund

Any complaint by the guest must be notified to theultimateindia.com in writing within 28 days of the end of the Tour. No claim notified to theultimateindia.com outside this period will be entertained and theultimateindia.com shall incur no liability whatsoever in respect thereof.

Law & Jurisdiction

This contract will be governed by Indian law. You agree that in the event of a dispute or difference between the parties the exclusive jurisdiction shall vest in the competent court / forum / tribunal in Ghaziabad only.