Booking terms and conditions

1. Requirements:

 The client should be healthy and must not suffer from an infectious disease. At the beginning of and during of a group tour the guide of the group reserves the right to exclude any participant completely or partially who evidently does not comply with the requirements or disturbs the trip effectively and does not react duly to the dissuasion of the guide. In this case no claim exists for refund of the paid tour price. Participation is open to everyone who meets the specific requirements, mentioned in the description of the journey and brings the adequate equipment (clothes, bicycle) with him or rents it after reservation. Your own bicycle has to be in an optimal technical condition. The client is responsible for maintenance, failure and repair of his own bicycle, brought with him. The wearing of a helmet is obligatory for all tours. Basically, every participant cycles at his own risk and is aware of the dangers that can arise when using a bicycle. He is alone responsible for meeting the physical requirements of the cycling journey booked. Nevertheless, it is possible to travel with the accompanying van, if there is overstraining or sickness and the client has booked a group tour. Although the routes mainly follow fully developed bikeways, the participant should be sufficiently informed of the German road traffic regulations. The participation of minors is only possible in the company of an adult and with the signature of a legal guardian. For group registration an informal record of the participants with name, address and age should also be attached.

2. Registration and confirmation:

 The contract is between the company and the client, being any person travelling or intending to travel on a tour operated by the company. The contract, including all matters arising from it, is subject to German law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the German courts. A booking is accepted and becomes definite only from the date when the company sends a confirmation. It is at this point that a contract between the company and the client comes into existence. The company or their agents reserve the right to decline any booking at their discretion. To secure a booking the company or their agent requires a completed booking form and the necessary deposit. (Full payment if travel is to occur within 6 weeks). The first named client must be over 18 years of age. Clients booking by telephone, by website/E-mail or fax will be deemed to have signed the booking form and read and accepted our terms of booking. The person signing, or being deemed to sign, the booking form warrants that he/she has full authority to do so on behalf of all persons whose names appear thereon, and confirms that all such persons are fully aware of and accept these conditions.

3. Payment:

 The balance of all monies due, including any surcharges applicable at the time, must be paid to the company or their agents not later than 6 weeks before departure. After receipt of our confirmation a deposit of 100,00 euros per person is due within 14 days. In the case of non-payment of the balance by the due date the organizer reserves the right to cancel your booking and cancellation charges will apply. If any cheque is dishonoured we reserve the right to charge €25 to cover administration costs. The payment of balance is due 6 weeks before departure. If the booking of the tour is later than 6 weeks before departure, the complete price is due and payable immediately after receipt of the invoice. After receipt of full payment, but at the earliest 4 weeks before journey commencement the client receives the documentation together with the certificate of bankruptcy insurance. Please refer to the invoice regarding the specific dates of payment. Without full payment until 14 days before tour commencement the client has no further claim for provision of the journey, but an obligation for payment of cancellation charges. Payment from abroad has to be authorized free of costs for GermanCyclingTours.

4. Services:

 Please refer to the information and description of the chosen tour regarding the extent of services. The services are stipulated in the booking confirmation and thus part of the contract.

5. Changes to services and prices:

 We reserve the right to change the stipulated prices confirmed on booking by the 21st day before the agreed departure date, if there are any important and unforeseen reasons and the departure date is more than 4 months after the conclusion of the contract. If there is an increase in price exceeding 5% the client has the right to cancel the contract free of charge. Changes and differences of single travel services to the contractually agreed content of the travel contract are allowed, if they are not substantial and do not affect the complete nature of the booked journey. Such changes as other cycling routes or accommodation can be necessary as a result of weather or for organisational reasons.

6. Minimum turnout for group tours:

 Basically the group tours can be implemented only, if the minimum turnout of adult persons- stipulated in the description of the journey - has been met. Otherwise we reserve the right to cancel the contract up to 14 days before the agreed departure date or to suggest a substitute journey scheme. In this case it is also possible for you to rebook the journey without additional charges into an individual tour with the services stipulated on our homepage. The payments or rather the payment difference you have already made will be refunded. Further demands against us can not be made.

7. Insurance Travel:

 Insurance is mandatory for all clients whilst on a tour organised by the company. Clients are wholly responsible for arranging their own insurance and that they are in possession of private travel insurance with protection for the full duration of the tour in respect of medical expenses, injury, death, repatriation, liability, damaged luggage, with adequate cover. We recommend the conclusion of cancellation insurance.

8. Liabilities:

 On the basis of a reasonable commercial assessment, GermanCyclingTours is responsible for an accurate prearrangement of the journeys, choice and control of the operators, the accuracy of the description and the proper provision of the agreed services. Our liability is excluded and limited owing to regulations by law that are to be applied to services operators have to perform, whose liability is also excluded and limited. In any event, our liability is limited to three times the journey price for losses that are not bodily injuries, if a loss suffered by a client is caused by the tour operator neither deliberately nor grossly negligently or the tour operator is responsible for a loss to a client only through the fault of an operator. GermanCyclingTours is not liable for services that are recognizable external services and so described are performed by external operators. This is valid for the carriage by train, bus and boat, where special terms of carriage are valid. Clients are responsible for the compliance with regulations regarding passport, customs and foreign exchange. Any liability for damage to luggage is excluded, if this damage was unavoidable during carrying or lifting due to the age or condition of the piece of luggage. Should a piece of luggage be lost or damaged we are liable only, if the loss was caused by one of our employees deliberately or through gross negligence and if this loss was reported immediately after notifying us. For losses not covered by this clause, we recommend baggage insurance. This limitation of liability is also valid for carriage by external operators.

9. Warranty:

 Should one of our tours have a deficiency despite all efforts, you should make your complaint to the tour guide or to GermanCyclingTours immediately. You are obliged to contribute to avoiding potential damage or to limit it, if there are any deficiencies. We reserve the right to remedy such problems by providing a similar or more valuable substitute. Claims because of non-fulfilment or not contractual fulfilment have to be asserted within one month after the conclusion of the journey.

10. Liability for rented equipment:

 The client is fully liable for rented equipment included in the price of the journey, for any damage or loss of it, insofar as he is to blame.

11. Breaking off the journey:

 Any participant in the journey, who breaks off the journey preterm - regardless of his reasons - has no claim to refund of the amount he has paid for the journey.

12. Cancellation:

 You can cancel the journey at anytime. In your own interest you should you do in writing, preferably by post ans additionally by email. Your cancellation is valid from the day of receipt. Cancellation charges will be imposed as a percentage of the total tour price, including surcharges as follows: 60 - 31 days before departure - 15%, 30-21 days before departure - 40%, 20-15 days before departure - 60%, 14- 7 days before departure - 75 %, < 7 days before departure - 90 %. In the case of non-appearance - 95 %. You have the right for evidence, that there no damage or less damage has occurred than the cancellation charge we have claimed. In any case we recommend the conclusion of a cancellation insurance contract.

13. Change of reservation:

There is no legal right to make changes with respect to the date of the journey and the destination after concluding the contract. If changes of reservation are possible and GermanCyclingTours agrees to them, a single service charge of 30 euros per person is due. You can transfer your booking to another person up to 15 days before departure. You have to alert us to this change in writing. The substitute person has to fulfil the terms and further prerequisites connected with the participation of the journey, whereas both (substitute person and forwarding person) are liable jointly and severally to pay for the balanced price and arisen additional costs. Such additional costs can be, for example, no more possible double room occupancy.

14. Cancellation due to extraordinary circumstances:

 If the journey is substantially complicated, endangered or compromised due to circumstances we are not responsible for - war, strike, riots, epidemics, mandatory regulations and the like - both parties can withdraw from the contract or respectively cancel it. This is also valid, if journeys can not be commenced or have to be cancelled due to external circumstances (extreme weather, returning because of an injured participant or the tour guide etc.). Additional costs for a potential return journey are at your expense. Of course we will refund the price paid for the tour less a service charge.

15. Data collection and processing:

 The personal data indicated by the client with reservation are stored and used only for purposes of provision and realisation of the journey. This is especially valid for the necessary data of payment (§ 28 German Data Protection Act). The client accepts storage of his data for these purposes with his reservation. The participant accepts that photos, videos and interviews made in connection with his participation can be published in broadcast, TV, internet, printed media, books, videos, DVD etc. without any claim to payment. The participant indicates the willingness to be informed about current offers by email. The participant can withdraw this agreement to the circulation of his personal data by informing the organizer in writing at any time.

16. Inoperativeness:

 The inoperativeness of individual clauses of the contract does not cause the inoperativeness of the whole contract. Any matters not covered by these regulations are subject to the German journey contract law (§§ 651 a ff. BGB).

17. Protection against bankruptcy:

 In case of bankruptcy we are insured by: Reisegarant GmbH, Jessenstr. 4, 22767 Hamburg, Germany

18. Jurisdiction:

 The parties to the contract agree that German courts, namely those where GermanCyclingTours is based, are concerned internationally responsible in the case of potential disputes resulting from this contract. All parties to the contract agree to the validity of German substantive law.

19. Organizer:

 GermanCyclingTours Gabelsbergerstr.2 08064 Zwickau