Conditions of booking
1. Enquiries and application:
• General Tour Enquiries: We will send you on request our offer – free of charge and unbinding – along with prices and conditions.
• Specified Tour Enquiries (based on certain requested hotels) offers can only be given after receipt of registration fee (not refundable)
2. Booking:
Together with your written booking confirmation, we will need specifications from you regarding:
Number and nature of participants (pupils, students, teachers), age range, gender, transport arrangements (e.g. whether the group will come with its own bus etc.), dates, times and gateways of arrival and departure. Subsequently you shall receive from us our confirmation of your booking along with our deposit invoice. On receipt of our confirmation your booking becomes valid and binding for both parties.
3. Prices:
Unless otherwise requested we will quote net prices, based on a minimum group size as per your specification. Please keep in mind that a lower total of participants, a change of itinerary or a change of dates may incur price modifications.
4. Payment:
Payments should be effected by bank transfer into one of the following accounts:
Commerzbank, Bonn, Germany
Account No. 2 617 651 (BLZ 37080040) at the
SWIFT : DRESDEFF370
IBAN : DE71 3708 0040 0261 7651 00
Commerzbank AG New York
Account No: 150 1080217 00 USD
SWIFT: COBAUS3X
ABA/Routing No: 026008044
A non-refundable deposit is due upon receipt of our invoice (unless stated otherwise in our confirmation). The balance must be paid in full into our account (as given above) at the latest 6 weeks before the group’s arrival (if not stated otherwise in our confirmation).
5. Cancellations:
Notice of cancellation must be given in writing. The following cancellation fees apply:
The 20 per cent deposit will be kept if reservations and initial planning have already been initiated. In case of cancellation within less than 8 weeks before the arranged start of the tour, we shall have to charge in addition to the sum mentioned above all costs imposed on us by our partners.
6. Supervision:
Each group must be accompanied by a group leader – he / she must supervise and be responsible for the group. Our courier / tour escort shall assume no supervision responsibilities.
7. Tour escort:
Organisation für Internationale Kontakte (OIK) strongly advises to book tour escorts (e.g. university students with previous experience or professional tour guides) for round trips and other programmes - cost to be quoted upon request. Student tour escorts are less experienced but at the same time less costly than professional tour guides. All tour escorts have to be booked at least 6 weeks in advance so that OIK can find a suitable person for your group. OIK shall not be liable for any detrimental effects arising from the fact that no OIK tour escort was with the group.
8. Insurance
Travel insurance covering illness, accident, liability and theft is not included. However, groups must have insurance, please make sure that no group is coming to Europe without it. On request OIK offers inexpensive rates for group travel insurance.
General conditions:
All arrangements for transport, accommodation and services are made by Organisation für Internationale Kontakte (in the following OIK) as agents only and neither OIK nor any other organisation collaborating with OIK is liable for any injury, loss, damage, deviation, delay or curtailment however caused or the consequences there of which may happen during any tour. Notice is given that the liability of the railway, bus or other companies and persons providing transport, accommodation, service or any holiday or tour is governed by the law of the country in which the event giving rise to liability takes place, and that such liability is subject to the conditions and regulations upon which ticket coupons or vouchers are issued.
OIK reserves the right:
a) to alter or vary prices (i.e. owing to changes of rates of exchange or changes of railway or other rates), routes or itineraries if conditions make it in their opinion advisable to do so, without previous notice
b) to cancel any tour in case of force majeure, in which case any deposit will be returned or
c) to exclude any participant from further participation in a tour – in which case proportional refund would be made, subject to the original condition of booking.
Should any disagreement arise which cannot be settled by mail, the legal seat for both parties is Bonn. Although this programme was compiled with utmost care information is subject to alteration without notice.
Additional conditions apply for music and sports groups (to be sent on request).