Helanka Vacations- Sri Lanka, totally customized to suit your interests, time frames& budgets

1 : BOOKING AND PAYMENT

1.1. All bookings are handled by the Helanka Vacations team of Travel Advisors/Tour Executives (by email or telephone) or via our websites. Bookings are finalized only upon full payment and receipt of the travelers’ details.

1.2. Booking Confirmation, Down payments and Final Payment.

1. Helanka Vacations will provide the Booking Confirmation document / invoice along with bank details.

2. A deposit of 25% of the total amount of the package must be paid by bank transfer or credit card
   (Visa or MasterCard) via our bank’s online payment portal to secure your booking.

   Caution: In Sri Lanka, a hotel reservation is confirmed only by making an advance payment to the hotel. We can pre-book your hotel in each destination while you make the payment (subject to availability); these pre-reservations are generally valid for 8 days. We kindly request you to pay half of the package value at the earliest so that you stand a higher chance of securing your booking.

3. The balance invoice is to be paid to Helanka Vacations at least 21 days prior to your arrival in Sri Lanka.
   In some cases, such as group, conference or incentive trips, the balance will have to be paid
   01 month prior to the arrival in Sri Lanka.

4. There will be no binding contract for your holiday until Helanka Vacations has received payment of the deposit/sum required.
   
   e. If you are booking within 21 days of the tour start date, then full payment is required at the time of booking.

3 : CHANGES TO BOOKINGS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE AND CANCELLATION POLICY

All changes to bookings will incur charges. These charges can be up to 100% of the cost of the booking, regardless of whether your trip has commenced. Helanka Vacations will return all recoverable costs for cancellations whenever possible. 

3.1. Cancellation procedure to cancel your booking with Helanka Vacations, please notify your travel insurance company and Helanka Vacations in writing, explaining the reason for the cancellation. Any cancellation fees will be calculated according to the date of receipt of the written advice of the cancellation of your booking. Please read your travel insurance policy carefully and contact your insurance to find out about the conditions and level of coverage you are entitled to as well as documentation required to obtain full reimbursement of your trip by the insurance. Helanka Vacations will provide all relevant documents whenever required by your insurance.
Change fees for all confirmed bookings where a Booking Confirmation has been issued and a deposit received by Helanka Vacations are detailed below:
Cancellation fee

1. [30 to 21 days prior to arrival]: 25% of the Trip value will be retained by Helanka Vacations

2. [20 to 10 Days prior to arrival]: 50% of the Trip value will be retained by Helanka Vacations

3. [9 to 2 days prior to arrival]: 75% of the Trip value will be retained by Helanka Vacations

4. Less than 2 days prior to arrival: 90% of the Trip value will be retained by Helanka Vacations

5. No show: 100% of the Trip value will be retained by Helanka Vacations

During peak season (December 15th till March 15th and from July 15th till August 15th) cancellation one month before tour start may incur cost of up to 100% of the package.
Please notify Helanka Vacations of any changes regarding your travel plans in writing as early as possible. Most hotels, airlines and suppliers charge a 100% cancellation fee for changes.


3.2. Cancellation fees for partial cancellation (valid for fixed departure group itineraries). If one or more participant registered on the same trip cancel their participation in a tour that will still be maintained for the remaining participants, the cancellation fees mentioned above will be calculated on prorata basis and subject to point 3.1 of the T&C.

4 : INSURANCE & LIABILITY

Travel Insurance: HVPL strongly recommends that you subscribe a personal travel insurance policy including repatriation cover for the above mentioned risks. HVPL does not constitute a substitute for travel insurance. You are required to provide your travel insurance details and mention it in Participant Information form at the time of booking. As per our HSSE procedure, HVPL also request that you provide emergency contact details. Please make sure you have a copy of your travel insurance policy with you at all times. You are responsible for lodging any claims to your travel insurance policy (our guides and local staff will assist you if required).

Liability: Under circumstances where liability cannot be excluded, liability is limited to the value of the purchased travel arrangements. We do not accept any liability in contract, tort or otherwise for any injury, damage, loss, delay, additional expense or inconvenience caused directly or indirectly by force majeure or any other event which is beyond our control or which is not preventable by reasonable diligence on our part. In particular, but without limitation to these conditions, we accept no responsibility for any loss, damage or injury you suffer as a result of terrorism, war (including civil-war), coup, riot, civil disturbance or any type of criminal act. It is your responsibility to inform yourself about the safety and security situation in the places you are travelling to. 
HVPL does not accept any liability of whatever nature, whether in contract, tort or otherwise in the following circumstances: 

1. Loss or flight tickets or other vouchers or travel documents by the traveler,

2. for the acts, omissions or default, whether negligent or otherwise, of any service provider, over whom we have no direct control

3. Invalid or inadequate Travel Insurance, identification, passport, visa or vaccinations.

4. Any loss, damage or injury you suffer as a result of unforeseeable and insurmountable incidents or events including but not limited to: terrorism, war (including civil-war), coup, riot, civil disturbance or any type of criminal act, strikes external to HVPL, technical or administrative failures external to HVPL , obstruction of airspace, bankruptcy of a supplier or partner of HVPL , bad weather, natural disaster, delays, including delays in postal services in the case of sending replacement plane tickets, passports etc, breakdowns, loss of luggage or other personal effects or misconnection of flights or other modes of transport. Any delays or necessary changes to an itinerary due to the above mentioned causes will be at the expense of the traveler. HVPL will not provide any compensation or refunds in such situations. Possible additional expenses related to any of the situations mentioned above including but not limited to taxes, hotel, car park fees or replacement and /or reissue of travel documents will remain the responsibility of the traveler. 

5.  HVPL reserves the right to change the dates, schedules or routes of itineraries, or cancel bookings to ensure the safety of the travelers and/or at the injunction of an administrative authority, as necessitated by unforeseeable and insurmountable incidents or events as mentioned above. In this case HVPL will calculate the unused portion of travel and deduct cancellation fees. The remaining amount will be held in credit for future use by the participant. If the credit is not enough to cover any new travel bookings, the difference will be paid by the participant. 

Your refusal to pay any reasonable adjustments to the price of your itinerary will be regarded as a cancellation of your booking.

5 : PRIVACY

“HVPL assures that the personal information provided by its travelers (clients) will be strictly confidential and we will take all reasonable precautions to protect such information reaching any third party.

HVPL will not use or disclose its travelers (clients) personal information for purposes other than those for which it was collected for without the travelers (clients) explicit consent or as required by law. Customer information is retained for as long as it is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected.

Exclusions: Confidential Information does not include information that is or becomes generally known by the public through no action by the traveler or anyone else bound by obligations of confidentiality with respect thereto or becomes available from an independent source that is not bound by obligations of confidentiality with respect thereto”

6 : PRICE REVISION

The price of your holiday will not be subject to surcharges except in the following cases:

1. Variations in transportation costs

2. Exchange rates fluctuation.

3. Government tax and entry ticket increase

HVPL will absorb any increase equal to up to 2% of your holiday price without price modification or surcharge for the client. If the increase exceeds 2% a surcharge will be applied to your holiday package and a revised invoice will be sent to you. You may decide to cancel your booking within 14 days of the date of receipt of the revised Invoice and obtain a refund in accordance with section 3.1 of the T&C.

7 : INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS DETAILS

6.1. Sometimes at the time of creating and quoting your travel itinerary, we do not know the exact details of your international flights. If you fail to provide your flight details and agree to the itinerary, the subsequent changes which will be required will be at your full expense.

8 : AGENT

HVPL acts as a travel agent only and is a mere intermediary between you and the service providers. We sell various travel related products on behalf of numerous transport and accommodation service providers, such as airlines, coach/rail and cruise line operators. We have no responsibility for these services, nor do we have authority to make any warranty or representation regarding their standard. All bookings are subject to the T&C and limitations of liability imposed by these service providers. Where a third party or other Tour Operator is used, their Terms and Conditions supersede the ones set out in this contract and the client is bound by those.

2 : TRAVEL INFORMATION

2.1. Passports and Visas
All travelers listed on the Participant Information form must be in possession of a valid passport and relevant visas. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have valid travel documentation, including but not limited to passports and visas, which meet the requirements of immigration and other government authorities at every destination. Please refer to your nearest Sri Lankan Consulate for more information regarding visa requirements. If your itinerary includes travel to any other country besides Sri Lanka, please check on visa requirements for each country that you will visit. All passports require at least 6 months validity. Any fines, penalties, payments or expenditures incurred as a result of such documents not meeting the requirements of the authorities will be your sole responsibility.
www.eta.gov.lk/slvisa/

2.2. Non Transferable/Nonrefundable.
Exceptionally, and provided you have given sufficient notice to HVPL you find yourself unable to travel, transfer of your booking to another person and full payment of additional costs arising from that transfer by the client, if any, will be considered.
Generally, it should be noted that all travel documents issued are non- transferable. Such documents may include but are not limited to, airline tickets, hotel vouchers, tour vouchers, or any other document used to confirm an arrangement with a service provider. Such documents may also be subject to conditions such as, but not limited to, being non-refundable, non-date-changeable and subject to cancellation or amendment fees.


2.3. Health and Safety Information.
HVPL advises you to regularly consult your country of residence’s department of foreign affairs website. Here you will find any information pertaining to safe travel in Sri Lanka and its surrounding countries. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are aware of any health requirements for your travel destinations and to ensure that you carry all necessary vaccination documentation. Please consult your doctor for more information in that regard.