Full Terms and Conditions
When you are booking a tour/retreat with us, your booking is subject to these Terms and Conditions. Please take the time to read and understand them. At the same time, you need to take out travel insurance, so as to cover risks, particularly cancellation and change of itinerary. It is your responsibility to read the Itinerary and Tour Information for your tour prior to booking to ensure that you understand the itinerary, style and physical demands of the tour/retreat you are undertaking.
1. Our contract
All bookings are made with Dawn Meader for the Dunsborough Art and Yoga Retreat, Bali Art and Yoga Retreat, and Dawn Meader and Lakshmi Tours for the India Art tours. When you book with us you are taken to agree with these Terms and Conditions. When we accept your booking, you tour contract will include these Terms and Conditions and your itinerary will be as described in our booking confirmation.
2. Deposit requirement
You are required to pay a non-refundable, deposit of $500 per person for your tour booking to be confirmed for a tour. The deposit covers administration expenses and deposits payable to tour suppliers. If your booking is made within 3 months of the departure date then the full tour price is payable at the time of booking.
3. Acceptance of booking and final payments
If we accept your booking we will issue a booking confirmation and invoice. A contract that will exist between us from the date we issue the booking confirmation and invoice is subject to payment of your deposit (as specified). Payment of the balance of the tour price will be due 3 months before the departure date. If the deposit or the balance of the tour price is not paid, as specified,we reserve the right to cancel your booking.
4. Prices & surcharges
Our tour prices are subject to variable and seasonal pricing, both of which are standard practice within the travel industry. This means our tour prices may vary at any time in accordance with demand, market conditions and availability. Your tour price is set at the date of booking. Any reduced pricing or discounts that may become available after you have booked will not apply to vary your tour price. If you wish to cancel your booking to take advantage of a cheaper price, cancellation fees will apply. We reserve the right to impose surcharges up to 56 days before the departure due to unfavourable changes in exchange rates, transportation costs, increases in local operator costs, taxes, or if government action increases costs requires us to do so. In such instances, we will be responsible for the any amount up to 2% of the increase in the tour price, and you will be responsible for the balance of the increase. If any surcharge results in an increase of more than 10% of the tour price you may cancel the booking within 14 days of notification of the surcharge, and obtain a full refund of the tour price.
We are not responsible for any incidental expenses that you may have incurred as a result of your booking including but not limited to visas, vaccinations, travel insurance or non-refundable flights.
5. Your details
Before we confirm your tour/retreat booking you must provide all requested details when you pay your deposit. Full name as per passport, a copy of the details page from your passport (with date of birth, nationality, passport number, passport issue and expiry date), and a list of any pre-existing medical conditions you have provided or need to provide to obtain travel insurance which may affect your ability to participate in the tour.
6. Cancellation by the traveller
If you cancel some or all portions of your booking, cancellation fees will apply. If you cancel a tour more than 75 days prior to departure, we will retain the deposit;
between 31 and 75 days prior to departure, we will retain 50% of the tour price;
less than 31 days prior to departure, we will retain 100% of the tour price.
Note: A Cancellation will only be effective when we receive written confirmation of the cancellation from you.
You must take cancellation insurance when you book which will cover unforeseen cancellation fees. If you leave a tour/retreat for any reason after it has commenced we are not obliged to make any refunds for unused services. If you fail to join a tour, or join it after departure, no refund will be made for unused services of the tour price, pro rata. Additional fees may be payable to accommodation providers. We recommend Insure and Go. They provide Covid cover and motorbike cover.
7. Cancellation by us
We may cancel a tour/retreat at any time prior to departure if, due to terrorism, natural disaster, political instability or other external events of force majeure, it is not viable for us to operate the planned itinerary. We may cancel a tour/retreat due to insufficient bookings (which is less than 8 participants), or due to unforeseen circumstances which prevent Dawn Meader or Lakshmi Tours conducting the tour/retreat. Should our yoga teacher, Ashlea Wilken become unavailable, we will endeavour to find a replacement teacher. If we cancel your tour/retreat,within 30 days prior to departure, we will be unable to refund any part of the tour price, and you must rely upon a cancellation cover in a travel insurance policy for compensation. We recommend Insure and Go. They provide Covid cover and motorbike cover.Where possible we will refund accommodation costs. Make sure you select, or add, ‘Cancellation Costs’ in your chosen package. It is your duty to check Insure and Go or any other insurance company for any recent changes in their policy. They do not cover government changes such as border closes.
If the law deems it unsafe for us to run any tour/retreat safely, because of COVID 19, the tour/retreat will be cancelled and your full payment will be refunded.If you or a travelling companion develops covid and you or the group needs to isolate your travel insurance should cover this. Please make sure you buy the appropriate travel insurance for this. ( Silver or Gold with Insure and Go).
You must take insurance should you need to cancel for any other reasons as noted below.
8. Booking amendments
You cannot transfer your deposit to another tour/retreat. You cannot transfer your payment to another tour/retreat less than 3 months prior to the departure of your tour. If you notify us less than 3 months prior to the departure date, the refund policy applicable to cancellations will apply. If you wish to transfer your booking to a third party you must notify us at least 3 months prior to the proposed departure date. A fee of $200 per person per change will apply (in addition to any charges levied by accommodation providers or ground operators. Transfers to a third party are only permitted where the third party meets all the requirements in relation to the tour.
Amendments to any other arrangements made in conjunction with your tour will incur a $130 administration fee per booking per change. This fee is in addition to any charges levied by hotels, ground operators or airlines. No amendments are permitted to your booking within 10 days of departure.
9. Inclusions
Your tour/retreat includes:
All accommodation as listed on the itinerary webpage
All transport as listed on the itinerary webpage
All tours and classes as listed on the itinerary webpage
All meals as listed on the Itinerary/ tour webpage
10. Exclusions
Your tour/retreat does not include:
International or internal flights
Kitty for the India Tours, as specified on the webpage itinerary
Airport transfers, taxes and excess baggage charges .
Meals other than breakfast, except in the Dunsborough Tour.
Visa and passport fees
Travel insurance
All personal expenses
11. Overland kitty ( India Tours)
On the India Tours you are required to contribute to a Kitty. The Kitty is a payment put into a central fund which is overseen by the travellers and Lakshmi Tours. It funds tips for the hotel staff, the drivers and all meals except breakfast, when we eat as a group, which is the majority of the meals. It does not fund alcohol. Kitty amounts usually come to between $250 and $300 AUD each for the 14 days.
12. Age & Health requirements
Minimum Age: The minimum age is 16. All travellers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian, or in lieu of a legal guardian, by an escort over the age of 18, appointed by their legal guardian. The legal guardian or their designee will be responsible for the traveller under the age of 18’s day to day care. If a legal guardian elects to designate an escort in their lieu, they will be required to complete and sign a relevant document, to delegate their authority.
Maximum Age: There is no upper age limit though we remind you that our trips can be physically demanding and clients must ensure that they are suitably fit to allow full participation. It is your responsibility to ensure that you obtain proper and detailed medical assessment at least two months prior to travel and advice upon and precautions for the latest health requirements and recommendations for your destination.
13. Group size
Our tours/retreats are guaranteed to depart once they have six fully paid participants. There is a maximum of 10 travellers.
14. Passport and visas
You must carry a valid passport and have obtained all of the appropriate visas, permits and certificates for the countries which you will visit during your tour/retreat. Your passport must be valid for 6 months beyond the date you return from the tour. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of the correct visas, permits and certificates for your tour; We are not responsible if you are refused entry to a country because you lack the correct passport, visa or other travel documentation.
15. Travel insurance
Travel insurance is mandatory for all our travellers and should be taken out at the time of booking. Your travel insurance must provide cover against Covid19, personal accident, death, medical expenses and emergency repatriation with a recommended minimum coverage of US$200,000 for each of the categories of cover. We also strongly recommend it covers cancellation for unforeseen circumstances prior and during the tour/retreat, curtailment, personal liability and loss of luggage and personal effects. You must provide a copy of the certificate of currency, or your travel insurance policy number and the insurance company’s 24 hour emergency contact number on or before joining the tour/retreat; you will not be able to join the tour/retreat without these details. If you have travel insurance connected to your credit card or bank account please ensure you have details of the participating insurer, the insurance policy number and emergency contact number with you (rather than the bank’s name and credit card details).
16. Flexibility
You appreciate and acknowledge that the nature of this type of travel requires some flexibility and you should allow for alternatives.You accept that the route, schedules, itineraries, amenities and mode of transport may be subject to alteration without prior notice due to local circumstances or events.
17. Change of itinerary
Before departure: If we make a major change we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before departure. The definition of a major change is deemed to be a change affecting at least one day in five of the itinerary. When a major change is made you may choose between accepting the change, obtaining a refund of money paid on the land portion of the tour/retreat only or accepting an alternative tour offered.
After departure: We reserve the right to change an itinerary after departure due to local circumstances or events outside of our control. In such emergency circumstances the additional cost of any necessary itinerary alterations will be covered by you. Please note we are not responsible for any incidental expenses that may be incurred as a result of the change of itinerary such as visas, vaccinations or non-refundable flights.
18. Acceptance of risk
You acknowledge that the nature of the tour/retreat may be adventurous and participation involves some degree of personal risk. You will be visiting places where the political, cultural and geographical attributes present challenges greater than those present in daily western lives. We use information from government foreign departments and reports from our own contacts in assessing whether the itinerary should operate. However it is also your own responsibility to acquaint yourself with all relevant travel information and the nature of your itinerary. You should be aware of the current information on places in the itinerary which is found in the DFAT Smartraveller.gov.au website. You acknowledge that your decision to travel is made in light of consideration of this information and you accept that you are aware of the personal risks attendant upon such travel.
19. Limitation of liability
We contract with a network of companies, and individuals to assist in the running of our tours/retreats. We are not responsible for the acts and omissions of these third parties.
To the fullest extent permitted by law:
any liability for any loss, death, injury or damage which you may suffer (directly or indirectly) in connection with or arising out of your participation in a tour/retreat, or any breach of these Terms and Conditions, is excluded;
you release us and our employees, agents and representatives from any liability and expressly waive any claims you may have against us arising out of or in connection with your participation in a tour/retreat; and
any condition or warranty which is implied by law into these Terms and Conditions (Implied Warranty), is excluded.
To the extent an Implied Warranty cannot be excluded, our liability in respect of the Implied Warranty is limited to (in our absolute discretion): (i) the provision of a similar tour/retreat to an equivalent value; or (ii) a refund of the total amount received by us from you in connection with your booking.
Any claim by you is excluded to the extent that it is for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profits or economic loss, however it arises, or for indirect, special, punitive or exemplary damages.
20. Optional activities
Optional activities not included in the tour/retreat price do not form part of the trip or this contract. You accept that any assistance given by your group leader or local representative in arranging optional activities does not render us liable for them in any way. The contract for the provision of that activity will be between you and activity provider.
21. Claims & complaints
If you have a complaint about your tour/retreat please inform us in order that we can attempt to rectify the matter. If satisfaction is not reached through these means then any further complaint should be put in writing to us within 30 days of the end of the tour.
22. Severability
In the event that any term or condition contained in these Terms and Conditions is unenforceable or void by operation of law or as being against public policy or is unenforceable or void for any other reason, then such term or condition shall be deemed to be severed from this contract or amended accordingly only to such extent necessary to allow all remaining terms and conditions to survive and continue as binding.
23. Photos and marketing
You consent to us using images of you taken during the tour/retreat for advertising and promotional purposes in any medium we choose. You grant us a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable licence to use such images for publicity and promotional purposes. Photos and videos will be taken with discretion. We need to know in writing if this is unacceptable to you.
24. Privacy policy
Any personal information that we collect about you may be used for any purpose associated with the operation of your tour. The information may be disclosed to our service providers or other suppliers to enable us to operate the tour/retreat. We will otherwise treat your details in accordance with our privacy policy (as viewed on our website)