Silk and Stones Travel
Terms and Conditions
Kayaks Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Terms and Conditions
Silk and Stones Travel has the following Terms and Conditions to support reliable, safe delivery of your travel with us. For a list of helpful web sites and sources, check our resources page.
Trip Information: After receipt of your Application and Release of Liability forms and the initial deposit, a detailed itinerary, reading list, packing list, insurance recommendations, and other information needed to prepare you for your trip is mailed to you. Final trip details, including confirmation of meeting time and place, emergency call numbers should flights be delayed or cancelled, are mailed or emailed about two weeks before departure. For any questions, concerns or comments please contact us. We are here to help prepare you for your trip!
Payment: To reserve your space on the trip of your choice, please complete the trip application and release form and send the appropriate non-refundable deposit. Some trips will require significant deposits due to the logistics involved, and the exact payment schedule is confirmed with you before you provide the initial deposit. The total balance is due and payable by credit card, wire, or personal check not later than 90 days prior to the start of the trip. All prices and payments are in US Dollars, by sending a check to the address below. Include destination and departure date in the memo section and mail to:
338 Clayton St., #3
Denver, CO 80206
If preferred, wire transfers are accepted. Since fees charged by your bank and any intermediary bank vary, please confirm the amount and have the bank add their own and intermediary fees to your transfer, so that Silk and Stones Travel receives payment in full. Include your name and trip date. Please call us for incoming wire instructions.
Upon receiving your deposit we will send you a confirmation letter, detailed trip itinerary, and other necessary information for your trip planning. Final instructions will be sent several weeks prior to departure.
Payment Schedule*:
At reservation time: $500
120 days prior to departure 20% of trip cost
60 days prior to departure Balance
*Payment schedules for cruises, custom tours, and special event s vary and will be clearly indicated in the specific itinerary for each trip. Prices are quoted in US dollars and all payments must be made in US dollars whether by check or credit card. All land payments submitted less than 15 days prior to departure must be by cashier’s check.
Pricing: Trips are priced according to the number of full-price participants on the trip. Each itinerary will list one of more prices, depending on the number of trip participants.
Prices listed on brochures, web sites, or separate itineraries are subject to change because the trip dates and prices are frequently printed well in advance of the trip date, and exceptional cost increases or currency fluctuations can occur and will be reflected in revised trip prices. In addition, guests can request extra services or changes, and subject to approval by silk and stones Travel, will results in additional charges.
Single Supplements: Accommodations are based on double occupancy. Participants who specifically request single accommodations, subject to availability, pay a single supplement. If you are traveling alone and wish to share accommodations, Silk and Stones Travel will attempt to match guests with roommates. However, if a roommate is not available, guests must pay the single supplement.
Cancellation: If it becomes necessary for a client to cancel a trip, the following fees will apply, computed as of the date of receipt of written cancellation notice by email, fax, or standard mail against the start date of the trip. We STRONGLY recommend you obtain cancellation insurance if cancellation, delay, and baggage loss/damage coverage is not already included through premium credit cards, or other insurance providers.
Cancellation Fee Schedule*
90-46 days prior to departureInitial deposit plus non-recoverable expenses
45 days or less100% of land cost
*Cancellation and transfer schedules for cruises, extensions, and certain special or custom events are often more strict. These exceptions will be clearly indicated in the detailed itineraries printed separately for each of these trips.
Silk and Stones Travel reserves the right to cancel any trip prior to departure for any reason whatsoever, including insufficient signup or logistical problems that may impede trip operations. The refund of all land payments received shall release Silk and Stones Travel from any further liability. A trip with insufficient signup would normally be cancelled a minimum of one month prior to departure.
Silk and Stones Travel must normally make substantial payments to its suppliers (hotels, transportation companies, etc.) far in advance of the scheduled embarkation date. IF a trip is cancelled due to force majeure (acts of God, war, labor strikes, earthquake or other natural disaster, etc.) Silk and Stones Travel will promptly refund the portion of the trip cost not already advanced to suppliers and use its best efforts to recover and refund the balance as promptly as possible. However, Silk and Stones Travel does not guarantee recovery of any or all of the advance payments made, and our use of best efforts to recover these payments will not include the institution of any legal proceedings in foreign jurisdictions.
Insurance: Silk and Stones Travel is not responsible for expenses incurred by trip members in preparing for a cancelled trip (e.g. nonrefundable advance purchase of air tickets, visa fees, inoculations, equipment, etc.) or for any additional arrangements should the trip member have embarked prior to the scheduled group departure date. We STRONGLY recommend you obtain cancellation insurance and Emergency Medical Evacuation insurance if cancellation, delay, and baggage loss/damage coverage is not already included through premium credit cards, or other insurance providers.
Refunds: Partial refunds for unused hotel rooms, meals, other arrangements or elements of a trip are not possible. The total land trip cost is a package and credits are not given for services not used—unless written arrangements have been made with Silk and Stones Travel staff prior to departure.
Limitation of Liability: These paragraphs (together with the Release of Liability section of the Application Form) define our responsibility with respect to all our trips. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY. Payment of your deposit represents your acceptance of the following terms and conditions:
Silk and Stones Travel gives notice that services provided in connection with its itineraries, including transportation, hotel accommodations, restaurants, and other services, are purchased from various independent suppliers who are not affiliated with Silk and Stones Travel in any way. Although we endeavor to choose the best suppliers available, Silk and Stones Travel has no right to control their operations and therefore makes these travel arrangements upon the express condition that Silk and Stones Travel and its own agents and employees, shall not be liable for any delay, mishap, inconvenience, expense, irregularity, bodily injury or death to person, or damage to property occasioned through the conduct or default of any company or individual engaged in providing these services. Each of these passenger conveyance companies, tour companies, hotels, restaurants, etc. is subject to the laws of the state or country where the service is provided.
Silk and Stones Travel shall not be liable for (a) expenses such as additional hotel nights and meals not specified in the individual trip itineraries, but which may be required to get to or from a trip start or end; (b) expenses due to the delay of a trip fro any reason (e.g. bad weather, trail conditions, land slides, flooding, sickness, or other contingency for which Silk and Stones Travel cannot make provisions; (c) expenses incurred in recovering luggage lost by airlines, belongings left behind on a trip, or in shipping purchases or other goods home from abroad; (d) bodily injury or property damage for any reason, including but not limited to acts of God, weather, quarantines, strikes, civil disturbances, theft, default, changes in government regulations, terrorism, war, or failure of conveyance to arrive or depart as scheduled, etc., over which Silk and Stones Travel has no control. The right is reserved to substitute both trip leaders and hotels from those listed in the trip itinerary, as well as reverse the order of places to be visited and make reasonable changes in the itinerary where deemed advisable for the comfort and well being of the passengers.
Silk and Stones Travel reserves the right to take photographic or film records of any of its trips, and may use any such records for promotional and/or commercial purposes.
Silk and Stones Travel reserves the right to decline to accept—or to restrain from further participation –any person it judges to be incapable of meeting the rigors and requirements of participating in the tour activities, or any person whose actions or deportment it judges unsuitable for group travel. A refund based on the cost of any unused land services already paid for is the limit of Silk and Stones Travel’s responsibility in such a case. On advancement of deposit to Silk and Stones Travel, the depositor therefore, agrees to be bound by the recited terms and conditions.
Trip Member’s Responsibility: Trip members have the responsibility to select a trip appropriate to their abilities and interests. In order to assist you, Silk and Stones Travel describes each trip carefully and will discuss the trip details with you. Trip members are held responsible for being in sufficient good health to undertake the trip. Trip members are responsible for preparing for the trip by studying the itinerary and pre-departure information packets sent by Silk and Stones Travel and for bringing the appropriate clothing and equipment as advised therein. Trip members will follow normal standards of hygiene in order to lessen risk of travelers' diseases within the group, as advised by the trip leader. Trip members are required to follow normal social behavior with fellow trip members and to act in an appropriate and respectful manner in accordance with the customs of countries visited. Trip members are required to complete the itinerary as scheduled, or adjusted by the trip leader in the field as necessary.
Land Cost: In general, trip prices include accommodations, all field arrangements, meals, airport transfers, ground transportation, leadership, guides, ancillary support staff, group equipment, entry fees and permits only as noted in the Itinerary. International airfare to the trip starting point is not included. Each trip varies slightly, however. Please refer to the specific trip itinerary for information on inclusions and exclusions on land costs.
Single Travelers: Trip price quotes are based on double occupancy. If you are traveling alone and wish to share accommodations, Silk and Stones Travel will try to assign a roommate of the same gender. If there is no one with whom you can share, or you prefer a single occupancy, you are requested to pay a Single Supplement Fee, also quoted in the trip itinerary. On some trips, especially ones involving boats with limited staterooms, Single Supplement is not available.
Unexpected Costs: The cost of delays is not included if any trip has to be delayed because of bad weather, trail conditions, road conditions, transportation delays, government intervention, sickness for which Silk and Stones Travel or its agent can not make provision. Tours costs are subject to increase without prior notice, even if you have signed up on the trip and paid in full. We publish our prices well in advance of departure, often more than half a year in advance. Between that time and the time of the trip's actual departure, we are occasionally faced with significant, unanticipated cost increases, i.e., international currency fluctuations and increases in costs of services overseas. We regret should such a situation occur, but sometimes it is unavoidable.
Medical and Health: Silk and Stones Travel or an individual trip leader has the right to disqualify anyone at any time prior to or during a trip if he or she feels the trip member is physically and mentally incapable and/or if a trip member's continued participation will jeopardize the individual involved or the group. Refunds are not given under such circumstances.
Hospital facilities for serious problems are often unavailable, and evacuation can be prolonged, difficult, and expensive. Silk and Stones Travel assumes no liability regarding provision of medical care.
As soon as you sign up for a trip, please contact your doctor and discuss any necessary health or medical requirements for the trip, including: immunizations, pre-existing conditions, medications, personal treatments to bring in your personal medical kit, such as antibiotics, motion-sickness remedies, anti-fungal creams, malaria pills, and so on, and any other concerns you may have.
Note: Many guides and leaders are independent contractors or are employees of the group operators with whom we contract. Silk and Stones Travel assumes no liability for loss or damage to baggage to and from a Silk and Stones Travel trip or while on an Silk and Stones Travel Trip.
Silk and Stones Travel
338 Clayton St., #3
Denver, CO 80206
+1.303.333.9439
