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General Terms & Conditions

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY (last modified on 14 Oct 2023)

These terms and conditions apply to all travel booked through CNH Tours.  In your invoice, you will receive a separate set of terms and conditions specific to your trip. 

Introduction: CNH Tours takes pride in providing personalized service. We try as much as possible to "go the extra mile" to ensure a problem free adventure. We strive to provide you with the best service possible at all times - before, during and after the trip. However, we ask you to recognize that there are always factors that are beyond our control. In order to ensure that prospective participants are fully aware of risks, and CNH Tours policies, we have developed the following terms and conditions for trips booked with us.

General Travel Conditions

CNH Tours are for anyone in good health - they do not require exceptional fitness, though one must be willing to put in a reasonable physical effort (e.g. 3-4 kilometer walks at times over uneven trails, slippery rocks, sandy shorelines).  Group activities are accompanied by an experienced English speaking local guide or tour leader familiar with the destination and fluent in the local language.  During any independent time, you may be in unfamiliar areas with few if any person speaking English.  Finally, we like to remind you that living standards and practices in other parts of the world and the standards and conditions there with respect to the provision of utilities, services and accommodation may differ from those found in your home country.

Travel Insurance Recommendations

CNH Tours strongly urges participants to purchase insurance that adequately covers all eventualities. Emergency medical insurance may be mandatory on some of our trips, and if it isn't, we strongly urge you to acquire such coverage.   Trip cancellation or interruption coverage or Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) travel insurance should also be seriously considered.   See our Travel Insurance section for more information.

Airline Connections

We recommend you factor in some buffer when planning your international flights. A tight time-schedule connection between flights, or between an international arrival and your trip start day/time can result in problems - more so when you are embarking on a cruise. Ask us for advice. Similarly, when planning your international flight back home, be sure that there is a good buffer between whenever the trip ends, and your departure time.   CNH Tours will not be liable for any missed connections / missed trip days due to international flight problems.  Again, ask us for advice before you book your international travel. You may opt for flexible air ticket for your journey home to guard against missed connections. 

Liability / Responsibility

Travel Risks:  All travel has its inherent risks, whether one travels to the office or to remote foreign destinations, where events beyond our control such as severe weather, earthquakes, mechanical breakdowns, political instability, pandemics. epidemics or civil strife may occur at any time causing a variety of delays, cancellations, injury or other impediments to a problem-free trip. You may be exploring wilderness / rural areas, where encounters with potentially dangerous wildlife may occur.  In joining our trips, you understand and assume these risks.   

Avoiding Risks: In an effort to reduce the effects of such risks on your trip and/or your well-being, CNH Tours and its service providers reserve the right to modify the itinerary and, subject to the policies of its service providers, cancel or postpone the trip.

Guest’s Limitation and Personal Behaviour:  The guide / tour leader with whom you may be at any given time during your trip also has the authority to cancel or modify activities, or prevent one or more guests from participating, based on his or her judgement regarding safety concerns and the interests of the group as a whole.  While traveling on a ship, the captain has the authority to remove anyone from the vessel should he or she consider that this is in the best interests of the person in question or of the other passengers and/or crew.  The costs of such a removal will be borne by the affected passenger(s).  Neither CNH Tours nor its service providers will be liable to the guests in question for any missed portions of the trip under such circumstances.  In joining our trips, you understand and agree to these conditions.  

Travel Advisories: Should the Canadian government emit a formal travel advisory recommending against all unnecessary travel to our destination, trips may need to be canceled and under these circumstances, though CNH Tours will make every effort to reimburse some or all of the trip payment, or to postpone it, we cannot guarantee any refund whatsoever.  Once again, CNH Tours recommends the purchase of adequate cancellation insurance which should cover such circumstances.  In joining our trips, you agree to these conditions.

Errors and Omissions: Though we do our best to carry out due diligence on all of our in-country service providers, CNH Tours cannot be held responsible for omissions, errors, losses, theft, damages or accidents during the course of the trip, nor for delays caused by, or cancellations made by these service providers.  In joining our trips, you agree to these conditions.

Participant Illness or Injury: While basic first aid assistance is available in the more remote parts of your travels, participants recognize and accept that in case of injury or illness, professional medical facilities and personnel may be as long as 24 hour journey away (or more in some exceptional circumstances).  While CNH Tours and its service providers will do all they can to urgently address health concerns, in joining our trips, participants recognize and accept the limitations to the provision of health care and will not hold CNH liable for the inability to provide immediate and full modern attention in case of need when in remote locations.

CNH Tours will not make any reimbursements under any circumstances for a premature return or portion of the trip not completed, nor for unused services on behalf of trip participants who have been injured or have taken ill. All CNH Tours guests benefit from a complimentary US$200,00 emergency evacuation insurance (this will cover the costs of taking you to the nearest medical facility deemed able to treat your injury/sickness - this could be in the nearest city and not necessarily in your home country) but guests are responsible for acquiring emergency medical insurance coverage (this would cover the costs of treating your injury / sickness). 

Prohibited Items and Substances:  Firearms, flammable or hazardous items, controlled or prohibited substances or drugs, contraband or items prohibited by any country or port or airport to be visited are not permitted on the trip.

Lost / Stolen Items:  Neither CNH Tours nor its service providers are responsible for lost or stolen items.  Hotels and some ships will have safety deposit boxes in the rooms or at reception.  The captain of a ship will safeguard any valuables on board should no safety boxes be available in your room.   We recommend you leave valuables at home, and while on the trip, ensure any valuable items are tucked away discretely.     

Your Personal Data:  Guests' personal data collected by CNH Tours are used exclusively to provide the services of the tour booked, and to manage the passenger's security, safety, and wellbeing during the tour. As necessary, data will be shared with third party service providers, such as transportation, accommodation, and insurance providers, who collaborate with CNH Tours on the delivery of the tour. Data will also be shared with authorities as required by law, regulation, or court orders.  Should for any reason you need to make a claim with your insurer, CNH Tours will likely be asked by your insurer to corroborate the details of your trip and will do so. Unless otherwise requested by participants, CNH Tours will retain your name and email, mailing addresses, year of birth and information on your past bookings with CNH Tours for future communication purposes.  All other personal information gathered will be deleted within 12 months of a trip having been completed. 

Financial Liability:  The maximum financial liability of CNH Tours and its agents in regards to the provision of services described in the trip information material is limited to the cost of that service.  In joining our trips, you understand and agree to these conditions.  

Cancellation Policies:

Cancellation policies will vary according to the trip booked. These will be shared with you before you are asked to pay a deposit. Typically, payments once made are non-refundable.  We strongly recommend you purchase adequate trip cancellation insurance.

Trip Adjustments / Itinerary Changes:

CNH Tours, local operators and your guides reserve the right to make adjustments to itineraries / activities for a variety of logistical / safety reasons.  CNH Tours, local operators guides may unilaterally decide to adjust/modify itineraries and/or daily activities temporarily, or permanently, for a number of reasons, though this is a rare occurrence.   The itinerary and activities advertised at your time of booking may not be the exact itinerary the trip will follow.  CNH Tours cannot be held responsible for such changes.  

Trip Cancellation:

If necessary, CNH Tours or a local operator may cancel the trip prior to departure due to insufficient bookings or other reasons that fall within scope of responsibilities of our service providers (e.g. major mechanical problem or other problem making it impossible for a ship to sail). Though these are extremely rare occurrences, under such circumstances local operators will do their utmost to provide alternatives of an equivalent or better class - and should this prove to be impossible, local operators will generally offer a credit for a future trip (for reasons such as these, we recommend you purchase air tickets / insurance that will cover such eventualities).   Refunds are generally not provided if a credit or an alternate departure is offered.  Be sure to read the specific terms and conditions included in your invoice - as those are the ones that will apply to your specific trip.   

Payment by Credit Card:

You agree that you will not seek a reimbursement via your credit card issuer for services not rendered due to Force Majeure events, or for any changes in itinerary decided upon by CNH Tours / local tour representatives that were made in an effort to deal with unforeseen circumstances that are beyond their control. 

Transferability: 

Our trips are almost always transferable (excluding air tickets).  Should you be unable to join a trip, it will likely be possible to pass it on to another person.  There will likely be a modest transfer fee on such occasions, depending on timing and other factors.  Ask us for details.

Force Majeure: 

As is the case for other travel companies, CNH Tours will not be held liable to disruptions in a guest's travel plans for reasons that are beyond our control or beyond the control of our partners and service providers in Ecuador.  Such disruptions may be due to a variety of causes including, but not limited to civil unrest, natural phenomena, pandemics, epidemics, commercial air traffic disruption, civil unrest. labour strife among others.  If at all possible, CNH Tours will strive to work around such disruptions to guarantee a safe and enjoyable trip, but should conditions arise that prevent us from ensuring our guest's safety and comfort, we reserve the right to cancel the trip.  The best protection against such eventualities is offered by adequate travel insurance.   

In-country Legal Problems:

Though we will do what we can to provide assistance, CNH Tours will not be held responsible for any of its trip participants who, on his or her own account, develop problems with local authorities for not having respected the laws of the host country.

In-country Living Standards: 

We know that our guests are well-educated and well-traveled people.  However, CNH Tours is required under Ontario regulations to advise its guests that  living standards and conditions at the destination may differ from those found in their home country.  We suspect that this would not come as a surprise to our guests.  

Prices:

Our prices are based on  travel costs established by third parties. Though our policy is to absorb any minor price increases after our guests have made their deposit on a trip, there may be some unforeseen situations where major changes in transportation costs (such as a sudden and steep rise in fuel prices) or other services on which our prices are based are modified significantly by a third party.  Should we ever call for an increase of over 7% of your total invoice, you will have the right to obtain a full refund of your trip. 

Dispute Settlement, Law, Arbitration, Jurisdiction and Legal Fees

The Parties agree to settle any dispute arising between them first and foremost in an amicable manner. In the event of failure to effectuate an amicable settlement, the Parties agree to submit all disputes to the Canadian Arbitration Association (CAA) whose jurisdiction and venue for the arbitration proceeding will be in Ottawa, Ontario and as such the Parties renounce any alternative venues and jurisdictions. Resolution of the dispute will be governed by the laws of the province of Ontario, and the maximum recoverable amount to which the customer will be entitled under any and all circumstances will be the net cost of their trip paid to CNH Tours.

If, under a dispute against CNH Tours, the guest is found to have been negligent, said guest will be responsible for covering all legal costs associated with the dispute for both his/her expenses as well as for those incurred by CNH Tours.

CNH Tours Electronic Newsletter

When booking a trip with CNH Tours, or when enquiring about our services, all members of the party agree to join our electronic newsletter mailing list.  We do not share this list with any outside parties.   The list is used to inform our guests, both current, past and potential, about upcoming trips, new destinations or other items we feel might be of interest.   You will be free to unsubscribe from this list at any time.