Terms and Conditions

by Footprint Team (25 January, 2016) - General information

1. Important Notes:

Vietnam is beautiful, but the travel industry is still in its infancy. Therefore, it is important to recognize that the level of service and standards in some areas, whilst improving, is not yet comparable to service standards in more mature travel destinations. There are some external factors which you should know before your travel.

These terms & conditions will become legal between us as soon as you accept the booking, and we accept your booking with your deposit paid.

We can modify these terms and conditions, but it must be through our written confirmation upon your booking on our final confirmation paper, as an appendix to the current terms and conditions.

You must be 18 years old at the time of booking and possess legal capacity. It is your responsibility to read these terms and conditions carefully. If you do not understand them, please contact us for further information.


2. Personal Information:

Please submit correct information as below. We will keep them confidential:

• Copy of the passport of all tour members, including telephone contact.

• Flight details: Flight number, arrival & departure.

• Accommodation preferences: Single, Double, Triple.

• Requirements for special needs, e.g., person with difficulties in walking, vegetarian, specialist tour guide, etc.


3. Prices & Inclusion:

Prices are subject to change until our final written confirmation before your booking. Please check the services included in your travel itinerary. We are not responsible for any services not written in our final confirmation paper.

Fuel Supplement: We reserve the right to increase the price of your holiday after you have booked but no later than 30 days before the departure date. If the price increases by over 10%, you may cancel the booking no later than 16 days before the departure date, with all monies refunded.


4. Itineraries & Activities:

Please ensure that you read the itineraries and activities carefully. We are not responsible for itineraries and activities that are not written in our final confirmation paper.

Itineraries and activities are subject to change at any time due to external factors, such as destination regulation changes or road construction. We will notify you of any changes before the trip or on the day the change takes place and will try to offer a similar value for the trip.


5. Services Inclusion Standard:

Services included in the trip will often be at the standard level. Upgrades to a better level or class are available upon request.

• Hotel/Resort: A standard twin or double room is arranged for 2 persons.

• Homestay: This is an interesting experience, but kindly note that the condition is very basic and traditional. Check with our travel consultants if this is your first time.

• Car/Van/Bus: A good standard transportation vehicle is used, with enough room and extra space for your bags. All transports will have air-conditioning.

• Meals: Most meals are traditional Vietnamese food, with some mixed with Western cuisine.

• Tour Guides: Our local guides speak good English and possess in-depth local knowledge.

All special requests or upgrades to accommodations, meals, transport, and other services must be agreed upon in our final confirmation paper.


6. Services Availability & Our Changes:

Once we have received your booking request, we will reserve the services as agreed. If services in your confirmed travel itinerary are not available, we will offer an alternative of similar value.

We will notify you of any changes as soon as possible before departure. You may accept the changes or cancel the booking more than 30 days before departure to receive a full refund. A cancellation fee will apply for cancellations made within 30 days (see Article #8).


7. Deposit & Balance:

Deposit: An advanced deposit from 35% of the total cost is required to guarantee your booking. If your booking is too close to the departure date (normally 30 days) then larger amount to a full payment should be paid in advance.

In some cases, hotels and other services require full payment before your arrival, thus your balance must be paid before your arrival to Vietnam.

Failure to pay in full by the due date may result the automatic cancellation of your booking without refund of monies paid. Balance: Done 1 month before your arrival to Vietnam.


8. Amendment, Cancellation, Late Arrival and Unused Service:

Amendment: If you wish to amend your services, we will try to change it at the same value if this service(s) are still open for amendment. Extra charge will be made if your amendment or upgrade is more than what we have agreed. For example, hotel will charge for changing the room type.

Cancellation: The date of cancellation will be the date we have your notification, here’s the policy;

• If you cancel our contract any time to 30 days prior to your departure: You will have to pay 7% of total tour cost plus any non-refundable services and any bank fees that resulted from us here.

• If you cancel our contract 30 to 16 days prior to your departure: You will have to pay 15% of total tour cost plus any bank fees that resulted from us here AND any charge occurs to us from our service providers.

• If you cancel 16 to 0 (zero) days before your departure: 100% of the total amount.

Should we experience severe weather conditions we will contact you immediately and offer you the choice of an alternative of equivalent quality or a partial refund. No additional compensation will be paid over.

There is no refund or exchange that can be made for unused services not utilized by your tour member.

Late arrival / flight delayed: If your flight is delayed or changed, please PHONE your travel consultant in charge of your booking (mobile phone) as soon as you have this news from the airlines so that we can adjust the pickup as well as other services accordingly. (please only email as a backup solution, please always phone us).

If you inform us late and we can not change the services for you, you will have to pay for all the extra services such as the extra pick up.

We suggest you to buy travel insurance to cover any cancellation fee you may have to due to the incidents that you might face during your travel.

Unused services: Any other unused services such as meals, hotel, entrances fee, etc… on the excursion due to your late arrival will not be refunded.


9. Visa:

Please note that visa is NOT normally included in our tour program, if you request a visa on arrival, please contact our travel consultants at least 5 working days before your arrival.


10. Complaints:

During your tour, should any problems arise, please inform your tour guide or tour operator as soon as possible so that we can solve the problem so that you can keep enjoying your time with us.

If the problem could not be resolved on your tour, please call our manager as soon as possible at 3 9332844, or direct email at info [@] footprint.vn and give us some time to rectify the situation.

If again we cannot resolve the problem, we will make you an offer of compensation. If you do not take the offer, you can contact our regulatory body, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT). We are not responsible for any complaints after 30 days from the end of the trip.


11. Insurance & Medical Precautions:

All of Footprint tours and services do not include any type of insurance. We advise you to do this in your country before traveling to Vietnam. You should also ensure that you are fully up to date with vaccinations required.

If you are involved in adventurous activities, such as cycling, trekking, etc., you should check with your medical practitioner if you are in any doubt about your fitness to do so.

In case of illness or injury, we help to arrange necessary transfer and treatment. Travellers have to cover all the cost of transfers and treatment.


12. Responsibility, Refund & Disclaimers:

We are responsible for making sure that each part of the holiday you book with us is provided to a reasonable standard and as was advertised by us (or as changed and accepted by you). If any part of your holiday is not provided as described and this spoils your holiday, we will pay you appropriate compensation unless this is due to reasons beyond our control, see below.

We try to update our website frequently but Footprint does not take the responsibility of the information on the website. Our final & correct confirmation for tour itinerary, services type, etc. will be done in written form via email communication or directly at Footprint office.

We will not be responsible for any injury, illness or death was caused by an event, activities or circumstances which the travellers who caused it could not have predicted or avoided even if they had taken all necessary and due care,

We will not take any responsibility for any injury, damage, death, loss, accident or delay caused by threat of wars, civil strife, industrial disputes, natural disasters or terrorism.

Footprint will take no responsibility for any omission, delay, re-touring, additional expenses, or other resulting from improper health, necessary documents to enter or depart a country, or acts by any government authority.

If you or someone on your holiday booking is injured, falls ill or dies, or you need to incur unpredictable extra expenses for which we are not liable because the event is beyond our control (stated above) we will, where appropriate and subject to our discretion, try to help if we can. For example, we can help by:

• providing translation services

• communicating with authorities and others in foreign resorts

• recommending foreign lawyers (if necessary)

• explaining the procedures you should follow

We reserve the right to decline your booking if we have caused to believe that you might pose a threat to public safety and/or security in Vietnam.


13. Governing Law:

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of Vietnam. You hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of Vietnam’s courts in all disputes or any other action arising out of or in relation to these Terms and Conditions or any journey.