Salty Dog Sea Kayaking – Half Day Kayak and Turtle Tour

“supplier” means any tour operator or other supplier of the services “you” means the guest booking and person named on this reservation booking “we”, “our” means The Whitsundays Central Reservations Centre and A.J.LAURENT PTY LTD These terms and conditions apply to all bookings made through The Whitsundays Central Reservations Centre. Placing a booking with The Whitsundays Central Reservations Centre and paying a deposit constitute acceptance of these terms and conditions.

Booking Conditions
For bookings made more than 30 days prior to travel, a 25% deposit is due to secure your booking with the balance due 30 days prior to travel. For bookings made within 30 days of travel, the full payment is due immediately to secure your booking. If we do not receive your full payment within 30 days of your travel date and you do not contact us to cancel, your deposit is forfeited and your booking may be automatically cancelled by us, the supplier or both.

Payments
Prices are quoted in Australian dollars, inclusive of GST, and all payments must be made in Australian dollars. Your reservation will only be confirmed when funds have been received and are cleared. The Whitsundays Central Reservations Centre is not responsible for delays in postal delivery, bank or payment system processing. It is your responsibility to ensure that payments are received within the times specified. If the deposit or final payment is not received by the due date, The Whitsundays Central Reservations Centre has the right cancel the booking. If your final payment is not paid by the due date and in any event within 30 days of your departure, we have the right to cancel your booking and retain the deposit in full without any reimbursement to cover our costs and those of any supplier.

Cancellations and Amendments to Bookings
If you wish to cancel or amend any booking made you need to contact us in writing. You can only cancel or amend a confirmed booking by contacting us directly. If you do not contact us to cancel prior to your booking departure date, you may forfeit your deposit and further costs.

Cancellation Charges and Amendment Fees
Any cancellation or amendment made more than 30 days before travel will incur an administration fee of 25% of the total booking fee. All cancellations or amendments made within 30 days of your travel date departure will incur both an administration fee of 25% in addition to the individual supplier’s fees. Any changes requested to your booking, including but not limited to dates, are subject to availability and if they are not available, you may be required to cancel and agree to the cancellation terms. IMPORTANT NOTE: Some services and activities may not permit any refund for certain bookings. You should check with the individual supplier or The Whitsundays Central Reservations Centre prior to paying for your booking to confirm any special non-refundable conditions.

Travel Insurance
We recommend that you take out travel insurance to cover your reservation, and valuable items (e.g. cameras). Your travel insurance policy should include coverage to protect against unforeseen and last-minute cancellations or medical conditions that may prevent travel and also to cover any medical emergencies during travel at minimum.

Supplier Tours and Services Changes
In the unlikely case of a vessel break down, maintenance or unavailability, the supplier will supply an alternate vessel of a similar standard and quality. Itineraries may be affected by elements beyond our and the supplier’s control such as wind, tide, rain, storm or other weather conditions which make travel dangerous and require a delay or cancellation. It is the skipper's requirement to ensure passenger safety at all times and may use his/her professional judgment in any manner to keep his/her guests and crew safe. In the instance of such delay or cancellation, alternative options will be provided by the supplier. In the event a cancellation or delay occurs and your tour or service is cancelled and rescheduled, you will receive a full refund if you are unable to rebook your tour or service.

Liability
You are using these services and taking any tours at your own risk. We are not responsible for any loss or damage, including direct, indirect or consequential loss you may suffer as a result of your reservation, booking or anything related to your tour or services provided by any supplier. You need to ensure you are medically sound, fit and physically able to use the services. We are not liable for the event that you are refused access to any services or tours due to your medical, physical or other reasons, including intoxication. Any such claims should be addressed to the suppliers directly. You should note that sailing can be a dangerous activity and while crews will make every effort to ensure your safety, they cannot be accountable for actions or injury to you that may be ‘beyond their control’. Every effort is make to ensure your safety and you may be required to complete a pre departure questionnaire, and sign a travel agreement waiver during the check-in process of your tour with the supplier directly. We are not affiliated with nor responsible for our suppliers in any way other than as intermediary to arrange their services on you and their behalf. If you have any issues, injury, suffer any loss or damage, you need to take it up with the supplier directly. If we are obligated to cancel your travel arrangements for any reason, the liability of will be limited to a refund of all monies paid by you.

Payment, Cancellation and Refund Policy

Booking and Payment

Advance booking of kayaks is advisable, especially in school holidays. We require either payment in full or minimum 20% deposit plus full credit card details to secure a booking, this includes full name on the card, credit card number and expiry date. Any balance owing will be taken on the day of departure, we accept Visa, Mastercard, cash or travellers cheques. Camping permits must be booked in advance through Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, see camp site bookings for details).

Cancellation by client – We understand that travel plans vary and that occasionally you may need to alter or cancel your reservation with us. Provided that sufficient notice is given, this is not usually a problem, and we can usually organise a rescheduling of trip to a more suitable time or a partial refund. Short notice cancellations however means that we may have turned down other clients and will have occurred expenses for permits, food, transport, staff etc. In these instances, a refund is not available. Full details of our policy is set out below.

No-Shows & Cancellation Fees

HALF DAY AND FULL DAY TRIPS AND KAYAK HIRE/RENTALS

Cancellation of half day and day trips and rentals within 48 hours will occur a 100% cancellation fee. No refunds are made for cancellations within 48 hours. All other cancellations incur a 20% of full trip price cancellation fee.

No-Shows & Cancellation Fees

6 DAY AND EXTENDED TOURS

If you cancel your 6 Day or Extended tour more than 60 days prior to departure date, you agree to forfeit your deposit.

If you cancel your 6 Day or Extended tour between 60 days and 15 days prior to departure date, you agree to be liable for 75% of the full cost of your tour.

If you cancel your 6 Day or Extended tour less than 15 days prior to departure date, you agree to be liable for 100% of the cost of your tour.

All other cancellations incur a 20% of full trip price.

Please note that in the event of a no-show, full payment is required. At our discretion this fee may be used as a credit towards a future trip or hire.

Note: For sea kayak rentals, once your trip has commenced, there are no refunds for any reasons, including bad weather. This includes an individuals or group that returns before their period of hire has finished. If strong winds or sea conditions on the last day of your hire means you can’t safely kayak back to our base at Shute Harbour, you should contact us as soon as possible. We will usually offer a couple of alternatives including:

1 Staying out an extra day until it is safe to kayak, there will be no extra cost for this day, or

2 Catching the water taxi back to Shute Harbour, any costs incurred with this option will need to be Covered by yourselves.

Groups – Occasionally only part of a group with a booking arrives with no prior notice of the partial Cancellation. In this situation, the redundant booking is payable by the group in full.

Cancellation by Salty Dog Sea Kayaking

Salty Dog Sea Kayaking reserves the right to delay, postpone, substitute or cancel a trip as a matter of safety for our guests and guides. We will make the final call whether to cancel for safety reasons on site at the time the event is scheduled to begin. If we must cancel for any reason, we are happy to reschedule where possible or we give you a full refund less any booking fees payable to your booking agent (please check their policies at time of booking). Please note we have a minimum number of 6 on overnight trips. We highly recommend you take out suitable travel insurance to cover any refund shortfall. Overnight and extended trips – If the forecast is for improving weather conditions, we will ask our clients if they can accept a delayed start or reschedule onto another trip.

If the weather deteriorates once the trip has commenced to the point where safety is compromised, we may have to transfer clients via water taxi (we cover this cost). In this case a partial refund will be given based on a pro-rata per day for each day not spent in the National Park.

Half Day and Full Day Guided Trips – Once your trip has commenced there are no refunds. Occasionally, the guide may need to change the route of the trip for safety reasons or to suit the abilities of the group. If a situation arises such as a dramatic worsening of weather during the trip and the guide deems it unsafe to continue, Salty Dog Sea Kayaking will cover the cost of the water taxi for our clients back to our base at Shute Harbour.

Kayak Rentals – Occasionally we need to cancel a client’s Sea Kayak Rental where it is evident that they don’t have the ability or skills required to safely undertake this activity. Where this situation arises, rental fee less commission payable to booking agents (usually around 15%) is refunded.

Note:

1 Salty Dog Sea Kayaking reserves the right to cancel a client’s tour in the event of non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the rental – in this situation, there is no refund.

2 Salty Dog Sea Kayaking reserves the right to cancel or change the itinerary of a trip due to such things as prevailing weather conditions and group abilities. Such a change is not just cause for a client to cancel a trip without application of the cancellation policy.

3 If Salty Dog Sea Kayaking cancels the trip or hire, you agree that Salty Dog Sea Kayaking will not be liable for any further amounts, including but not limited to, airfares, accommodation and any additional expenses incurred by you due to such a cancellation.

Travel Insurance

We strongly advise all clients to consider arranging appropriate travel insurance. With rentals, clients are solely responsible for their personal equipment, including any luggage or personal belongings left behind at the Salty Dog Sea Kayaking Depot.

AGE POLICY

Guided Trips – On our guided trips, we need to consider the expectations of all of our guests as well as safety aspects. For this reason, Guided Trips longer than a half day are usually restricted to paddlers 16 years and over, unless specific arrangements have been made (eg school trips, customised family tours).

We have taken children of all ages from toddlers to 80 years of age, but please discuss your options with us prior to booking, we can help find a time with conditions suitable for your family’s needs.

Freedom Rentals – Kayakers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a responsible parent or guardian 18 years or older. Please discuss your options with us before hiring kayaks for youths or children.