TERMS & CONDITIONS

1. Responsibilities
   Galapagos Dive Academy is the direct operator for all Galapagos Dive Academy daily diving services. In regard to all land tours, hotels and apartment bookings, long range day diving activities and cruises, these are contracted through third parties and Galapagos Dive Academy acts only as an intermediary agent for passengers contracting with such service providers.
   Galapagos Dive Academy takes no responsibility for accidents, loss, damage, delay, inconvenience, or any other irregularity that may be caused by defects of any vehicle, or through situations of omission, neglect or negligence of any of these third-party companies. Galapagos Dive Academy also accepts no responsibility for tour or service cancellations by third-party operators, as a result of vandalism, strikes, war, governmental actions, weather conditions, or other factors which imply additional expenses caused by delays, itinerary changes or other causes.
   Galapagos Dive Academy reserves the right to accept or reject any request for reservation by any client, and to cancel or change a tour or accommodation package, if circumstances so warrant. The request for service to our company will be understood as a consent to these conditions.

2. Prices and Rates
   All prices and rates are in US dollars and are subject to change without notice, until payment has been made and proper confirmation of availability and price issued.
   Prices/ rates for tourist packages are per person. When accommodation is involved, this is assumed on a double occupancy basis in a standard hotel room unless otherwise agreed in writing. Rates/fees do not include extras, tips, airport taxes, airfares (unless otherwise indicated), entrance fees to the national park or other islands, excess baggage or any other item not specified in the tour program.

3. Itinerary
   Our itineraries are planned with great care, but for operational reasons, it may be necessary to change the order of activities in the itinerary or on the specified route. Such cases are rare, however, in general, an itinerary should be treated as a basic guide only.
   Galapagos Dive Academy reserves the right to make changes to the order of excursions/trips due to weather conditions, ocean tides, time of arrival or departure of aircraft, buses or boats, availability of tours and hotels, or for any other relevant reason, with the goal of enabling all activities in a stated tour package or diving tour to be completed.

4. Reservations
   All reservations are subject to confirmation, until receipt of full payment for services. In cases where Galapagos Dive Academy has an agreement with the customer that a reservation can be confirmed with a partial payment of 40% for daily diving tours and accommodation with standard hotels, and 70% for packages with higher end luxury hotels and/or cruises, the balance must be paid 60 days before the commencement of service or as is otherwise set out in the package/hotel/cruise contract.
   The confirmation of hotels is subject to availability, if your specified hotel is not available for any reason, you will be provided with another in a similar category and price band.
   Payment for our services can only be made as set out in, ‘Payment Methods’ below. Once a tour package booking is confirmed with a customer by e-mail, via a service voucher, the tour or package is guaranteed, unless cancellation arises due to the reasons set out above, under the category of responsibilities which are unrelated to Galapagos Dive Academy.

5. Payment Policy
   All our direct supply tours / packages must be paid for, in full, 30 days prior to commencement, unless otherwise arranged with Galapagos Dive Academy.
   If booking third party services with us, please note that some companies require payment a full 60 days prior to commencement. You will be notified of such terms during the reservation process.
   Payment Methods:
   Bank deposit/Transfer, this incurs a $50 fee.
   Western Union or Money Gram transfer.
   VISA / MASTERCARD credit or debit card payment via online system, this incurs a + 6% fee.
   Cash payments in our office

6. Documentation
   The client/passenger is responsible for holding a valid passport (or other relevant travel document) and any required visa/s. To confirm your booking, we will require this information from you.
   Necessary details vary by trip; but include and are not limited to:
   Nationality
   Full name as per passport,
   Passport number,
   Passport issue and expiry date
   Date of birth,
   And, any pre-existing medical conditions you have which may affect your ability to complete your travel arrangements, food preferences, etc.
   We also require passengers participating in diving or snorkelling tours to sign our release form, either online (a link will be sent during the booking process) or in person during a visit to our office.
   We will send a request for all this information.

7. Luggage
   Clients/passengers are responsible for their own luggage. Any claim for loss or theft should be directed to the relevant transport operator.

8. Obligations
   If a service cannot be provided due to an error, failure, or fault attributable directly to the operator of the service, Galapagos Dive Academy will aim to provide a solution of equal value to the service not provided.
   Any claim regarding any services not provided during a trip will only be accepted if this is done, in writing, within seven days of completion of the trip. Cancellations, returns and refunds of money will be governed by the terms and conditions set forth in the, Cancellations (Cancellation, Return & Refund Policies), section below

9. Cancellations (Cancellation, Return & Refund Policies)
   9.1 Cancellation by you: Individual passengers and passengers in groups – PADI/SSI Courses only:
   If you enroll in a PADI/SSI course you may receive digital material, once you redeem your code this may not be returable. You will be able to use your PADI/SSI material with another dive centre if you so choose.
   a) Cancellations made 45 days or more prior to service date - refund given minus any bank fees/service charges. We will discount 100% of any PADI/SSI material.
   b) Cancellations made 44 to 30 days prior to service date - we will retain 35% of your deposit – refund given for the balance minus any bank fees/service charges. We will discount 100% of any PADI/SSI material.
   c) Cancellations made 29 days or less prior to service date - we will retain 70% of your deposit – refund given for the balance minus any bank fees/service charges. We will discount 100% of any PADI/SSI material.
   d) Cancellations made less than 48 hours prior to service date - we will retain 100% of the monies paid
   If the candidate/student cannot continue with a course for personal reasons, such as family tragedy, fear or illness, no refund will be offered. Your instructor will nevertheless give you a ‘Referral Form’ with all the exercises performed/completed which you can take to any PADI/SSI diving centre worldwide and use towards the completion of your training with them. Such referrals are valid for 12 months.
   9.2 Cancellation by you: Individual passengers and groups – 3rd Party packages:
   a) Cancellations made 90 days or more prior to service date - refund given minus any bank fees/service charges
   b) Cancellations made 89 to 60 days prior to service date – we will retain 75% of the monies paid
   c) Cancellations made less than 59 days prior to service date– We will retain the remaining 100% of monies paid by you
   Note: Certain Hotels and all cruises have stricter cancellations policies than this, Galapagos Dive Academy reserves the right to apply the cancellation policy of specific hotels, cruises and tour operators included in your package.
   Any credit resulting from a cancellation under this clause is valid for 9 months from the original service date and may be applied towards any available tour or package offered by us. This credit is not transferrable or redeemable for cash.
   9.3 Cancellation by us:
   Certain services may be interrupted or may be cancelled due to weather conditions, force majeure, or other reasons beyond the control of the hotels, airlines, suppliers to us (or Galapagos Dive Academy itself).
   9.4 Cancellation due to Force Majeure
   If a trip is cancelled due to a Force Majeure Event, we can offer you a choice of: a) A 100% credit of monies paid for your trip: or, b) A refund minus unrecoverable costs.
   If the cancellation due to a Force Majeure Event occurs after a trip has commenced, we can offer you a choice of a pro-rata: a) 100% credit for the days that remain on your trip; or b) Refund minus unrecoverable costs of the days that remain on your trip.
   Any credit resulting from a cancellation under this clause (Cancellation by us): does not have an expiry date and may be applied towards any other available trip offered by us. Note, the credit is not redeemable for cash.
   During the high season, Galapagos Dive Academy reserves the right to alter cancellation policies, if our suppliers should alter their terms/apply penalties regarding the matters listed above.
   A “Force Majeure Event” includes but is not limited to: acts of God; war; civil commotion; riot; blockade or embargo; fire; explosion; breakdown; union dispute; earthquake; epidemic, pandemic or other health emergency; flood; windstorm or other extreme weather event; lack or failure of courses of supply; passage of any law, order, proclamation, regulation, ordinance, demand, requisition or requirement or any other act of any government authority, beyond the reasonable control of the parties, whether or not foreseeable, which would make it dangerous or not viable for a trip to commence or continue.

10. Travel & Dive Insurance
    Travel insurance / Dive Insurance is recommended for customers. Some travel insurance does include dive insurance whilst others categorise diving as an extreme sport and do not include it. We recommend that your travel insurance includes cover against 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, curtailment, personal liability and loss of luggage and personal effects. 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 just the bank’s name and credit card details.