Terms & Conditions

These terms govern every tour, excursion, activity and transfer sold under the Rethymno Tours brand. Rethymno Tours and Way to Crete are trading names of the same licensed Greek tour operator, referred to below as "the Company". "You", "the client" or "the traveller" means any person taking, or intending to take, a tour operated by the Company.

Registering your participation in a tour — that is, making a booking — means you accept these terms and conditions.

This agreement and everything arising from it is governed by Greek law and falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Greek courts.

The information, data and recommendations in these general conditions have been checked by the Company for validity and accuracy. Where the programme of the specific trip you have chosen states something different, the programme prevails.

1. Confirming your booking

To confirm a booking:

1. Complete the booking form provided by the Company.
2. Submit payment in full within 30 days of booking.

If you book by telephone, through this website, by email or by fax, you are taken to have agreed to these terms and to the following four conditions:

• You have read and accepted the booking conditions, these terms, and the general information published in our brochure and on our website.
• You understand and accept, on behalf of everyone included in your booking, the risks inherent in adventure travel.
• Neither you nor anyone else named on your booking has a pre-existing medical condition that may prevent participation in the excursion or the smooth running of the tour.
• The person who signs, or is deemed to sign, the booking form (which includes this document) has full authority to do so on behalf of everyone named on it, and confirms that all of them are aware of and agree to these conditions.

Your booking is accepted and confirmed only when you receive confirmation from the Company.

2. Reservations, payment and cancellation

To confirm any reservation we require a signed participation agreement together with payment of the participation fee in full. Paying — by bank transfer, card or cash — means you are fully informed about the programme and accept these general terms of participation.

If you need to cancel a prepaid tour, please tell us as early as you can. We know that circumstances change while travelling, and we deal with them as reasonably as we are able to.

Where a booking is cancelled, for any reason and by either party, the following applies.

Daily activities

When you cancel	What happens
16 days or more before the activity	Full refund
6 to 15 days before	The Company retains 15% of the amount paid
3 to 5 days before	The Company refunds 50% of the amount paid
0 to 2 days before	The Company retains the full amount paid

If you cancel, you remain liable for any insurance and amendment fees already incurred before the cancellation, and for any deposits already paid for items or services reserved on your behalf.

Tour prices are those in our current price list. They are calculated by assessing a number of cost factors — taxes and other input costs among them — and the Company reserves the right to adjust prices within a reasonable period when those factors change.

In every case of cancellation, the percentages above are calculated on the price of the tour in effect at the time of booking, whatever the price may be when the cancellation occurs.

If, for reasons outside your control, you were unable to pay the full amount at the time of your reservation — a technical problem with your bank, for example — you must tell us directly through one of the contact channels listed on this website.

Where you cancel, the Company reserves the right to claim further sums connected with the cancellation of your booking in respect of any loss it suffers.

If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch. We treat your information as confidential and it stays secure with us.

3. Travel and cancellation insurance

Adequate personal travel insurance is compulsory for every client on a tour operated by the Company.

Clients and their personal belongings, luggage included, are their own responsibility at all times. It is your responsibility to arrange comprehensive travel insurance covering, as a minimum, medical expenses, injury, death, repatriation, cancellation and curtailment for the whole duration of the tour.

Check that your policy contains no exclusion that limits cover for the activities in your itinerary. Ensuring that you genuinely hold adequate travel insurance is yours alone, and subrogating to the Company any obligation arising under that insurance is expressly excluded.

4. Participation in excursions

Arriving on time, as set out in the tour programme, is a basic obligation of everyone taking part. If you do not arrive on time, for any reason, the tour will start or continue as normal and no refund is due.

If a traveller chooses to break off their trip and leave the group, no further service or compensation is due, and the responsibility and cost of any travel away from the group is theirs.

Studying in full the programme of the tour you are joining, and these conditions of participation, is likewise a basic obligation.

By joining our excursions you agree to follow the instructions and decisions of the Company's staff, tour leaders and agents. If, in their opinion, your health, fitness or behaviour puts the safety, comfort or enjoyment of the excursion at risk, you may be excluded from all or part of it without refund. In case of illness, the Company may make suitable arrangements at your own additional expense. Clients who engage in activity that is illegal under Greek law will be removed from the excursion, and the Company is not liable for any further assistance or support.

You must disclose at the time of booking any medical or other condition that may affect your participation or anyone else's. You are responsible for carrying whatever you need for the day — water, any medication — to take an active part.

Unused services are not refunded.

5. Passports, visas and vaccinations

Holding a valid passport, together with any visa and vaccination certificate required for the whole of your trip, is your responsibility.

Failing to obtain a visa or passport in time does not entitle you to cancel your participation without the cancellation charges set out in section 2.

Each client is responsible for the validity, the obtaining and the safekeeping of their own travel documents, including tickets, throughout the tour.

6. Changes to your excursion

We work to the advertised itinerary, but the Company, its staff, tour leaders and agents reserve the right to change the itinerary where this is necessary or advisable, including changes to the facilities or services described on this website or in our brochure before you booked.

Where a significant change is foreseen, we will do everything we can to tell you at the time of booking; otherwise we will tell you as soon as reasonably possible before departure. What counts as a significant change is at the Company's sole discretion and depends on the tour and the circumstances.

7. Cancellation of a tour by the Company

The Company may cancel a tour in a range of circumstances.

Where cancellation is caused by force majeure — war or the threat of war, riot, civil unrest, industrial action, terrorism, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather, technical or maintenance problems with transport, changes forced by an airline rescheduling or cancelling flights, or any comparable event outside the Company's control — any extraordinary cost of accommodation or of transport by other, more expensive means is borne by the travellers.

The Company also reserves the right to cancel a tour on grounds of safety or feasibility, or because the minimum number of participants was not reached. Its only obligation in that case is to refund the money received; no further compensation is due.

The Company is not responsible for penalties on connecting flights if a tour's departure time or date changes, or if it is cancelled.

8. Our responsibility for your excursion

In booking with us you accept the risks of adventure travel as any reasonable person would understand them. Safety is our priority, but staying informed about the risks involved is part of your responsibility too.

Unused services are not refunded. The Company is not liable for delays or extraordinary events arising during a tour, and does not reimburse costs related to them. We accept no liability for accidents or delays caused by third parties, regardless of fault, and we are not responsible for acts a client takes independently during a tour.

9. Food and beverage partners

The Company works with selected food and beverage providers. It neither prepares, produces nor supplies those items, and accepts no liability for any adverse effect arising from consuming them.

10. Changes to these terms

The Company reserves the right to change the terms, conditions and notices under which this website is offered. You agree to be bound by the terms, conditions and notices in force at the time you use this website and the facilities it provides.