Frequently Asked Questions

Booking Conditions

Please read this section carefully. It sets out the agreement between us and is designed to be fair in protecting both our interests. On Foot Limited trading as On Foot Holidays is registered in England and its registered company number is 05589960. The registered office address is Stradbroke Cottage, Coombe Bissett, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP5 4LY, Great Britain. Bookings with On Foot Ltd (“On Foot Holidays”) are accepted only in accordance with the terms and conditions set out below.

Any dispute, claim or other matter arising between us (whether or not involving any personal injury) in connection with your contract will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only to the exclusion of all other courts except those of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The combination of travel services offered to you is a package within the meaning of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations.  Therefore, you will benefit from all rights applying to packages under UK law.  On Foot Holidays will be fully responsible for the proper performance of the package as a whole. Additionally, as required by law, On Foot Holidays has protection in place to refund your payments and, where transport is included in the package, to ensure your repatriation in the event that it becomes/they become insolvent.

Your key rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018
are set out below:

a. Travellers will receive all essential information about the package before concluding the package travel contract.

b. There is always at least one trader who is liable for the proper performance of all the travel services included in the contract.

c. Travellers are given an emergency number or details of a contact point where they can get in touch with the organiser or travel agent.

d. Travellers may transfer the package to another person, on reasonable notice and possibly subject to additional costs.

e. The price of the package may only be increased if specific costs rise (for instance fuel prices), and if expressly provided for below, and in any event not later than 20 days before the start of the package. If the price increase exceeds 8% of the price of the package, the traveller may terminate the contract. If the organiser reserves the right to a price increase, the traveller has a right to a price reduction if there is a decrease in the relevant costs.

f. Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee and get a full refund of any payments if any of the essential elements of the package, other than the price, are changed significantly. If before the start of the package the trader responsible for the package cancels the package, travellers are entitled to a refund and compensation where appropriate.

g. Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee before the start of the package in the event of exceptional circumstances, for instance if there are serious security problems at the destination which are likely to affect the package

h. Additionally, travellers may at any time before the start of the package terminate the contract in return for an appropriate and justifiable termination fee.

i. If, after the start of the package, significant elements of the package cannot be provided as agreed, suitable alternative arrangements will have to be offered to the traveller at no extra cost. Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee, where services are not performed in accordance with the contract and this substantially affects the performance of the package and the organiser fails to remedy the problem.

j. Travellers are also entitled to a price reduction or compensation for damages or both where the travel services are not performed or are improperly performed.

k. The organiser has to provide assistance if the traveller is in difficulty.

l. If the organiser or the retailer becomes insolvent, payments will be refunded. If the organiser or, where applicable, the retailer becomes insolvent after the start of the package and if transport is included in the package, repatriation of the travellers is secured. On Foot Holidays has taken out insolvency protection with Evolution Insurance.  Travellers may contact this entity  if services are denied because of On Foot Holidays’ insolvency. Further details are given immediately below.

1.  CUSTOMER PROTECTION
The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for On Foot Ltd (ABTOT member 5457) and in the event of their insolvency, protection is provided for the following:

– non-flight packages

ABTOT cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if transportation was included in your package.  Please note that bookings made outside the UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with On Foot Ltd.

In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call our 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company.

You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here:  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made

You can find out more about ABTOT here: https://www.abtot.com/

On Foot Limited’s membership of ABTOT is listed here: https://www.abtot.com/

2.  MAKING A BOOKING
A booking may be made by telephone or by email. This can either be confirmed by an immediate card payment of £100 deposit per person, or your reservation will be held for 4 days, pending receipt of your deposit. If the booking is made within 8 weeks of departure, the full balance is payable on booking. If we are unable to accept your booking, we will of course return your payment to you immediately.

Card payments: Due to the high fees levied by card companies these are normally only accepted for deposits.  For balances and full payments bank transfer is quick and easy, though non EU/UK payers may, if they wish, opt to make all payments by card.

When you make a booking by clicking on the “Pay” button within our secure portal, or by paying by telephone you will be under an obligation to pay for the Holiday at this time, subject to your right to cancel under Condition 11 below.

Your card will be charged when you submit your order through our secure portal or by telephone, whether you are paying in full or paying a deposit.  Depending on how you choose to pay, your payment may be subject to validation checks and/or third-party authorisations. All credit and debit card payments that are made on our website or over the telephone are protected by a secure connection. This secure connection ensures that your credit and debit card is encrypted prior to transfer to the bank for authorisation. As an additional security measure, no credit or debit card details submitted online or by telephone are stored directly by On Foot Limited once your order has been processed.  These payment services provided to you, the cardholder, are done so by On Foot Ltd. As such, all enquiries and complaints should be directed to us. For more information please contact us at walks@onfootholidays.co.uk.

After you have submitted your Order you are offering to buy a holiday from us. We will send you an automatic order acknowledgement email shortly after you place your order. Please note that this email is an acknowledgement and not acceptance of your order. You should note that:
– We are not obliged to accept your Order; and
– No contract exists between us for the holiday at this stage.

If you make a booking on behalf of others as well as yourself, we shall take it that you have the authority of each of those other people to enter into this contract and that you and they have agreed to be jointly and severally liable to us.

It is a condition of booking that you obtain travel insurance at the time the deposit is paid as per the Insurance clause below.

2A. LARGER PARTIES
A larger party saving is usually available to groups of 3 or more walkers. A larger party saving can only be given when all walkers are travelling on the same itinerary, on the same booking and when booked at the same time. Walkers added after the initial booking process are not entitled to the larger party saving. Any saving applied will be included in the holiday price offered rather than being separately itemized.

2B.  SOLO WALKERS
On Foot welcomes solo walkers on all walks but with two conditions:

a. the walker owns and carries a recognised stand-alone GPS unit or Smartphone with GPS App that will accept and display .gpx files; and
b. can certify that he or she is competent in its use.

However on certain more easily navigable routes this condition is waived – check with the On Foot Holidays Team as the list varies.

3.  INSURANCE
As a condition of booking your holiday arrangements with us, you are required to obtain your own comprehensive travel insurance by the time the balance is paid (not required for anyone taking their holiday in their country of residence, or for EU citizens within an EU country). This policy must cover as a minimum private medical cover for the entire duration of your trip including 24 hour emergency cover with a repatriation service. Some insurance companies specifically exclude hiking from their cover or regard hiking over certain heights, or certain destinations, as more risky and therefore not covered or requiring an additional premium; you should therefore check that your policy covers you for the specific holiday you are buying.  If you intend to undertake activities or excursions during your holiday and these are not covered by your standard policy, please ensure that you purchase additional cover for these.   You are advised also to take out insurance to cover losses in the event of “force majeure” as we specifically exclude our own responsibility to you in such events (see clause 13 below), and against cancellation by you for any reason.

Please disclose any relevant information including pre-existing injury or condition to the insurer at the time of purchase of your policy. We cannot be held responsible or liable in any way for customers who fail to take out comprehensive travel insurance. Please note that insurance provided by credit card companies, household policies and banks often has limited cover. Please check at the time of booking that the cover provided by such a policy complies with this condition.

UK residents will find further guidance on the gov.uk website here (updated post-Brexit).

4.  SPECIAL REQUESTS
If you have any special requests, you should inform us of these at the time of booking. We will advise your hotels of such requests but cannot guarantee that they will be met. Furthermore, On Foot has no liability to you if such requirements are not met.

5.  CONFIRMATION OF BOOKING
We will send you our confirmation invoice within 7 days of booking.  Our contract with you comes into existence when we send this to you. The contract and any matters arising from it shall be subject to English law and to the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.  If you are resident in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the Courts of Scotland or Northern Ireland can deal with any disputes.

You have undertaken to pay for the holiday you have booked and we have undertaken to provide you with the holiday we describe on our website, unless modified by our confirmation invoice, itinerary or covering letter.

6.  FINAL BALANCE
Full payment must be received by us not later than eight weeks (56 days) before departure. If the balance is not received in full by the due date, we reserve the right to treat the booking as cancelled by you and apply cancellation charges as set out below.

Card payments are not accepted for balances (or full payments) unless the payer is resident outside the UK and EU.  Bank transfers can be accepted without surcharge and full bank transfer details will be given when payment is due.  The payer will be responsible for any charges levied by their bank.

7.  CHANGE IN PRICE
We reserve the right to vary the price of your holiday in relation to changes in transportation costs or the exchange rates applied to the particular package. We will not vary the price of your holiday fewer than 30 days before your departure date, but if variations occur before that time, we will absorb or retain an amount up to the first 2% (excluding any credit card and amendment charges) of your invoiced holiday cost. For variations greater than 2% we will absorb the first 2% in the case of increases.

Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency, or may have been provided for in advance at a different rate of exchange; furthermore some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.

If we impose a surcharge, which means paying more than 8% of your holiday price, you will be entitled to cancel your holiday with a full refund of all monies paid to us except for any amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel because of this you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days of the date of our surcharge invoice.

8.  IF YOU ALTER YOUR BOOKING FOR ANY REASON
after it has been confirmed by us, and it does not involve a transfer to a different route or departure date, we will do our best to accommodate your written request. An alteration fee of £150 (£100 if 56 days or more before departure) will be made to cover administration.  All changes are subject both to availability and to the payment of any resulting extra costs imposed by our suppliers and for the costs of changing Walkers Packs.  We pay our suppliers in advance and have agreed that once a booking has been paid for the sum paid is neither transferable nor returnable.

9.  IF YOU TRANSFER YOUR BOOKING TO A DIFFERENT ROUTE OR A DIFFERENT DATE
after confirmation, a transfer fee of £150 per person (£100 if 56 days or more before departure) will be payable. If other costs are incurred (such as the provision of walkers’ packs) or are imposed by our suppliers (see above) in effecting the transfer you will be liable to cover these. Any such change made within 28 days of start date will be treated as a cancellation and rebooking and clause 11 below will therefore apply instead of this clause.

10.  IF WE HAVE TO ALTER
your route or hotel or food arrangements, any change will be either major or minor. Where a change is a minor change, we will, if practicable, advise you before departure, but we are not obliged to do so nor to pay you compensation. A minor change is any change apart from a major change as defined here.

When a change is a major change (and a major change is an alteration to the type or standard of accommodation or a material alteration to the route changing the length of any day by a factor of +/- 20%, or significantly altering the type of terrain), we will advise you as soon as is reasonably possible. You will then have the choice of accepting the change, taking an alternative holiday (and where this is of a lower price, we will refund the difference, where it is of a higher price, we may ask for a supplement), or withdrawing from the contract and accepting a full refund of all monies paid. If you choose to cancel the holiday in accordance with this clause, we will not be liable for any elements of your holiday that do not form part of your contract with On Foot, including but not limited to air transport arrangements and as such, we will not be responsible for any such loss or expense incurred by you as a result.

In the unlikely event that we become unable to provide a significant proportion of your trip after you depart, we will make alternative arrangements for you to continue the trip at no extra charge, or, if this is impossible, or you do not accept these alternative arrangements for a good reason, we will provide you with transport to the point of departure. In addition, if appropriate, we will pay you compensation of an amount which is reasonable taking into account all the circumstances. Compensation will not be considered appropriate, for example, in cases where a major change has to be made as a result of force majeure (see the Force Majeure clause below).

11.  IF YOU HAVE TO CANCEL
your booking or any part thereof, or if any member of your party on whose behalf you have booked has to cancel their booking or part thereof, at any time after you have paid a deposit (or full payment where a deposit is not acceptable) we must be informed in a letter/fax/email signed  by the person who made the booking. The cancellation only takes effect from the date at which the notification reaches our office.  Deposits are non-refundable, and in addition a charge will be made which varies with the amount of time between On Foot receiving your written cancellation and the holiday start date. The charges are calculated as a proportion of your total holiday price (part cancellations will be calculated on a pro-rata basis).  The full cancellation charges are as follows:

56 days or more before start date:  deposit only
55-30 days before start date:  75%
29-8 days before start date:  90%
7 or fewer days before start date: 100%

Please note that if the reasons for your cancellation are covered by your insurance policy, you may be able to claim under it.

If you are unavoidably prevented from taking your holiday you may find another person to take your place. This right of transfer is subject to an administration fee of £100 per person changed. You, as transferor of the holiday, and the transferee shall be jointly and severally liable to On Foot for the payment of the balance due, together with all additional charges of whatever sort imposed by the suppliers providing the component parts of your holiday.

12.  IF ON FOOT HAS TO CANCEL
your holiday before the date of departure, you will have the choice of taking an alternative holiday (and where this is of a lower price we will refund the difference or where it is of a higher price we may ask for a supplement) or accepting the full refund of all monies paid. In addition, in appropriate cases, and where such cancellation is not due to force majeure as defined below, we will pay compensation commensurate with your inconvenience. Please note that we will not be liable for any elements of your holiday that do not form part of your contract with On Foot, including but not limited to air transport arrangements and as such, we will not be responsible for any loss or expense in relation to these.

13.  FORCE MAJEURE – CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL
Force majeure is unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which neither we nor our suppliers could foresee or avoid, even after taking all reasonable care. Examples of this include, but are not limited to, war or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity or the threat of terrorist activity, biological warfare, industrial disputes, mechanical failure, natural or nuclear disaster, volcanic eruption, illness and disease (for example Swine Flu, Avian Flu, SARS or Covid-19), fire or adverse weather conditions, airport closure, level of water in rivers, changes in Foreign Office advice on suitability of travel to a destination  or other similar events beyond our control. Unless where otherwise stated in these conditions, we will not pay compensation, cover any loss or accept responsibility if you or we have to change or cancel your booking for force majeure reasons. Please ensure that you have comprehensive travel insurance as per the Insurance clause above to cover these events.

Should you contract an infectious disease while on holiday neither On Foot Holidays not its suppliers can be held liable (gross negligence excepted).

14.  PASSPORTS AND VISAS
It is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct validity on your passport, make the necessary applications and to comply with any regulations governing entry to your chosen country.  If you do not obtain a visa, where this is required, or your passport or any other travel documentation is not in order and you are unable to travel as a result, you will be liable to pay the cancellation charges set out above.  Furthermore, we will not accept any responsibility or refund any money in cases where you are unable to travel because of an invalid or mislaid visa or passport. Non British citizens should check with their embassy or consulate to obtain details of the relevant requirements.

For UK-based clients, the Foreign and Commonwealth Travel Advice Office issues travel advice, which is regularly updated, and which relates to political, economic and other circumstances prevailing in countries throughout the world. If you want any such advice, you should contact them. Their telephone number is 020 7008 1500, and details are also available and at www.fco.gov.uk .

15.  MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS
You must be fit and well enough to take part on the walking routes and your fitness must be appropriate to the grade of walk you have booked. If you have any reservations regarding your fitness for a trip, please ring the office for further details. Please also ensure that you take all the necessary equipment and that it is fit for purpose.

If you suffer from any pre-existing injuries that may affect your ability to undertake an activity, please consult your doctor and notify your insurers before you travel. Under no circumstances should you travel if your doctor has advised or would advise against it.

You should check with your doctor which inoculations or vaccinations they recommend for the country you are visiting and how long in advance you should have them. If you are a national of an EU country, and are holidaying in another, you should take an EHIC (European Health Insurance Card).

16.  FLIGHTS, TRAIN TRAVEL AND TRAVEL DELAYS GENERALLY
We do not sell flights or train tickets and we will not be liable for any subsequent loss or inconvenience if a flight or train journey that you have purchased is delayed or cancelled. Please claim from the airline/railway company direct and/or your travel insurance policy for any such loss. We try hard to ensure that all advice regarding travel schedules is accurate at the time given. However, as we have no control over these, we cannot guarantee that transport will depart as specified.

17.  ACCOMMODATION
The cost of the routes is based on accommodation in twin or double-bedded rooms. A single supplement is payable by those requiring their own room and is charged by the hotels and not On Foot. Your booking is accepted on the understanding that walking routes limit the availability of a choice of hotels and the standard of accommodation varies from place to place.

18.  EXCURSIONS
We do not sell excursions “in resort”. Therefore, when you purchase an excursion locally, your contract is with the local company and we have no liability whatsoever for anything which may go wrong on the excursion.

19.  WEATHER
We cannot guarantee that the weather conditions will be suitable for the outdoor activities that you have booked and we shall not be held responsible for any loss, delay or costs whatsoever connected with adverse weather conditions.

20.  CLIENT BEHAVIOUR
We reserve the right to decline to accept, or to retain as a client, anyone whose conduct is disruptive or detrimental to the enjoyment of other clients, or whose conduct may prejudice the reputation of On Foot with our suppliers or hotel owners. We shall be under no liability for any costs incurred by such a client as a result of our so doing.

21.  ACCEPTANCE OF RISK
There is always an element of personal risk attached to the holiday and the activities that you have booked. In accepting these conditions, you consent to these risks. You may be on your own, sometimes in quite remote areas, so please take particular care in bad weather which can affect the terrain and visibility. You will be following our written directions, and should be able to use a compass for the medium and hard walks.  Map reading competence is also required for the higher-graded walks at least, and useful for the easier ones. You should not deviate from these written directions and we will not accept any liability to you for any loss where you have not adhered to the routes.

22.  ACCURACY OF WEBSITE AND PRINTED MATERIAL
On Foot makes every effort to ensure that the information contained on our website and in our printed material is as accurate as possible, and whilst correct at the time of publication, it may be subject to alteration.  If On Foot receives prior notification of alterations to any accommodation, route, services or facilities we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible. It should be noted that destination information is for guidance purposes only and that the photographs on the website are used to give an impression of the accommodation and services offered.

On Foot reserves the right to change any of the prices, services or other particulars contained on our website and in our printed material at any time before we enter into a contract with you. If there is any change, we will notify you before we enter into a contract with you. Should any of these details change after making your booking you will be advised of the changes. Should you decide subsequently to cancel the booking, you may do so in accordance with the amendments, transfers or cancellation clauses above.

23.  OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO YOU
(i) Our obligations, and those of our suppliers in providing any service or facility included in your holiday, are to take reasonable skill and care to arrange for the provision of such services and facilities and where we or our supplier is actually providing the service or facility, to provide them with reasonable skill and care. You must show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make any claim. Standards of, for example, safety, hygiene and quality vary through the transport and destinations that your holiday may involve. Sometimes these standards will be lower than those that would be expected in the UK. The services and facilities will be deemed to be provided with reasonable skill and care if they comply with any local regulations that apply, or, if there are no applicable local regulations, if they are reasonable when compared to local standards and customs. However, reasonable skill and care does not necessarily mean compliance with each and every local law and regulation particularly where these impose absolute obligations.
(ii) For claims which do not involve death or personal injury, we accept, and will only have, liability, subject to paragraphs (iv) and (v) below, should we or our suppliers fail to satisfy the obligations detailed in paragraph (i) above. If we have liability, we will, subject to paragraphs (v) and (vi) below, pay you compensation of an amount which could be reasonably and properly expected, taking into account all the relevant circumstances. Any sums received by you from suppliers will be deducted from any sum paid to you as compensation by us.
(iii) For claims which involve death or personal injury as a result of an activity forming part of your holiday, we accept, and will only have, liability subject to paragraphs (iv) and (v) below should we or our suppliers fail to satisfy the obligations detailed in paragraph (i) above.  If we have liability, we will, subject to paragraphs (v) and (vi) below, pay you reasonable compensation.
(iv) We have liability in accordance with paragraphs (ii) and (iii) above and subject to paragraphs (v) and (vi) below except where the loss or damage you suffer is either attributable to you, or attributable to someone unconnected with your holiday and is unforeseeable or unavoidable, or is due to unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised.
(v) If any international convention applies to or governs any of the services or facilities included in your holiday arranged or provided by us, or provided by any of our suppliers, and you make a claim against us of any nature arising out of death, injury, loss or damage suffered during or as a result of the provision of those services or facilities, our liability to pay you compensation and/or the amount (if any) of compensation payable will be limited in accordance with that provided for by the international convention concerned.  International Conventions which may apply include: in respect of international air travel, the Warsaw Convention 1929 (including as amended by the Hague Protocol of 1955 and by any of the additional Montreal Protocol of 1975) or the Montreal Convention of 1999; in respect of rail travel, the COTIF Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail 1980 (as amended); in respect of carriage by sea, the Athens Convention 1974; in respect of carriage by road, the Geneva Convention 1973; and in respect of hotels, the Paris Convention 1962.  This means that we are to be regarded as having all benefit of any limitations of compensation contained in any of these Conventions or any other international convention applicable to your holiday.
(vi) If you choose to issue court proceedings in respect of a claim against us, you must do so within 2 years of your return from holiday or within 2 years of first discovering the matters giving rise to the claim, if this is later.  If you do not, then our liability to you will be limited in all cases to a sum of £100. Any dispute, claim or other matter arising between us (whether or not involving any personal injury) in connection with your contract will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only to the exclusion of all other courts except those of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
(vii) You must, if we are adjudged to have, or if we accept, liability for a claim that you make, assign to us any rights that you may have against any of our servants, agents or suppliers which is in any way responsible for the failure of your holiday or any death or personal injury you may suffer.  You must also co-operate with us in any claim we choose to bring against any third party which we, in our discretion, deem to be so responsible.
(viii)  Other than as set out above, and as is detailed elsewhere in these booking conditions, we shall have no legal liability whatsoever to you for any loss, damage, personal injury or death which you suffer arising directly or indirectly from any aspect of your holiday.

24.  DATA PROTECTION
We will provide your personal information, as well as any personal information you provide in relation to the persons whose travel arrangements have been made through you, to suppliers and carriers that might be located outside the UK and/or EU, to enable the operation of the services requested by you. If you make special requests which include, but are not limited to, special dietary, religious, or disability-related requirements which constitute sensitive information, the relevant data will also be passed to the relevant suppliers and carriers to enable provision of the services requested by you.

25.  COMPLAINTS
You must try yourself to remedy anything about which you may wish to complain and anything you cannot remedy should be reported to local contacts immediately so that any problem may be remedied on the spot. This includes consulting a doctor if you are ill, both locally and on your return. Our priority is to give you an enjoyable holiday, and we strive very hard to do so. However, if neither our office staff nor our local contact is able to help, and you still have a complaint, you should put it in writing at the time. Then send it to the company within 30 days of your return.

Unless they or we have been given the opportunity to rectify the problem at the time it is not reasonable to expect us to accept liability for any problem after you return home. Failure to follow this procedure may reduce or extinguish any rights you may have to make a claim against either us or the relevant supplier.

If you have a dispute with On Foot which you are unable to resolve, you may call upon the low-cost AITO Independent Dispute Settlement Service (details on request). Claims which exceed £2,500 per person or £10,000 per group or claims which apply principally or exclusively in respect of (or as a consequence of) illness or physical injury are not admissible for settlement under the service.

These booking conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with England and Wales law. Disputes arising in connection with this legal notice shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the England and Wales law.