SOMME BATTLEFIELD TOURS LTD 

AWARD WINNING SELF-DRIVE TOURS TO THE BATTLEFIELDS OF
.

THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918
.


HOW TO
BOOK A TOUR

and Terms and Conditions

People who wish to visit the battlefields of the Great War understandably first think of a conducted tour starting from the UK.  However, for those truly seeking to reveal the legacy of the Great War, nothing can beat the freedom of exploring the battlefields without the constraints of a coach/minibus group dictating the pace. Please have a look at our Self-Drive tours page as you can now combine a Self-Drive tour with the luxury of a personal guide to meet you at your hotel to take you (and just you...)  where you wish to visit.

If you have your heart set on a conducted tour starting from the UK then there are many companies to choose from (as you may have seen when searching the internet!), some better than others....   We will be happy to recommend a company we have known and respected over the years we have been organising tours - just email us and we'll let you have details.

HOW TO BOOK A SELF-DRIVE TOUR

First of all have a good look at our Self-Drive Tours page
(especially the FAQs).

For Self-Drive tours we no longer need a booking form to be completed. We also accept Visa and MasterCard credit cards and all debit cards.  Please also note that we fully comply with the Package Tour and Package Travel Regulations in all regards, especially the handling of tour deposits/payments etc which are retained in a separate Trust Account in strict accordance with the foregoing regulations, payments which can not be released to us until after a tour has taken place. 

Just email us with the below information and we'll be pleased to
let you have a quotation based on your personal requirements
:

  • Your name and address and contact phone number(s)
     

  • How many in your group and what sort of hotel rooms they would like (i.e. single/double/twin)
     

  • Which battlefields you wish to visit (Somme and/or Ypres). Please try and allow at least two nights to visit any one of these battlefields as two nights only gives you one clear day. Three nights (two clear days) is best. See our Self Drive Tours page for more information and helpful FAQs
     

  • The dates you have in mind to travel (or just a rough idea...)
     

  • Channel crossing - Tunnel or ferry (not necessary if you are not travelling from the UK)
     

  • Which hotel(s) you wish to stay at (see our Self-Drive Hotels page)
     

  • A deposit of £80 per person or 20% of the total tour cost, whichever is the greater (which may be paid by credit card or cheque)

Please see our 'Terms and Conditions'  (below)
then phone,
e-mail or write to us at:

SOMME BATTLEFIELD TOURS LTD
19 OLD ROAD, WIMBORNE,  DORSET.
 BH21 1EJ, UNITED KINGDOM

The best way to contact us is to
email your enquiry

Our e-mail address is:

jamespower@btinternet.com

EMAIL US

Telephone (new enquiries)

Please note that the nature of what we do takes us away from our office from time to time. If we're not in and you leave a message we'll try and get back to you the same day as we pick up messages (as well as emails) all the time whilst away. Thank you for your understanding.

01202 880 211

 
0044 1202 880211
(from outside the UK)

Telephone (clients who have already booked)

Please try our office number first. Clients who have already booked with us (ONLY) and who need to contact us urgently (amendments etc) should phone

07776 195 773

FAQs? - See 'Contact Us' on main menu - or click here.

Please note - Somme Battlefield Tours Ltd fully complies with the provisions of the UK Tour package, Tour Travel etc Regulations 1992.  We are fully insured in accordance with these regulations (especially Tour Liability, and comprehensive 'Private hire' vehicle insurance, a legal requirement  which not all small tour operators have - always check), as well as all provisions regarding the handling of client's monies.
.
The regulations provide that such monies be held in a separate Trust Account which can not be released to our company until the tour has been provided (see Terms and Conditions). Always be cautious of anyone asking for cheques to be made payable to an individual as opposed to a Trust Account or similar. Full details of our trustees (Barclays Bank) are available upon request.  We also operate as a fully registered Limited company and as such our accounts are open to inspection by any person (upon payment of a small fee to Companies House).

The above regulations are rightfully intended to protect travellers such as yourself.  The small rise for 2005 reflects the higher insurance costs we are obliged to pay, especially client liability and private hire insurance which are there to safeguard you as our customer.


 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

(Copyright © Somme Battlefield Tours Ltd 2010)

Abbreviations and meanings
For the purposes of these booking conditions terms such as ‘us’, ‘we’ and ‘our’ shall mean Somme Battlefield Tours Ltd (the tour ‘organiser’). ‘Tour’ refers to both Self-Drive and Conducted Tours unless otherwise stated. The term ‘you’ refers to the person making the booking. ‘Party’ and ‘group’ means those persons travelling with you, on behalf of whom you are making the booking.

How to book
Please contact us by ‘phone or e-mail to make a booking and/or to seek clarification on any aspect of the tours offered. We are committed to clearly explaining what is and what is not included in your tour, as well as outlining our tour itinerary.
No contract shall exist between you and us until your booking is confirmed in writing by us, such confirmation including our standard ‘Terms and Conditions’ which, together with our letter, shall form the basis of the contract between you and us. You may cancel a tour within 7 days of receipt of your tour confirmation letter and receive a full refund should you not agree with what is stated (but subject to the conditions outlined under ‘Cancellations’ below).

Payment
Deposit

A deposit of £80 per person or 25% of the total tour cost, whichever is the greater, is payable on booking either a self-drive tour.
Payments can be made either by credit card or by cheque.  Cheques/Postal Orders should be made payable to ‘Somme Battlefield Tours Ltd Trust Account’.  All credit card payments are paid direct to our Trust Account (see Security of Payments).
All payments must be made in GB Pounds Sterling (credit card payments for those living outside the UK are usually converted automatically).

Final balance
If you do not pay in full when booking your tour, your outstanding balance is payable not less than 56 days prior to your date of departure.  If the balance has not been paid by 48 days prior to departure, we have the option to cancel your booking and levy the cancellation charges set out below under ‘Cancellations’.  Self-Drive Battlefield Guide(s) will be forwarded on receipt of the final balance.

Security of Payments
We fully comply with the provisions of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 (EEC Directive 90/314). In accordance with these regulations, all payments made to Somme Battlefield Tours Ltd., either as deposit or final settlement (including all credit card payments), are held in a separate trust account (Barclays Bank plc, Wimborne, Dorset A/c No. 40812048) and in accordance with the above regulations cannot be released to Somme Battlefield Tours Ltd. until the specified tour has taken place.  This regulation guarantees a full refund of all monies paid in the most unlikely event of us failing to provide the tour booked.

Cancellations
In the unlikely event of us having to cancel a tour, for whatever reason, we will inform you as soon as possible.  You will have the choice of accepting either an alternative tour or having an immediate full refund of all monies paid (including deposit).
Should it be necessary for either you or any member of your party to have to cancel a booking, then the person making the booking must notify us in writing. The cancellation will be effective from the date this written communication is received by us. You may substitute another person in the place of any of your group at no extra charge.

 The following scale of cancellation charges shall apply to all tours (clear days relative to date of departure):

 More than 56 days   tour deposit

56 - 28 days             40% of tour price

27 - 8 days               70% of tour price

7 days or less           100% of tour price

‘Force Majeure’    
We accept full responsibility for ensuring that the services we contract to provide are to a reasonable standard, subject to the provisions of ‘force majeure’.  This provision means that we do not accept liability for any damage, losses or additional expenses suffered by you or any member of your group, as the result of causes beyond the reasonable and foreseeable control of us, such as war, riot, accident, civil strife, industrial dispute(s), crime, natural or nuclear disaster, disease, Acts of God, adverse weather conditions, or such similar occurrences.

Travel Insurance
Clients must be insured for travel to Belgium and France (and UK for non-UK residents), in respect of cancellation, medical cover and repatriation, as a condition of travelling with Somme Battlefield Tours Ltd.  

Passports
You must ensure that you and all members of your group are in possession of a valid passport and Visa (where applicable) for travel to France and Belgium (and UK for non-UK residents). We will not be liable for the consequences of any failure to comply with this important requirement.

Accommodation
We will confirm which hotel(s) you will be staying at when you book your tour.  If for any reason we can not reserve the hotel you requested, we will suggest an alternative and it will be your choice as to whether you accept or decline this option. We only use two, three and four star hotels (and guest house options for self-drive tours to the Somme or Ypres battlefield) situated either on or very close to the battlefield(s), such as close to the principal battlefield towns of Albert (France-Somme) and Ypres (Ieper-Belgium), rather than the larger hotels used by some other tour operators some distance away. All hotel/guest house rooms have en-suite facilities unless otherwise stated. You will not be expected to share accommodation with persons not in your personal group.

Eurotunnel (liability for excess charges)
If you arrive within 2 hours of the booked departure time, the booking will be exchanged without charge. If you arrive more than 2 hours but no more than 24 hours after the booked departure time on your outward journey, the booking will be exchanged but you will be required to pay any difference between the price SBT paid and the price applicable to the departure for which your booking is exchanged
For bookings of 3 or 4 days’ duration: if you arrive more than 24 hours after the booked departure time on your return journey, your booking will not be exchanged;

For bookings of 5 days’ duration: if you return after midnight on the day of booked departure time on your return journey, your booking will not be exchanged;

Vehicles fitted with LPG
LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) and dual powered vehicles (i.e. vehicles fitted with an LPG tank as an alternative fuel) cannot be accepted for transport by Eurotunnel.  Vehicles fitted with LPG containers to power domestic services e.g. cooking, refrigeration, heating and water heaters are accepted as long as the containers are switched off, weigh no more than 47kg and are not more than 80% full. If your vehicle is fitted with such a container, you must declare this at Check-In.  

Self-Drive Tour Costs
We undertake to arrange your ferry/tunnel travel, and bed and breakfast hotel/guest house accommodation.  We will also provide you with a comprehensive tour pack as described in the appropriate section of our website (www.battlefield-tours.com).
The tour cost does not include lunch and evening meal as experience has shown that travellers usually wish to have freedom of choice regarding where and what to eat, as opposed to being tied to a hotel.
The tour price does not include additional costs such as car hire, cabin/room upgrades, newspapers, telephone calls, additional food and beverages, wine/beers/spirits etc..

Driving in France and Belgium
Somme Battlefield Tours Ltd shall not be liable or in any way responsible for the need for self-drive clients to fully comply with all road traffic and other associated requirements, laws, rules and regulations, including all licence, equipment, vehicle construction and use, insurance and documentation requirements, when driving in the United Kingdom, France and Belgium.  Furthermore, will not be responsible or liable for any penalties, financial or otherwise, imposed by any governing or regulatory body, organisation or country for any failure to comply with any rules, regulations or laws that may be incurred whilst participating in a tour arranged or provided by us.  There are many helpful websites where advice can be obtained, such as those provided by motoring organisations such as the RAC and AA.

Disruptive Behaviour
Client(s) behaving in a disruptive manner may, after warning and/or at the discretion of us (or hoteliers in the case of self-drive tours), be required to leave the tour or hotel premises without recompense for termination of residence/booking/tour contract. Under such circumstances we shall not be liable for any additional costs (eg travel, accommodation etc), nor refund for termination of stay/residence/tour contract etc.

Disability and other Special Requirements
Having regard to the nature and size of our organisation, we are committed to taking all reasonable steps to accommodate persons experiencing most forms of disability.  It is important that you tell us in advance if you (or any of your group if appropriate) have any disability, dietary requirement, or other condition/special need. It is also important that we have advanced notification of any cemetery, memorial or other battlefield location that you may wish to visit (and not already included in the itinerary) as it may be possible, at the discretion of SBT, to make a small diversion to our usual route to cater for such requests.

Complaints
Any complaint about our failure to fulfil our commitment to you, or the inadequate performance of our contract with you, should be made not more than 28 days following your tour.

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