All bookings made after 1st of May, 2022 these booking conditions apply!
The booking conditions and general information set out below are designed to outline our obligations to you and your commitments to us. The booking conditions below form the contract between us. By signing up on a tour with us you accept the booking conditions! Please read them carefully before making a booking. We want you to have an enjoyable tour with Sakertours and the avoidance of any misunderstanding is to our mutual advantage!
Sakertours philosophy
Our philosophy of birdwatching and hide-photography tours is centred on value for money. We believe, practice and explore our university-based training, our research and scientific background and our unrivalled local knowledge. The real value of our birdwatching tours is guaranteed by our unique 30 years’ experience, an outstanding diversity of birds, peaceful and hospitable lowland, foothill and mountain landscapes, professional guide services, stable and comfortable logistics and the legendary Hungarian hospitality in the Carpathians.
Reservations
If you wish to register/book for a Sakertours fixed-date tour you should complete a booking form and send it to us electronically or by mail to our office address. Reservations for any of our tours require a deposit of 400 Euros per person, which is non-refundable upon receipt. However if you cannot make it to your tour and let us know minimum 90 days before departure the full deposit can be used for any of our tours within two years of payment. The deposit should be paid after our office send you a deposit invoice following your booking. Your booking will be complete and guaranteed when the deposit arrived. We accept reservations with deposits in order of their receipt. Mailed or telephoned reservations are accepted provided they are followed by the appropriate deposit within 14 days. We do not take deposits for one day arrangements (day guiding or hide rental).
Payment
Payment has to be made in Euros (€) and should be made by bank transfer. Please ask for account details of Sakertours if you were not sent these info’s by our office!
Sorry, we cannot accept payment by credit card.
Invoices for the balance payment of tour price will be mailed 90 days before departure and expected to be paid within 10 days.
Please note you may be asked to make payments on more than one bank account (we operating in several countries and there could be more than one provider involved) and you will be given bank details related to the involved companies. Consequently, invoices will be issued in the countries where these companies are located.
Prices include:
- all transport as noted in the itinerary (Budapest to Budapest or Bucharest to Bucharest)
- all accommodation, based on shared rooms. Please request a single room on the booking form if you need one.
- 3 meals per day (Birdwatching tours: Breakfast and dinner will be at the hotels and lunches will either be taken at a traditional Hungarian inn or csárda, or as picnics in the field. Lunch and dinner is usually a set menu; Hide-photography tours: Breakfast and dinner will be at the hotels and lunches usually packed and taken on the field). Naturally alteration from sit-down to packed / picnic lunches is possible due to logistical issues.
- we supply bottled water and hot drinks with picnic / field lunches on birdwatching tours
- services of the tour leader
- services of local guides
- permits to visit National Parks and all sites
Prices do not include:
- air tickets
- food beyond the 3 meals per day mentioned in the itineraries
- tips for drivers, tour leaders and local guides
- optional programmes
- telephone calls
- alcoholic beverages (except the wine tasting in the Tokaj World Heritage area)
- laundry
- room service, snacks and anything of a purely personal nature.
Cancellation charges
- f notice of cancellation is received in writing more than 90 days before departure of the tour your deposit can be altered and used for any of our tours within 2 years of payment.
- If notice of cancellation is within 90 days of tour departure the cancellation charge is the full deposit payment (400 Euros per person).
- If notice of cancellation is received within 60 days of tour departure the cancellation charge will be 60% of the full tour price.
- If notice of cancellation is received within 15 days of tour departure the cancellation charge will be 100% of the tour price.
Tour alterations
Sakertours reserves the right to cancel or alter the content of a tour if this is necessary. Changes in itinerary may occur as a result of bird activities, weather conditions or unexpected hotel problems. If major changes are made by us before the start of the trip, participants will be informed and may withdraw without penalty if they choose to. If we have to make a major change while the tour is in progress the additional costs, if any, are the responsibility of the participant.
Accommodations
We reserve the right to change accommodation from that specified within our programme, for whatever reasons. Whenever possible, changes will be to accommodation of equivalent or higher standard. Where this is not possible, we may occasionally have to settle for accommodation of a lower standard, in which event a refund will be made to participants after the tour.
Photos
We reserve the right to take photographs during the operation of our tours, and to use the resulting images for promotional purposes. By booking with us, tour members agree to allow their image to be used in this way. Participants who prefer that their image should not be used must inform us prior to the tour.
Travel insurance
Every participant booked on any Sakertours holiday should make her/his own travel insurance arrangements.
Tour cancellation
We reserve the right to cancel any tour for any unforeseen circumstance. In case of cancellation, all deposits and other payments for the tour will be refunded.
Group size
The minimum group size on our fixed date tours is two persons, and the maximum is 10 persons plus tour leader and local guides. If the last place is taken by a couple the group size can increase to 11 persons.
The pace of our tours and physical effort
Generally there is no extreme physical exercise required, but sometimes we climb hills or walk on wet or uneven terrain. Although the effort is always rewarding, if you feel tired or just would like to have a break, you will usually have a chance to stay at the car/coach/minibus instead of walking. On most days, you should be able to complete walks of a few hours duration and you should be able to meet the schedule of the tour each day. If you have a health problem, please advise us in writing on the booking form.
Official tour starting and ending time
Please make sure you read the official tour starting and ending times at each fixed date tours. After the official tour starting time you will only be able to join the tour with extra transfer arrangements and you will only be able to leave a tour before the official ending time with private extra arrangements.
Data and breeding bird protection on the internet
On our tours (birdwatching and photography) we will be visiting certain locations where we hope to see and /or photograph certain bird species. Most of these bird species can be protected or strictly protected species in the given country (Hungary, Slovakia and Romania) and their disturbance is illegal. Moreover the protection of birds is extremely important for Sakeroturs too. Our expert, educated and highly skilled guides have the necessary permits and papers (if required) to be able to show these birds in their natural environment with care. Please always follow their instructions at the breeding sites!
With the use of GPS, smartphone and any other locating devices these breeding locations (territories outside breeding season) can be easily placed on a map, and put on the internet. We have been facing this problem recently on several tours. Please note this is totally against Sakertours policy and forbidden to do on our tours. However we respect that people keeping their list internet based nowadays and in such circumstances we accept on placing the location dots to the nearest human settlement, but never on the actual breeding area or exact location. Data collection is not a problem on the tours at all as this is why people come! But placing exact breeding locations of protected species on the internet for public access is not acceptable and can harm the birds. These sites also considered to be company secrets as we spend considerable time, effort and money to locate, create or identify breeding locations (e.g. our owl nest boxing programme is running for 15 years and has over 350 nest boxes). If such activity happens on our fixed date tours despite our specific written and verbal request (our guides will warn you) we keep the rights to end the contract between Sakertours and the participant. If you are in doubt and need more information on this subject please contact us directly as our aim to give you a trouble-free and unforgettable birding experience!
Final tour informations
A list of possible bird species is downloadable from the bird list page. We will also supply a bird checklist for a daily log call (in the evening) in the arrival pack. General information will be sent to each participant a few weeks before departure, which will include final information, meeting instructions and additional material.
Responsibility and liability
Sakertours is responsible in operating the ground arrangements of the tour for participants as stated in our programme. We will accept responsibility should the services we are contractually obliged to provide prove deficient or not of a reasonable standard. We will also accept responsibility for loss or damage due to the acts or omissions of our employees. We will accept responsibility for the negligent acts or omissions of our employees whilst acting within the scope of their employment in respect of claims arising as a result of death, personal injury or illness to the client. All claims must be notified to us in writing within 21 days of your return from the holiday.
Sakertours disclaims all liability for any death, injury, damage, loss, accident, or irregularity which may be occasioned either by reason of any defect in any vehicle, or through the acts or defaults of any company or person engaged in conveying the passenger, or of any hotel proprietor or servant of any person engaged in carrying out the purpose for which all orders, tickets, and coupons are issued, or otherwise in connection therewith. The right to alter any land tour arrangement is reserved.
Sakertours will accept no responsibility or liability in respect of losses or additional expenses incurred as a result of transport delays, flight changes or cancellations, sickness, quarantine, war, riots or political crises, threat of terrorist activity, strikes, industrial action, government intervention, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, weather conditions, flood, acts of God or other similar events beyond our control. Any additional costs that result, such as extra flights and hotel accommodation, will be your responsibility and must be paid for directly at the time.
Complaints
If you should have a complaint please notify the leader as soon as possible in order that the matter can be dealt with promptly. If it is not dealt with to your satisfaction on the spot, the nature of the complaint should be stated in writing promptly and preferably within 14 days of the ending of the tour. In any event, we will not be under any liability in respect of any claim of which we are not notified in writing within one month of the ending date of the tour.