BOOKING TERMS & CONDITIONS

Please read the following terms and conditions carefully. This is a legally binding agreement between you and Escape by Cycle Limited (“we”, “us” or “the company”). By  booking on a tour and paying your invoice you agree to these terms and conditions which are legally binding.

 1.   Bookings and Payments

For bookings made more than 3 months before a tour, a deposit of $1000 per person is required within 3 days to secure your place on the tour. In the event you do not pay your deposit invoice by its due date, your booking will be cancelled immediately without notice. The balance invoice is payable 3 months prior to the departure date of your tour (unless specified otherwise on the invoice). If you do not pay the balance invoice in full within 7 days of its due date, you are deemed to have cancelled your booking and the cancellation fees set out in clause 4 will apply. 

If you book within 3 months of the tour departure date you will be asked to pay the tour price in full within 1 day to secure your booking. If you do not pay the invoice by its due date, your booking will be cancelled immediately, without notice.

All prices are quoted in NZD and include GST. Tour prices on our website are quoted per person, on the basis of twin-share accommodation (2 people sharing a single room). Individuals who would like a room to themselves and do not wish to share with another paying guest must pay the applicable single room supplement, to cover the additional cost of the accommodation.  

2.    Types of Bookings

a.  Unconfirmed Bookings

We require a minimum of 6 people to run a tour. If you book on a tour with less than the minimum number of people, the tour is not guaranteed to depart and your booking is “unconfirmed”. An unconfirmed booking is “confirmed” once the minimum number of people have booked and paid their deposit. You are entitled to cancel an unconfirmed booking at any time, with a full refund of your deposit, up until the point at which your booking is confirmed in writing by us and the tour is guaranteed to depart. We will notify you by email that your booking has been confirmed as soon as possible. You should not proceed to book any flights, accommodation, hire car or incur any other travel expenses in relation to an unconfirmed booking, until your booking has been confirmed by email. If we cancel an unconfirmed tour, your deposit will be refunded in full (less any currency exchange or transaction fees) no later than 2 months prior to tour departure date (unless otherwise agreed with you in writing).  

b. Individual Bookings

An “Individual Booking” is for an individual person or couple (booking and paying together) on a tour. If one person cancels, out of a couple (sharing a double room), or a pair (sharing a twin room) the remaining person must pay the applicable single room supplement. Cancellation fees set out in clause 4 apply. Cancellation fees and any additional single room supplement will be deducted from any refund payable. You are permitted to find a replacement person (or people) to substitute for anyone wishing to cancel (without a cancellation fee) up until 1 month prior to tour departure, but you must notify us as soon as possible. Substitutions more than 90 days prior to your tour date will incur a $100 per person substitution fee. Substitutions between 90 and 31 days of your tour date incur a $150 per person substitution fee. Substitutions within 30 days of your tour may not be possible at all and will incur a $200 per person substitution fee if possible. Please note that while we will do our best to amend room bookings and bike allocations, this becomes more difficult closer to the tour date and may be impossible. If a substitution is not possible (at our discretion), the cancellation fees set out in clause 4 will apply.  

c.  Group Bookings

A “Group Booking” is where a number of people book on a tour together and may benefit from a group discount (set out on the balance invoice). Group Bookings may be invoiced collectively for the group as a whole, or may be invoiced separately (for individuals or couples within the group) but will be stated as part of the Group Booking. Group discounts are based on the original number of people in your group at the time of booking. When a Group Booking is cancelled as a whole, the cancellation fees set out in clause 4 apply to everyone in the group, regardless of whether they have paid their share of an invoice or not. If someone within your Group Booking cancels their booking for any reason, the cancellation fees set out in clause 4 will apply. If a cancellation leaves less than the original number of people in the Group Booking, then the group discount for the remaining people in the group may be reduced or removed in full, which may result in additional amounts due to be paid for the remaining group members. Cancellations resulting in a person within the group not sharing a room will incur a Single Room Supplement. If cancellations from your Group Booking leave less than the minimum number of customers booked to run the tour, the Group Booking may be cancelled in full and the cancellation fees set out in clause 4 will apply to everyone in the group, regardless of whether they wished to cancel or not. Cancellation fees, reduced group discounts and any additional single room supplements resulting from cancellations will be deducted from any refunds payable. You are permitted to find a replacement person (or people) to substitute for anyone wishing to cancel from your Group Booking (without a cancellation fee or loss of group discount) up until 31 days prior to tour departure, but you must notify us as soon as possible. Substitutions more than 90 days prior to your tour date will incur a $100 per person substitution fee. Substitutions between 90 and 31 days of your tour date incur a $150 per person substitution fee. Substitutions within 30 days of your tour may not be possible at all and will incur a $200 per person substitution fee if possible. Please note that while we will do our best to amend room bookings and bike allocations, this becomes more difficult closer to the tour date and may be impossible. If a substitution is not possible (at our discretion), the cancellation fees set out in clause 4 will apply. If there are any remaining available spaces on the tour, subject to availability of accommodation, you may request additional people join your Group Booking. Upon payment of their deposit or balance invoice they become part of your Group Booking and are bound by these terms and conditions as if they had been a part of your Group Booking from the outset. The addition of extra people will not result in a higher group discount for the original members of the group. If you have 10 or more people in your Group Booking, we may agree to run the tour exclusively for your group only, in which case this will be stated clearly in your booking confirmation email. This is not a Private Tour (as described below) but we will not sell any vacant places on the tour to anyone outside your Group Booking, without your consent. However, if you subsequently have any cancellations from your Group Booking resulting in less than 10 people, in addition to any cancellation fees, group discount reduction and/or single room supplements arising from the cancellation, we will try to sell any vacant seats on the tour up to a maximum of 12 people. You can avoid this by finding substitutions to replace anyone in your Group Booking wishing to cancel.   

 d.   Private Tours 

A “Private Tour” is a booking where a group books out an entire tour for their private group only. You may request bespoke changes to your itinerary in writing which, if agreed, will be priced into your Private Tour. It must be clearly stated on your invoice and booking email that you have purchased a “Private Tour”. Private Tours are invoiced for a fixed minimum amount, based on the number of people on your Private Tour at the time of booking, any bespoke changes to your itinerary and any applicable single room supplements. Private Tours are exclusive, meaning we will not sell any empty places on the tour to anyone else, without your consent. Cancellations within your group are not permitted. If anyone from your Private Tour can no longer come on the tour, it does not change the amount due on the invoice, and no refunds will be paid. You must notify us of any cancellations or substitutions as soon as possible. You are permitted to find a replacement person (or people) to substitute for anyone no longer wanting to come on the Private Tour, up until 31 days prior to departure. Substitutions more than 90 days prior to your tour date will incur a $100 per person substitution fee. Substitutions between 90 and 31 days of your tour date incur a $150 per person substitution fee. Substitutions within 30 days of your tour may not be possible at all and will incur a $200 per person substitution fee if possible. Please note that while we will do our best to amend room bookings and bike allocations, this becomes more difficult closer to the tour date and may be impossible to change. If there are any available spaces on your Private Tour, you may request additional people join your Private Tour, subject to availability of bikes and accommodation. If possible, we will price and issue a new invoice for the additional person or people. Upon payment of this invoice, they become part of your Private Tour and bound by these terms and conditions as if they were part of your Private Tour from the outset. If you decide to cancel your Private Tour in totality prior to paying the balance invoice, or if the balance invoice for your Private Tour is not paid in full within 7 days of its due date, your deposit will be forfeit in full as a cancellation fee. If you pay the balance invoice for your Private Tour and then subsequently notify us in writing that you wish to cancel your Private Tour in its entirety, the cancellation fees are as follows:

• 90 – 31 days’ notice prior to departure, 50% of the total amount paid.
• 30 days’ notice or less prior to departure, 100% of the total amount paid.

 3.   Payment Methods

We accept direct payments to our bank account (domestic or international payments), PoliPay (NZ bank accounts only), or payments via “Flywire”, our secure payment services provider. Flywire accepts all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Diners etc) and payments in your domestic currency. To pay by Flywire, click the “Pay Now” button on your online invoice. Flywire payments incur fees (up to 3%) to cover card fees, foreign exchange and taxes. There is no surcharge for payments via PoliPay or for direct credit payments to our bank account. Our bank account details are listed on the invoice. Payment is deemed to have occurred when cleared funds have been received in our bank account. Please note that international bank payments may need to include an extra NZD$25 to cover bank intermediary fees (which are deducted en route), otherwise your invoice may not be paid in full – please check with your payment provider. All prices quoted are in New Zealand Dollars and include 15% Goods & Services Tax (GST). . 

4.   Cancellations and Refunds 

The costs associated with cancelling bookings and the opportunity cost of not being able to resell empty seats increases substantially the closer we get to a tour. If you wish to cancel your booking, you must notify us by email at info@escapebycycle.com as soon as possible. The date of cancellation will be the date we receive your written request to cancel by email.

Please note these Cancellation Fees are not applicable to Private Tours – see clause 2(d). For other bookings, if we receive your cancellation:

• More than 180 days prior to tour departure, you will forfeit $500 per person.
• 180 – 91 days prior to tour departure, you will forfeit $750 per person.
• 90 – 61 days prior to tour departure, you will forfeit $1000 per person.  
• 60 – 31 days prior to tour departure, you will forfeit 50% of the tour price.
• 30 days or less prior to tour departure, you will forfeit 100% of the tour price (zero refund).
• A no-show on the day of departure means you forfeit 100% of the tour price (zero refund).

We strongly recommend using travel insurance to protect yourself against cancellation fees – see clause 6. Cancellation fees will be deducted from any refund payable.

If one person cancels, out of a couple (who were sharing a double room), or a pair (sharing a twin room) the remaining person must pay a single room supplement (listed on the relevant tour page on the date of cancellation). The single room supplement will be deducted from any refund payable to the person cancelling.  

5. Requests to Transfer to Another Tour

In limited circumstances, we may agree (at our sole discretion) to transfer a booking from one scheduled tour date to another tour within the same season (October-April). Transfers are not possible to another season. Please notify us in writing (email info@escapebycycle.com) of your request to transfer your booking as early as possible. The earlier we receive your request the more likely we will be able to agree to it, but it depends a lot of factors including how much time is available to re-sell your original places, the number of people remaining on your original tour as well as the availability of accommodation, equipment, staff and how far in advance we receive your request. If your transfer would leave your original tour with less than the minimum number of people to run the tour, it is not be possible to transfer your booking. If we agree to transfer your booking to your requested tour, you will need to pay any difference in price as well as the transfer fees listed below. If your transfer request is received:

• More than 180 days in advance no fee is payable
• 180 – 90 days prior to original departure date, a $150 per person fee will apply.
• 90 – 31 days prior to original departure date, a $250 per person fee will apply.
• Transfers within 30 days of your original departure date are not usually possible. If we do agree to the transfer a $500 per person fee will apply in addition to any costs we incur with our accommodations and other suppliers due to late cancellations. 

If a transfer is not possible for whatever reason (in our sole discretion) and you are not able to attend your original tour, your booking will be treated as a cancellation and the cancellation fees set out in clause 4 will apply.

6. Cancellation due to Illness, Injury, Grievance or for any other reason
It is your responsibility to protect yourself against illness, injury, personal grievance or any unexpected circumstances which might prevent you from coming on your cycle tour. We STRONGLY recommend purchasing travel insurance to protect yourself against cancellation fees. If you are unable to attend the tour for any reason, your booking will be subject to the cancellation fees in clause 4 above (except for Private Tours – see clause 2(d) above). If you are injured and cannot ride a bike, you are still welcome to attend the tour as a non-rider, but please let us know as soon as possible. No discounts or refunds will be made if you are unable to attend any part of the tour due to illness or injury. 

7. Tour Itinerary

An indicative tour itinerary will be attached to your booking email. We reserve the right to amend or change the itinerary, including times, cycle trails, driving routes, restaurants, cafés or accommodation without notice. In the event bad weather or unexpected events prevent the tour from taking a helicopter, train, boat cruise, jet boat ride, wine tasting or similar, there will be no refunds given for the missed activity. We reserve the right to change or cancel any activity on the grounds of safety without compensation. This may apply to a particular person or people on a tour, if we deem it would be unsafe for that person (or people) to ride a certain section or attend a particular activity.

8. Tour Cancellation by Us

We reserve the right to cancel any tour prior to departure for any reason (which may include, where we have less than the minimum number of people booked on the tour). If we decide to cancel a tour, we may offer you alternative dates to transfer your booking to another tour. If you agree to such a transfer, we will credit your payments towards the new booking. We will not charge a fee to transfer or defer your booking, but there may be a price difference to pay. If you are unable to attend any of our alternate offered dates, you will be refunded in full (less any transaction fees). No compensation will be given for any lost travel costs, expenses or other consequential loss or damages you may suffer (eg cancelled flights, accommodation etc) resulting from the cancellation.  

9. Tour Cancellation due to Force Majeure

Where events beyond our control prevent us from being able to operate your tour, including, but not limited to, extreme weather, closed roads or cycle trails, war, terrorism, famine, pandemic, regional or national lockdowns, strikes, trade disputes, fire, earthquake, flooding or other civil emergencies, government regulation, rule or decree, court order, or a serious accident or breakdown of vehicles, bikes or equipment, cancellation of our bookings by our accommodations or other suppliers, supply chain problems, political  or social unrest, acts or omissions of any third party (such events collectively known as “force majeure”) we will take reasonable steps to transfer your booking to another tour. In the event you decide not to accept a transfer your booking to another tour, but instead to cancel your booking, we will retain an amount equal to your deposit as an administration fee and refund any excess amounts paid back to you. In the event you agree to transfer your booking to another tour,, we will credit your payments to that new tour, but there may be a price difference to pay. We will not charge you any transfer fees in these circumstances.  If we defer your credit to the following season, it must be used during that season. Any unused credit will lapse thereafter. 

10.  Questionnaires, Health and Fitness and Dietary Requirements

Each customer must complete a questionnaire as soon as possible upon booking. It is your responsibility to complete the questionnaire completely and accurately. It may not be possible to change accommodation bookings, provide the correct equipment or cater to your dietary needs if you fail complete the questionnaire correctly and on time. We accept no liability to you for omitted, or incorrect information on your questionnaire, including (not limited to) room or bedding requirements, bikes or equipment, medical conditions, dietary requirements or food allergies. In the event we are required to take any action in order to rectify problems arising from incorrect or omitted information, we reserve the right to charge you a reasonable fee which reflects our time and costs – including wages, vehicle costs and expenses incurred by us. This may include the cost of removing you from the tour if you do not have the health or fitness required to complete the tour safely.  

You must be in good state of health and fitness to attend your tour and you must advise us of any serious health conditions before your cycle tour. If you are unsure whether we need to know something, please disclose it on your customer questionnaire, or call us to discuss it. We keep all customer information strictly confidential. We reserve the right to withdraw any person from a tour (with no refund) if we think you pose a risk to your own health, or to anyone else, or if you have failed to disclose any material medical conditions to us prior to your tour.

The cycle trails we ride are quite challenging in places (up to Grade 3 – intermediate) and not suitable for everyone. The trails can be quite rough and bumpy and suffer from weather, erosion, slips etc. If you are in any doubt as to whether you have the skills to ride on these trails, please ask us for further information before making your booking. It is your responsibility to have the necessary skills and fitness to complete your tour. Your tour guide will take reasonable steps to assist you, but in the event you lack the skills or fitness to ride certain sections of the cycle trails, you must follow your guides’ instructions which may include skipping a section and riding in the van.  

11. Third Party Suppliers

We engage third party suppliers to provide certain services on the tour, including food, accommodation, helicopters, jet boats, wine tastings, train rides, transport and other activities etc. We accept no liability for such third party suppliers or their activities or for any loss you suffer as the result. Any claim or cause of action you may have in respect of such service is against the third party supplier and not against us. 

12.  Removal or Withdrawal from a Tour

We reserve the right to remove any person from a tour (without refund), who in our opinion, is likely to endanger themselves or others, is overly rude, aggressive, or discriminatory in any way, intoxicated, conducting any illegal activity, refuses to wear a seat belt or cycle helmet, deliberately seeks to disrupt the tour, or refuses to comply with the reasonable instructions of our tour guide. We reserve the right to charge a fee to cover our costs associated with the removal of anyone from a tour. No refund will be given in these circumstances.

If anyone wishes to withdraw from a tour for any reason, we will do our best to arrange transport off the tour as best we can. No refunds will be given for any remaining portion of the tour or any missed accommodation, meals or activities. We reserve the right to charge a fee to cover our costs involved with assisting you to leave a tour. Our tours travel to remote parts of the South Island with infrequent transport options so please note that removal or withdrawal from a tour may be difficult, time consuming and expensive.

13.  Your Possessions

It is your responsibility to look after and insure all your possessions whilst on tour. We strongly advise you NOT to bring any precious or valuable possessions on tour. We accept no liability in the event of any loss, accident, fire, theft or similar. Your possessions are not covered by our insurance policy. We strongly advise you to check your possessions are covered by your own insurance policy while on tour. If you leave any possessions behind somewhere while on tour, we will use reasonable efforts to try to return these to you. We do not guarantee this will be possible and we reserve the right to charge a fee to cover our costs.

In the event you bring your own bike on tour, it will be loaded on our bike trailer together with our bikes. Our trailers can fit tyres up to 2.7 inches wide. If you have very wide tyres, or if they have an unusual shape or features, they may not fit on the trailer. Please ask us in advance if you are unsure. We will look after your bikes to the same standard of care as we look after our own bikes. However you should expect there may be some wear and tear while on tour. We accept no liability for any scratches, damage, loss or theft of your bike, or any related parts, chargers, or other equipment while on tour. Please ensure your bikes are covered by your own insurance while on tour.  

14.  Liability Waiver

Mountain biking, driving and cycle touring are inherently risky activities. You acknowledge and accept there is a risk of injury, death, property damage and/or loss on your tour. You agree to release, waive, discharge, hold harmless and indemnify the company, our directors, employees, contractors, agents or other representatives, from any claim, cause of action or loss you may suffer as the result of, or in connection with the tour. To the extent permitted by law, we disclaim any and all liability arising out of or in connection with providing your tour. To the extent our liability is not excluded by this clause, our liability is limited to the price paid for your tour. We strongly advise you to use insurance to protect yourself against these risks.

15.  Privacy Policy

We need to collect and store your personal information and certain personal data supplied by you in order to provide your cycle tour. This will only be stored and used by us for this purpose. Unless you tell us otherwise, you agree that we may add your email address to our mailing list for sending updates, newsletters and marketing materials. During the course of your tour we take photos and share these with you for download after your tour. We may use some of these photos for promotional purposes (social media, website etc) but we will only use photos where individuals are not easily recognisable. We will keep your information confidential and in accordance with applicable data privacy laws. In the unlikely event of an accident or emergency, you agree we may share your medical or personal information with medical or emergency services.

16.  Jurisdiction

These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of New Zealand.