This document outlines what Kimber Sparks Travel (“KST”) provides when you register for a KST tour, and what you agree to do while on tour with KST (“Tour Conditions”). By registering for a tour with KST, you are agreeing to these Tour Conditions, so it is very important that you read the document carefully before you complete your reservation request.
Itineraries are subject to change: Europe is full of surprises, and we need to be flexible enough to take advantage of whatever comes along so that we may provide you with the best possible tour. Uncompleted portions of the tour itinerary are not cause for refund.
Tour price guarantee: Our tour prices do not include airfare, and are subject to change without notice due to the unpredictability of currency rates and trip costs. However, your price for the tour you’ve selected will be locked in and guaranteed as soon as we receive your deposit.
Included in the price of each tour: Sightseeing tours by local tour guides when appropriate – including admissions to sights seen as a group; all breakfasts; accommodations each night, often in family-run hotels in the historic heart of the city; all transportation from the first hotel to the last hotel of the tour (does not include optional activities or independent travel during the tour); and all guides, and driver gratuities..
Not Included in the price of each tour:
- Additional baggage fees are not included for any tours/services offered through Kimber Sparks Dinners
- Travel
- Travel Insurance
- Laundry services throughout tour
- Phone calls, wifi fees, or phone cards
- Beverages, snacks, meals, and other food/drinks not detailed in the itinerary
- Airport transfers
- Personal items
- Expenses, transportation costs, or other associated fees incurred in the event of illness before, during, or after a service is purchased from Kimber Sparks Travel.
Kimber Sparks Travel is not liable for ANY expenses, costs, or loss incurred in relation to such matters. You agree not to hold Kimber Sparks Travel, as well as anyone associated with the company, responsible for any such things. It is YOUR responsibility to purchase travel insurance separately.
Tour payments: To reserve a seat on a KST tour, you must agree to these Tour Conditions and provide us with a deposit of $400 per person (or the promotional price). We accept MasterCard, Visa, and American Express for all tour payments, which will be provided through PayPal. We also accept personal checks, bank drafts or money orders in US dollars drawn on a US or Canadian bank. Your final tour payment is due in our office at least 60 days prior to the start of the tour, in one payment. Your final payment due date will be listed on your initial confirmation letter and tour invoice. Missing the final payment deadline may result in your being removed from the tour. If you sign up for a tour less than 60 days before its departure, the entire tour price must be paid, and is non-refundable.
Returned payments: If a payment to KST is returned unpaid for any reason, we will assess a $35 returned-item fee per occurrence. The fee(s) will be added to the applicable tour balance, and must be paid in full prior to your tour departure date.
Cancellations, Refunds, and Credits: Your tour deposit is 100% refundable for 30 days from the date it is received, unless noted otherwise. Deposits made 60–90 days before a tour departs become non-refundable on the final payment due date. If you book a tour less than 60 days before its departure date, the entire tour cost becomes non-refundable immediately. Once your deposit refund date has passed, your deposit will not be refunded under any circumstance.
All payments to KST become non-refundable on your final payment due date (60 days before departure). We may provide you a credit for future travel with Kimber Sparks Travel Tours if you cancel your reservation for a creditable event, as outlined below, before the tour begins. If you cancel your reservation for a creditable event 31–60 days before the first day of the tour, your credit will be equal to 100% of your original tour price. If you cancel your reservation for a creditable event 1–30 days before the first day of the tour, your credit will be equal to 50% of your original tour price. The credit is not transferable and is valid for travel through the end of the following year from the date of issue. This is not insurance and is not intended as a substitute for comprehensive travel and health insurance!
If we cancel a tour you have reserved, the entire amount you have paid to KST for the applicable tour will be refunded to you within 30 days after the tour’s cancellation, as required under Illinois State law. However, you may choose to transfer within two weeks to another tour with seats available (see “Transferring to another tour,” above). Once this occurs, KST and its representatives have no other obligations to tour members on cancelled trips including any additional costs or fees related to the issuance and/or
cancellation of airline tickets or other travel reservations not made by KST.
Creditable medical or family Emergency (“Creditable Event”): KST may provide you a credit for future travel with Kimber Sparks Travel Tours if one of the following creditable medical or family emergency events requires you to cancel your reservation. A creditable event must first occur less than 60 days prior to your tour’s start date. It is KST’s sole discretion to determine if your situation is a Creditable Event. For these purposes, we consider your traveling partner to be someone who shares the same accommodations with you and a family member to be your spouse, step-child, or blood relative in the first degree.
- You, your travel partner, or a family member dies or suffers an unexpected and disabling injury or illness requiring hospitalization or urgent medical care prior to joining the tour.
- You, your travel partner or family member suffers a certifiable personal disaster (such as your home floods or burns down, or you are a victim of a serious crime) necessitating a change in travel plans.
- You or your spouse are called into active military service or have leave revoked.
- Loss of employment.
Transferring to another tour: Change in plans? Up to 60 days prior to your tour’s departure, you can transfer to any other tour in the same calendar year with seats available, applying your existing deposit and without a transfer fee. If you transfer to a different tour, the price of that
tour will be applied, effective on the date we confirm your transfer. Transfers less than 60 days before your tour’s departure are usually not possible, as reservations have been made, but I will be happy to try and assist. However, there are no guarantees.
trips including any additional costs or fees related to the issuance and/or
Credit request process: If you need to cancel your tour, you must notify KST immediately in writing: sent via email to [email protected]. Cancellations become effective on the date received by KST and are governed by the KST Tour Credit Terms and Conditions. If you wish to request a credit for a creditable event and you have comprehensive travel insurance, you must first file a claim with your insurance provider before requesting a credit from KST. KST will only process your request for credit after you have filed a claim with your insurance provider and can demonstrate the final insurance payment or settlement. You also must provide the following documentation along with your cancellation notice: For an unexpected illness or injury, we require you to provide a letter from your attending physician,
on the physician’s letterhead, verifying the specific reason and date of the onset of the condition given for advice against traveling; in the event of a death, we require a death certificate or obituary; due to a crime, flood, fire or accident, you must provide a copy of a pertinent police, fire department or investigative report; for unexpected loss of your job, we require a letter signed by your employer specifying the date of termination, on the company’s letterhead (including contact information).
Tour forms, obligations, and risks: To travel on a tour, and to qualify for cancellation credit, all tour members are required to review and accept a Release and Waiver Agreement prior to the beginning of a tour. Omitting important information, or altering the Release and Waiver Agreement, will render it invalid, and could result in expulsion from a tour at your own expense.
Participation: Although we want everyone to have a good time, it sometimes happens that someone participating in a tour can misbehave or do things that are incompatible with the safety, comfort, or convenience of other members of the tour. In those circumstances we have the exclusive right and discretion to expel someone (even you) from a tour at any time.
Solo travelers and single supplements: If you are traveling alone, you need not pay the mandatory single supplement often required by other tour companies. You will most likely room with another tour member of the same sex. If you wish to guarantee a private room, we offer a limited number of optional single supplements for an additional fee (we are unable to guarantee this is available at any/all accommodation facilities). If a private room is not available, we will do our best to reach a solution that you are satisfied with. Please note that a single supplement includes a private room — not necessarily a larger or nicer room, as European single-bedrooms are generally the smallest and most basic rooms the hotel has to offer!
Tour member expectations: Kimber Sparks Travel tours are physically active, our hotels are centrally located but may provide fewer American-style amenities, and our people policy emphasizes NO GRUMPS! These are essential characteristics of the Kimber Sparks Travel tour experience. On any Kimber Sparks Travel tour, you assume certain obligations and responsibilities to KST and your fellow tour members, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Carry or roll your own luggage for up to 30 minutes over uneven pavement from the train to the hotel, then haul it up as many as five flights of stairs to reach your room if needed.
- Be comfortable on your feet with brisk two-hour walking tours, climbing lots of stairs, hopping on and off public transportation, plus standing and walking for up to four hours inside museums and outdoors in all weather conditions.
- Sleep in hotels with no (or inadequate) air conditioning, possible street noise,. and slow Wi-Fi connections or Wi-Fi only in common areas.
- After orientation and transportation lessons, be able to navigate towns and cities on your own.
- Our tour guides cannot provide assistance for any of these activities! Tour members requiring help must be accompanied by an able companion who can be entirely responsible for providing the assistance. (If you have concerns about the physical demands of our tours, please call us!)
- Pack light: Each tour member is allowed to bring just one airline carry-on-size piece of luggage (approximately 21″ x 14″ x 9″) plus a small day pack or shoulder bag. Your Pre-Tour Planner includes tips for packing light and creatively.
- Smoking policy: No smoking or vaping is allowed on the bus, in the hotel, or where other tour members are present.
- Kimber Sparks Travel is registered with the State of Illinois.
EIN Assigned: 83-3347110
Tab Content
KIMBER SPARKS TRAVEL TOUR CONDITIONS
This document outlines what Kimber Sparks Travel (“KST”) provides when you register for a KST tour, and what you agree to do while on tour with KST (“Tour Conditions”). By registering for a tour with KST, you are agreeing to these Tour Conditions, so it is very important that you read the document carefully before you complete your reservation request.
Tour price guarantee: Our tour prices do not include airfare, and are subject to change without notice due to the unpredictability of currency rates and trip costs. However, your price for the tour you’ve selected will be locked in and guaranteed as soon as we receive your deposit.
Included in the price of each tour: Sightseeing tours by local tour guides when appropriate – including admissions to sights seen as a group; all breakfasts and the number of your dinners stated in your specific tour (as determined by KST); accommodations each night, often in family-run hotels in the historic heart of the city; all transportation from the first hotel to the last hotel of the tour (does not include optional activities or independent travel during the tour); and all guides, and driver gratuities.
Itineraries are subject to change: Europe is full of surprises, and we need to be flexible enough to take advantage of whatever comes along so that we may provide you with the best possible tour. Uncompleted portions of the tour itinerary are not cause for refund.
Tour payments: To reserve a seat on a KST tour, you must agree to these Tour Conditions and provide us with a deposit of $400 per person ($700 for two persons). We accept MasterCard, Visa, and American Express for all tour payments, which will be provided through PayPal. We also accept personal checks, bank drafts or money orders in US dollars drawn on a US or Canadian bank. Your final tour payment is due in our office at least 60 days prior to the start of the tour, in one payment. Your final payment due date will be listed on your initial confirmation letter and tour invoice. Missing the final payment deadline may result in your being removed from the tour. If you sign up for a tour less than 60 days before its departure, the entire tour price must be paid, and is non-refundable.
Solo travelers and single supplements: If you are traveling alone, you need not pay the mandatory single supplement often required by other tour companies. You will most likely room with another tour member of the same sex. If you wish to guarantee a private room, we offer a limited number of optional single supplements for an additional fee (we are unable to guarantee this is available at any/all accommodation facilities). If a private room is not available, we will do our best to reach a solution that you are satisfied with. Please note that a single supplement includes a private room — not necessarily a larger or nicer room, as European single-bedrooms are generally the smallest and most basic rooms the hotel has to offer!
Returned payments: If a payment to KST is returned unpaid for any reason, we will assess a $35 returned-item fee per occurrence. The fee(s) will be added to the applicable tour balance, and must be paid in full prior to your tour departure date.
Transferring to another tour: Change in plans? Up to 60 days prior to your tour’s departure, you can transfer to any other tour in the same calendar year with seats available, applying your existing deposit and without a transfer fee. If you transfer to a different tour, the price of that
tour will be applied, effective on the date we confirm your transfer. Transfers less than 60 days before your tour’s departure are usually not possible, as reservations have been made, but I will be happy to try and assist. However, there are no guarantees.
Cancellations, Refunds, and Credits: Your tour deposit is 100% refundable for 30 days from the date it is received, unless noted otherwise. Deposits made 60–90 days before a tour departs become non-refundable on the final payment due date. If you book a tour less than 60 days before its departure date, the entire tour cost becomes non-refundable immediately. Once your deposit refund date has passed, your deposit will not be refunded under any circumstance.
All payments to KST become non-refundable on your final payment due date (60 days before departure). We may provide you a credit for future travel with Kimber Sparks Travel Tours if you cancel your reservation for a creditable event, as outlined below, before the tour begins. If you cancel your reservation for a creditable event 31–60 days before the first day of the tour, your credit will be equal to 100% of your original tour price. If you cancel your reservation for a creditable event 1–30 days before the first day of the tour, your credit will be equal to 50% of your original tour price. The credit is not transferable and is valid for travel through the end of the following year from the date of issue. This is not insurance and is not intended as a substitute for comprehensive travel and health insurance!
If we cancel a tour you have reserved, the entire amount you have paid to KST for the applicable tour will be refunded to you within 30 days after the tour’s cancellation, as required under Illinois State law. However, you may choose to transfer within two weeks to another tour with seats available (see “Transferring to another tour,” above). Once this occurs, KST and its representatives have no other obligations to tour members on cancelled trips including any additional costs or fees related to the issuance and/or cancellation of airline tickets or other travel reservations not made by KST.
Creditable medical or family Emergency (“Creditable Event”): KST may provide you a credit for future travel with Kimber Sparks Travel Tours if one of the following creditable medical or family emergency events requires you to cancel your reservation. A creditable event must first occur less than 60 days prior to your tour’s start date. It is KST’s sole discretion to determine if your situation is a Creditable Event. For these purposes, we consider your traveling partner to be someone who shares the same accommodations with you and a family member to be your spouse, step-child, or blood relative in the first degree.
1. You, your travel partner, or a family member dies or suffers an unexpected and disabling injury or illness requiring hospitalization or urgent medical care prior to joining the tour.
2. You, your travel partner or family member suffers a certifiable personal disaster (such as your home floods or burns down, or you are a victim of a serious crime) necessitating a change in travel plans.
3. You or your spouse are called into active military service or have leave revoked.
4. Loss of employment.
Credit request process: If you need to cancel your tour, you must notify KST immediately in writing: sent via email to [email protected]. Cancellations become effective on the date received by KST and are governed by the KST Tour Credit Terms and Conditions. If you wish to request a credit for a creditable event and you have comprehensive travel insurance, you must first file a claim with your insurance provider before requesting a credit from KST. KST will only process your request for credit after you have filed a claim with your insurance provider and can demonstrate the final insurance payment or settlement. You also must provide the following documentation along with your cancellation notice: For an unexpected illness or injury, we require you to provide a letter from your attending physician,
on the physician’s letterhead, verifying the specific reason and date of the onset of the condition given for advice against traveling; in the event of a death, we require a death certificate or obituary; due to a crime, flood, fire or accident, you must provide a copy of a pertinent police, fire department or investigative report; for unexpected loss of your job, we require a letter signed by your employer specifying the date of termination, on the company’s letterhead (including contact information).
Tour forms, obligations, and risks: To travel on a tour, and to qualify for cancellation credit, all tour members are required to review and accept a Release and Waiver Agreement prior to the beginning of a tour. Omitting important information, or altering the Release and Waiver Agreement, will render it invalid, and could result in expulsion from a tour at your own expense.
Participation: Although we want everyone to have a good time, it sometimes happens that someone participating in a tour can misbehave or do things that are incompatible with the safety, comfort, or convenience of other members of the tour. In those circumstances we have the exclusive right and discretion to expel someone (even you) from a tour at any time.
Tour member expectations: Kimber Sparks Travel tours are physically active, our hotels are centrally located but may provide fewer American-style amenities, and our people policy emphasizes NO GRUMPS! These are essential characteristics of the Kimber Sparks Travel tour experience. On any Kimber Sparks Travel tour, you assume certain obligations and responsibilities to KST and your fellow tour members, including, but not limited to, the following:
· Carry or roll your own luggage for up to 30 minutes over uneven pavement from the train to the hotel, then haul it up as many as five flights of stairs to reach your room if needed.
· Be comfortable on your feet with brisk two-hour walking tours, climbing lots of stairs, hopping on and off public transportation, plus standing and walking for up to four hours inside museums and outdoors in all weather conditions.
· Sleep in hotels with no (or inadequate) air conditioning, possible street noise,. and slow Wi-Fi connections or Wi-Fi only in common areas.
· After orientation and transportation lessons, be able to navigate towns and cities on your own.
· Our tour guides cannot provide assistance for any of these activities! Tour members requiring help must be accompanied by an able companion who can be entirely responsible for providing the assistance. (If you have concerns about the physical demands of our tours, please call us!)
· Pack light: Each tour member is allowed to bring just one airline carry-on-size piece of luggage (approximately 21″ x 14″ x 9″) plus a small day pack or shoulder bag. Your Pre-Tour Planner includes tips for packing light and creatively.
· Smoking policy: No smoking or vaping is allowed on the bus, in the hotel, or where other tour members are present.
· Kimber Sparks Travel is registered with the State of Illinois.
EIN Assigned: 83-3347110