USA Terms & Conditions

1. Who you are contracting with

These terms form a legally binding agreement between you and Plan South America Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 08488657 (“PSA”, “we”, “us”, “our”). Our registered office, and the address for any notice under this Agreement, is 92-96 De Beauvoir Rd, London N1 4EN, United Kingdom.

This Agreement applies to every client who books through us (each a “Client”) and to every person travelling on a journey we have arranged or advised upon (together with the Client, the “Participants”). The Client confirms they have authority to accept these terms on behalf of all Participants and will bring them to each Participant’s attention. 

Where we use the term “Trip Planning Services” we mean the whole of our work on your journey: consultation, research, itinerary design, document preparation and revision, correspondence, reservations, and everything incidental to it.

This Agreement takes effect when you pay the planning retainer and continues until the end of your journey, including any extension arranged before or during it.

2. Our role

We are a travel agent and organiser. We do not own, operate or control the hotels, lodges, vessels, aircraft, vehicles, guides, restaurants or activity providers that deliver your journey (the “Suppliers”). We select them, contract with them on your behalf, and hold them to the standards we expect — but they remain independent businesses responsible for the services they provide.

Each Supplier’s own terms and conditions apply to your journey in addition to these terms. We will make those terms available to you on request, and you accept them when you confirm a booking.

3. Financial protection

Your contract is with PSA, a travel company established in the United Kingdom, and is governed by the law of England and Wales as set out at clause 24.

We will confirm what financial protection applies to your arrangements in your booking confirmation, and you are welcome to ask us about it at any point before you book.

We recommend that your travel insurance includes cover for the financial failure or default of a travel supplier. Clause 21 sets out our position on Supplier insolvency.

4. Planning retainer

Following an initial conversation, a non-refundable planning retainer of $300 per person ($600 for solo travellers) is payable before we begin checking availability or designing a proposal. The retainer compensates our time and is not an estimate of the cost of your journey. It is credited in full against your first invoice if you proceed to book. It is not refundable if you decide not to travel, or to book elsewhere.

5. Confirming your booking

Once an itinerary is agreed, a deposit is payable comprising 40% of accommodation, ground arrangements and impact contributions, plus 100% of the cost of any commercial flights. “Impact contributions” are the conservation and community payments itemised in your proposal, which we pass to the receiving organisation in full. 

The balance is due 90 days before departure. Bookings made within 90 days of departure are payable in full at confirmation.

Higher deposits apply to some Suppliers and to peak travel dates, and to expedition vessels, Galápagos and Antarctic departures in particular. Where a higher deposit is required we will tell you the amount before you commit.

Your balance due date will be confirmed in writing in your booking confirmation. If a payment is not received by the date shown, we reserve the right to treat the booking as cancelled and to apply the charges set out at clause 12. We are not responsible for penalties, fare increases or lost reservations arising from late payment.

Submitting payment confirms your acceptance of these terms.

6. Currency and payment

Our invoices are issued in US dollars and payable by bank transfer.

7. Supplier costs paid on your behalf

Payment for Supplier costs is due within two business days of our invoice. Rate quotations frequently lapse after that period. If yours does, we will seek a fresh quotation, which will in turn hold for two business days. Local taxes and fees vary by destination and will be disclosed to you before we confirm the booking.

8. What is not included

Unless your proposal states otherwise, quoted prices exclude: travel insurance; international airfare and transportation to and from your journey; the cost of obtaining passports, visas, reciprocity fees and entry permits; airport departure taxes and exit fees collected locally; excess baggage charges; gratuities to guides, drivers and hotel staff; meals not specified in your itinerary; excursions and activities not specified in your itinerary; and personal expenses including drinks, laundry, communications and medical costs.

9. Changes you ask for

You may request changes to a confirmed itinerary. We will do what we can, subject to availability and to the conditions each Supplier attaches to arrangements already made.

Where a change alters the cost of your journey, we will quote the revised price before we proceed, and you agree to meet it. Substantial redesign will be quoted separately before we begin. Planning retainers already earned are not refundable.

10. Transfer of your booking

You may transfer your booking to someone else, provided they can satisfy any condition attached to it. Ask us in writing at least 30 days before departure.

A transfer depends on each Supplier agreeing to it. Some will not permit a name change at all — airlines in particular treat it as a cancellation and rebooking — in which case the affected arrangements must be cancelled and rebooked, and clause 12 applies to them.

You and the person taking over the booking are jointly and severally liable for the balance and for every charge, fee and cost arising from the transfer, including any Supplier charge and our administration charge.

11. Changes by us or by a Supplier

Occasionally a Supplier changes a departure date, alters an itinerary or cancels altogether. If that happens we will assist you in making alternative arrangements and will press your case with the Supplier; you remain responsible for any additional Supplier costs.

We may also change accommodation, routing or other features of a journey where we believe it improves your safety or the quality of your experience. Where it is feasible to do so, we will obtain your agreement first.

12. Cancellation by you

Cancellation takes effect on the date we receive written notice from you, which may be given by email.

Air arrangements are non-refundable and charged at 100% of cost from the time of booking, regardless of when notice of cancellation is given. The charges below apply in addition, calculated on the cost of your journey excluding air arrangements, as shown on your confirmation invoice:

These charges reflect our reasonable estimate of the losses we incur when a confirmed journey is cancelled: sums already committed to Suppliers and unrecoverable, and the value of work performed. You agree they are a genuine pre-estimate of loss and not a penalty. Where a Supplier imposes charges exceeding the figures above, you are responsible for the difference.

In addition to the charges above, you are responsible for any costs we have incurred that cannot be recovered, including the planning retainer and any Supplier charges exceeding the figures shown.

Deposits are non-refundable. Higher charges apply to peak travel dates and to expedition departures, and will be advised before you commit.

Certain elements of an itinerary cannot be amended once confirmed and may carry a cancellation charge of up to 100% from the moment of confirmation. This is usually because of the nature of the experience, a remote lodge or vessel, or the time of year.

Regarding postponement, where notice is given more than 90 days before departure, we will make all reasonable efforts to move your deposit to new dates within twelve months, subject to our suppliers agreeing the same. Flights are rarely transferable, and any fare difference or airline change fee is payable. Inside 90 days, a postponement is treated as a cancellation and rebooking.

13. Circumstances beyond our control

We are not liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations caused by events outside our reasonable control, including acts of God, extreme weather, natural disaster, epidemic or pandemic, war, civil unrest, terrorism, strikes and labour action, border closures, government action, and the failure or withdrawal of a Supplier.

Where such an event prevents a journey from proceeding, we will use reasonable efforts to secure credits or a postponement from Suppliers on your behalf. We cannot guarantee that Suppliers will agree, and we are not able to refund sums we have paid away and cannot recover. Any administration charge for rebooking will be advised at the time.

14. Air arrangements

Airfares and conditions are subject to change until ticketed. Once ticketed, airline rules govern: name changes are generally not permitted and are treated as cancellation and rebooking, and change and cancellation penalties are set by the carrier and sit outside clause 12. Flights are occasionally overbooked, delayed, rescheduled or cancelled. If that happens we will do our best to help you find alternatives, but we are not responsible for the event or the costs arising from it. Where you are entitled to compensation from a carrier, that claim lies against the carrier.

15. Insurance

Comprehensive travel insurance is a condition of booking with us. Your policy should cover cancellation and curtailment, medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation and repatriation, search and rescue, personal belongings, and the financial failure or default of a travel supplier. It must also cover every activity on your itinerary, including any regarded by insurers as hazardous — riding, diving, climbing, trekking at altitude, sailing and small-boat or helicopter transfers among them. Please read your policy’s exclusions carefully. Standard policies frequently exclude search and rescue, or cap it well below the cost of an extraction from the places we send you. We strongly recommend you also consider cancel-for-any-reason cover, which must usually be purchased within a short window of your first payment.

Several countries require proof of valid medical insurance on entry. We cannot be held responsible if entry is refused because you are unable to produce it, or for any other reason.

We are not licensed insurance advisers and cannot advise on the terms, benefits or exclusions of any policy. Questions about coverage should be put to the insurer.

16. Passports, visas and health

It is your responsibility to secure and pay for all passports, visas, reciprocity fees, affidavits, permits and immunisations required for entry to each destination. Some countries collect entry or exit fees locally. Entry may be refused even where documentation appears complete. We recommend passports valid for at least six months beyond your return date, as many countries require this.

We do not advise on or obtain travel documentation on your behalf, and we are not responsible for delays, losses or missed portions of a journey arising from inadequate documentation or from a government’s decision about entry.

You are urged to review the advisories published by the U.S. Department of State at travel.state.gov and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov, both of which maintain current country-specific guidance. We bear no responsibility for the content of that guidance.

Recommended inoculations change. Please consult a physician well before departure — eight weeks is a sensible minimum — and follow their advice.

17. Fitness to travel and conduct

By making a booking you confirm that each Participant is fit to undertake the itinerary as designed, and that no Participant has a medical or other condition that could endanger themselves or others, or that would prevent them taking part in the arrangements booked.

Any condition requiring particular attention, medication, diet or treatment must be told to us in writing when you book, and you must tell us of any change between booking and departure. Much of what we arrange sits at altitude — Cusco, Puno and the Colca canyon among it — and expedition vessels and remote lodges commonly require a medical questionnaire and may decline a guest on medical grounds. Where we are not told, or where we are told too late to accommodate a requirement safely, we may decline or cancel the booking and the charges at clause 12 will apply.

We may also remove any Participant from a journey, at their own expense and without refund, whose conduct or physical condition endangers others or materially spoils their journey.

18. Accessibility

If any Participant requires accessible accommodation or assistance, please tell us as early as possible. We will make every reasonable effort to arrange it. Standards and availability vary considerably across Latin America and Antarctica, and facilities equivalent to those required under the Americans with Disabilities Act are often not available. Where additional arrangements carry a cost, we will advise you of it before confirming.

19. Review your documents

Please read every itinerary, ticket, voucher and confirmation carefully as soon as you receive it, whether from us or from a Supplier. Tell us immediately about any error, question or concern.

20. If something goes wrong

If a problem arises while you are travelling, raise it with the Supplier at the time and contact us straight away. Most things can be put right on the spot, and we cannot help with what we do not know about. Our concierge team is reachable throughout your journey.

If you remain dissatisfied, please write to the Managing Director at travel@plansouthamerica.com within 28 days of returning, setting out what happened. We will acknowledge your letter and respond as fully as we can. Raising a matter promptly, both locally and with us, gives us the best chance of putting it right and may affect what we are able to recover from a Supplier on your behalf.

21. Release from liability

You acknowledge that PSA does not own or operate any hotel, lodge, vessel, aircraft, vehicle, ground operator, restaurant, activity provider or other business supplying goods or services on your journey.

Subject to clause 24, you release PSA, its officers, employees, agents, affiliates and independent contractors from liability for the acts, omissions, negligence, default, financial failure or insolvency of any Supplier or other third party. Without limitation, we are not responsible for injury, loss, damage to person or property, death, delay or inconvenience arising from: acts of God or of government; force majeure; war, civil unrest, insurrection, terrorism or the threat of any of them; strikes and labour action; overbooking or downgrading of accommodation; defective conditions at any property; mechanical failure of any means of transport or its failure to depart or arrive on time or safely; encounters with animals, insects, marine life or vegetation; risks inherent in recreational activity, including riding, hiking, climbing, cycling, rafting, kayaking, sailing, diving, snorkelling, surfing, swimming, skiing and zip-lining; sanitation and food safety; illness or epidemic or the threat of it; the availability or quality of medical care; difficulty of evacuation in an emergency; or any other cause beyond our reasonable control.

Where you have arranged part of your journey without our involvement, you are responsible for any loss arising from it — including, for example, a missed connection caused by a flight you booked yourself.

22. Assumption of risk

Travel of this kind takes place in remote country and involves risks that cannot be eliminated. These include, without limitation: vehicle collision; roadway and trail hazards; slips and falls; altitude; exposure to heat, cold, sun, wind and water; encounters with animals, reptiles and insects; contaminated food or water; fatigue and dizziness; the aggravation of known or unknown medical conditions; physical exertion beyond your preparation; accident or illness in places without medical services or means of rapid evacuation; and the adequacy of medical attention once provided.

This description is not exhaustive. Unknown and unanticipated risks may result in injury, illness or death. You accept these risks as an inherent part of the journey and assume full responsibility for them on your own behalf and on behalf of each Participant.

23. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify PSA and its officers, directors, employees and agents against any loss, liability, damage, judgment, settlement, cost and expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your breach or threatened breach of this Agreement, or from your failure to bring these terms to the attention of, and obtain the agreement of, each Participant.

24. Governing law and jurisdiction

This Agreement is governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or relating to it. Nothing in this clause deprives you of the protection of any mandatory consumer law of your state of residence.

25. Photography

We occasionally photograph journeys for editorial use. We will not publish an identifiable image of any Participant without permission. Tell us at any time if you would prefer not to be photographed.

26. Your information

We handle your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, available at plansouthamerica.com/privacy-policy.

27. Entire agreement; severability

This Agreement, together with your proposal and booking confirmation, constitutes the entire agreement between us and supersedes all prior communications. If any provision is held unlawful or unenforceable, it shall be severed and the remainder shall continue in effect.

28. Acceptance

By paying the planning retainer or any subsequent invoice, you confirm that you have read this Agreement, that you understand it includes a release of liability and an assumption of risk, and that you accept it freely.