Fine Print | Big Sky Adventures

The Fine Print

Here's a quick overview of the fine print.

A 20% DEPOSIT IS REQUIRED TO CONFIRM YOUR BOOKING
You can pay this by internet banking in New Zealand, international bank transfer if paying overseas or by PayPal or credit card. A 2.2% service fee will apply to use PayPal and credit card payments. The info on internet banking, PayPal and credit card payments also applies to the balance of your payment. Payment is due within 7 days after the receipt of your deposit invoice.

UPON CONFIRMATION OF YOUR BOOKING YOU'LL BE EMAILED AN ITEMISED SNAPSHOT OF YOUR CONFIRMED ITINERARY
Any changes made to your itinerary post confirmation may attract an administration fee of up to $60, depending on the scale of changes. A detailed itinerary (with maps and voucher numbers) will be emailed to you prior to your trip and a hard copy will be personally handed to you on day
one of your adventure.

THE FULL BALANCE IS REQUIRED AT LEAST 35 DAYS BEFORE YOUR DEPARTURE DATE. IF YOU BOOK WITHIN ONE MONTH OF YOUR DEPARTURE DATE, OR IF THE TOTAL COST OF YOUR ITINERARY IS UNDER $750 THE FULL BALANCE OF THE PRICE IS REQUIRED TO CONFIRM YOUR BOOKING.
Not because we're greedy, but because nearly all of our costs are up-front and have to be paid well before you arrive to ride your first kilometre. But because life happens, our cancellation policies try to strike a balance between flexibility for you, and stability for us. And why we feel two of the
most underrated words in the English language are travel and insurance.

TRAVEL INSURANCE CAN BE YOUR BFF
It won't cover every issue that could cancel your trip but it will cover the big stuff such as accidents, emergency surgery or a death in the family. We strongly recommend, whether you’re a local or an overseas guest on the Trail, that you take out travel insurance. Make sure that you understand the
terms of your policy, and then send happy thoughts to the Big Travel Kahuna in the hopes that you'll never need to use it.

AND HERE'S THE LONG AND LEGAL VERSION
“... although it includes conditions, limits, etc., this section may not be read carefully because it is written in legalese" — Dictionary definition of fine print.

Big Sky Bike Adventures Terms and Conditions
Bookings and Payments: Your booking will be confirmed upon your acceptance of our proposed tour itinerary or bike hire booking and the payment of a 20% deposit within 7 days of booking confirmation. At certain times of the year accommodation is in very high demand and there may be limitations on how long we can hold accommodation bookings for you. As a consequence, your reservations may be cancelled if payment isn’t received by the due date.

When you make a booking, you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions. Each party member is deemed to have read and accepted these terms and conditions. A contract will exist as soon as we issue our
confirmation invoice. This contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by New Zealand Law, and the jurisdiction of the New Zealand Courts.

Our quoted prices are in New Zealand dollars and your payment must be made in New Zealand dollars. We accept payment by bank direct credit, WISE, PayPal, Visa or MasterCard. Please note a 2.2 % surcharge applies to credit card and PayPal payments. Payment by international bank
transfer attracts fees in both your country and here in NZ. If you are paying by this method you must agree to pay both fees when arranging the transaction with your bank. International bank transfers are often the least expensive means of transferring payments to us from overseas, so we
suggest that you check out various options before making payment.

The balance of your payment is due no later than 35 days prior to the commencement of your journey. We will send you an invoice for the balance 10 days before the due date. If you book less than 35 days prior to the start of your journey, full payment is due at the time of booking. If you
book within one month of your departure date or the cost of the itinerary is under $750, 100% of the price is required to confirm your booking.

Cancellations by you (including partial cancellations)

If you or any member of your party needs to cancel their holiday once it has been confirmed, we require you or the group leader to give us written notice either by mail or email. The following cancellation fees apply:

For cancellations between 60 and 30 days prior to travel a cancellation fee of 50% of your deposit will be charged and the balance of your deposit will be refunded into either your NZ bank account or reversed into your Paypal or credit card account.
For cancellations between 30 and 15 days prior to travel a cancellation fee of 50% of the cost of your entire package will be charged. The balance of any monies (less any cancellation fees imposed by 3rd parties, such as accommodation, transport or activity providers) paid by you prior to cancellation will be refunded into either your bank account or reversed into your PayPal or credit card account. Please note shuttle fares are not refundable if cancelled 30 days or less prior to travel.
The full cost of your entire package will be forfeited if you should cancel 14 days or less prior to the commencement of travel.
In the event of a partial cancellation where one or more of your group cancels, any refund will relate solely to the travel costs associated with that person’s travel. However, partial cancellations may result in higher costs to other members of the group because of changes in accommodation and transport arrangements.
Cancellations due to bereavement or for unexpected health reasons will be considered by us on a case-by-case basis.

In the event that prior to your start date your travel is disrupted due to regional or national lockdowns or border closures, we undertake to either refund your payments (minus a small administration fee, any cancellation fees imposed by third-parties and any applicable bank fees) or transfer it to mutually agreed new dates (any cancellation/change fees imposed by third-
parties additional).

Cancellations by us

If due to circumstances beyond our control, or in the case of an escorted group tour where numbers are less than a minimum of four people, we reserve the right to cancel any booking up to the time of departure. We undertake to notify you immediately and to arrange for a full refund of your payments to the date of cancellation. Big Sky Adventures Limited shall have no liability whatsoever for any cancellation of any booking, package tour, bike hire or other travel arrangements, except to the extent of any amounts paid by you in respect of your booking.

Force Majeure

If Big Sky Adventures is either directly or indirectly prevented from performing its obligations to you under this agreement, through a force majeure event such as but not limited to an act of God, extreme weather, strikes, breakdowns, interruption of transport, government or political actions, acts of terrorism or omissions by third parties or any other cause outside of the control of Big Sky Adventures Limited, we will be under no liability to you and may, at our option, by
written notice, either cancel the tour or arrange alternative tour arrangements which are acceptable to you.

Variation from itinerary by us

On rare occasions, we may need to make adjustments to your itinerary because of possible changes outside of our control to such things as transport or accommodation arrangements or for safety or other unforeseen reasons. We will notify you promptly as soon as we become aware of the need to change your itinerary and where possible
offer you alternatives and options regarding the cost of these alternatives. Depending upon the option that is applicable and subject to your agreement, any difference in price will either be payable by you or be refunded to you by Big Sky Adventures Limited.

Itinerary changes by you

Should you wish to alter your itinerary after it is confirmed, we will make reasonable endeavours to assist you. However, any changes may incur a surcharge of up to $60, depending on the extent of the required changes. When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions. Each party member is deemed to have read and accepted these terms and conditions. A contract will exist as soon as we issue our confirmation invoice. This contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by New Zealand Law, and the jurisdiction of the New Zealand Courts.

Health and Fitness

To make the most of your journey along the Trail you require a reasonable degree of fitness and you should be in good health. We suggest that you undertake some “pre-conditioning” in the weeks prior to starting your trip by riding a bike or an exercise bike on a number of occasions. If you have a medical, physical or mental condition you must disclose this to us prior to commencing your journey. By advising us you agree to indemnify Big Sky Adventures Ltd for any actions, claims and demands that may arise from any health issues or events during or after the completion of your journey with us.

Bike transport and luggage

Please ensure that your bags weigh no more than 15 kg, the maximum weight allowed by all operators that service the Trail. We will weigh your bag at your departure point. In the event that it is overweight, any overage may result in you being charged for an additional bag. For people on extended holidays with large suitcases we offer an End-to-End baggage transfer service. This service is available for $20 per bag which will be transferred to await your arrival at your final destination on the Trail. There is a small transportation fee of $17 per bike to relocate them from your final destination back to our bases.

Shuttle services

Shuttle services operated by both Big Sky Adventures Limited or our contractors operate to a fixed schedule so it's important that you arrive at the trail pick up point before the time set out in your itinerary. If you believe you are going to be late, please contact us. We can delay
departure by up to 15 minutes in most cases. If the schedule permits we can continue to wait for you, however there will be a wait charge of $40 per hour, or part thereof. Because of obligations to other passengers, if we are unable to wait for you we will endeavour to find alternative transports
options, if they are available, at your cost.

Safety

It is important that you are fully aware that there are inherent risks associated with cycling and its related activities. These risks include, but are not limited to, poor weather, rough riding conditions, illness, navigational issues, collisions, traffic at road crossings and these risks may
be encountered in relatively isolated areas. Big Sky Adventures Limited reserves the right to remove a person from a tour if it deems at its sole discretion that she/he is a risk to others or for health reasons is unable to undertake or complete the tour.

In accepting our itinerary and paying the initial deposit you have entered into a contract with us and agree to accept all risks and shall not hold Big Sky Adventures Limited or our employees or agents responsible or make any claims against us (including claims arising from negligence) for any direct or indirect injury or damage to you or your property in the course of using our bikes and other equipment or your association with Big Sky Adventures Limited or our employees or agents.

You also agree that any claim in respect of damage or injury to other persons and/or property arising from your use of our bikes and other equipment is your responsibility and not that of Big Sky Adventures Limited or our employees or agents and that you indemnify Big Sky Bike Adventures against any loss, damage of claims whatsoever arising against us as a result of your use of our bikes or equipment. You acknowledge sole responsibility for personal possessions whilst undertaking the journey.

A cycle safety helmet will be given to you by us before the commencement of your journey and you must wear the helmet at all times whilst riding our bikes.

Care of bikes and other equipment

We expect you to take all reasonable care whilst riding, handling and parking our bikes and for your comfort and safety ensure that the tyres are kept at their proper pressure. Bikes at all times must be used in a safe, lawful and proper manner. If a bike or major components are damaged or requires salvage, you must phone us on 0800 BIG SKY as soon as possible and advise us of the problem. The cost of replacement or the repair of damage to bikes or any other items of our equipment caused by negligence or improper use will be the responsibility of the hirer.
Examples of loss or damage may include:

Lost accessories, such as chargers, repair kits, pumps or lights
Damage to helmets
Frame damage due to an impact or rider error
EBike batteries being damaged due to failure to be secured to the
bike and being dropped or improperly handled. Batteries typically
cost around $1000 to replace.
Broken brake levers, display units, derailleurs or shifters

We collect your personal information in order to provide you with detailed information regarding our travel and related services and to arrange itineraries and other services on your behalf. We keep your information safe by storing it in encrypted files and only allowing our staff and authorised contractors access to this information .

You have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, please contact us at info@bigskyadventures.co.nz, or 0800 244 759, or P O Box 7,
Naseby 9354, New Zealand.