Site terms and booking conditions

EL KARTEL SpA. Antonio Varas 687, Temuco, Chile

The following terms and conditions form the basis of your contract. Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. References to El-Kartel, ‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘us’ are to El-Kartel SpA, and references to ‘you’ and ‘your’ are to you the Client.

A binding contract will exist on your instruction to us to prepare an itinerary for your Patagonia holiday, and on our receipt of the Non-refundable US$200 (incl VAT) per person fee for this service (Included in total price). This instruction can be made in person, by phone, letter, fax, email or over the internet. At this point you are deemed to have understood and accepted these terms and conditions. You must also guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept them on behalf of your party. The contract is between El-Kartel SpA and the Client, being any person named on the booking as travelling or intending to travel using the services of El-Kartel. The contract, including all matters arising from it will be governed by Chilean law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Chile.

El-Kartel will act as your agent for the purposes of putting in place arrangements between you and the service providers providing services to you. The supply of such services will be governed by the terms of the service provider’s contract with you.

El-Kartel will prepare a tailor-made itinerary for your holiday to Patagonia in accordance with your requests. Our fee for this service is US$200 (incl VAT) per person and covers administration, communication and other costs incurred in preparing the itinerary. It is payable after initial consultations through our website, by telephone and by email, and once you have instructed us to prepare your itinerary. This fee remains payable if you decide not to book your holiday through us. El-Kartel may receive commission or other consideration from service providers providing services to you.

We will prepare a detailed itinerary to include all details of accommodation, vehicle rentals, transfers, activities and other services to be arranged or managed by El-Kartel. It will state the total price to be paid by you for that itinerary.

The itinerary prepared can be changed, amended or altered in any way at your request prior to booking. Any change, amendment or alteration to your itinerary after confirmation however may be subject to further costs.

Bookings for accommodation, vehicle rentals, transfers, activities and other services will be secured on written confirmation from you, and on payment of a non-refundable deposit. We will require full travel details including names as shown on your passport. Once we have accepted your booking, we will advise you of final date for full payment and any other necessary details. On receipt of your deposit, a confirmed itinerary will be forwarded to you. Upon arrival in Chile/Argentina/Brazil full documentation (voucher/s, full itinerary) will await you at the first acceptable point of contact.

A non-refundable deposit of 20% of the total cost is required to secure bookings in accordance with your itinerary. This should be paid within 7 days of the confirmation of your itinerary. Failure to pay this deposit within the 7 days may result in the cancellation of your itinerary. Your booking is confirmed upon receipt by us of this deposit. In some cases some hotels or special service providers may require larger deposits before bookings can be guaranteed. We will advise of this at the time of confirmation.

All payments should be made by cash or by telegraphic transfer to our bank. We will provide details of this once we have received confirmation to prepare your itinerary.

Full payment is required no later than 45 days prior to commencement of services. If a booking is made within 45 days of the first day of your Patagonia itinerary full payment is required at the time of booking.

Any additional costs that you may be required to pay as a result of any change, amendment or alteration to your itinerary, or increases imposed by service providers are to be paid within 7 days of notification received from El-Kartel.

In the case of non-payment of the balance by the due date, we may treat the specific booking as cancelled without any further communication and will retain your deposit.

Should you wish to make any changes to your itinerary once confirmed we cannot guarantee but will endeavor to meet your requests. Where we can do so a charge of US$30 will be payable, plus any additional fees imposed by the service provider with respect to their amendment and cancellations policy.

As we plan arrangements many months in advance, we may occasionally need to make minor alterations to your itinerary, substitute service providers of activities or accommodation, or cancel confirmed bookings. This may occur before and after bookings have been confirmed. Whilst we always endeavor to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so.

We will notify you as soon as practicable in the event of any such change, amendment, alteration or substitution. You agree and acknowledge that any costs payable as a result of any change, amendment, alteration or substitution to your itinerary, are to be paid by you in accordance with the payment terms.

Service providers generally reserve the right to change arrangements both before and after a booking has been confirmed. We will notify you of any changes as soon as we are notified of them, but we cannot accept any liability in relation to any change.

Should you or any member of your party need to cancel your travel arrangements once they have been confirmed, it is essential the person who made the booking contact us in writing (e-mail to Elkartelchile@gmail.com) at the earliest opportunity. Your notice of cancellation will be effective when it is received by us.

Cancellation charges will be as determined by the relevant service provider’s cancellation policy.

El-Kartel will refund to you the balance of the total price paid not forfeited in accordance with these Cancellation terms within 10 days of receiving the funds from the relevant service provider.

We will quote you the total price payable for your itinerary. This will include accommodation, transfers, activities, meals and other services to be arranged or managed by El-Kartel as detailed in your itinerary.

We reserve the right to alter the total price payable at any time due to cost increases imposed by our service providers or through circumstances outside our control. We will notify you as soon as possible in the event of further costs.

All fees and prices are quoted in Chilean pesos converted into US dollars and include VAT where needed, currently 19%. These are subject to any increase in VAT by the Chilean Government or changes in conversion rate.

The price includes all services such as accommodation, transport and transfers, activities and meals arranged by El-Kartel and specified in the itinerary.

Additional expenses such as but not limited to the following are your responsibility.

Items of a personal nature, such as meals unless otherwise stated, laundry, phone calls, tipping, room service, optional excursions and activities, wine and beverages, excess baggage charges

Insurance excess and associated running costs of a rental vehicle

International departure taxes, customs and immigration, reciprocity fees or visa fees

International and domestic airfares unless otherwise stated

Once your itinerary has commenced no refund will be made for any accommodation, activities or other services arranged by us that you have not used for whatever reason.

However, in the event of service providers needing to cancel booked activities due to adverse weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances, you will be refunded at the end of your holiday in accordance with the service provider’s refund policy.

Please check with your travel agent or airline regarding current passport, visa and reciprocity fee and vaccination requirements. It is your responsibility as the traveler to ensure that all necessary travel documents are valid and effective.

We strongly recommend that you arrange comprehensive travel insurance at the time you book your trip. This should cover personal accident, loss of luggage and personal property, cancellation or delay of flights, medical expenses, repatriation etc.

Should you while on holiday choose to take part in any activity (glacier hike, horseback riding, white-water rafting, etc.) which can be regarded as being of a hazardous nature, it is essential to ensure that cover is provided under the terms of your travel insurance.

Please advise us of any special needs and/or requests at the time of booking, and in writing to El-Kartel. Although we will endeavor to meet any such request, we regret we cannot guarantee to do so. Failure to meet such special requests will not be a breach of contract on our part. If you have any medical conditions or disabilities which may affect your travel arrangements, we need to be advised in writing at the time of booking giving full details. We will pass those details onto the relevant service providers. However, if we, or the service provider, feel unable to properly accommodate your particular needs, we/the relevant service provider reserves the right to decline/cancel the booking.

Accommodation options mentioned in the itinerary are subject to availability. We reserve the right to substitute a property of a similar standard if we are unable to secure accommodation at the quoted accommodation. El-Kartel has no control over which room may be allocated to you by the accommodation provider.

You may at any time make your own arrangements that are in addition to, or different from, your itinerary prepared by El-Kartel. Any such arrangement will be made entirely at your own risk, and your rights will lie solely against the organizations providing or supplying such arrangements.

Should you have a complaint about any of the arrangements, you must tell the relevant service provider at the time and inform El-Kartel in writing immediately. If the service provider and El-Kartel are aware of problems there will be an opportunity to settle any grievance. We would like to hear of any problems that you experience on your holiday so that we can take steps to ensure they are not repeated.

El-Kartel offers a service to arrange accommodation, rental vehicles, travel, entertainment, activities, facilities and services. We make bookings and issue vouchers to be redeemed by service providers for your holiday to Patagonia. All facilities, vehicles or services included in the itinerary are subject to availability from the service provider.

El-Kartel acts as your agent for service providers included in your itinerary. We do not own or operate the accommodation, transport, activities or other services, accept for services specifically marked as El-Kartel’s. We do not accept any responsibility or liability of any nature for any acts, omissions, defaults or failures, whether negligent or otherwise, on the part of the service providers.

We do not accept any liability for personal injury, death, delay, loss of any nature, property damage, inconvenience or additional expenses, resulting from acts, omission or negligence whatsoever of El-Kartel, its agents, contractors or any other service providers, including, but not limited to, any liability arising from delayed departure, missed carrier connections, substitutions of accommodation or transportation, termination of service, changes in price, cancellation or double bookings of reservations, or the failure of any service provider at any time. El-Kartel does not accept any liability for any changes to, or cancellation of, your itinerary for health or safety reasons.

El-Kartel does not at any time accept any liability in relation to your failure to obtain the correct and required documentation for travel in and to Chile/Argentina/Brazil (including, but not limited to, passports, visas and health certificates). Further, El-Kartel does not accept any liability in relation to your failure to obtain travel insurance, follow instructions (including but not limited to check in, check out and departure places and times) or the delay or loss of, or damage to, your luggage or its contents. On booking with El-Kartel you are deemed to undertake that you maintain a reasonable standard of fitness and health as may be required to participate in your itinerary. In the event you will require medical and/or physical assistance you must be accompanied by a companion. El-Kartel, its service providers, agents and contractors do not provide this service.

El-Kartel will not be responsible or liable for any damage, loss, delay, additional expenses or inconvenience caused directly or indirectly by any events which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to: war, threat of war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, acts of God, acts, demands, orders or requirements of any government, government agency or other authorities, technical problems affecting transport or any other circumstances amounting to force majeure events beyond our control.

El-Kartel may amend or vary these terms and conditions at any time. Any amendment will be effective immediately when posted on our website.

I hereby declare that I have read, understand, and accept the terms and conditions stated on this contract.