Essential information

Essential Information

Before you go

Booking, confirmation/invoice and tickets

A deposit and a completed booking form are required to reserve a holiday. Please ensure that the title, initials or forenames and surnames given on the booking form match those on your passport. This is because we make your travel reservations using this information and any inaccuracies will cause problems at a later date. We will send you a confirmation/invoice summarising the arrangements made on your behalf, the outstanding balance and the date by which it must be received by us. Check these details carefully and contact us immediately if there are any inaccuracies. As your holiday approaches, we write to you again approximately 10 weeks prior to your departure to remind you of certain points concerning your holiday. Then, approximately 2 weeks before you travel, your final holiday documentation is sent. Individual flight and train tickets (apart from Eurostar tickets) are NOT usually sent out in advance, but are given out by your Tour Manager at check-in.

Booking Form

If you have already made a booking with one of our Tour Advisors on the telephone and need a copy of our booking form, click here to download a printable version.

No surcharges - guaranteed

Once you have booked and paid us the appropriate deposit for your holiday, we guarantee that you will not be surcharged. This means that even if a cost increase is imposed upon us by a supplier - for example due to an increase in fuel costs - and we need to increase the holiday price for all new bookings, we guarantee that a price rise will not affect you, if you have already booked your holiday. It really does pay to book early.

Foreign Office advice

Global and political situations do change. Your safety is our first consideration and if the Foreign Office advises against travel to a certain country, we act on this advice. The Foreign Office issues regular advice and updates. You can obtain this information by phone on 0870 606 0290, on Ceefax, or by visiting www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo

Luggage

Taking the right luggage on holiday can make the difference to your enjoyment, and we include porterage if we can. However, there is bound to be a point at which you must lift your own case onto or off a train, and carry it some distance. Many European trains do not have a specific luggage carriage, and as a result you will have to lift your case onto the train and stow it in the designated area within the carriage or in the rack above your seat. A good tip is to try lifting your luggage up and down the stairs at home to see how comfortable you are transporting your luggage while on holiday.

As a guide, we recommend one suitcase and one small piece of hand luggage per person, and suggest the popular 'vertical' suitcases with built-in wheels and a retractable handle. All luggage must adhere to the strict luggage restrictions imposed by the scheduled airline used on our holiday.

If you would like to avoid carrying your cases from home, across London, and all the way to your holiday destination, Great Rail Journeys is pleased to recommend the services of both "Carry My Luggage" and "The Baggage Man". Both independent companies offer a cost-effective and reliable door-to-door luggage collection and delivery service. Your case will be collected from home a few days prior to the holiday departure so that it can be waiting for you at your main hotel. On the way home, you can leave your case behind in the hotel to be collected and returned home. The services are available either one-way or return. Further details of these services are available on request.

What to pack

Casual dress is acceptable on the majority of our holidays, there is no pressure whatsoever put upon our customers to conform to one strict dress code - it is your holiday and you should feel comfortable. People do tend to dress slightly more formally, especially in the evenings, on cruises, or for gala/farewell dinners. We have tried to give you an indication of the dress code on cruises and this may be found in the 'Ships' section on the tour page.

Passports, visas & insurance

Passports & travel documentation

Please note that you are entirely responsible for ensuring that everyone in your party has the necessary correct and up-to-date personal documentation before you start the holiday. We do not accept any liability if you or any member of your party is refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry correct documentation. If failure to have any necessary travel or other documents results in fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed on us, you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly. For British Citizens, a standard 10-year British passport is required for all holidays which must be valid for at least six months beyond your planned date of return travel. If your passport expires before this, or if your passport is endorsed in any way, it may still be acceptable, but you should contact your local passport office or the consulate or embassy of the country/countries you plan to visit/transit through, for detailed advice. Customers applying for a first British passport should allow at least six weeks to obtain one as they are now required to attend a personal interview with the Passport Office. Customers renewing their passport should allow a minimum of two weeks. However, in all cases, please apply as far ahead as possible so as to allow time for unexpected delays.

Visas

We will advise British Citizens with a British passport at the time of booking of any visa requirements. If you have a British passport issued outside of the UK or if you are not a British Citizen, you must check immigration requirements with the relevant embassy or consulate of the country/countries that you plan to visit or transit through.

We indicate in the 'What's Included' section of each tour whether British Citizens require a visa to enter the country or countries included in the holiday. The countries for which a visa is needed (by British Citizens holding a British passport) are listed below, along with details of how this may be obtained.

Australia	We obtain the visa and the cost is included in the price of your holiday.
Belarus	British Citizens require a transit visa to travel through Belarus on our 'Waterways of the Tsars' and 'Trans-Siberian Express' holidays. They can be obtained from the embassy from £63 per person. Alternatively, applications may be made through our Visa agent. Please contact us for details.
Egypt	British Citizens do not need to apply in advance for an Egyptian Visa. A restricted visa can be obtained on board the ship which is suitable for the optional shore excursions offered on bard. If you wish to explore independently, you will need to obtain a full tourist visa in advance.
India	British Citizens require a tourist visa which currently costs from approximately £45 per person. Applications must be made through VFS India - an agency acting for the Indian High Commission.
Mongolia	British Citizens on our 'Trans-Siberian Express' holiday require a single-entry visa for Mongolia. They may be obtained in person or by post from the Embassy of Mongolia in London and cost from £40. Alternatively, applications may be made through our Visa agent. Please contact us for details.
New Zealand	Although you do not require a visa for entry into New Zealand, you will require clearance to enter the United States as the flight connects through the US. Please see below for US entry requirements.
Russia	A Russian tourist double-entry visa is required for British Citizens on our 'Trans-Siberian Express' holiday. A single-entry visa is required for British Citizens on the 'Waterways of the Tsars' and the 'Baltic Explorer' holidays. Applications must be made through VFS Russia - an agency acting for the Russian Consulate. Prices start at £55 for a single or double entry visa.
United States	British Citizens must obtain clearance to enter the United States at least 72 hours prior to departure by completing the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) form online at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/. Details of how to obtain the clearance will be sent to you with your confirmation of booking. There is no cost in obtaining the basic clearance. Clearance is granted providing the conditions of the US Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) are met. Under the VWP, you must have a valid, individual, machine-readable passport. A British passport is machine-readable where there are two lines of letters, numbers and chevrons (>>>>) printed at the bottom of the personal information page. If there are no lines of text, the passport is not machine-readable and you will need to apply for a US visa. Please note you will not be eligible to enter the US visa-free if you have certain serious communicable diseases, a criminal record or if you have been arrested, even if this did not lead to a conviction. If you do not meet the conditions of the VWP, you will need to apply for a special restricted visa ASAP. The application process can be lengthy and could also involve an interview. There may be a cost incurred.

Please note: When travelling on any of our cruise holidays, if you wish to explore the ports independently then you may need to obtain visas. Contact us for details.

We endeavour to keep the information regarding visa requirements up to date but requirements may change and we recommend that you check the latest position in good time before your departure.

Our Visa Agent

The process of applying for holiday visas with embassies can sometimes be confusing, tedious and time consuming. Our established and experienced Visa Agent saves time and worry. Dealing with our Visa Agent avoids costly trips to London to visit embassies to spend several hours queueing; our agent takes care of all the necessary paperwork; and importantly they make sure you get the right visas on the right dates for the holiday that you are travelling on. Whilst you are free to apply with embassies directly, many customers have mentioned the peace of mind is the biggest advantage that our Visa Agent offers through their service, knowledge and efficiency - money well spent.

Insurance and holiday duration

It is a condition of booking that you take out sufficient and appropriate travel insurance cover. We recommend you do this at time of booking so that your deposit is recoverable in the event of a cancellation covered by the policy. To take advantage of our insurance please contact us for details. If you take out your own cover please detail the Insurance Company, the policy number and the 24-hour emergency telephone number on the booking form. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is suitable and adequate for your particular needs. We do not check alternative insurance policies. The duration of the holiday in the brochure includes the day of departure and day of return and is the period to be used for insurance purposes. Read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday. Should you choose to extend your holiday (either at the start or the end of your holiday), you will need to extend the duration of your insurance cover.

Health & Mobility

Disabilities, medical conditions and mobility

Regrettably, many of our tours are not suitable for the disabled traveller. They can also be physically demanding. Please let us know if you or anyone in your party suffers from any medical condition or physical disability, which may affect your holiday arrangements, or has any health or fitness concerns which may affect your ability to cope with the tour before any booking is made. If we are to help you choose the right holiday for your health and fitness, we must be aware of all details. Please note that Tour Managers cannot provide individual assistance with boarding trains or coaches, or handle your luggage.

It is your responsibility to provide us with full and accurate details of your mobility, health and fitness (including any disability), so we can advise you on the suitability of tours. As standard practice, all customers who have declared any mobility difficulty to us will be sent a mobility and health questionnaire. Customers are required to complete the questionnaire to ensure that this matter has been carefully considered, and we are aware of any issues. If you are in any doubt as to whether the holiday you hope to book is suitable for you, please discuss this with our Reservations Team at the time of making your booking. We want all our customers to enjoy their holiday to the full, and are here to help answer any mobility, disability, health and fitness issues concerns. You must advise us of any change to your level of mobility between booking your holiday and joining your tour.

Health

The Department of Health's leaflet (T7.1) "Health advice for travellers" is available at Post Offices, by phoning 0800 555777 or online at www.dh.gov.uk, showing health requirements and advice for the countries you are visiting. We advise you to check with your doctor in good time prior to your departure as to which inoculations are necessary. For European holidays, you should obtain the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for access to health care in many European countries. Further information is available from the Department of Health on 020 7210 4850 or online at http://www.dh.gov.uk/

Accommodation & meals

Accommodation

All our basic holiday prices are expressed in £ sterling and are per person, based on 2 people sharing (except for our programme of Single Traveller Holidays*):

Supplements for accommodation upgrades are usually expressed per room or cabin/sleeper, on the assumption that two people are occupying it
Single supplements or prices are naturally expressed per person.
In some hotels, triple or family rooms may be available and we are happy to provide a quotation accordingly.
A hotel room shared by two people may contain a double or twin beds. In some countries a double bed may consist of two beds pushed or linked together.
A single hotel room may be a 'true' single or may be a single occupancy of a double or twin room. Either way, the supplement shown is payable*.
Hotel rooms, particularly in older properties, may differ in size and amenities offered.
Sleeping accommodation on our trains is likely to take the form of seating which converts into a berth at night.
Hotel rooms and cabins on cruise ships include en suite facilities, which may be bath and WC or shower and WC.
Rooms/cabins are not usually available before about 2pm on arrival day and must be vacated by about 11am on departure day. You may request a specific configuration, room type or room location but, while we pass on all requests to our hotel partners, neither we nor they can guarantee that what you want can or will be provided.

Meals

Please check the 'What's Included' panels to see what meals are included on each holiday.

Hotels: Meals are generally taken in the restaurant of the hotel. We usually dine together, with a set 'table d'hote' style menu that will often feature regional dishes. Drinks are usually not included in our arrangements.
Trains: On chartered cruise trains most meals are included and are taken in the restaurant car of the train. If you are travelling in Leisure Select Class on Eurostar a meal and drinks are included, served at your seat.
Cruise Ships: Meals are normally included, and are taken in the ship's main restaurant.
Special diets: If you have a specific dietary need please discuss it with us before you book. We will do our best to cater for special diets when notified in advance on the booking form. The more information we have, the better, but even then, some suppliers find it difficult to satisfy every requirement.

Tips

The price of your holiday usually allows us to reward staff who serve you during your time on a GRJ holiday and on some occasions, your Tour Manager will provide a gratuity on behalf of the group. However, there are instances when an additional gratuity may be appropriate, perhaps because it is customary in your host country, or because of the nature of the activity undertaken, or simply because you have received exceptional service.

Cruising has an established culture of tipping and your Tour Manager will be on hand to offer advice on this topic. Such additional gratuities will be on an individual basis and at your own discretion, however our river cruise partners recommend you should budget for tips of approximately €8-12 per person per day, provided you feel you have received good service. On ocean cruises there is a fixed service charge of US$10 per person per day plus a 15% gratuity automatically added to bar charges and wine purchases.

Itineraries & travel arrangements

Tour itineraries

Our holidays are planned many months in advance. We do our best to follow the detailed itineraries shown, but reserve the right to make changes if we need to react to schedule changes or local conditions. The sightseeing tours and excursions described may also have to be amended to suit local conditions or Public Holidays. This can affect both the exact route travelled and the class of service in which we travel (and in rare instances both). For example, if scheduling congestion causes us to be unable to travel First Class through the Rhine Gorge, our rail planning department works to initially provide our groups with the same journey in Standard Class, should this not be possible an alternative route is found in First Class, or if both these solutions are impossible the last resort is to find an alternative route in Standard Class. However, we have over 25 years experience of planning European holidays by rail and the strength of our relations with European rail suppliers mean that our groups are rarely disadvantaged with the solutions to scheduling congestion we always find.

Rail reservations

We request rail reservations many months in advance but occasionally there are insufficient First Class (or equivalent) seats available. In these situations we will book Standard Class seats and refund the difference to you. Although we do our best to follow the routes noted in the itinerary there might be occasions when a different routing or departure time is necessary due to timetable variations or seat availability. Increasingly, trains are 100% non-smoking, and reservations are requested in non-smoking accommodation, although at busy times we may be allocated some smoking seats. We cannot make specific requests for smoking seats. Prices quoted in this brochure are based on special fares, negotiated with our rail partners for group travel. Should you wish to travel on any Eurostar or other rail service, other than that included as part of your group holiday, a rail variation charge of £20 per person per service will apply in addition to the difference in cost between our special group fare and the normal published fare applicable at time of request for the journey in question. Any change involving sleeper services will be quoted on an individual basis.

Flights

International flights are provided by major airlines. If known at time of printing, we show the name of the airline we plan to fly with. The type of aircraft is not usually known at this point, but if it is of interest to you we are happy to provide this information when we can. Regardless of any information given in good faith, operational changes can be made by an airline at any point and we cannot be responsible for this.

Prices quoted in this brochure are based on special fares offered to us by the airlines for group travel. These represent a reduction on the normal IATA fares which generally include greater flexibility. Should you wish to book our holiday using a flight other than that shown in the brochure, a flight variation charge from £40 per person will apply in addition to the difference in cost between our special fare and the normal IATA fare for the flight(s) required. Tickets at our special fare are valid only on the airline and dates shown and do not automatically entitle passengers to switch to another carrier in the case of a flight cancellation, delay or technical problem with the aircraft or the reservation.

While we pass on any airline seating requests, no guarantees can be given by us or by the airline. The reality is that the only way to ensure additional leg-room is to purchase an upgrade.

Flight delays

The vast majority of flights operate without problems, although the reality of air travel in the world today is that congestion and economic pressures can lead to the possibility of lost luggage, delay, cancellation and overbooking. Crowded airports, queues, check-in, security and flights are often a test of patience and endurance, and customers should be prepared to cope with the consequences of disruption including delays. In the event of undue delay the group will be looked after in accordance with the standard practice of the scheduled carrier or transport operator.

Maintenance and development work

Every holiday visits a number of different destinations. There may well be maintenance, re-development, building, road works or track work in the vicinity of any of the hotels. If we know about such work and any associated disruption or noise which is reasonably likely to affect the enjoyment of your holiday, we make every effort to tell you about it as quickly as possible. Please appreciate that we are not the only passengers travelling on the trains or ships used in our holidays, nor the only guests staying in the hotels. We cannot be held responsible for the behaviour or noise of others.

Overseas standards

In some countries, you may experience laws and standards that might not be the same as you are used to in the UK. On some holidays we visit countries with less advanced infrastructures. Travellers with an open, yet cautious mind and a flexible approach should enjoy the experience.

ABTA, ATOL and AITO

Our ABTA membership

Great Rail Journeys is a tour operator member of ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents, and our ABTA number is V2170. ABTA's main aims are to maintain high standards of trading practice for the benefit of its members, the travel industry at large and the consumers they serve. Both ABTA and its members help holidaymakers to get the most from their travel and assist them when things do not go according to plan.

As an ABTA member, we are obliged to follow the organisation's Code of Conduct. This ensures that our customers receive a high standard of service, fair terms of trading, and clear and accurate information on issues such as passports and visas, health requirements, and details of any alterations to your holiday. In the event of things going wrong, the Code of Conduct ensures that we respond to any complaint within strict time limits.

For further information about ABTA, the Code of Conduct and also the independent arbitration scheme available to customers if you have a complaint visit http://www.abta.com/ or call 020 3117 0500. Alternatively, ABTA may be contacted at the following address:

ABTA
30 Park Street
London
SE1 9EQ

Tel: 020 3117 0500
Fax: 020 3117 0581
Email: abta@abta.co.uk
Website: www.abta.com

ATOL protection

The air holiday packages in on this website are ATOL protected with the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is 3278. Please see our booking conditions for more information.

ATOL, which is part of the CAA, is a financial protection scheme for UK tour operators and protects you from losing money or being stranded abroad in the unlikely event of our insolvency. All monies paid to us in advance for a booking will be refunded and, if necessary, arrangements will be made for your repatriation back to the UK.

ATOL Protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services on this website. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking.

For more information about ATOL visit http://www.atol.org.uk/ and for information about the CAA, visit http://www.caa.co.uk/ or call 020 7453 6424.

Our AITO membership

Great Rail Journeys is a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators, an organisation representing over 150 of Britain's best specialist tour operators. Members of AITO strive to create holidays with high levels of professionalism and a shared concern for quality, personal service and customer satisfaction. The Association encourages the highest standards in all aspects of tour operating and all members are fully bonded for clients' protection, in compliance with UK and European regulations. Great Rail Journeys - like all other AITO members - are also bound by the organisation's Quality Charter.

For further information about AITO visit http://www.aito.co.uk/ or call 020 8744 9280.

Links to external websites

Throughout the website we provide links to external websites owned by third parties, for example the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Department of Health. Please note that such third parties are not ABTA members and that Great Rail Journeys Ltd is not responsible for the content of their sites. For links to each page of this website, see our website sitemap.