YOUR AGREEMENT WITH GREAT RAIL JOURNEYS

 

By making a payment to Great Rail Journeys, LLC ("GRJ", "we", or "Us"), formerly trading as Vacations by Rail/VBR Tours, LLC, and/or participating in any trip, tour or activity that GRJ arranges (the "Tour"), You ("You" means you, any spouse or partner, child, and anyone participating in the Tour through Your booking) agree that these Terms and Conditions shall apply and govern.

Thank you for selecting GRJ as Your Tour operator for Your trip. To ensure You understand the Terms and Conditions, please read the following carefully. It is important that You understand these terms as they form a contract between You and GRJ. By issuing payment to GRJ and/or participating in the Tour, You hereby represent and agree that You have read and understood the entirety of these Terms and Conditions, and voluntarily agree to be bound by all of the Terms and Conditions.

1. PRICE AND PAYMENT TERMS

The price of the Tour, will be determined at the time of booking. Once full payment is received, Your purchase price is guaranteed. All bookings are based upon availability.

Where payment is not paid in full at the time of booking, the price may be subject to change. Pricing listed are quoted in U.S. Dollars, per person, at the time of booking.

Travel documents are sent to You or Your travel agent approximately 14 calendar days prior to Your date of departure, provided Your booking has been paid in full.

Deposits and cancellation fees will vary based upon the package selected and accompanying terms and conditions of suppliers involved in the supply of the vacation. These will be confirmed to You at the time of booking.

Advertised promotions are not retroactive and cannot be applied to existing bookings. Such advertised promotions shall only apply to future bookings.

Tour prices do not include gratuities, baggage handling, excess baggage charges and excess weight charges, fuel surcharges, items of a personal nature, items not specified as included in the itinerary description for the Tour, and all other incidental charges. Transportation services do restrict the size of baggage along with the weight. Information on baggage is available upon request from GRJ. You are solely responsible for complying with all transportation service baggage restrictions, including size and weight restrictions.

Although effort is made to handle passengers' luggage as carefully as possible, GRJ is not responsible for and does not assume liability or accept claims for loss of or damage to baggage due to breakage, theft or wear and tear. It is recommended for Your own self-interest and protection that You obtain adequate insurance to cover these scenarios.

Where rental cars are available and part of the Tour, the car rental price provided in the itinerary (if any) does not include any international, federal, state or local taxes, airport fees, tourist fees, loss damage waiver (LDW), insurance, toll or expressway fees, gasoline and surcharges for drivers under the age of 25 (where applicable), which are Your responsibility exclusively. Additional fees may apply for one-way car rentals and must be paid locally by You.

All amenities shown for a particular hotel property may not be available in every room category and cannot be guaranteed by GRJ. Special room requests, including but not limited to, bedding requests, number of beds, and amenities, will be communicated to the applicable party but cannot be guaranteed by GRJ.

GRJ reserves the right, at any time, to substitute comparable alternate accommodations and the right to pass along any additional costs charged by our suppliers to You.

In the event of a technical or clerical error in a published price, service or feature, GRJ reserves the right to cancel and/or revise Your booking and provide a refund for Your booking, including after Your booking is confirmed.

2. DEPOSIT AND PAYMENT POLICY

A non-refundable per person deposit is required to confirm a booking and this will be confirmed at the time of booking by GRJ; itineraries including luxury trains and oceans cruises will require a higher non-refundable deposit. Full payment for any booking is due no later than 90 calendar days prior to the date of departure. Failure to make payment by this timeline will result in your booking being cancelled.

GRJ will accept the following credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. You may wish to notify your bank when making large payments to inform them of the amount to be charged on Your card. Debit cards may also have a daily limit; please contact Your debit card provider.

GRJ will also accept checks. Check payments should be made payable to Great Rail Journeys, LLC and mailed to GRJ at 309 W Washington Street, Suite 1100, Chicago, IL 60606. (Note: There is a $50 service charge for NSF checks. Money order or cashier's check is preferred.)

Bookings made within 21 calendar days of the date of departure require a credit card, money order, or certified check for payment and no other form of payment will be accepted. We highly recommend that payments for any booking made within 21 days of the date of departure be sent via Overnight/FedEx Mail to the above address. Your booking will not be confirmed until payment is actually received by GRJ at the address above; placing payment in the mail will not suffice to make any booking.

If You do not pay the full invoice by the final payment date, Your booking, and all services on the booking, is subject to cancellation and all monies collected will be forfeited, including but not limited to, the non-refundable deposit.

3. CHANGE FEES

Date changes to existing bookings following full payment are considered a cancellation and rebooking, and all costs and expenses of cancellation set forth herein shall apply.

Name changes are not permitted. A name change is considered a cancellation and rebooking, and all costs and expenses set forth herein pertaining to a cancellation shall apply.

A fee of $50 per person, plus any Supplier fees and price increases will be charged to You for all other changes. In some cases, supplier fees may be up to 100% of the services provided.

GRJ reserves the right to deny or reject changes requested by You.

4. ACCURACY OF INVOICE DETAILS

You are responsible for providing and verifying full, complete and accurate information for all participants and services at the time of booking of the Tour and confirming the information at the time of booking. Under no circumstances will GRJ be liable for any errors or omissions in the information provided by You to complete the booking. If you do not notify GRJ of any error or omission within 5 calendar days of making the booking, You are solely responsible for any and all fees, costs and expenses assessed due to incomplete, erroneous or inaccurate information.

5. TRAVEL INSURANCE

GRJ requires that You purchase an adequate travel protection insurance plan to cover all non-refundable trip expenses, trip delay and interruption with return transportation and a medical evacuation policy, as a condition of You participating in the Tour and booking. Your payment for the booking constitutes and express representation and warranty to GRJ that You have purchased a travel protection insurance plan and GRJ is issuing the booking in reliance upon this representation by You.

Travel protection insurance is available through third-party travel insurance companies, and limits vary by insurer and policy purchased. No representation or description of available insurance made by GRJ staff or any Suppliers constitutes a binding assurance or promise about the insurance and You hereby represent that You are not relying upon any such statements, are purchasing insurance based upon your own due diligence and investigation, and release and waive any claims against GRJ related to any insurance representation and any insurance claim.

6. ITINERARY CHANGES AND TRIP DELAYS

GRJ will make commercially reasonable efforts to keep the itinerary as it has been published; however, the final itinerary may vary due to Supplier schedules, availability, weather, and factors beyond GRJ's control. GRJ may, in its sole discretion, substitute services of similar quality for any service stated in the itinerary of the Tour booking without change of any booking fee or cost.

Train travel, as well as other forms of transportation, are subject to delays and service disruptions. GRJ is not responsible in whole or in part for any delays, delayed departures or arrivals or missed carrier connections or for the loss of any purchased services that cannot be used as the result of delays or service disruptions. As indicated above, GRJ requires the purchase of travel insurance to address such impacts.

7. CONDUCT OF THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS

GRJ acts as a sales agent for independent and third party hotel, car-rental company, tour operator, cruise line, bus operator, railroads, or other service providers named in your Tour itinerary or booking ("Suppliers"). GRJ shall not be responsible for the acts or omissions of the Suppliers or their failure to adhere to their own schedules, provide services or refunds, financial default, or failure to honor future trip credits, as these are outside the control of GRJ. GRJ has no special knowledge regarding the financial condition of the Suppliers. You hereby agree that GRJ shall not have any liability for the acts or omissions of any Suppliers.

GRJ is the merchant on your credit card transaction. Please bear in mind that GRJ's services consist of facilitating the sale and paying the Suppliers. If a Supplier does not provide the service or ceases operations, your recourse is against the Supplier, not GRJ. You agree not to initiate a chargeback against us or a refund request that is not authorized by the Terms and Condition and to pay any and all legal fees incurred by us in disputing any such claim for refund.

8. CANCELLATION FEES

Once the Tour booking is confirmed, Your deposit is fully non-refundable.

If you choose to cancel, GRJ must receive written notice of said cancellation either via certified mail overnight courier sent to the following address: Great Rail Journeys, LLC, 309 W Washington Street, Suite 1100, Chicago, IL 60606, with an e-mail also sent to customerservice@greatrail.com and confirmation of receipt of the cancellation by GRJ.

The following cancellation and supplier fees apply:

Period before date of departure within which notice of cancellation is received by GRJ	All other vacations (incl. river cruise)	Ocean Cruises	Luxury Trains and Independent vacations
150 days or more	Loss of deposit	Loss of deposit	Loss of deposit
91 days or more	Loss of deposit	50% of booking price	100% of booking price
From 61 to 90 days	60% of booking price	60% of booking price	100% of booking price
From 31 to 60 days	80% of booking price	80% of booking price	100% of booking price
30 days or less	100% of booking price	100% of booking price	100% of booking price

 

There shall be no refund for unused portions of the trip, in whole or in part, including any decision by You to leave the Tour early.

Supplier cancellation fees may be assessed in addition to the change/cancel fees stated above.

In addition to the cancellation fees set forth above, if You are a no-show, You will incur a cancellation fee equal to 100% of the booking price. If a flight, rail, or other delay for any reason prevents You from joining the Tour on time on the departure date of the Tour, You will be considered a no-show, and GRJ cannot provide a full or partial refund or credit toward a future Tour, but You may join the Tour late if You wish.

If any portion of Your trip has been paid with a voucher from either GRJ or a supplier, and Your trip is cancelled by GRJ or You, no refund in cash will be returned in lieu of the voucher. Applicable cancellation fees as outlined above, along with any supplier fees, will be deducted from the value of the voucher. If there is any applicable refund, the funds will revert to a voucher. The voucher or Future Travel Credit (FTC) will be held by GRJ until the original expiration date of the FTC.

9. POSTPONEMENT, CANCELLATION OR TOUR INTERRUPTION

GRJ monitors on an ongoing basis security situations around the world as well as government travel advisories. Conditions may require GRJ to change or even cancel Your tour. You accept the risks involved in travel, both foreign and domestic, and accept responsibility for Your own travel decisions.

GRJ reserves the right to cancel or postpone the Tour for reasons beyond GRJ's control, including any event named in the Risks of Travel section below. You may transfer Your booking to a later date or we will provide you with a Future Travel Credit (FTC), for some or all monies You paid to us, toward a future Tour arranged by us during the 18-month period after we notify You of the postponement or cancellation.

If we cancel or postpone Your Tour and You choose to transfer your booking to a new Tour, the new Tour will be subject to the applicable Terms and Condition based on Your original travel date. If the cost of the new Tour is lower, GRJ will refund the price difference as a Future Trip Credit (FTC) voucher. If the cost of the new Tour is higher, You will be responsible to pay for the increase in price.

If, for reasons beyond our control including any event named in the Risks of Travel section below, a Tour in progress must be interrupted or cancelled, GRJ will, at our sole discretion, provide You either an FTC or refund in the amount of the refund we receive from our Suppliers.

Except as expressly set forth in this section, GRJ will not be liable for any costs, expenses, fees, damages, or refunds of any kind for any loss, delay, inconvenience, disappointment, or expense whatsoever, including but not limited to, expenses incurred by You for arrangements made independently of GRJ, such as airline, hotel, excursion and travel insurance charges. Your sole remedy and recourse for any cancellation or postponement of the Tour is set forth herein.

10. RISKS OF TRAVEL AND ASSUMPTION OF RISKS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE TOUR; LIABILITY WAIVER AND RELEASE

GRJ assumes no responsibility, and shall not be liable, for the acts or omissions of any party not under GRJ's control, or for (a) acts beyond the control of GRJ, (b) for any acts of God (including but not limited to weather hazards and conditions), (c) terrorism or terrorist threats or acts, riots, protests, or other civil unrest, (d) health hazards (including pandemics, epidemics, closure, or other outbreak scenario), (e) illness, (f) contraction of or exposure to an infectious disease, bacteria or virus including COVID-19, (g) flood, drought, fire, earthquake or explosion, (h) war, invasion, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), (i) governmental orders or laws, (j) actions, embargoes or blockades; (k) international, national, state or regional emergencies, (l) strikes, labor stoppages, or other industrial/business/work stoppages, or (m) any other event beyond the control of GRJ. For information related to such dangers, we recommend going to the State Department travel website at www.travel.state.gov, click on "Find International travel Information" then click on "Country Information", and fill in the name of the destination country. For medical and health information, we recommend going to the Centers for Disease Control website at www.cdc.gov/travel, then click on "Destinations" and scroll to the name of the destination country.

Assumption of Risk: You acknowledge and fully understand that as a participant in the Tour, You will be engaging in activities that involve the risk of serious injury, including permanent disability and death, property loss and damage, and economic and non-economic losses. These risks include, but are not limited to, those caused by the actions, inactions, omissions, conduct or negligence of other participants in the Tour, Suppliers, and other parties; conditions of the premises, conditions of the transportation vehicles and transportation methods, facilities and equipment used; walking, running and hiking, among other recreational activities; heat or cold illness; and uneven terrain. You further acknowledge and fully understand that there may also be other risks that are not known or foreseeable at this time. YOU, ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF AND YOUR SPOUSE, HEIRS, CHILDREN, SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS, KNOWINGLY, INTENTIONALLY AND VOLUNTARILY ASSUME ALL SUCH RISKS, EVEN IF ARISING FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF GRJ OR OTHERS, PARTICIPATION IN ANY EXERCISE, PERFORMANCE, OR ACTIVITY. YOU ASSUME FULL AND SOLE RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY FOR SUCH PARTICIPATION IN THE TOUR, AND HEREBY FURTHER COVENANT NOT TO SUE GRJ OR ANY PARTY FOR ANY DAMAGES OR INJURIES TO YOU OR YOUR CHILDREN ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO PARTICIPATION IN THE TOUR.

Release of Liability and Waiver of All Claims and Injuries: You, on behalf of yourself, your spouse, child, heirs, successors, assigns, executors, and administrators, hereby forever and finally waive, release, discharge, and acquit GRJ, and all of GRJ's officers, directors, employees, representatives, associates, agents, affiliated companies, Tour guides, managers and group leaders, subcontractors, Suppliers (collectively the "Releasees"), from any and all claims, damages, losses, lawsuits, any injuries, death, or damage to Your person or property, WHETHER OR NOT ARISING FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE RELEASEES, which You, Your spouse, or Your child may have or which may subsequently accrue, relating to, resulting from, or arising out of in any manner, with the participation in the Tour and any or other events or activities related to the booking. GRJ has no responsibility for car accidents caused by You or any other person or entity. You further agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Releasees from any claim, demand, damage, injury or lawsuit pursued against the Releasees arising out of or related to any act, omission or conduct by You or Your spouse or children.

You hereby acknowledge and agree that engaging in the activities associated with the Tour has risks and You are knowingly and voluntarily participating in the Tour with full knowledge and understanding of these risks, while waiving all claims and liability for any injury that You, Your spouse or Your child may suffer while participating in any activity associated with Tour.

11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

NEITHER GRJ NOR ANY OF THE RELEASEES (AS DEFINED ABOVE) SHALL BE LIABLE TO YOU OR OTHER THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT GRJ WAS ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF OUR SERVICES OR THE VACATION RELATED TO THE TOUR. FURTHERMORE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL GRJ'S OR THE RELEASEES' LIABILITY EXCEED THE TOTAL PRICE PAID BY YOU TO GRJ FOR THE TOUR. THESE DISCLAIMERS OF TYPES OF DAMAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY APPLY TO ANY DAMAGES OR INJURY, WHETHER FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORTIOUS BEHAVIOR, NEGLIGENCE, PRODUCT LIABILITY OR UNDER ANY OTHER CAUSE OF ACTION, AND SERVE AS THE UPPERMOST LIMIT OF ANY LIABILITY AGAINST GRJ AND THE RELEASEES. BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW SOME OR ALL OF THESE DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS, THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH STATES, DAMAGES SHALL BE DISCLAIMED AND LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY SUCH STATE LAW.

GRJ MAKES NO IMPLIED OR EXPRESS WARRANTIES IN THE OFFERING OF ANY TOUR DESCRIBED HEREIN OR ON ANY WEBSITE OR VERBAL OR WRITTEN REPRESENTATION, WITH ALL SUCH IMPLIED OR EXPRESS WARRANTIES FULLY DISCLAIMED.

12. SAFETY

GRJ shall not have any liability regarding the provision of medical care, first aid or the adequacy of any care that may be rendered. You agree that you will hold GRJ and the Releasees harmless regarding any provision of medical care or the adequacy of any care or treatment rendered. No weapons of any type are permitted on the Tour at any time. This includes, but is not limited to, firearms, knives, mace, brass knuckles, and other weapons of any type.

13. TRAVELERS WHO NEED SPECIAL ASSISTANCE ON TOUR

At time of booking, You must report to GRJ any physical, medical or other special needs while on tour. If and when necessary, GRJ will make reasonable attempts to accommodate special needs and disabilities, but is not responsible in the event it is unable to do so. GRJ shall not be responsible for any actions by third party rail carriers, air carriers, hotels, restaurants, or other independent suppliers related to any special needs, disability or accommodation, as GRJ does not control those parties and their property, equipment and vehicles. GRJ does not provide personal services (such as pushing a wheelchair, assisting with walking or moving, etc.) and GRJ does not provide individual assistance to a vacation participant for walking, dining, getting on and off coaches, trains, cruise ships, and other vehicles, or other personal needs. For the avoidance of doubt, motorized scooters are not permitted on escorted tours. A qualified and physically able companion should accompany travelers who need such assistance.

In the event You fail to notify GRJ at the time of the booking of any special needs or disabilities requiring special attention, GRJ reserves the right to cancel Your booking or terminate Your vacation in its sole discretion, if Your special needs or disabilities are not suitable for the Tour or cannot be reasonably accommodated, pose a threat to the health and safety of You, other participants or GRJ staff, or if You are not traveling with a companion who provides all the assistance You require. GRJ will not refund or cover any costs or expenses incurred for cancellation, booking, or termination of the vacation. Cancellation penalties as applicable to Your vacation shall apply.

Not all sightseeing stops/sites, transportation, hotels, lodges and other components of your Tour are accessible for people with special needs or are required to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), and some locations and sightseeing activities require extensive standing, sitting, climbing stairs, or walking-sometimes on unpaved or cobblestone streets. GRJ will not refund or cover any cost or expense incurred for any missed activities due to a participant's inability to fully participate with the group. The ADA is only applicable within the United States, and facilities for disabled individuals are limited outside its borders. Most transportation services, including the touring motorcoaches, are not equipped with wheelchair ramps.

14. MEDICAL PROXY

If You decide to make a booking, You acknowledge and agree that You are physically well enough to travel and understand that medical facilities may not be similar to what you are accustomed to at home. You must bring enough medication with you for the trip. You are responsible for proper documentation and inoculations that may be required and/or recommended to participate on tour. Please contact your local travel clinic or personal physician for specific details on the destinations you are traveling to and from.

In the event that You are unable to authorize Your own medical attention and treatment or are otherwise incapacitated, You authorize GRJ or its Suppliers, subcontractors or agents to authorize medical attention and treatment on Your behalf. You agree to defend, indemnify, hold harmless and release GRJ and all Releasees from any liability for medical attention authorized by GRJ or them on Your behalf. GRJ assumes no liability whatsoever regarding provision of medical care or evacuation services. Any of our staff, Suppliers or subcontractors who may provide or seek emergency medical care on Your behalf may not have had formal medical or first aid training and are acting only as a Good Samaritan.

15. UNITED STATES TOUR OPERATORS ASSOCIATION $1 MILLION TRAVELERS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Great Rail Journeys, LLC as an Active Member of USTOA, is required to post $1 Million with USTOA to be used to reimburse, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program, the advance payments of Great Rail Journeys, LLC customers in the unlikely event of Great Rail Journeys, LLC's bankruptcy, insolvency or cessation of business. Further, You should understand that the $1 Million posted by Great Rail Journeys, LLC may be sufficient to provide only a partial recovery of the advance payments received by Great Rail Journeys, LLC. More details of the USTOA Travelers Assistance Program may be obtained by writing to USTOA at 345 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1801, New York, New York 10001, or by email to information@ustoa.com or by visiting their website at www.USTOA.com.

16. USE OF IMAGE AND LIKENESS

GRJ reserves the right to photograph and/or videotape You regarding the activities arising or relating to the Tour for use in publicity, social media, website and promotional materials. Please notify GRJ in writing if You do not want photos, videos or other images of Yourself to be used no later than 30 calendar days before the date of departure. You grant to GRJ the absolute and irrevocable right, license, and unrestricted permission to use and publish Your image and likeness. You hereby release and discharge GRJ from and against any and all claims, liabilities, costs, damages and expenses of any kind and nature arising out of or relating to the use by GRJ of any such photographs and/or videos.

17. INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL (Passports, Visas and Identification)

You assume full, sole, and complete responsibility for checking and verifying any and all passport, visa, or other entry requirements of your destination and Your connecting points, and all conditions regarding health, safety, security, political stability, and labor or civil unrest at such destination. Many countries require Your passport to be valid for six months or more after Your date of entry. Some countries will not admit persons convicted of a crime. Some countries require both parents' consent for minors to travel.

18. CLAIMS DEADLINE, GOVERNING LAW, AND EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION;

You agree to present any claims against GRJ and the Releasees within 30 calendar days after your Tour ends, to file suit within one year of any incident, and acknowledge that this expressly limits the applicable statute of limitations to one year from the date of the incident. These Terms and Conditions are entered into in Illinois and are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to any conflict of laws provisions. You agree that the courts in Chicago, Illinois will be the exclusive jurisdiction for all claims, damages and any lawsuits brought by You or brought by GRJ, and You hereby submit and agree to the personal jurisdiction of those courts located in Cook County, Illinois.

19. WAIVER OF CLASS ACTION, REPRESENTATIVE AND MASS TORT CLAIMS

You hereby agree that You will only and exclusively bring claims against GRJ and the Releasees in Your singular, personal and individual capacity (e.g., without serving as a class representative, joining or participating in any class or representative action, or becoming a member of any class action or multi-plaintiff action). You shall not participate in any mass tort or any other action against GRJ where there is more than one person joined as a plaintiff or claimant.

20. WAIVER

The provisions of these Terms and Conditions may be waived by GRJ only in writing stating expressly that it is intended as a waiver of specified provisions of the Terms and Conditions. A waiver by GRJ of any breach of any term, covenant, or condition contained herein shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same or any other term, covenant, or condition contained herein whether of the same or a different character.

21. SEVERABILITY

In case any provision of these Terms and Conditions is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of all remaining provisions shall not be affected, and any offending term shall be severed.

22. PRIVACY POLICY

These Terms and Conditions incorporate by reference GRJ's Privacy Policy, and when applicable for California residents, GRJ's Privacy Notice for California Residents

23. SURVIVAL

The provisions of these Terms and Conditions shall in all cases survive termination of the Terms and Conditions.

Updated 10th July 2026

Effective Date: July 10, 2026

Your privacy is important to Great Rail Journeys, LLC, ("GRJ") formerly trading as Vacations by Rail / VBR Tours LLC. Great Rail Journeys, LLC is committed to protecting your personal information and does not rent or sell your information to a third party. It is intended solely for the securing of travel products and services and periodic announcements of our products we feel would be of interest to you. This Privacy Policy is intend to provide transparency into GRJ's privacy practices for you to understand how they impact you. California residents should additionally read and review the "Privacy Notice for California Residents", which supplements the information contained in this Privacy Policy, which can be found here.

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by revising the date at the top of this Policy and, in some cases, we may provide you with additional notice (such as adding a statement to our website or sending you a notification). We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy at the time of booking and subsequently often to stay informed about our information practices and the choices available to you.

By using our website and services and/or making a booking with GRJ, you agree to the privacy practices described in this Privacy Policy.

Information We Collect

Affiliates and Partners

You may be asked to provide your personal information anytime you are in contact with GRJ or a GRJ affiliated company or partner. GRJ and its affiliates and partners may share this personal information with each other and use it consistent with this Privacy Policy. GRJ and a GRJ affiliated company or partner may also combine it with other information to provide and improve our products, services, content, and advertising.

Personal Information

When you purchase travel products from our website, register for an interest or wait list, and sign up for one of our newsletters, we ask for personal information to be kept on file and used only for these purposes. We may collect information about you such as your name, phone number, date of birth, email address, home address, passport or license number, contact preferences, names of the people travelling with you, and travel preferences, such as dietary or accessibility needs.

If you're booking with other travelers or booking for someone else in your party, we will need you to provide us their information as well. It is your responsibility to ensure that they are aware that you have done so, and that they accept how we use and process their information as well as yours, including that you will provide them with a copy of this Privacy Policy and obtain their consent. Your booking with other travelers and/or booking for someone else in your party constitutes an express representation to GRJ that you have provided them with a copy of the Privacy Policy, as well as the Privacy Notice for California Residents, if the person is a California resident.

Payment Information

We collect payment information, which may include your credit, debit, or other payment card information, and the security code associated with your payment instrument at the time of your transaction in order to process your payment.

Information We Collect Automatically When You Interact with Us

When you access or use our Website or otherwise transact business with us, we automatically collect certain information, including the following:

• Log Information: We collect information related to your access to and use of our Website, including the type of browser you use, access times, pages viewed, your IP address, and your activity on our Platform.
• Device Information: We collect information about how you access our Website, including data about the device and network you use, such as your hardware model, operating system version, mobile network, IP address, unique device identifiers, browser type, and app version. We also collect information about your activity on our Website, such as access times, pages viewed, links clicked, and the page you visited before navigating to our Platform.
• Location Information: In accordance with your device permissions, we may collect information about the precise location of your device. You may stop the collection of precise location information at any time (see the Your Choices section below for details).
• Information Collected by Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies: GRJ (and our service providers) use tracking technologies, such as cookies and web beacons, to collect information about you. Cookies are very small text files that your web browser manages for you. We have kept the use of cookies to a minimum, but when they are used on this Website they are only used for anonymous tracking of what web pages have been accessed, how frequently, and for how long. You are an anonymous web user until you elect to make an online purchase, sign up for an interest or wait list, or register for our newsletter, at which point you will need to provide personal information. You may disable cookies, but it may affect the functionality of the Website.

GRJ does not collect Biometric Information, such as fingerprint, retina or iris scans, voiceprints, hand scans, facial geometry, DNA or other unique biological information.

Information We Derive

We may derive information or draw inferences about you based on the information we collect. For example, we may make inferences about your location based on your IP address or infer that you are looking to purchase certain products based on your browsing behavior and past purchases.

How We Use Google Analytics

For analytics, we use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics may set cookies on your browser or mobile device or read cookies that are already there to collect information. Google Analytics may also receive information about you from apps you have downloaded that partner with Google. Google Analytics collects information such as how often you use our Platform and how you use our Platform. We use the information provided by Google Analytics to improve our Platform. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information.

For more information regarding how Google collects, uses, and shares your information, please visit http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. By using our Platform, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google as described here and in Google's privacy policy. You can control the information provided to Google and opt out of certain ads provided by Google by using of the of the methods set forth in http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/ or use the Google Analytics opt out browser add-on at http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.

Use of Information

Your personal information may be used in the following ways and you consent to such use:

Processing your bookings: We use your personal information to ensure the services you've selected, which may include flights, hotels, transport, insurance, and other ancillary products are provided to you. We need certain information about you and your party so we can fulfill the contractual obligations when you make a booking.

User Accounts: The information that you provide when you set up an account allows us to provide you with additional services including the ability to manage your bookings, personal settings, and access to special offers.

To communicate with you about your booking: We will need to contact you using the email or telephone number you provided to give you information relevant to your arrangements. For example, to confirm your booking, notification of any changes, security alerts, administrative messages about your arrangements, and reminders.

Customer Services: You can contact us at any time, whether this is a general query, a question about your booking, or to report an issue. You can do this through our website, by telephone or email. We'll use the information that you've given us to answer any questions and respond to your query or other queries you might have in the future. If you do contact us by telephone, your call may be recorded and reviewed for quality and training purposes. Recordings are only kept for a limited period and then automatically deleted unless we have a legitimate interest in keeping them for a longer period.

Personalization of your experience: We sometimes use your data to enable us to show you the most relevant products and services we think you'll be interested in, such as the best deals and special offers for destinations you like or have been to previously.

Marketing: Where you make a booking, or in any other case, if you have opted-in or signed-up, we may contact you with information about other products and services that we offer that are like those that you have already purchased or inquired about, and we think may interest you based on your personal information. Of course, you can opt-out of these emails at any time.

Newsletter: If you have subscribed to a GRJ newsletter and wish to stop receiving this communication, click the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email and follow the instructions. Should you wish to stop receiving other communication related to future travel and new products, please contact a GRJ travel specialist or email marketing@greatrail.com.

When you book or register with us, we will ask you if you would like to receive marketing communications. You can change your marketing preferences online, over the phone, using the "unsubscribe" link in our emails, replying STOP to the short code in our marketing text messages or by writing to us at any time. Of course, the choice is entirely yours, but if you say you do not want to receive marketing information from us you will miss out on receiving great offers and promotions that may be of interest to you.

You may still receive service-related communications from us. For example, confirming bookings you make with us and providing important information about the use of our products and/or services.

Promotional Activities: From time to time, and especially if you travel with us, we also request information via surveys, contests, polls, and other promotions, and of course, you may contact us via email with any comments or questions. Participation in any of these activities is voluntary and therefore your decision if you wish to share additional information with us. In these instances, we will collect personally identifiable informational (for instance, your contact information) and demographic information (for instance, zip code, age range, etc.). Contact information is used to notify winners and award prizes when submitted for contests and prize drawings or to be in touch for customer relations measures for surveys and direct emails. Information collected through surveys will be used for purposes of gauging your satisfaction with our product and monitoring and improving our offerings.

Improving our services: Sometimes we might use your data to help us improve the quality and functionality of our services. This could include eliminating bugs in our system, data analysis, testing, and statistical and survey purposes, all of which helps us improve the service we offer.

Security: We may use your data as part of efforts to keep our sites (and the information you provide to us) safe and secure, and to prevent fraud or unauthorized access/use of our sites.

Fraudulent Claims: We may use your personal information to prevent, detect, or defend any claims/actions we believe to be potentially fraudulent or detrimental to our legitimate interests.

Legal and regulatory compliance: We might need to use your information in relation to any legal disputes, regulatory, compliance or criminal investigations, or if necessary, to enforce our rights.

Sharing Information

In certain circumstances we may share the information you provide to us with organizations outside of GRJ. The third parties who we might share your data with include:

Service Providers: If you make a booking, we'll have to share your booking data with the third parties, such as hoteliers, airlines, insurers, and transfer providers to complete your booking contract. The data shared may include your name and the names and ages of any guests travelling with you, any preferences, or special requests you told us about when you made your booking and your contact details. If you contact us with a query about your booking, we may pass this on to our providers if they are needed to answer you.

Third party support services: These includes anyone who provides support services or functions on our behalf, including payment card processing, business analytics, review agencies, advertising, and customer support services. This may be to send you marketing material on our behalf or to collate information that can be analyzed to improve our service. They have access to and may collect information only as required to perform their agreed functions and are not permitted to share or use information for any other purpose.

Payment Processors and other financial institutions: When you make a payment on your booking, we use a third-party payment processor to take your payment. If you request a chargeback on your booking, it may be necessary for us to share certain details with the payment processor and the relevant financial institution, so they can manage the chargeback. This may include a copy of your booking confirmation, financial details and the IP address that was used to make your booking.

Referring websites: If you were referred to our site via another webpage, we may share some information about you with that referring website so that they can contact you about their products and services, which may include Google Analytics.

Business Affiliates: We may share your data with our business affiliates with whom we offer relevant joint services. This may include other agencies and advertising networks. We do this to maximize the services that we provide you and so they may contact you directly about their relevant products and services that may interest you. You can unsubscribe from these emails at any time.

Advertising: We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, visit www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp.

Law enforcement authorities: We will disclose personal information insofar as it is required by law or where we believe it is necessary for the prevention, detection, or prosecution of potentially criminal acts, including for fraud, immigration, customs, security, or anti-terrorism purposes.

Please note that while we have procedures and security features to protect your information from access by unauthorized persons and against unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, and damage, we don't control the privacy practices of any of these third-parties or your Service Providers and we would encourage you to review their own privacy policies where appropriate.

Furthermore, any information that you provide directly to your Service Providers or other suppliers is not covered under this Privacy Policy and we would urge to check their own privacy policies before providing any personal information.

Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data

When we process your information as described above, we will be relying on one or more of the following legal rights:

Performance of a contract: We use your information to carry out the contract that you have with us and your Service Providers. We'll use the information that you provide us when making a booking to conclude and process the reservations with the relevant third-party Service Providers.

Consent: You may, through your action(s) of providing us your details, consent to us sending you marketing and promotional material. If you do kindly give us this consent, we'll rely on this consent when contacting you. You can always withdraw your consent at any time by simply unsubscribing.

Legitimate interest: We may use your information for our own legitimate interest, for example to provide you with the most relevant content on our site or to promote new services and for certain administrative and legal purposes. If you fail to complete a purchase, we may send you follow-up emails to try and help you, or seek your feedback or offer you alternative products related to your selection.

Business transaction: We may use your data in connection with a business transaction such as the sale of a part or the whole of our business.

To Comply with a legal obligation: We may share your personal data with regulatory authorities such as immigration, border control, security, anti-terrorism, and any other legitimate legal obligation as required.

To protect your vital interests or those of another individual: We may share your information in the case of an emergency. For example, with insurance companies or medical personnel.

Storage of Data

GRJ uses secure SSL encryption to protect your data that is transmitted electronically thus ensuring that your personal information is protected as it is sent to us. Only authorized personnel are permitted to access your information in the course of their work with us. Our data security protections meet the "reasonable security requirements" of the New York "Shield Act" and other similar state laws While we do our best to protect your information, no information transferred over the internet or stored electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure and you provide your information to us at your own risk.

We'll only retain your information for a reasonable period, or for so long as either you or the law allows.

When you pay for your tour, we don't store your card details - instead we use an encrypted authorization 'token' issued by your payment provider to collect the payments.

Browser Do Not Track

Our Website does not support Do Not Track (DNT) at this time. DNT is a privacy preference you can set in your web browser to indicate that you do not want certain information about your web page visits tracked and collected across websites. For more details, including how to turn on Do Not Track, visit www.donottrack.us.

Although we do not respond to DNT signals, we do honor opt-out preference signals that indicate your choice to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information, such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC).

Your Rights with Regard to Your Information

You have the following rights in relation to the personal information that we hold about you:

You may request a copy of the personal information we are keeping about you by submitting a request to us at the below address.

You may ask that we correct any inaccuracies in the data, ask us to transfer it to another party or provide it to you for transfer it to another party yourself.

You can ask us not to process your personal information for marketing purposes at any time by sending a request to the below address or clicking 'unsubscribe' on any of the emails that we send to you. Alternatively, you can also email info@greatrail.com and it will be done for you. We will let you know if we intend to use your data for marketing purposes.

You have the right to request that we delete all personal information that we hold about you. If there is no other reason beside you providing your consent for us to hold your data, we will delete it upon receiving your request.

We may not delete your personal information if one of the following exceptions exists:

• Information is necessary to complete the transaction;
• Information is necessary to detect security incidents;
• Information is necessary to protect against deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity;
• Information is necessary to identify and repair errors;
• Information is necessary for scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest;
• Information is necessary for internal uses of the company if those uses are reasonably expected by consumers;
• Information is necessary to comply with a legal obligation; or
• Information is used internally in a manner that is compatible with the context of the collection.

If you would like to exercise any of your above rights, please contact us at info@greatrail.com writing 'Data Subject Access Request' in the subject line. We will deal with any requests we receive in accordance with the relevant Data Protection laws.

Data Collected Through Mobile Devices

Mobile devices can be used to access our services, as well as versions of our regular website. These mobile sites work in a similar way to our main website. Sometimes we make use of something known as cross-device tracking, which allows us to track user behavior across different devices. We use this to improve the service that we provide you and for marketing activities, so advertisements shown to you on other websites may be offered based on your activities on linked devices.

Personal Information of Minors

We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 and require that those making purchases on www.greatrail.com/us are 18+ years of age. Some travel products may be subject to age restrictions or qualify for age-related savings. We only process information about children with the consent of the parents or legal guardians. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16 years of age unless we have received affirmative opt-in consent from the consumer (if 13 to 15 years of age) or from a parent or guardian (if under 13 years of age).

Links to other sites

Our Website may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. If you click a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third-party sites or services.

Transfer of Information to the United States and Other Countries

GRJ is headquartered in the U.S., and we have operations and service providers in the U.S. However, we process and store information in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. Therefore, we and those that perform work for us may transfer your information to, or store or access it in, jurisdictions that may not provide equivalent levels of data protection as your home jurisdiction.

WAIVER OF CLASS ACTION, REPRESENTATIVE AND MASS TORT CLAIMS

You hereby agree that you will only and exclusively bring claims against GRJ and any GRJ affiliated company or partner, or third party service provider arising out of or relating to this Privacy Policy and your personal information in your singular, personal and individual capacity (e.g., without serving as a class representative, joining or participating in any class or representative action, or becoming a member of any class action or multi-plaintiff action). You shall not participate in any mass tort or any other action against where there is more than one person joined as a plaintiff or claimant.

SEVERABILITY

In case any provision of this Privacy Policy is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of all remaining provisions shall not be affected, and any offending term shall be severed. GRJ intends for this Privacy Policy to comply with applicable laws and to be enforced to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Contact Us

For questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please email info@greatrail.com.

Please review and accept the following to help ensure all information for your reservation is correct.  Some changes are considered a cancellation and therefore subject to cancellation penalties.  Other changes will incur a change fee in addition to supplier fees and price increases. 

• First and last names are spelled exactly as they appear on the government-issued identification you will be using during your trip. 
• Travel dates are correct. 
• The number of nights and hotel room category/rail accommodations category is as you have requested. 
• When scheduling your connecting travel, such as flights or rail tickets, please arrange for departures at least 24 hours after the scheduled arrival of any long-distance train, as many of these trains are often delayed for reasons beyond the control of the railroad. 
• Consider booking a pre- and/or post-hotel night stay. Because of the chance of flight delays, cancellations, or missed connections, an additional hotel stay ensures a restful and hassle-free beginning and end of your trip. A Great Rail Journeys travel specialist can assist you with these arrangements. 
• Travel insurance is available to protect your vacation and your rail specialist will be able to assist you with a quote. 

For reservations requiring a deposit payment upfront 

• By making payment for the vacation listed, I acknowledge that I have read and accepted the Terms and Conditions, including the cancellation/refund policy, and authorize my credit card to charge the amount of my purchase. 

For reservations not requiring a deposit payment upfront 

• Do not book any flights or connecting transportation you may require until you receive your confirmation invoice, as some of these services associated with this tour may be on request and may need to be reviewed by a rail specialist. 

  

Last updated: July 1^st, 2026