TERMS AND CONDITIONS

COVID-19

Travel Advisory: Failure to have the proper COVID-19 documentation may affect entry into your destination. It is the Traveler’s responsibility to have all the necessary documents, tests, and vaccinations completed prior to departure. Improper required travel documentation is not covered by any Trip Protection Plans. You will not receive any refunds or vouchers if you did not comply with the country’s requirement.

Please continue to monitor all state or local health advisories from your city or state of origin prior to travel. https://apply.joinsherpa.com/travel-restrictions?affiliateId=sherpa&language=en-US

The following Terms and Conditions of Sales apply to all transactions, the traveler agrees to be bound by such Terms, and Conditions of Sales when traveler accepts the arrangements provided to traveler by payment of the booking deposit. The payment of the deposit or any partial or full payment for a reservation shall constitute consent to all provisions stated below.

Travel agents working with Essential Europe Travel are responsible in advising the customer of the below terms and conditions and of the proper documentation required for entry to your destination.

Travel agents: the authorization to use your client’s credit card indicates you and your client’s compliance and agreement to our booking payment and refund policy and any cancellation that may apply to their reservation.

Travel agents working with Essential Europe Travel are responsible for checking accuracy of travel documents and vouchers issued by Essential Europe Travel. Travel agents must communicate with Essential Europe Travel immediately after receiving travel documentation to correct or update any services booked by Essential Europe Travel.

Essential Europe Travel takes great care in selecting the correct airlines, hotels and local operators. However, we act as an intermediary between our clients and our suppliers in Europe. We facilitate quotes, bookings, communication, foreign currency payments, itinerary coordination and all details pertaining to a vacation between the client and the suppliers. Therefore we assume no responsibility or liability in connection with any air or land service we offer, except to the extent of the value of a said service disputed by a client at our discretion and that of our supplier, pending valid proof from the client that a said service was not rendered correctly.

RESPONSABILITY

Essential Europe Travel shall not be liable for any act, error or omission or for any neglect or default in any vehicle, or for any neglect or default of any company or person conveying the passenger or for any damage or inconvenience caused by late air, or land transportation or by any chance of schedule or other conditions. Essential Europe Travel will not be responsible for any loss of or damage to baggage or any article belonging to the passenger. Quoted and published rates and availability for hotels, excursions or any services offered by Essential Europe Travel Inc. may change without notice due to the following reasons: Euro versus dollar fluctuations, supplier availability at time of booking, supplier rate adjustment at time of booking and any inflation due to gasoline prices and economic uncertainty.

Essential Europe Travel is the tour operator. Essential Europe Travel, its agents, and representatives act as agents only for purchasers of these packages in making and securing all arrangements for transportation, sightseeing, hotel accommodations, and other services related to the program based solely on information provided to Essential Europe at the time of package purchase.

Essential Europe Travel is not responsible for errors and omissions contained in its brochures, on-site conditions or actions of the package providers, health conditions or events of the traveler(s), nor is it liable for acts of God, quarantine, fires, acts of government and other authorities, wars, civil disturbances, riots, terrorist acts, strikes, thefts, incidents at sea, land or air travel, and other similar acts or incidents beyond its ability to control.

AIR TRANSPORTATION WITHIN EUROPE

Charter Flights: These flights are subject to particular terms and conditions which are clearly defined in the «Charter Operator-Participant Contract» to be provided, when purchasing any charter air arrangements, please refer to the corresponding participant contract which you are required to read and sign at the time of reservation and prior to sending your payment.

Scheduled Flights: All non-charter flights are subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the carrier, and the tickets, coupons, tariffs or vouchers issued by the carrier, for which Essential Europe Travel Inc. is acting only as an agent.

DEPOSITS

For bookings made more than 60 days prior to departure, a mandatory land deposit of a minimum of $500.00 per person is due within 7 days after the booking date to activate the booking and to avoid cancellation. Additional deposits may be required for certain products and will be indicated when deposit is required. By providing the deposit, you are agreeing to these Terms and Conditions.

Essential Europe Travel reserves the right to treat any booking as cancelled by you if the balance is not paid by the option period specified on the booking invoice.

Deposits are always non-refundable and non-transferable.

PAYMENTS

For all reservations, full payment is due:

  • 60 days prior to departure
  • 90 days prior for group bookings

For reservations made less than 30 days prior to departure, full payment is due at time of reservation. Option date is given at time of reservation, and rules may vary according to season. Payment options are: agency checks, wire transfers and major credit cards.

PRICES

All prices expressed on this website or on quotes are in U.S. dollars and are subject to change without notice. Rates are guaranteed once full payment is received. All rates are subject to change until paid in full. Essential Europe Travel Inc. does require a deposit at time of reservation and the remaining balance must be paid 60 days prior to departure, unless otherwise stipulated.

We only sell FIT packages, and we cannot price individual item

DOCUMENTATION

Documents, such as tickets, vouchers, coupons, etc. issued by or through Essential Europe Travel will be sent to the participant as soon as full payment has been received. For rail tickets, there is a fee of $40 for Fedex. Official travel documents (passports, visas, etc,) are the responsibility of the passenger.

REFUND APPLICATIONS

Application for a refund of purchased travel components must be requested in writing to Essential Europe Travel within 30 days of the traveler’s return to the U.S. Supporting documentation may be requested to process post-travel claims.

CANCELLATIONS

Notification of changes and/or cancellations must be in writing. This written notice must be received by 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (Monday – Friday) in order to be recorded as cancelled for that date. You will receive an acknowledgement of the cancellation request via email by the end of the next business day.

For Scheduled Flights: Policy for Changes varies according to the airline concerned. In the event of cancellation, airfares are non-refundable. Full details upon request.

We strongly advise the purchase of travel insurance. 

CANCELLATION OF LAND ARRANGEMENTS

ALL DEPOSITS ARE NON REFUNDABLE IF YOU CANCEL YOUR TRIP.

 

Days from Departure
Fee Per Person
Prior to full payment Full deposit
60 days prior to departure 100% non-refundable
Day of departure, No Shows,
and during travel
100% non-refundable

 

LAND ARRANGEMENTS

Hotels, meals, sightseeing, car rentals, and other land services will be furnished as offered in the description of each package or component, except that the tour operator reserves the right to make alterations as may be mandated by necessities of logistics, scheduling, room or equipment availabilities, etc. Unless otherwise specified, tips and taxes for package-related services and other arrangements are not included in the prices quoted. Also not included are expenses such as meals, beverages, liquors, mineral waters, gratuities, porterage charges, etc. that are not specifically mentioned in the package or component descriptions, vouchers and/or other documents provided. Items of a personal nature are never included.

Note:

Notification of changes and/or cancellations must be in writing. No refund on unused land arrangements once the trip has started.

No refund for partially used car rental vouchers.

Rail Cancellations

Upon receipt of full rail payment, rail passes and any tickets and seat reservations that are currently loaded, ready for confirmation by the various national rail agencies, are confirmed and issued. Rail products can only be ticketed when loaded for international issue by the appropriate rail agency for that country. Once payment is made for the rail, and it is available to ticket, if the price of the ticket increases, Essential Europe Travel will contact the Travel Agent for approval to charge the new price and issue the tickets. All rail pricing is subject to change until ticketed, and all rail is non-refundable once issued.

APARTMENT AND VILLA RENTALS

Essential Europe and its local suppliers reserve the right to substitute the rented apartment/villa with another similar or higher quality apartment in case the apartment rented in this contract failed to be rented due to the following reasons (a, b, or c): a) Internal damages; b) death of apartment›s owner or spouse; c) any other security reasons that could be a risk for the clients’ security. If the apartment or villa rental substituted is not as similar or of higher quality, Essential Europe will refund the difference to the clients between the 2 properties.

Cancellation: Cancellation policy for these apartments is full penalty the moment it has been confirmed.

Loss or Damages: Any loss, damage or staining in the apartment must be paid for, whether accidental or deliberate, and therefore, due care and attention is advised. We are not responsible if you cannot operate machinery in European apartments or villas (ex: A/C unit, washing machine, coffee maker. Even though at the end of the tenancy, cleaning is included in the price, unless otherwise stated, a local charge for extra cleaning will be levied in case the apartment is left in an unusual dirty or messy condition.

Lost keys: It is vital that clients DO NOT lose keys during occupancy or take the keys away with them at the end of their stay. If keys are not returned to us for whatever reason, the cost of a new locking system to maintain security, and the cost of extra key cutting will be charged to the client’s credit card, or subtracted from the security deposit.

No smoking policy: Clients should be aware that if they DO smoke in a NON SMOKING property, the landlords will exercise the right to charge for the cleaning of curtains, carpets and upholstery in order to get rid of the remaining odors and smoke stains. Please make sure if you are a smoker that you are allocated a smoking property.

Maximum occupancy: Please note that concerning the occupancy of the apartment the number of person cannot be exceeded under any circumstances. Additional guests cannot be accommodated unless otherwise agreed prior to arrival, and failure to inform us could render the contract not valid as cancelled and no refund will be given, and could create a loss of the security deposit.

Apartment description: Clients are responsible for reading the description and understanding what they are renting: number of rooms, bedding type (twin or double beds), number of bathrooms, showers or bathtubs. No refund or apartment exchange will be accepted in case of misconception or misunderstanding.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

Travel insurance is not included with the packages and other arrangements featured in this program; however, for your protection and peace of mind, we highly recommend that you insure yourself against trip cancellation, medical emergencies or illness, and baggage loss.

 

RESPONSABILITY DURING TRAVEL

Essential Europe Travel acts only as an agent (with services provided by independent companies), and shall not be liable for any injury, damage, loss (including baggage loss or damage), expense, or other irregularity caused by the defect of any vehicle or conveyance, or the negligence of any company or person engaged in conveying the passenger or carrying out the arrangements for the tour or by accident, delay, flight schedule, change, cancellation, sickness, weather, strikes, war, quarantine, or any similar cause, Liability of Essential Europe Travel shall in any case be limited to the amount paid to Essential Europe Travel, and any claim shall be adjudicated in and governed by the laws of the State of New York. Personal and baggage insurance is recommended and available.

The airline is not to be held responsible for any act, omission, or event during the time passengers are not on board the aircraft. The passenger ticket, issued by the airline, shall constitute the sole contract between the airline and the purchaser and/or passenger the services of any IATA carrier may be used; the validity of these provisions shall be independent.

CHECK IN

Check-in cannot be guaranteed prior to 4:00 p.m. Departure is normally required by 10:00 a.m.

AIR CONDITIONNING

Essential Europe Travel is not responsible for air-conditioning standards or availability, as these factors can vary greatly between properties and countries.

Please note hotels in Europe typically do not offer the type of air conditioning to which we in the U.S. are accustomed. Rather, they have a « climate control » system that keeps temperatures within a comfortable range. Therefore, the indoor environment may not be as cool as guests prefer, especially during periods of high outdoor temperatures. Air conditioning is almost nonexistent in Iceland, Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, Germany and Austria.

SPECIAL MOBILITY NEEDS

Requests for special accommodations and services to meet specific physical requirements – such as wheelchair-accessible rooms, tours, or transfers – must be made at the time of booking (prior to the payment of deposit) and require the submission of a completed Special Mobility Needs Form detailing the limits of mobility and a description of any mobility-assistance devices. Failure to correctly submit this information may result in a disruption of service and/or increased cost to the traveler. Please note accommodation- and service requests are subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed. Further, Essential Europe Travel cannot accept responsibility for the standards of the facilities requested, as they can vary between properties.

AIRLINE SCHEDULE/EQUIPMENT/SEAT ASSIGNMENT CHANGES

Airlines reserve the right to change schedules, equipment, or routings at any time.

Essential Europe Travel will automatically pre-assign seats where possible at the time of initial booking. However, advanced seat assignments may not be available on certain flights, can be changed or cancelled by the airline at any time, and never can be guaranteed by Essential Europe Travel. It is the traveler’s responsibility to contact the airline 72 hours prior to departure and on the day of departure to reconfirm their flights. Any traveler who misses their flight due to a schedule change will not be reimbursed by Essential Europe Travel for expenses resulting from a missed flight. Schedule changes may result in lost seat assignments, including upgraded seats and cabins.

Essential Europe Travel reserves the right to accept on the travel agent or traveler’s behalf any change of schedule within 15 minutes of the originally quoted departure time. Schedule changes greater than 15 minutes will be deferred to the agent and must be accepted before tickets are issued/reissued.

 

AIRLINE BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE

The number of pieces and the weight of each piece of baggage, whether checked or personally carried onto the plane, varies depending on the airline and the cabin booked. It is the traveler’s responsibility to contact the airline directly to inquire about their specific baggage allowance.

 

TRANSFERS & BAGGAGE

Porterage and baggage handling are not included with transfers unless specifically stated on the transfer voucher. Baggage allowance is limited and varies by country and vehicle type. In general, one (1) medium-sized suitcase and one (1) personal item per person are allowed, and the personal item should fit on the traveler’s lap. A larger vehicle must be booked in advance for oversized bags and additional baggage. Failure to do so may result in additional local charges or the cancellation of service with no refund.

 

CAR RENTAL

Drivers must be at least 25 years of age; a maximum age may apply, subject to car rental company rules. Basic car rental rates include unlimited mileage and VAT (value added tax). Rates do not include tolls, gasoline, additional driver surcharge, overtime charges, or VAT on additional items that are paid, agreed to, and/or accepted locally. Specific car models cannot be guaranteed. Airport surcharges and one-way drop-off fees may apply when picking up a vehicle in one location and returning it to another.

 

RAIL TICKETS & PASSES

Essential Europe Travel reserves the right to accept on the travel agent or traveler’s behalf any change of schedule within 15 minutes of the originally quoted departure time. Schedule changes greater than 15 minutes will be deferred to the agent and must be accepted before tickets are issued.

Essential Europe Travel is not responsible for rail passes, train tickets, or vouchers which are lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed. Refunds cannot be authorized in such cases.

Essential Europe Travel and its directors, officers, employees, independent contractors, agents, and suppliers act only as agents for the traveler in making arrangements for hotels, transportation, sightseeing, restaurants, or any other service described in this website.

The individual traveler and/or purchaser, by acceptance of the travel documents, agrees that Essential Europe Travel and its directors, officers, employees, independent contractors, agents, or suppliers shall not be liable for any injury, damage, loss, accident, delay or irregularity, liability, or expense to person or property due to any act or default of any hotel, carrier, restaurant, company, or person providing or rendering any of the services included in the itinerary. The

tickets, coupons, tariffs, rules, or contracts currently in use by any carrier, hotel, restaurant, or any other contractor providing service shall constitute the sole contract between such contractor and the traveler.

Essential Europe Travel and its directors, officers, employees, independent contractors, agents, and suppliers accept no responsibility for any damage, delay or irregularity, expense, or liability arising from sickness, pilferage, labor dispute, machinery breakdown, quarantine, government restraints, war, act of terrorism, weather conditions, defect in any vehicle of transportation, or for any misadventure or causality or any other cause beyond their control.

Any and all losses and expenses will be borne by the traveler, the tour rates being only for the time period and places specified. All accommodations, services, and facilities are subject to the laws of the countries in which these accommodations, services, and facilities are provided.

Essential Europe Travel reserves the right to cancel or change itineraries and substitute services without notice and to decline to accept or retain any traveler at any time.

Essential Europe Travel and its directors, officers, employees, independent contractors, agents, and suppliers act only as agents for the traveler in making arrangements for hotels, transportation, sightseeing, restaurants, or any other service described in this website.

The individual traveler and/or purchaser, by acceptance of the travel documents, agrees that Essential Europe Travel and its directors, officers, employees, independent contractors, agents, or suppliers shall not be liable for any injury, damage, loss, accident, delay or irregularity, liability, or expense to person or property due to any act or default of any hotel, carrier, restaurant, company, or person providing or rendering any of the services included in the itinerary. The tickets, coupons, tariffs, rules, or contracts currently in use by any carrier, hotel, restaurant, or any other contractor providing service shall constitute the sole contract between such contractor and the traveler.

 

Essential Europe Travel and its directors, officers, employees, independent contractors, agents, and suppliers accept no responsibility for any damage, delay or irregularity, expense, or liability arising from sickness, pilferage, labor dispute, machinery breakdown, quarantine, government restraints, war, act of terrorism, weather conditions, defect in any vehicle of transportation, or for any misadventure or causality or any other cause beyond their control.

Any and all losses and expenses will be borne by the traveler, the tour rates being only for the time period and places specified. All accommodations, services, and facilities are subject to the laws of the countries in which these accommodations, services, and facilities are provided.

Essential Europe Travel reserves the right to cancel or change itineraries and substitute services without notice and to decline to accept or retain any traveler at any time.

SEVERABILITY

If any section or provision of these Terms of Use is found to be unlawful or unenforceable for any reason, the rest of these Terms of Use will not be affected and will remain valid.

Essential Europe Travel Inc.

a New York State Corporation

 

The ultimate Europe insider experience

The information provided in this document is subject to change without notice.