We are all about giving you the opportunity to not only see amazing sights, but also to have authentic interaction with local people and give something back in a “hands on” way to local communities.

In my life I have been blessed to have had some incredible travel experiences in over 50 countries, from African sunsets on safari, to swimming with dolphins, to hiking up volcanoes and even gasping for breath at the top of the Himalayas.

But as amazing as those experiences are, the ones that have stuck with me most clearly is the times when I have engaged in meaningful ways with the local people: becoming the official photographer at a village wedding in a remote section of North-East Vietnam, sharing chai with Indian farmers, sheeshah with Touareg nomads or copious brandys with gracious Serbian hosts are memories I cherish.



And yet, when these interactions are overlaid with me giving back to the communities through volunteering, they became incredibly fulfilling, enriching, inspiring...and life changing. Experiences such as helping build a house in South Africa and teaching English to my host family in a home-stay in Guatemala are great examples, and the lifelong friends I have made as a result and lives changed were the catalyst for leaving my job in corporate finance in London and setting up Hands Up Holidays.



We are set up to make it easy for you, fellow travellers, to have incredible sightseeing experiences and dig a little deeper into a community and give back in ways that enable you to make a positive impact in 3-5 days.



We are passionate about you having enriching travel experiences. Expect to have an amazing holiday with us, while at the same time being challenged to look at the world in a new light.

We are all about providing Adventures That Count…for you, and the community.

Responsible Tourism Policy
Economic Responsibility:
• Use of Local Guides: We are committed to using local guides, and we are committed to the training and mentoring of local people with the potential to become guides. Our guides are trained in responsible tourism and will help our travellers to be both culturally and environmentally sensitive.
• Retention of trip costs in local communities: We are committed to investing in local communities, and we aim to retain a significant portion of our travellers’ trip cost in the destination country. We contract with tour operators that use, wherever possible, locally owned and operated hotels and restaurants. We offer opportunities for travellers to purchase local crafts and food, and our guides will provide guidance on appropriate places to shop for these.
• Hands-on community development work: All of our trips involve a component of community development volunteering, and as such, our travellers have an opportunity to contribute directly to the local communities they visit.
In addition, a portion of each traveller’s trip cost goes to support the development project for that trip. For instance, where our travellers are building a house, the cost of the materials required is included in the trip cost.
In other areas, the trip cost includes a donation to the charity supported by that trip. Our development projects are carefully selected in conjunction with local charities to ensure that your work will be of maximum benefit to the local community, and are also projects that involve you working side-by-side with the local people to improve their circumstances – part of our philosophy that help should be a “hand up” and not a “hand out.”
• In addition, we have established a charitable trust to support our community partners on an ongoing, sustainable basis; we hope that this will provide our travellers with an opportunity to maintain a vital link with the community development projects in which you participated. We are committed to investing a portion of our profits into this charity, and we cover 100% of the administrative expenses associated with the charity so that your donations go directly towards the projects.
• Carefully thought-through projects: Our volunteer projects are designed so that even if you have no specific skills, you can make a difference, but if you do have specific skills, we will match those wherever possible and put you to good use!
Environmental Responsibility:
• Sustainable travel: We are committed to sustainability, in the communities in which we operate and in the ecosystems we encounter. We seek to minimise the impact of our trips by minimising and properly disposing of waste created, by conserving energy and water, and by ensuring that endangered wildlife and environmentally compromised areas are treated with respect.
• Environmentally-focused community development projects: In a number of destination countries, the community development aspect of our trip is directly focused on improving the natural environment. These projects include gardening, planting trees, harvesting crops, or helping preserve endangered animals.
• Small group size: Our independent travel options and small group sizes help us to tread lightly and to use more environmentally sound forms of transport, minimizing impact, and ideally enriching the environment.
• Carbon Neutral: A way we seek to conserve the environment is by including an “eco-contribution” in the price of our tours. We pay for this on behalf of you, our guests. The amount of this eco-contribution is based on a calculation of the carbon dioxide emissions from the flights required to participate in our tour and will pay for the planting of the equivalent number of native trees that will soak up the carbon dioxide emissions – where practical, you will even have the option of planting the tree/s yourselves.
• Environmental training: Many of our guides are trained in principles of environmental sustainability and will offer travellers tips on how to conserve water, reduce waste, and otherwise minimize the environmental impact of their trip. We hope that our travellers will be able to take some of the conservation tips they learn from our guides home with them.
• Corporate recycling/energy policy: Wherever possible, we use recycled paper and recycle waste created in the office, as well as attempting to minimise waste created and be a “paperless” office. We also work to minimise energy and water consumption in our offices, and we encourage our partners to follow similar waste management and energy philosophies.

Social Responsibility:
• Pre-Trip Information: We send each traveller a pre-departure pack, describing the destination country, its history, cultural norms, and general health and visa requirements. We also provide important practical information such as how to pack and dress appropriately, what to expect when encountering the local populations, how much money they will need to bring, etc.. We encourage travellers to try to learn a few phrases in the local language(s) before they arrive. Most importantly, we encourage all of our travellers to arrive with an open mind and to be prepared to have their world-views gently challenged by the new cultures they will encounter.
• Cultural Sensitivity: An important benefit of using local guides during our trips is the training they can provide to travellers in cultural sensitivity. Our guides will coach our travellers in general best practices (e.g. how to avoid encouraging a “begging” mentality, how to be sensitive in photographing local people, etc.) as well as specific tips on how to avoid running afoul of local customs. Wherever possible, we schedule the community development component of our tours in the middle of the trip, so that travellers will have a chance to acclimate to their new environment and learn how to behave in a culturally sensitive manner prior to this part of the trip, where the interaction with the local community is particular intense.
• Protection of Child Welfare: For those community development project that involve interaction with children, we require a police check to be carried out by the traveller, in order to project the children from physical, emotional, or sexual harm.
• Homestays and Language Immersion: On some of our itineraries, we are able to offer travellers a chance (entirely optional) to stay in the home of a local family, thereby achieving a unique level of cultural exchange. Travellers wishing to participate in a home stay will receive special instruction from their local guides to prepare them for the experience. In addition, through our tailormade trip offerings, we are able to offer interested travellers a chance to participate in an intensive language immersion program in either Spanish (Latin American destinations) or French (Vanuatu).
• Community Development: In addition to the community development component of each of our trips, we also encourages our
employees to volunteer in their own communities and will offer each employee a half-day per week to participate in such projects. In addition, we encourage our staff to participate in our community development projects through partially subsidised holidays for staff and their families.
• Volunteering where you live: Part of our vision is to enable you to experience how fulfilling and rewarding volunteering is, and to be inspired to volunteer for longer periods of time, and to volunteer where you live. We have information on suitable volunteer projects in the UK, such as teaching English to refugees, which we make available to all our guests.

The holidays featured are operated by Hands Up Holidays Ltd, hereinafter also referred to as the ‘Company’ or ‘Hands Up’, which is registered in the United Kingdom under company number 5092684. It is essential that you read and understand the conditions of booking below and the General Information and FAQ’s section on the website – www.handsupholidays.com (together the “Booking Conditions”) when you make your booking, as these will all form part of your contract with the Company. These Booking Conditions constitute the entire agreement of the parties about its subject matter and supercede all previous agreements, understandings and negotiations on that matter.



1. Definitions



In these Booking Conditions the following terms where the context admits shall have the following meanings:



“Agent” means an authorised representative of the Company.



“Booking Form” means a form or document developed by the Company for completion by the Traveller to secure a booking on a Hands Up trip .



“Confirmation Invoice” means an Invoice issued by the Company to signify that a booking made by the Traveller has been confirmed.



Commencement Date means the definition contained in clause 3(f) of the Booking Conditions.





“Company” means Hands Up Holidays Limited.



“Force Majeure” means unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the Company’s control, the consequence of which neither the Company nor its suppliers could avoid, including, but not limited to, war, threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity (actual or threatened), industrial dispute, technical problems with transport, machinery or equipment, power failure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, flood, drought, adverse weather conditions and level of water in rivers



“Hands Up” means the Company.



“Low Bookings” means that the stated minimum number of bookings per trip has not been reached 60 days prior to the trip Commencement Date.



“Participation Form” means the form described in Clause 21 Booking Conditions.

“Third Party Contractor” means an inbound tour operator that the Company has contracted with to provide the tour services in the destination, including but not limited to the provision of transport, accommodation, activities and meals. The Company as a matter of course contracts out the provision of its tour services to Third Party Contractors, who are typically based in the destination.



“Traveller” means a person who has made a booking with Hands Up and Hands Up has issued a Confirmation Invoice in respect thereof.



“Trip Price” means the most recent price quoted to the Traveller by the Company at the time a booking is made. It relates principally to the cost of the tour being booked, and also includes any supplements, extension trips, or any optional extras. The trip price is a “land only” price and does not include the cost of flights to and from the chosen destination.





2. Interpretation


(a) The headings are for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation hereof.



(b) Words importing the singular number include the plural and vice versa and the masculine gender includes the feminine and neuter genders and vice versa.



(c) This contract is governed by English (UK) law and both parties agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English (UK) courts at all times.







3. Your contract with Hands Up

(a) To secure a booking, Hands Up or its agent requires a non-refundable deposit of 20% of the Trip Price as quoted by Hands Up to the Traveller at the time of booking (including any optional activities or supplements that an individual selects) per person per tour, or full payment if a trip is due to commence in less than 60 days. This payment is also deemed to be confirmation that you have read and accept the Booking Conditions. Clients booking by telephone, facsimile, email or over the internet are deemed to have read the Booking Conditions and accepted them.

(b) A booking is accepted and becomes a contract only from the date when Hands Up has confirmed acceptance by issuing a written Confirmation Invoice. The Company can issue this Confirmation Invoice by email.

(c) If you arrange your holiday directly with the Company all correspondence and other communications will be sent to the address of the first person named on the Booking Form unless you specify otherwise. If you request correspondence through a business address, a residential address will also be required for emergency and security reasons.

(d) If your booking is made through a travel agent, the Company will address all communications to that travel agent. All monies paid by you to a travel agent under or in contemplation of this contract will be held by the travel agent for the Company until such monies are forwarded to the Company.

(e) Full payment is due 60 days prior to departure.

(f) A trip is deemed to commence (“Commencement Date”) on the date published in this website or, if the dates are modified, as stated on the website (www.handsupholidays.com), and, specifically, upon arrival in the destination country on said Commencement Date.



4. Validity

(a) The prices listed are based on the prevailing costs and exchange rates at the time of printing. Hands Up reserves the right to alter these prices at any time. Prices are indicative only, and the Company reserves the right to notify you of an increase in the website or advertised price before accepting your booking.

(b) All information in this website is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of printing, but please note that changes to our trips (which may be substantial) can and do occur. Hands Up will make every effort to keep you briefed of any changes, but cannot be held liable for any alterations to the published itineraries. Please refer to our website (www.handsupholidays.com) for any updates to any trip.



5. Cancellation by the Traveller

(a) A Traveller can cancel a tour, but this will entail the loss of a percentage of monies paid as set out below. This percentage depends on the number of days before the commencement of the booked tour that Hands Up receives written cancellation. The loss of monies paid is as follows, per person:

· 60 days or more prior to trip departure:

o 20% of total Trip Price

· Between 30 and 59 days prior to trip commencement:

o Loss of 50% of total Trip Price

· Less than 30 days prior to trip commencement:

o Loss of 100% of total Trip Price

(b) All cancellations must be advised in writing, signed by the signatory of the Booking Form and sent to the Company, at 21 Cortayne Rd, London SW6 3QA, England, faxed to +44 (0) 870 751 8362 or emailed to cancel@handsupholidays.com. Cancellations are effective on the day they are received by the Company. Recorded delivery is strongly recommended.

(c) No refunds will be made if you voluntarily leave a trip for any reason after the trip has commenced. Refunds will be given at Hands Up’s discretion if you are involuntarily forced to leave a trip for any reason. Leaving the trip due to illness is deemed to be voluntary, but Hands Up may, in its discretion, give a refund in this instance.

(d) Hands Up reserves the right to eject a passenger from a trip if they have not signed the Participation Form (see paragraph 21(a)), if they are found to have breached any local laws or customs, any explicit instructions from the tour guide, or if they do not have the requisite visas, or immunisations. No refund will be given in such a situation.

(e) Please note that these conditions relating to cancellation apply to Hands Up land content only. Different cancellation fees may apply to airline tickets.



6. Re-booking following a cancellation

Should you wish to cancel a holiday and re-book an alternative holiday this will be subject to the cancellation terms within these Booking Conditions. Hands Up may, in its absolute discretion, transfer some or all of any monies already paid by you to the alternative booking. If the alternative booking requires a greater deposit than has already been paid then the balance between what is required as a deposit and any deposits already paid shall be paid when the alternative booking is made.



7. Cancellation by Hands Up

(a) Hands Up reserves the right to cancel any trip before it is guaranteed to run. A trip is guaranteed to run once it has reached the minimum number of fully paid customers as stated for each tour. Hands Up will advise you in writing (or by email if an email address is provided) if a trip has been cancelled.

(b) Hands Up reserves the right to cancel any trip, including a guaranteed trip, due to terrorism, natural disasters, political instability, war or other external events which, in Hands Up’s opinion, make it unsafe or otherwise unviable for Hands Up to operate our planned schedule, including Force Majeure. In such a case, Hands Up will, in its sole discretion, refund the Trip Price only (and will not refund any other costs incurred).

(c) If you fail to pay the balance of the holiday price at least 60 days before departure, the Company may treat your booking as cancelled and levy the cancellation charges set out in paragraph 5(a) above. If the Company cancels your holiday in any other circumstances prior to departure and when a trip is guaranteed to run as per paragraph 7(a) above, the Company will use reasonable endeavours to offer alternative arrangements of a comparable standard or will give you a full and prompt refund. In addition, unless the cancellation has been caused by Force Majeure or Low Bookings, the Company will pay you compensation as set out in paragraph 9(d).



8. Booking Amendments by the Customer



(a) Amendments are generally possible, and Hands Up will make every effort to assist you if you wish to alter your arrangements. It may not always be possible to make any amendments to your booking, especially within 10 days of the commencement of your trip. Requests for an amendment must be in writing or by email, signed by the signatory of the Booking Form. If you do wish to change your booking in any way, the following fees will apply:

i Changes to tour bookings

· If the booking amendment request is received by Hands Up 60 days or more prior to your original tour’s commencement date – GBP50 per person per change;

· If the booking amendment request is received by Hands Up within 59 days of your original tour’s commencement date – charges as per cancellation fees (see paragraph 5(a)).

· If there has been any change in the price of the tour that you change your booking to since the time of your original reservation, the new tour price will apply to the new reservation.

These fees are in addition to any charges levied by hotels, ground operators or airlines.

ii. Changes to any other arrangements made in conjunction with your tour booking (e.g. hotels, transfers, etc):

· Amendments to any other arrangements made in conjunction with your tour reservation will incur a GBP20 administration fee per booking per change. This fee is in addition to any charges applied by hotels, ground operators or airlines.



9. Amendments by the Company

(a) Great care is taken to ensure that the descriptions and prices given in this website are accurate at the time of publication. Changes can occur, though, and the Company reserves the right to change any of the details in this website, including the order that places will be visited in the itinerary, and prices, in which case the Company will advise you of any such change before accepting your booking. After a Confirmation Invoice has been issued and the trip is guaranteed to run, the Company makes every effort to operate holidays as advertised. It is not always possible for the Company to control all elements of the holiday whereby advertised facilities can sometimes become unavailable at short notice due to inclement weather conditions, lack of demand, emergency repair works, etc. Additionally, the nature of the Community Development work is subject to change, and you will be advised as soon as possible after any such change occurs.

(b)Your trip may be varied at short notice, even after its commencement. Changes may occur because of Force Majeure, poor road conditions, weather, the availability of tickets, vehicle breakdowns, changes in transport schedules, the availability of Community Development projects, or other circumstances beyond Hands Up’s control. Hands Up does not accept any responsibility for loss of enjoyment, delays or compensation resulting from changes due to Force Majeure or any reasons beyond Hands Up’s control. Group sizes may also vary. No refunds will be made in any of these situations.

(c) In very rare circumstances, the Company may have to modify a holiday before the trip commences. If we have to change to a lower standard of accommodation (in terms of grade of hotel) for more than 20% of the trip length, the Company will contact you as soon as practicably possible and offer you three choices:

(i) You may accept the modification;

(ii) You may change your booking to another available holiday; or

(iii) You may cancel and receive a full refund.

If you choose another holiday which is more expensive you must pay the difference, but if it is cheaper, the Company will make the appropriate refund.

(d) If you cancel and receive a full refund, other than for Force Majeure or Low Bookings you will receive the following compensation, calculated according to the number of days prior to the commencement of the trip that you are notified of the change.



Days prior to Commencement Date Compensation

When Notification of Change is sent Per Person

More than 42 days GBP10

29-42 days prior GBP20

15-28 days prior GBP40

(e) If there is any other modification before the trip commences (that is, other than a change to a lower standard of accommodation for more than 20% of the trip length), the Company will endeavour to notify you, although it is not obliged to do so.

(f) If the Company becomes unable to provide a significant proportion of your holiday after it has commenced, suitable alternative arrangements will be made for you at no extra charge to you or, alternatively, you will be transferred to your point of departure and given a pro-rata refund for ground arrangements not received.





10. Insurance

(a) Insurance is highly recommended on all our tours. You should ensure that you are fully covered against personal accident, death, medical expenses, emergency repatriation, personal liability and the nature of the community development project that is part of your trip. We also recommend it covers delay, cancellation, curtailment, missed departure, legal expenses and loss of luggage and personal effects. Note that special insurance may be required if you intend to scuba dive or undertake any other dangerous or sports activity.

(b) You may be required to complete and sign an indemnity form absolving Hands Up (and if applicable the travel agent) of all possible liabilities which may arise due to the failure to take out adequate insurance cover.

(c) Clients should ensure that in any insurance cover they arrange there are no exclusion clauses limiting protection for the type of activities offered in their tour (including the community development volunteer project) and for the country/countries that they going to as part of their trip. The travel insurance cover provided automatically with various credit cards DOES NOT provide adequate cover as standard.



11. Price Policy

(a) All trips are payable in Pounds Sterling (£/GBP), US$, CAN$, European Currency Units, NZ$ and A$, but GBP is the reference price, and all other currencies are indicative only. The conversion rate of currencies into GBP is based on exchange rates determined by Hands Up from time to time.

(b) The Company reserves the right to notify you of an increase or decrease in the website or advertised price before accepting your booking.

(c) After a Confirmation Invoice has been issued, the price of your holiday is subject to the possibility of surcharges in certain limited circumstances. However, a surcharge will be levied solely to allow for variations in transportation costs, including costs of fuel, the exchange rate applied to the particular package, or if a relevant government or regulatory body introduce or increase taxes. This increase or decrease in price will be calculated by directly passing on the above increase or decrease, save for the first 2%, which will not be passed on. Surcharges will be notified by a revised Confirmation Invoice sent to you (or your travel agent).

(d) If a surcharge would increase the total holiday price shown on your original Confirmation Invoice by 15% or more, you may cancel your booking within 7 days of the date of issue of the revised Invoice and obtain a full refund of all payments made to the Company.

(e) Alternatively, you may choose to pay for your holiday in full at the time of booking, in which case your holiday price will be fixed at the cost quoted by the Company at that time. To qualify for this benefit you should return the Confirmation Invoice to the Company with full payment to reach the Company by post to 21 Cortayne Rd, London SW6 3QA, England, by fax to +44 (0) 870 751 8362 or by email to confirm@handsupholidays.com within 7 days of the date when the Confirmation Invoice was first posted to you.



12. Passports, Visas and Vaccinations

(a) You must carry a valid passport and have obtained the correct visas when travelling with Hands Up. Please ensure your passport is valid for 6 months beyond the duration of the trip. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of the correct visas for your holiday. Hands Up cannot accept responsibility if you are refused entry to a country because you lack the correct visa documentation, or for any other reason.

(b) It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of all vaccinations and medical certificates as may be required for the whole of the tour.



13. Responsibilities

(a) The Company contracts with a network of companies, inbound tour operators, government agencies, charities, Non-Governmental Organisations and individuals (“Third Parties”) to assist in the running of its tours. The Company does not own, manage, control or operate any transportation vehicle, any hotel, or any supplier of services. All coupons, receipts and tickets are issued subject to the terms and conditions specified by the suppliers and all services are subject to the laws of the country where the services are provided. The Company applies reasonable checks to ensure that those involved in the preparation and provision of your holiday maintain the appropriate standards.

However, the Company may act as an agent for these Third Parties and will not be held liable for any injury, damage, loss, delay or irregularity that may occur due to the behaviour of these Third Parties.

(b) The Company will not accept liability or responsibility for any traveller who contravenes a law or regulation of any country visited or for any other action or inaction of a traveller.

(c) No employee, servant or agent of the Company has authority to vary these Booking Conditions.

(d) The descriptions, information and opinions given in this website by the Company in respect of the hotels and other suppliers whose services are used are given in good faith, based on the latest information available at the time of printing.

(e) You are responsible for booking and paying for your flights to and from your destination (Hands Up offers “lands only” packages and has no involvement with inbound and outbound flights, and highly recommends you use an ATOL-protected travel agent to book these flights), checking-in for flights at the correct time and for presenting yourself to take up all pre-booked components of your holiday. The Company cannot accept responsibility for clients missing flights as a result of late check-ins and no credit or refunds will be given if you fail to take up any component of your holiday. No credit or refunds will be given for lost, mislaid or destroyed travel documents.

(f) To the maximum extent permitted by law, the liability of the Company, if any, in respect of all costs, losses, damages and liabilities incurred by a traveller is limited to a refund of the amount actually paid by the traveller.



14. Excursions

(a) Please note that when you book an excursion locally you contract with the local organisation providing the excursion and not the Company. The Company has no legal liability for anything that goes wrong on such an excursion and any claim which you might have arising out of the excursion will be against the relevant local company and subject to the local company’s terms and conditions.



15. Police check

(a) If the Community Development project pertaining to your trip involves assisting children, such as teaching English or helping in an orphanage, Hands Up requires you to have a police check completed, from your home country. You will be advised at the time of booking if a police check is required. If the police check reveals a previous conviction for a sex offence, you will not be permitted to book that trip with Hands Up.

Any other previous criminal conviction may not necessarily prevent you from booking with Hands Up, but in any event, any criminal conviction may prevent you entering the foreign country of your tour (or any countries en route). It is your responsibility to ascertain if you can legally enter a country, and Hand Up’s acceptance of a booking does not mean that you will legally be granted permission to enter the countries involved in your trip.



16. Data Protection and Privacy

(a) In order to process your booking and to ensure that your travel arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements we need to use the information you provide such as name, address, any special needs/dietary requirements, etc. We will ensure that proper security measures are in place to protect the information relating to you. We must pass the information on to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements such as Third Party Contractors, airlines, hotels, transport companies, etc. The information may also be provided to security or credit checking companies, public authorities such as customs/immigration if required by them, or as required by law. Controls on data protection in other countries may not be as strong as the legal requirements in the UK, EU, New Zealand, Australia, Canada or the USA. We will not, however, pass on any information to any person not responsible for your travel arrangements. This applies to any sensitive information that you give to us such as details of any disabilities, police record, or dietary/religious requirements. (If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers we cannot provide your booking. In making this booking you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons). Please note that where information is also held by your travel agent, this is subject to your agent’s own data protection policy. You are entitled to a copy of the information on you held by us and to request that the information be amended if inaccurate. If you would like to see this please contact the Company during normal working hours. (We may make a small charge for providing this to you).

(b) We may use information provided by you, including contact details, to give you details of new trips/ special deals, etc, that Hands Up may offer from time to time. If you do not wish to receive such information you should make this known at the time of booking.

(c) The information (including any “personal information” as defined by the Privacy Act 1993) is collected and held by the Company.

(d) Subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act 1993 (NZ) the Traveller has the right to have access to information held about him or her by the Company and to have it corrected if it is not accurate.





17. If you have a problem

(a) In the event of any dispute or difference arising between the parties as to any matter or thing in connection with the Agreement, such dispute or difference shall first be attempted to be resolved by the parties through discussions held in good faith, but failing resolution within 14 days of one party notifying the other in writing invoking this clause, such dispute or difference shall be referred to a single arbitrator (if the parties can agree upon one) and otherwise by two arbitrators, one to be appointed by the Traveller and one to be appointed by the Company, or to their umpire (such umpire to be appointed by the selected Arbitrators) and in either in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996 or any statutory modification or amendment thereto for the time being in force.





18. Illness or disability

(a) Anyone suffering from illness or disability or undergoing treatment for any physical or medical condition must declare the true nature of such condition at the time of booking and make arrangements for the provision of any such medication or other treatment which may be required during the tour. Failure to make such a disclosure will constitute a breach of these Booking Conditions and result in such persons being excluded from the tour in which case all monies paid will be forfeited.

(b) If the chosen holiday includes a cruise or swimming activity or excursion or transfer by boat of any sort, you must make it known at the time of booking if you are unable to swim. This will not prevent you from participating in the tour but will enable Hands Up to take additional precautions for your safety at such times as may be appropriate.



19. Age, Fitness and Participation

(a) You are expected to satisfy yourself prior to booking that you are fit and able to complete the itinerary of your chosen tour as described in this website. Most of our tours are designed for people aged 18-40 and may contain activities appropriate to this age range. Persons over 60 years of age may be required to provide medical evidence of fitness to travel on certain itineraries. No people under the age of 18 years can be accepted on Hands Up’s tours unless they are accompanied by a parent or guardian who accepts full responsibility for them. Hands Up reserves the absolute right to decline a booking at its discretion.

(b) You agree to accept the authority and decisions of Hands Up’s tour leaders, employees, and agents whilst on tour with Hands Up. If in the opinion of such person, your health or conduct before or after the trip begins appears likely to endanger the safe, comfortable or happy progress of a tour, you may be excluded from all or part of the tour without refund. In the case of ill-health, Hands Up may make such arrangements as it sees fit and recover the costs from you.



20. Photography Rights and Maps and Photographs Contained in Website

(a) You must be aware that our authorised tour leaders and representatives may take photographs and films of our clients whilst on any of our tours and the Company reserves the right to use such material for any advertising or brochure production without obtaining further consent. The Company also reserves the right to use any comments clients make regarding the tours on any questionnaires or letters in future promotional literature.

(b) Maps and photographs are included in the website for general information and may not necessarily reflect actual routings, locations or services.



21. Participation Form

(a)You must sign a Participation Form on or prior to Commencement Date. Please note that signing the Participation Form is a pre-requisite of travelling with Hands Up. The wording of this form is as follows:



“I understand that travelling with Hands Up Holidays may involve risks above and beyond those encountered on a more conventional holiday, and that I am undertaking an adventure trip with inherent dangers. I understand that I am travelling to geographical areas where, amongst other things, the standard of accommodation, transport, safety, hygiene, cleanliness, medical facilities, telecommunications and infrastructure development may not be of the standard I am used to at home or would find on a conventional holiday. I have read and understood the Hands Up dossier for the trip I am undertaking and have provided details of any pre-existing medical conditions that I have to Hands Up’s representatives. I accept these risks and obligations and I fully assume the risks of travel. I release Hands Up Holidays from any liabilities connected to these risks to the maximum extent permitted by law.”



22. Severability
Where any provision of these Booking Conditions is rendered void, unenforceable, or otherwise ineffective by operation of law, that shall not affect the enforceability or effectiveness of any other provision in these Booking Conditions.



23. Non-Waiver



If at any time the Company or Hands Up does not enforce any of these Booking Conditions or grants the Traveller time or other indulgence, the Company or Hands Up shall not be construed as having waived that term or condition or its right to later enforce that or any other term or condition.



24. Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (NZ), Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and customer protection legislation in other countries

The Traveller agrees that where the Company’s services are acquired for business purposes, or where the Traveller holds itself out as acquiring the Company’s services for business purposes, the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (NZ), the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) or customer protection legislation in any other countries shall not apply to any supply of services made under these Booking Conditions, and the Company shall not be liable or responsible for any loss or damage of any kind to the Traveller, including any consequential loss or damage however it may be caused. For the avoidance of doubt, Hands Up agrees with the Customer that in relation to this clause it can only contract out of the applicable customer protection legislation in a country (outside of New Zealand or Australia) where this conduct is permissible.