Terms and Conditions for Vacation Packages

This document (Terms and Conditions) outlines what is provided when you sign up for a Blue Walk vacation, Art Walk vacation, Private vacation, extension, and all other tours promoted; what you agree to do while on tour with TBW; and the extent of TBW liability. By signing up for a tour with TBW you are agreeing to these Terms and Conditions. Therefore, please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before you finalize your reservation. Terms and Conditions are updated from time to time. We recommend you print out your current version when making your reservation.

Tour price guarantee: Our tour prices do not include airfare. All prices are subject to change without notice due to the unpredictability of currency rates and trip costs. However, your price for the tour you’ve selected will be locked and guaranteed the moment we receive your final payment. This protects you from any increases due to currency fluctuation. For current tour prices, visit your tour page at thebluewalk.com.

Included in the price of your vacation: Sightseeing and orientation tours by a TBW guide, and local guides when appropriate, including admissions to sights seen as a group; an aperitivo or similar, all breakfasts, welcome and farewell dinners (as determined by TBW); accommodations each night, often in family-run hotels in the historic heart of each city; all transportation from the first hotel to the last hotel of the tour (does not include optional activities or independent travel during the tour); all local guides, driver, and program meal tips; and a welcome gift.

Not Included in price of your vacation: Flights, baggage fees, airport transfers, meals not mentioned in tour description, drinks, optional excursions, porterage of luggage (see below), Travel Protection insurance, items of a personal nature, and any items not specifically mentioned as included on our programs.

Porterage of Luggage: Luggage handling is not included. Other than our France programs (where we don’t switch hotels), we do recommend you pack light. Chiefly because you will be responsible for carrying your own luggage on and off any combination of trains, ferries, and public transportation. Accordingly, please limit your bags to what you can comfortably manage by yourself.

Itineraries / Programs are subject to change: Travel is full of possibility. That can also mean surprises. Consequently, we need to be flexible enough to take advantage of whatever comes along so we may provide you with the best possible tour. All components of our tours including but not limited to specific hotels, tours, or visits mentioned; specific guides, art instructors and/or special guests mentioned; or any other inclusion intended to be used on our trips; are subject to change for any reason. Uncompleted portions of the tour itinerary are not cause for refund.

Tour payments: To reserve a place on a TBW tour you must agree to these Terms and Conditions and provide us with a deposit of $500 per person for our walking vacations or $750 per person for our art vacations.

Deposits are non-refundable (but may be transferable – see Travel Credits): We accept MasterCard, Visa, and American Express for all tour payments. We also accept personal checks, bank drafts or money orders in US dollars drawn on a US bank. Your final tour payment is due in our office at least 90 days prior to the start of the tour. Your final payment due date will be listed on your tour invoice. Missing the final payment deadline may result in your being removed from the tour. If you sign up for a tour less than 90 days before its departure, the entire tour price must be paid and is non-refundable.

Tour and Invoice Confirmation: Please review and verify your invoice thoroughly and contact your Travel Agent or TBW immediately if your invoice appears to be incorrect or incomplete. TBW cannot accept responsibility if we are not notified of inaccuracies within five days of sending out the invoice. In the case of billing errors, TBW reserves the right to re-invoice you with correct pricing. Signing the reservation request form and payment of your deposit indicates you have read, understood, and accepted these Terms and Conditions. A reservation request is not complete and bookings are not confirmed until:

A completed and signed hard copy or online reservation request form stating understanding and acceptance of these terms and conditions has been received.
A payment has been received and deposited.
You have received confirmation letters of the deposit and reservation.

Solo travelers and single supplements: For our guests traveling solo, the mandatory single supplement required by many other tour operators is not required. If you do not request a private room you may share a room with another trip participant of the same sex (Roomshare). If you wish to guarantee a private room, we offer a single supplement for an additional fee and based upon availability. (Please refer to your tour page on thebluewalk.com for current pricing.) If you sign up and no Roomshare is available, 50% of the single supplement will be due at final payment. However, if a roommate is found before your trip departs, you will be matched and the single supplement will be refunded. Please note that a single supplement guarantees a private room — not a larger or nicer room. Based upon availability singles will be placed in the same room type as our double or twin rooms.

Returned payments: If a payment to TBW is returned unpaid for any reason, we will assess a $50 returned-item fee per occurrence. The fee(s) will be added to the applicable tour balance, and must be paid in full prior to your tour departure.

Cancellations: Change in plans? No problem. You may cancel for any reason up to 90 days before your departure date. Your non-refundable deposit (see Tour Payments) less a $75 processing fee, may be transferred to an available tour or returned as a Travel Credit for a future tour (see Travel Credits). Any balance will be returned to you. A Travel Credit for for-any-reason cancellations received 90 days or less before your tour’s departure is not possible.

The following per person cancellation fees apply:

More than 90 days prior to arrival: non-refundable deposits, less a $75 processing fee, may be issued as a Travel Credit or transferred to another tour with availability. Any balance of funds may be returned, issued as a Travel Credit, or transferred to another tour with availability per choice of the tour participant.
90-61 days prior to arrival: 75% cancellation fee applies (up to 25% of tour cost is returned)
60-0 days prior to arrival: 100% cancellation fee applies (no funds are returned)

Refund Requests are subject to these Terms & Conditions. No refund will be made for any voluntary modifications made by the traveler. Travelers leaving early, or not using hotels, meals, passes, ferries and/or any other included services will not be given a cash equivalent or vacation price reduction.

Travel Credits: Travel Credits may be applied to any tour (with availability) with a departure date within one year of the original departure date. (E.g.; a travel credit issued for a cancellation of a tour scheduled to depart May 1, 2024 can only be applied to a tour with a departure date prior to May 1, 2025. Travel Credits may only be applied once and expire if not redeemed within this 1 year period. The price of the new tour will be applied, effective on the date we confirm your Transfer. Travel Credits are only valid for the registered guest of issue.

If we cancel a tour you have reserved, the entire amount you have paid to TBW for the applicable tour will be refunded to you within 14 days after the tour’s cancellation, less your deposit (except in the case of Force Majeure, see below). Your deposit will be issued as a Travel Credit (See Travel Credits) and will expire on December 31, one year following the year of the originally scheduled tour (e.g. if you receive a credit for a tour set to depart in 2023, you may use that credit toward any tour(s) departing prior to December 31, 2024). Once this occurs, TBW and its representatives have no other obligations to registered participants on cancelled trips including any additional costs or fees related to the issuance and/or cancellation of airline tickets or other travel reservations not made by TBW.

Creditable medical or family Emergency (“Creditable Event”): TBW may provide you a credit for future travel if one of the following creditable medical or family emergency events requires you to cancel your reservation. A Creditable Event must first occur less than 90 days prior to your tour’s start date. It is TBW’s sole discretion to determine if your situation is a Creditable Event. This policy is not a replacement for Travel Insurance, and as always we recommend protecting your travel investment with Trip Cancellation Insurance. For Creditable Event request purposes, we consider your traveling partner to be someone who shares the same accommodations with you and a family member to be your spouse, step-child, or blood relative in the first degree. 

You, your travel partner or a family member dies or suffers an unexpected and disabling injury or illness requiring hospitalization or urgent medical care prior to joining the tour.
You, your travel partner or family member suffers a certifiable personal disaster (such as your home floods or burns down, or you are a victim of a serious crime) necessitating a change in travel plans.
You or your spouse are called into active military service or have leave revoked.
Loss of employment.
Documented illness due to coronavirus and/or COVID-19 may be considered a Creditable Event. However, fear of infection or concern regarding prevalence of the virus in the tour location(s) will not be considered a Creditable Event.

Credit request process: If you need to cancel your tour you must notify TBW immediately in writing: sent via email to info@thebluewalk.com or mailed to 374 Lakeview St. Orlando, FL 32804. Cancellations become effective on the date received by TBW. If you wish to request a credit for a Creditable Event and you have comprehensive travel insurance, you must first file a claim with your insurance provider before requesting a credit from TBW. TBW will only process your request for credit after you have filed a claim with your insurance provider and can demonstrate the final insurance payment or settlement. You also must provide the following documentation along with your cancellation notice: For an unexpected illness or injury, we require you to provide a letter from your attending physician, on the physician’s letterhead, verifying the specific reason and date of the onset of the condition given for advice against traveling; in the event of a death, we require a death certificate or obituary; due to a crime, flood, fire or accident, you must provide a copy of a pertinent police, fire department or investigative report; for military service, we require a letter signed by your superior officer specifying the reason travel may not be commenced; for unexpected loss of your job, we require a letter signed by your employer specifying the date of termination, on the company’s letterhead (including contact information).

Force Majeure Terms and Conditions: Refunds and compensation payments are not liable in circumstances beyond TBW’s control or the supplier’s control. This includes but is not limited to changes due to war, threat of war, epidemic or threat of an epidemic, acts of terrorism, civil strife, strikes, natural disaster, fire, adverse weather or other acts of God. In the event that any significant changes are made due to a problem with a supplier, for example a hotel bankruptcy, TBW will advise the participant as soon as is reasonably possible with the alternatives available.

Tour forms, obligations, and risks: To travel on a tour all trip participants are required to review and accept these Terms and Conditions by signing the trip reservation request form. Omitting important information, or altering the Terms and Conditions, will render it invalid, and could result in expulsion from a tour at your own expense.

Participation: Although we want everyone to have a good time, it sometimes happens that someone participating in a tour can misbehave or do things that are incompatible with the safety, comfort, or convenience of other participants of the tour. In those circumstances we have the exclusive right and discretion to expel someone (even you) from a tour at any time. Consequently, we will not refund or cover any costs or expenses incurred.

Trip participant expectations: TBW tours are physically active, our hotels are carefully selected but may provide fewer American-style amenities, and our people policy emphasizes NO GROUCHES! These are essential characteristics of TBW tour experience. On any TBW tour, you assume certain obligations and responsibilities to TBW and your fellow trip participants, including, but not limited to, the following:

Carry or roll your own luggage for up to 15 minutes over uneven pavement. In rare cases haul your luggage up a few steps or as much as one flight of stairs.
Be comfortable on your feet with one-hour to half-day walking tours on uneven cobbled streets and rustic, dusty paths, climbing lots of stairs, hopping on and off public transportation, plus walking outdoors in all weather conditions.
Sleep in hotels with inadequate air conditioning, possible street noise, and slow Wi-Fi connections or Wi-Fi only in common areas.
After orientation and transportation lessons, be able to navigate towns and cities on your own.
Our tour guides cannot provide assistance for any of these activities! Trip participants requiring help must be accompanied by an able companion who can be entirely responsible for providing the assistance. (If you have concerns about the physical demands of our tours, please call us!)
Study and understand the trip conditions as described by the trip itinerary and tour page at thebluewalk.com.
Know your own physical, emotional, and medical condition with respect to the advisability of participating in your chosen trip.
Bring appropriate and adequate clothing, equipment, medications, and first aid supplies.

Minors: The minimum age allowed on our public vacations is 18. Younger children may be allowed on private tours. Please contact our booking team for more information.

Visas & Passports: You are responsible for obtaining and paying for all visas and entry documents, for meeting all health and other requirements, and for any documents required by the laws, regulations, orders, and/or requirements of the countries you will visit. Non-U.S. citizens must consult with appropriate consulates to determine if any visas are needed and are responsible for obtaining all visas and entry documents independently. TBW is not responsible for providing you with specific visa and passport information or documentation, and TBW cannot accept liability for any passenger refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure of the passenger to carry correct documentation. All passengers traveling internationally are required to have a passport. Some countries require passports to be valid for at least six (6) months beyond the conclusion of your trip; some require that you have a minimum of three blank pages left in your passports. It is your responsibility to verify all visa and passport requirements.

Safety: You must be aware and acknowledge that during participation in vacations operated by TBW, certain risks and dangers may arise beyond our control, including but not limited to: the hazards of traveling in undeveloped areas; travel by boat, train, automobile, bus, van, aircraft, or other means of transportation; forces of nature; political unrest; epidemics or the threat thereof; acts of lawlessness or terrorism; stolen, lost, or misplaced luggage or property; theft or break-ins into vehicles, lodging rooms or elsewhere; transportation or hotel strikes, and accident or illness in remote regions without means of rapid evacuation or medical facilities. TBW will not have liability regarding provision of medical care or the adequacy of any care that may be rendered. By agreeing to participate in a tour and/or optional excursions you agree that you will hold TBW harmless regarding any provision of medical care or the adequacy of any care rendered. Emergency Medical Travel Insurance is required – see below. You acknowledge that the enjoyment and excitement of adventure travel is derived in part from the inherent risks incurred by travel and activity beyond the accepted safety of life at home or work and that these inherent risks contribute to such enjoyment and excitement, being a reason for your participation. YOU HEREBY AGREE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN WELFARE AND ACCEPT ANY AND ALL RISKS OF DELAY, UNANTICIPATED EVENTS, INCONVENIENCE, ILLNESS, INJURY, EMOTIONAL TRAUMA OR DEATH.

Travel Insurance: Due to the physical nature of a walking vacation, TBW requires all participants to have overseas emergency medical insurance coverage while on our trips. Travel Insurance is not included in the tour price. You may already have this coverage with your current insurance company. If you do have emergency medical coverage, or have purchased Travel Insurance with another company for this trip, you will be required to provide proof of policy to us prior to final payment. If you do not have Travel Insurance, you can choose any company you wish. We use CSA, and have their link on our website, which you can use to receive a quote for emergency medical only or a full policy including cancellation coverage. Please see our Travel Insurance web page (https://www.thebluewalk.com/travel-protection-insurance/) for details. In the event you find it necessary to cancel prior to or during a trip due to injury, personal or family illness or emergencies, or other covered reasons; travel insurance generally reimburses nonrefundable costs including the tour and airfare. Additional coverage may include trip interruption, missed connections, lost or delayed baggage, emergency medical transportation, necessary medical care if sick or injured, and emergency evacuation. Whichever company you choose, be sure to confirm the specifics directly with the company. TBW does not assume any responsibility for the information about the insurance companies or their policies. Please be advised that some types of coverage may require purchase within 24 hours of your initial trip deposit. Although trip “cancellation” insurance is not required, it is strongly recommended.

Responsibility: Cruise, Tour, Travel! dba The Blue Walk located at 374 Lakeview St., Orlando, FL 32804, acts only as agents for other suppliers, including but not limited to hotels, trains, buses, ferries, restaurants, contractors or any other suppliers providing accommodations, transportation, sightseeing arrangements or any other services as independent contractors, and are not agents, employees, servants, or joint ventures of TBW or its affiliates. TBW does not provide for or act as an Agent for any airlines or airfare tickets. TBW is not responsible if an airline cancels, reschedules or delays a flight for any reason. Airlines may charge a change or modification fee if you change your reservation. Contact your airline directly for more information. All confirmations, tickets, vouchers, transfers or coupons issued by TBW are made under the express condition that TBW shall not be liable or responsible for any loss, injury, accident, delay, irregularity, inconvenience or damage to participant or those traveling with them, from any including but not limited to defects in vehicles, breakdown in equipment, strikes, theft, acts of God, weather, civil disturbances, terrorism, cancellations or changes in itineraries or schedules, etc. Any travel documents for services issued by TBW are subject to the Terms and Conditions specified by the supplier and are not guaranteed by TBW. After departure, if the services included in the vacation cannot be supplied or there are changes in an itinerary for reasons beyond the control of TBW, TBW will do its best to arrange for the provision of comparable services. Any resulting additional expense will be the responsibility of participants. Participant agrees that neither TBW nor its affiliates shall be liable for any damage, loss (including but not limited to personal injury, death, and property loss), or expense occasioned by any act or omission of any supplier providing services, any insurer or insurance administrator under the Travel Protection Plan, or any other person. In the event there is liability on the party of TBW, you specifically agree that TBW’s maximum liability under any circumstances is limited to two times the amount of the reservation. Any litigation must be brought to the courts of TBW’s office in Orlando, Orange County, Florida.

Optional Excursions & Activities: The air carriers, accommodations, and other suppliers (including but not limited to trains, ferries, hotels, and restaurants) providing optional activities and excursions in the area of the vacation itinerary that are available for booking are not run, supervised, or controlled in any way by TBW. These services are provided by local operators or other third parties that are entirely independent of TBW, which has no control and has no right of control over the operations of these independent contractors. Such activities and excursions do not form any part of the product or services sold to you by TBW or of these Terms and Conditions, even where TBW suggests particular operators/other third parties and/or assists you in booking such activities or excursions. Your contract for such activity or excursion will be with the organizer or operator of that activity or excursion and will be subject to its Terms and Conditions, which may contain exclusions or limitations of liability. TBW has no liability for any such activity or excursion or for any act(s) or omission(s) of the organizer or operator or for any of its employees or agents or any other person(s) connected with the activity or excursion. Any advice or assistance on or with any activity or excursion provided by any local representative does not mean or imply that the activity or excursion is sold, supervised, or controlled by TBW or that any such advice or assistance is given on behalf of TBW. Vacation participants are asked to check with the operator of any activity and the applicable Terms and Conditions before booking.

Privacy: All information provided in a booking will be kept in a confidential manner. They will not be disclosed or sold to other companies for any purpose beyond what is needed to secure your travel arrangements with our suppliers. Mailing information and past travel information will be retained by us. You may receive mailings or emailings from us periodically. You may explicitly ask to be removed from said mailings by email.

Photographs, Images, Video: Any photographs, digital images or video (Imagery) that you send, or that are taken by our guides, are deemed to be our property and available for use in promotions we make without compensation to you for their use. Imagery appearing on the web site, in social media, or any other promotion are used solely as an indication of accommodations and attractions. Actual facilities may vary.

Fitness: It is your responsibility to know your own physical and medical condition with respect to the advisability of participating in your chosen trip. We suggest you prepare by doing some longer walks prior to arrival. As with any exercise program, we recommend you consult with your physician prior to your arrival regarding the suitability of a walking tour. By completing this booking, you affirm that you are in good health and capable of engaging in the activity you are booking.

The Blue Walk is a dba owned and operated by Cruise, Tour, Travel! LLC. The Blue Walk is registered with the State of Florida (#ST40290) as a seller of travel. 06/12/2023