Terms and Conditions

BOOKING PROCEDURE

On completion of our quote form – specifically including the per night per room hotel rate you wish to pay in US$ – we’ll send an approximate quotation to make sure our prices suit your budget. We offer a short option period to “make up your mind”, but kindly reply as soon as possible either way so as not to block our other inquiries!
If the price range is suitable and you confirm acceptance of our business terms & booking procedures, then we’ll prepare a detailed itinerary based on your “wish list” of inclusions.
Once night stops are agreed, we offer a hotel selection for you based on & around the agreed per night budget. We work with hotels we trust and use regularly. When the accommodation is firmly booked, we give a fixed tour price within the general quote agreed.
We book the tour hotels, but clients are free to deal with their own Beach Resort accommodation after the tour direct online if preferred – with or without our advice – or we can do it.
Our “Kandy Day Tour” menu can be viewed on our website. Quotes can include accommodation or not. A 50% deposit secures the reservation, but for late bookings (once clients are already on the island) we accept full cash payment in advance on first collection at your central Kandy hotel.
NB. For accurate itinerary planning/quotes we do need your firm dates and actual (or intended ) flight timings at Colombo airport please. Please ensure that you are free to travel on the dates requested and that all other party members are in agreement!
To maintain maximum touring flexibility, we only pre-book hotel accommodation and rail tickets (subject to availability 30 days ahead) – all other sightseeing/safaris etc are arranged by our drivers during the tour according to client’s wishes at the time (entrance fee details available on request)

PAYMENTS
A deposit secures the reservation once the itinerary and accommodation are agreed.
The final balance is due 8 weeks before arrival (or 80% upfront – with balance paid in local cash if preferred). For “ late bookings” (within 8 weeks of arrival), we request a payment sufficient to cover us for reservations made on the client’s behalf (we do not risk our own funds!) and any remaining balances can then be paid later and/or in local cash on arrival. All our prices are based on current US$/LKR exchange rates and any other hard currency used will need to exactly match the net figures we quote. All money transfers are at client’s own expense. Our bank account details will be provided for international transactions and the Western Union & MoneyGram systems are recommended for their speed & efficiency – they are especially well represented in Sri Lanka and India and we have used them frequently without problems. NB. PayPal does not work properly yet in Sri Lanka and we do not accept credit cards. We work on an exchange of email basis with financial transfers scanned as confirmation in both directions.

REFUNDS
Advance payments outside the 8 week limit can be refunded, but only after administrative expenses and any hotel/attraction deposits have been deducted.

INSURANCE
Fully comprehensive holiday insurance is strongly advised. Rainbow Tours Sri Lanka will not be held responsible for client’s personal injury, loss or damages.
The transport and hotels we use are insured, but not to adequate international levels or standards. The policy needs to cover cancellation within 8 weeks and last minute disruptions due to “extreme weather”, strikes, riots, “acts of God” etc – we can’t compensate clients within 8 weeks of arrival.

HEALTH
Check with your own preferred professional health advice regarding visiting tropical countries. Malaria has now been officially eradicated from the island, but Dengue is still a problem in mainly poorer urban areas.

CARRIAGE OF GOODS
Our vehicles are for the transport of people and their personal baggage. To avoid internal damage to paintwork & upholstery, any others items will only be carried with the driver’s prior agreement. All goods are carried at owner’s risk.

IMPORTANT NOTICE
By the general consensus of both Sri Lankan and foreign official websites, driving standards here are considered poor and road conditions are only slowly improving. Therefore self-drive car hire is not recommended and hired drivers need to be regulated, safe and experienced. This should not put anyone off coming here, but does emphasise the need to be highly selective about the drivers and transport companies chosen, which need to be officially registered with the Tourist authority. Many unskilled “touts” at the airport and online offer barely break even “cheap deal” driving quotes just to secure a hire and then make their profits through often large commissions earned from pressured salesmanship during the tour! By contrast, we charge reasonable prices, do not annoy clients with unsolicited local selling “traps” and provide skilled and much praised drivers with well maintained, tourist standard vehicles.
“False economies” are definitely NOT advised in this destination!