Castaway Tours 

Terms and Conditions

 

The terms and conditions of Castaway tours applies to anyone that has a booking with Castaway, regardless of the origin of where the booking was made (websites, hostels, 3rd party travel agents etc.). 

Pre-Departure Briefing

• A briefing sharing important information regarding the trip will be held at Outpost Hostel on the day before the departure at 6:00PM. Attendance is mandatory. Briefing no-shows will not be on the tour roster. The guest’s slot and all payments will be forfeited. 

• All remaining balances must be settled by the guest PRIOR to the briefing in order to attend. No payment will result in no attendance, which will result in a “no-show.”

• We expect everyone to respect people’s time including that of fellow guests. Attendees who show up late to the briefing will be subject to a 1000 PHP charge per person.

Reservation and Payments

 

• Unless otherwise stated by Castaway and/or Outpost Hostels, all bookings must require a payment deposit in order for the booking to be secured. Castaway has no obligation to hold on to a booking without a deposit/payment and may cancel such bookings at will. 

 

• Remaining balances of the tour must be settled by the guests in cash no later than at the start of the briefing prior to the tour at an Outpost Hostel of the departure location. Failure to do so will result in the loss of the deposit or any payments made, a full charge of any remaining balances, and forfeit of the spot on the boat. 

 

• Castaway and Outpost Hostels shall not be responsible for any transactional charges or fees incurred from making payments.

Cancellation Policy, Rescheduling, Reservation Amendments and Refunds

• Any cancellation or booking amendments must be made to Castaway’s email ([email protected]) and is thus officially received when an authorized member of Castaway’s staff addresses the email. Any cancellations or amendments made in any other form shall not be honored and cannot be presumed as accepted. 

 

• Castaway has a 14-day cancellation policy. The deposit and any other payments made to Castaway are not refundable within 14 days of the departure date. 

 

• Any guest initiated cancellation and rescheduling outside of the 14-day window is charged a 1500 PHP cancellation/rescheduling fee per person. To clarify, if a guest has paid 4000 PHP and wishes to cancel with more than 14 days to departure then Castaway will refund 2500 PHP.

• Castaway has a one-day flexibility policy on the departure date of the tour. To clarify, if a Castaway tour cannot depart on the scheduled departure date due to unforeseen or uncontrollable circumstances and any delays, Castaway has every right to reschedule the departure to the following day and is not responsible for issuing refunds of any amount or offering any free rescheduling. This is one reason why we recommend travel insurance. 

 

• If the amendment announcement for a departure delay by one day is announced less than 14 days prior to the original departure date by Castaway, the guest is not entitled to any refunds or rescheduling. If Castaway makes the announcement with more than 14 days from the departure date to the guest, then the guest has the right to request a refund or reschedule before 14 days of the original departure date and will not be charged the  cancellation/rescheduling fee of 1500 PHP. 

 

• If a tour departure date has been moved to the following day and it still does not depart, then all guests are entitled to a refund or rescheduling without the 1500 PHP fee. Meaning, if a tour is scheduled for March 17th and had to be moved to March 18th, however, on March 18th the boat still did not launch, then all guests are entitled to a rescheduling or a refund without the fee. 

 

• In the event a tour is cancelled by Castaway, then all guests are entitled to a refund or rescheduling without the cancellation and rescheduling fee of 1500 PHP. 

 

• Any guest may amend bookings when outside of the 14 day departure date with a charge of 1500 PHP per guest. If the price of the new date is higher in price, then the guest must pay for the difference. If the price of the new date is less expensive, Castaway is not required to reimburse the difference. If the new date of booking is less in price, we may recommend to simply cancel the existing booking with the 1500 PHP fee and make a new one. 

 

• Any guest searching to amend dates within the 14-day window, may request the change. However, Castaway has the right to refuse any amendments as per the 14-day cancellation policy. In the event a reservation change is approved by Castaway, the reservation may result in a forfeit of the deposit entirely and/or extra charges beyond the 1500 PHP fee per person.  

 

• Once a booking has been rescheduled by the guests’ request as mentioned above, the 14-day window will be re-set to the new departure date. 

 

• Substituting guests for a booking is not permitted.

 

• No-shows will be charged in full and granted no refunds and no rescheduling. Not showing up to the mandatory briefing will be considered as a no-show.

 

• Outpost Hostels is not required to amend any hostel bookings free of charge in the event a tour is re-scheduled. 

 

• Castaway reserves the right to amend any itineraries at any time before or during the trip, without the issuance of a refund. The only time a refund of any amount will be considered is in the event of an itinerary change that results in the reduction of a night’s stay. 

 

• Accommodation is normally based on a per pax basis. The native huts and other accommodations provided by Castaway’s itineraries are subject to the rules put in place by the authorities that be. In the event of a pre-disclosed accommodation becoming unavailable, Castaway shall endeavor to, within reason, find suitable accommodation at similar establishments without liability or refund.

 

• In the event one of our boats becomes unavailable for a trip for any reason, Castaway will do its best to find an alternative suitable boat without liability or refund. 

 

• Refunds via credit card may take up to a month due to the credit card merchant and the guest’s banking institution. 

 

• When issuing refunds, Castaway and Outpost Hostels will issue only what has been received on its end. It is not responsible for refunding any transactional fees. 

 

Insurance and Liability

 

• It is highly recommended that all guests are individually insured by a reputable agency that covers health and emergency troubles while abroad, particularly in the Philippines.

 

• Castaway shall not be liable for illness, injury or death sustained on an expedition or tour or service sold by Castaway, its officers, employees, authorized representatives or agents whomsoever under any circumstances.

 

• Castaway is not liable for any disruption of travel plans incurred by Castaway and the tour and all its aspects. We highly recommend travel insurance for instances such as these. 

 

• Guests are responsible for any Castaway property they dirty or damage. The amount to be charged to the liable guest will be set by Castaway. 

 

Special Requests

 

• Guests should advise Castaway of any special requests (for example: dietary restrictions or account of physical disability) at the time of enquiry or submitting a reservation. Castaway will do its best to meet such requests wherever possible.

 

Environmental, Entrance, and other Fees

• All government related fees are included in the price except for any Coron and El Nido environmental fees. If a guest has already obtained some of or all of these environmental fees from a prior tour or any activity, it is the responsibility of the guest to furnish the official certificate. Failure to do so, will result in the government agencies charging the guest again for the respective fee. 

 

Other Bits

• Whilst every care is taken, Castaway and Outpost Hostels cannot be held responsible for loss or damage to baggage or personal belongings.

 

• Castaway and its services may employ the use of third parties in any and all matters relating to lodging, transportation (land and sea), tours, boat owners, and other independent contractors, each of which is an independent corporation outside Castaway’s control and each of which has its own terms and conditions. As such, Castaway shall not be liable for injury, delays, loss or damage in any manner.

 

• Prices for Castaway products are subject to change without notice. Castaway reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue the tour and all its services and price without notice at any time.

• Castaway is not responsible if any or all of its information on its website, at the Outpost Hostels, or at any of its third party sellers is not up to date and or complete. All information provided prior to booking through any means is all general information and the guest is making a booking at his or her own risk. Furthermore, Castaway reserves the right to amend any of the information on its website, at the hostels, or any third party sellers at any time. It is the responsibility of each guest to check and update themselves of any changes made by Castaway. 

• All information and marketing published by Castaway, whether as a social media post, brochure, poster, written material, electronic or otherwise is correct (to the best of The Company’s knowledge) at the time of going to press but the right is reserved to change the same. Photographs and information depict typical scenes and detail but the subject matter depicted may not be seen or experienced whilst on tour or expedition.

• Castaway reserves the right to refuse service to any person at any point prior to the tour or during the tour. All paid guests who are refused service have no rights to a refund of any amount. 

• In the event of a medical evacuation whilst on tour, the expenses of the evacuation in its entirety including the financial impact on the tour and its operational expenses will be shouldered by the gust being evacuated.