Many airlines and train operators now ask for an additional fee to pre-book your seats in advance. To ensure your request is fulfilled we recommend that you contact the airline/train operator directly via their website and use their ‘manage my booking’ facility. Although this facility will be available for the majority of flights and train bookings, there are some airlines that don’t enable this option until online or airport check-in. It’s important to note that we are unable to guarantee seating requests sent through to us and that failure to grant your request will not be a breach of contract on our part.
Sometimes seats are booked as part of a block booking (allocation), where the relevant airline or train operator will automatically allocate your seat and so it is possible that you might not be close to other members of your party. For these journeys you will be unable to check in online and we therefore recommend arriving and checking in at the airport or train station as early as possible so that you have a better chance of selecting alternative seats should the need arise.
If you require specific seats because of a disability/reduced mobility/a medical condition, please make this clear at the time of booking. Subject to safety requirements and availability, EU airlines are required to make all reasonable efforts to arrange seating to meet the requirements of individuals with a disability or reduced mobility. You may be required to provide written confirmation of your disability, reduced mobility or medical condition and fitness to travel from your doctor.
We will supply you with the booking reference number so you are able to check in online, for those airlines that give this option.
Meals are still provided on most long haul international flights, but many airlines have stopped offering complimentary meals on shorter flights, particularly those within Europe. On many routes with connections within Europe, a meal will be provided on the inter-continental sector, but not on the sector between the UK and the connecting European airport. We cannot therefore guarantee that a meal will be provided on flights. If you have a special dietary requirement, please let us know at the time of booking or no later than 30 days before departure. If the request is received after this time, it may not be possible for the airline to fulfil a specific meal request, in these instances, it is best to check with the staff when you board your plane.
When you book a flight-inclusive package on one of our Explore trips, your holiday confirmation will contain provisional flight details. The timings, flight numbers or route could change before departure. Explore will inform you as soon as possible if there is a change which:
- Affects your departure or arrival time by more than six hours
- Moves the trip to a different day
- Significantly affects the trip itinerary.
We suggest that you defer booking any connecting travel to the airport or arrangements such as car parking or overnight hotels until you have received the final documentation, with confirmed travel times. Where Explore is arranging domestic or regional flights, these will be rebooked to connect with your international flight. We strongly recommend that you don’t purchase non-flexible, non-refundable connecting rail, air or bus tickets, as they usually incur cancellation or penalty charges in the event of a change to the departure time or date.
In some cases, if your flight is delayed you may be entitled to some compensation under EC Regulations. To do this, you’ll be required to contact the airline directly to lodge your claim; most have a complaints portal via their website. You’ll need the flight information we sent you in your final documentation. If you do encounter any issues with this process, you can contact the airline’s support service.
Please be aware that the airline may ask you to make the claim through Explore. However, this significantly delays the matter being resolved as the airline will then request data protection releases from us to prove we can act on your behalf, as well as other additional documentation to process any claim. If they state that you must ‘go through the booking agent’ then please advise them that it is our customers’ responsibility to pursue the airline directly for any compensation due under this regulation, which we do note in our booking conditions.
In the rare event that your luggage is either misplaced or damaged during a flight, a PIR (Property Irregularity Report) will need to be filed with the airline before you leave the airport to allow an insurance claim to be processed at a later date.
Yes you can. If you wish to arrange your own flights you should buy our 'land-only' package, which consists of the tour with no flights. The prices on our website show the 'land-only' cost, unless you enable the flight-inclusive search option.
Our Land-Only packages start and finish at the designated overseas joining and ending point. Land-Only packages do not include any connecting flights to or from the joining or ending point. If you are planning to book a Land-Only package on one of our trips, then we strongly recommend that you only purchase flights/train/bus tickets that are totally flexible and refundable. This is because by their very nature, adventure holiday itineraries can change and it’s important that you’re able to amend your connecting travel arrangements should the need arise. In the event of a trip being cancelled it is important that you are able to get a refund if you no longer wish to use the associated flight, bus or train. We regret that we cannot accept liability for any connecting travel arrangements that you make (including any cancellation or amendment charges) in the event of any change to, or cancellation of, our trip; or for any other reason that makes you unable to use your booked travel arrangements.
Before booking please ensure you’ve read our Booking Conditions