SouthAmericaSki.com Vacations Inc. Policies
Privacy Policy
Southamericaski.com respects your privacy and will not use your personal information for any other use than assisting you with ski and snowboard vacations to South America. We will not share your personal information with any other people or companies.
Deposit & Payment Policy
A 35% deposit is due upon booking for Argentina resorts and 50% due for Chilean resorts. 100% of payment is due upon booking for and stays in the Dormy Houses in Las Lenas and in the Inca and Octagon Lodge in Portillo. Final payment for all resorts is due 60 days prior to arrival. The credit card on file will be automatically charged for the balance 60 days prior to arrival. If paying by cheque, a post-dated cheque for the final payment is required upon booking. For bookings made within 60 days of arrival, full payment is due upon booking. You will be sent a written confirmation of your booking by email or fax. Payments can be made
1. Charging an American Express Card.
2. Being able to pay by cheque, certified money order/bank draft, or money wire transfer.
3. Process your Visa or MasterCard through the secure online invoicing through Paypal (www.paypal.com) through our secure Paypal Business account. What happens is we email you a invoice through paypal and you simply need to click on pay now and are charged by Southamericaski.com Vacations through Paypal. If you already have a Paypal online purchasing account this is very simple. You can go to Paypal webiste and open a personal account here
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_registration-run
And choose personal account and click on start now.
After you open your account, go to profile and then credit cards, and add your desired credit card to your profile. As well what makes it easier and increases your spending limit is choosing to become verified with your acount.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellations must be made in writing to Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. by email or fax and are not considered canceled until acknowledged by return email or fax by Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. All international flight tickets booked through Southamericaski.com Vacations are non-refundable and non-transferable and if you want to change the date of destination there is a change fee of $150 USD.
A) 61 days or earlier before arrival are charged 15% of the initial $ amount deposit charged.
B) 60-45 days before arrival are charged 10% of the total $ amount of the booking.
C) 44 days before arrival-arrival time will result in full forfeiture of the total $ amount of the booking. (No Refund)
No Refund regardless of death, sickness, or medical injury prior to your trip.
*We are compassionate and understanding people at Southamericaski.com and can evaluate available options on a per situation basis when there is death, sickness or medical injuries involved with participants or their friends or family members. However, to possibly do so on a per situation basis we will require documentation faxed or emailed immediately otherwise there is no possibility. It is important to note in these situations we will try our best but there is no guarantee and is dependent on the individual resort or hotel but we will always try our best.*
Trip Insurance/Travel Health Insurance
*We HIGHLY recommend that you purchase trip cancellation insurance to avoid penalties due to a change in plans as well as travel health insurance if you are not covered meidcally abroad outside of your home country.The best company we recommend that also covers out of bounds insurance is World Nomads and you can view more info at http://www.worldnomads.com/skicover.aspx
Refunds
No refunds will be issued on whole or partially unused portions of packages.
Preparing For Your Trip
Clients are responsible for the provision of all necessary valid documents such as passports, visas, health requirements and drivers licenses. For travel to Argentina and Chile, foreigners do not require a travel visa and entry into Argentina is free upon arrival and entry into Chile for some nationalities involves a cost upon arrival (see your country’s Chilean Embassy). For travel to Brazil most foreigners do require a travel visa arranged ahead of time in their own country before departures. We HIGHLY recommend you check with
your own home embassy well before departure as requirements are constang and we are not responisble for up to date info.
Taxes
All taxes are included in the prices quoted by Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc.
Currency
All rates are quoted in USD currency unless otherwise noted.
Accidents, Injuries, Death
Obviously skiing and snowboarding are considered somewhat dangerous sports, especially out of bounds. While we will try our best to assist you in situations of accidents or injuries at no time is Southamericaski.com Vacations responsible for accidents, injuries, or death that occurs at a ski resort, cat skiing, heli skiing, ground transfers, in accommodation, in a city or flights to a client or other individuals.
Health / Dietary Needs
By sending a deposit, you certify that you do not have any physical condition or disability that would create a hazard for you or other travelers. Please inform us prior to your departure if you have any special dietary or medical needs.
Late Arrivals & Departures
Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. cannot accept responsibility for travelers inconvenienced by changes, late, diverted, delayed, canceled, or rescheduled travel arrangements. This also applies to missed connections or transfers.
Personal Belongings, Baggage & Documents
All personal belongings, baggage, and documents remain at all times and in all circumstances the owner’s responsibility. Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. is not held responsible for lost or stolen baggage, personal items like money, passports, wallets, cameras, i-pods, etc… that may occur during flights, ground transfers, or storage of baggage or coats in apartments or hotels. We highly recommend that for all flights you carry on digital cameras, video cameras, passports, wallets, cash and i-pods and do not put in your regular luggage or ski bags to check in. This is for going from hotels to airports and vice versa.
Weather, Conditions and Chair Lifts
Ski and snowboard vacations involve risk and unpredictable weather conditions. Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. does not purport to any guarantee of conditions. Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. will do it’s best to inform the client of current snow conditions at TIME OF BOOKING if booking occurs during the season, and their honest OPINION of what they think the FORECAST will be. However, it is important to note that our opinion is not the OFFICIAL CURENT CONDITIONS and FORECAST of the individual resort.
IF THE RESORT IS STILL OFFICIALLY OPEN, GOOD CONDITIONS OR NOT, CHAIR LIFTS WORKING OR NOT, SOUTHAMERICASKI.COM VACATIONS INC. DOES NOT OFFER CHANGES OR CREDITS.
It is important to understand that the snowfall in South America is more variable than that in North America and Europe. We can have amazing seasons like 2001, 2002, 2005 where it snowed over 900 inches in Portillo and Las Lenas each. However, we can also have variable seasons like 2003 and 2004 where some weeks it got really warm and with no new snowfall, conditions were not ideal and only 30% of the runs and chairs and then some weeks where it stormed and you were skiing waist deep powder, all this in the same season, variable. In 1996, 1998 Las Lenas, Portillo and Valle Nevado never even opened, so well this is not frequent, it can happen. As well it is important to understand sometimes the opposite can happen and too much snow can handicap certain resorts.
With resorts like Portillo, Valle Nevado and Las Lenas do not have trees and is high alpine skiing anyways. Sometimes at these 3 resorts it can storm for 4-5 days and you cannot actually ski while it is actually snowing as it is a white out and very windy. After storms at these resorts it can days some time to open the high alpine due to snow, wind, and avalanche danger. As well Las Lenas is infamous for its high alpine chair Marte, which accesses 80% of the advanced terrain, being closed during high wind days and during and for the first couple of days after a storm. Sometimes, but not always, Marte is closed the whole week you are there which can be detrimental if you are an advanced/expert skier as this accesses the terrain you want to ski. As well when Marte is closed, this can cause the rest of the resort’s lift lines to be quite long as now there is a smaller area for everyone to ski. Southamericaski.com Vacations is obviously not responsible for the operation of any individual ski resort’s operation and it’s ability to operate its resort and chairlifts and does not offer any refunds or credits based on a resort's inability to operate thier resort or chairlifts.
As well it is important to know that the resorts of Patagonia and Lake districts in Argentina and Chile are at lower elevation than the Northern Andes Resorts so sometimes can get wet snow and rain. Not always, but this can be the case. We obviously do not offer any kind of credit or refund for rain or because there was too much snow, wind to open the high alpine lifts or if there was damage done to the high alpine lifts that could not allow them to open. Obviously this responsibility falls on the individual resort and NOT Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc.
Chile
Road Closed Policies for Portillo, El Colorado, La Parva, Farrellones and Valle Nevado
Road Closure - Though well maintained by the Chilean Ministry of Public Works, snow storms can and do cause the road to close for getting to and leaving Farrellones, Portillo, El Colorado, La Parva and Valle Nevado ski resorts. Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc., and the individual resorts, are not responsible for the condition of the road. All guests should be aware that the possibility exists for road closures to prevent access to or exit from these resorts. There are financial obligations involved. Your vacation purchase is considered by Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc., and the individual resorts, to be consent to these obligations.
Guests who are unable to drive up to Valle Nevado while the road is closed will be directly responsible for their accommodation and other expenses in Santiago or elsewhere. The nights that are not used at Valle Nevado will be credited to their accounts. Guests will be able to choose whether to transfer the credit to their extra services account (ski lessons, bar bills, etc. at Valle Nevado) or use the credit toward a future reservation within the same season at Valle Nevado.
Guests who are unable to descend from Valle Nevado and must spend the night in the resort will be charged the full rate for their first night's accommodation. However, beginning the second night, a 50% discount is applied to the normal rate. We highly recommend checking in with the hotel 48 hours before leaving regarding weather forecast.
The road to Portillo is also the International Highway that links Santiago, Chile, with Mendoza, Argentina. The highway is maintained by the Chilean Ministry of Public Works, who is responsible for cleaning following snowstorms or other events. Portillo Ski Resort and Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. are not responsible for the condition of the road.
Guests who are unable to drive up to Portillo while the road is closed will be directly responsible for their accommodation and other expenses in Santiago or elsewhere. The nights that are not used at Portillo will be accredited to their accounts. Guests will be able to choose whether to transfer the credit to their extra services account at Portillo (ski lessons, bar bills, etc.), or use the credit toward a future reservation within the same season at Portillo through Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. may decide to refund unused nights at Portillo Ski Resort, however Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. will only do so if Portillo Ski resort authorizes this.
Guests who are unable to descend from Portillo and must spend the night in the resort will be charged the full rate for their first night’s accommodation. However, beginning the second night, a 50% discount is applied to the normal rate. We highly recommend checking in with the hotel 48 hours before leaving regarding weather forecast.
- El Colorado, La Parva and Los Farrellones
It is the same road to as to get up to Valle Nevado to get to El Colorado, La Parva and Los Farrellones areas. Guests who are unable to drive up to these 3 areas while the road is closed will be directly responsible for their accommodation and other expenses in Santiago or elsewhere. The nights that are not used with the booked accommodation providers will not be credited or refunded by the accommodation providers or Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. as these accommodation providers have nothing at all to do with the individual ski resorts.
Guests who are unable to descend from these 3 areas and must spend the night in the resort will be charged the full rate for their first night’s accommodation. However, beginning the second night, a 50% discount is applied to the normal rate. We highly recommend checking in with the hotel 48 hours before leaving regarding weather forecast.
Lack of snow
In case of lack of snow with the resort being officially closed or about to become closed, Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. may offer to cancel the ski week for our guests as an available option. In this case the option for the guests who have booked services for that week have the option of;
1. Keeping a credit for the total of the services booked, to be used in a later date during 2010 ski season (subject to availability)
If the resort originally booked is still open, but with horrible conditions and we are making an exception of offering you credit, the decision not to come to Las Lenas during the o rignally booked week means forfeiture of the Buenos Aires-Malargue charter flight. If Las Lenas is actually closed, you receive credit for the charter flight as well.
or
2. In 2011 in the same season as originally booked (i.e. high season, low season, mid season), if guests want a different week can pay for the upgrade difference or be refunded a downgrade difference.
If the resort originally booked is still open, but with horrible conditions and we are making an exception of offering you credit, the decision not to come to Las Lenas during the orignally booked week means forfeiture of the Buenos Aires-Malargue charter flight. If Las Lenas is actually closed, you receive credit for the charter flight as well.
or
3. If you have booked a vacation to a ski resort in Argentina, the option of going to another one the exact same week if the original resort booked is closed or close to closing, ONLY IF THERE IS AVAILABILITY. This does not apply is the conditions are not simply great at the original resort booked, you cannot just change.
If the resort originally booked is still open, but with horrible conditions and we are making an exception to offering you credit, the decision not to come to Las Lenas during the originally booked week means forfeiture of the Buenos Aires-Malargue charter flight. If Las Lenas is actually closed, you receive credit for the charter flight as well.
Special Notes
Southamericaski.com Vacations Inc. reserves the right to change the price of a trip or accommodation due to an unexpected, major increase in costs such as a change in foreign exchange rates or taxes. If an alteration in costs has occurred we will notify you as soon as possible and ahead of time.
Questions
If you have ANY questions regarding our policies please contact us and we will happily clarify anything for you.
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