General Terms and Conditions of the Lifetrek travel agency, operated by Durango d.o.o., Partizanska cesta 18, 4000 Kranj, Slovenia.
These General Terms and Conditions and the programme of each individual trip (the “programme”) form an integral part of the package travel contract concluded between Durango d.o.o. (the “organiser”) and the traveller, either at the organiser’s office or at a distance. The programme contains the travel information and all other information required by Article 884 of the Slovenian Code of Obligations. If these Terms and the programme conflict, the programme (the travel contract) prevails.
Terms used:
The traveller may book a package at our office, by e-mail, in writing or by telephone. The organiser and the traveller conclude the travel contract at the time of booking or at the latest 30 days before departure. When booking, the traveller must provide all information and documents required by the programme and pay the deposit. If the traveller provides incorrect information, he or she is responsible for all resulting costs and consequences. The booking is valid on the day the deposit is paid or the contract is signed.
The deposit covers the organiser’s operating costs in full. Operating costs are the costs of services performed before the programme starts (preparation and organisation of the programme, presentation of the trip, administrative costs such as preparing the contract, informing travellers, meetings and similar). The amount of the operating costs equals the required deposit and is set for each programme separately.
The day of payment is the day the traveller pays at the organiser’s office or the day the payment is received on the organiser’s bank account. Unless the programme states otherwise, the deposit is 30% of the price and is paid by bank transfer. The balance must be paid no later than 45 days before departure. The organiser does not send payment reminders. If the balance is not paid on time, the traveller is deemed to have cancelled the trip, and the cancellation terms in Article 12 apply.
A deposit paid correctly and on time guarantees the traveller a place on the selected package under these Terms or the programme. If the programme or part of it was paid with a gift voucher, credit note or in any other non-cash form, and the organiser cancels the trip, the organiser refunds the payment in the same form in which it was made. Any supplement for a smaller group may be charged by the organiser up to 60 days after the end of the service; the traveller remains liable for it even after the service has been performed.
Prices are set in the offer or programme, apply from the day of publication and are per person. The organiser reserves the right to change the price due to changes in exchange rates or carriers’ tariffs affecting the price of the trip, in accordance with the Slovenian Code of Obligations and other applicable regulations. The organiser will inform the traveller of any price change no later than 20 days before departure. If the price increases by more than 8%, the traveller may withdraw from the contract without compensation and is entitled to a refund of everything paid to the organiser.
If such costs decrease after the contract is concluded and before the start of the package, the traveller is entitled to a price reduction, from which the organiser may deduct the actual administrative costs incurred.
The programme may state that certain services abroad are paid by the traveller on the spot. For these services the organiser acts only as an information provider, not as an organiser or intermediary, and the traveller makes any complaints about them on the spot.
The services included in the price are listed separately for each programme.
Special services are services generally not included in the price (single room, cancellation insurance, special diet, optional excursions, etc.) or services for which the programme provides a supplement (visas, airport taxes, etc.). The traveller pays for them separately unless the programme states otherwise. If a service has to be paid during the trip, the traveller as a rule pays it to the trip leader or at the place where the service is provided, in the appropriate currency.
When booking, the traveller must provide the organiser with all necessary information about all participants he or she registers, in particular the information needed for tickets, accommodation bookings and border crossings. The information must fully match the official documents that travellers must carry. If incorrect or inaccurate information causes delays, unforeseen or additional costs or interruption of the trip, the traveller is liable for all resulting costs, provided the organiser informed travellers of the relevant requirements in good time.
The traveller must hold a valid passport or other valid document allowing entry into each country visited. The organiser requires the document to be valid for at least 6 months (180 days) after the end of the programme. If the traveller’s document does not meet this requirement, the traveller bears all resulting damage to himself or herself and to the organiser. Where a country requires longer validity, the organiser will state this in the programme. If the traveller nevertheless does not meet the entry requirements, the organiser is not liable for any inconvenience or forced interruption of the trip.
The traveller must obtain visas for the countries visited before the trip or by the deadline stated in the programme. The organiser may arrange the visa if the programme says so. If a visa is required, the passport must have at least four adjacent blank pages. If the programme requires vaccinations, each traveller must obtain the international certificate of vaccination. The organiser is not liable for complications or interruption of the trip caused by the traveller’s failure to comply with the health regulations of the destination country or the programme, or by the traveller concealing an illness, nor for the related costs.
Travellers are responsible for checking the entry, border and customs requirements that apply to their nationality for each country they visit.
Before the contract is concluded, the organiser informs the traveller of customs and other regulations relevant to travel in the destination country. The traveller must comply with the customs and currency regulations of all countries he or she travels to or through. If the traveller cannot continue the trip because of non-compliance, he or she bears all consequences and costs.
Carriage of luggage up to the weight set by the carrier is free of charge; the traveller pays for any excess weight on the spot in accordance with the carrier’s rules. The organiser accepts no responsibility for destroyed, lost or damaged luggage. The traveller reports lost or damaged luggage directly to the carrier or hotel. For air travel, the airline is solely responsible for luggage under the rules of international air passenger transport. The organiser is not liable for theft of or damage to luggage, personal belongings, valuables and documents in accommodation or means of transport.
Avalanche backpacks: the organiser is not responsible for avalanche backpacks and does not arrange documents or permits for carrying them on flights. Any information given by the organiser is informative only. The traveller must obtain all necessary permits from the airports and airlines used. If an avalanche backpack is not permitted, the organiser accepts no responsibility or financial obligation.
If the traveller loses documents during the trip or they are stolen, and they are needed to continue the trip or return home, the traveller obtains new ones at his or her own expense. The trip leader or organiser can advise and help with the formalities. If the traveller has to interrupt the trip because of lost or stolen documents, he or she is not entitled to any refund or reimbursement (including costs of returning home or rejoining the group).
Any weather tables are long-term statistical averages for orientation only. The organiser is not liable if actual conditions differ.
The traveller may cancel the trip before or during the programme. In this case the organiser is entitled to compensation for cancellation costs, depending on when the cancellation is received:
Programmes lasting 5 days or more
Programmes lasting 4 days or less
These cancellation costs do not apply to flight tickets or to services purchased through booking systems, such as hotels, car rental, transfers, tickets, ferries, visas and invitation letters. The traveller must reimburse the organiser for any such service already confirmed and paid before the cancellation.
For a package travel contract concluded off-premises within the meaning of the Slovenian Consumer Protection Act, the traveller may withdraw within 14 days without giving reasons and without paying a cancellation fee, but must cover the administrative and other actual costs incurred (e.g. booking costs, visas, insurance, flight tickets). The organiser and the traveller conclude contracts either at the organiser’s office or at a distance.
When cancelling, the traveller must sign the cancellation document provided by the organiser; if he or she refuses, the trip is deemed not to have been cancelled. During the trip, the traveller may interrupt the trip at his or her own request with a written statement. In this case he or she is not entitled to any refund, in part or in full. The traveller may change the course of the trip only with the consent of the organiser’s representative and is responsible for any resulting costs and damage.
If unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occur at or near the destination before the start of the trip and significantly affect the performance of the package or the transport of travellers to the destination, the traveller may withdraw from the contract and is entitled to a full refund without any cancellation fee.
Lack of snow is not considered an extraordinary circumstance; if the traveller cancels because of lack of snow, this is treated as a cancellation by the traveller. Weather or snow conditions the traveller is not used to are likewise not considered extraordinary circumstances.
Unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances are circumstances beyond the control of the party invoking them, whose consequences could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. They arise independently of that party’s will, cannot be prevented or reasonably averted, and directly and significantly affect the possibility of carrying out the agreed trip, transport or other travel service. Typical examples are natural disasters, war, serious security incidents, closure of borders or airspace, measures by state authorities, large-scale strikes and similar external events, where they actually prevent or significantly affect the trip.
Force majeure is an external, extraordinary and unavoidable event, independent of the will of the parties, whose consequences the parties cannot prevent despite acting reasonably. It refers to events of an objective nature that affect the possibility of performing the contract itself, not merely an individual traveller’s personal ability to take part. An event being sudden, unexpected or unavoidable for an individual traveller is not in itself sufficient.
Unforeseeable circumstances are circumstances whose occurrence a reasonable party could not have expected when concluding the contract. A distinction is made between the unpredictability of a specific event and the predictability of a type of risk: an illness, accident, death of a family member or other personal event may be entirely unexpected for the traveller, yet the possibility of such an event as a category of risk is well known.
Circumstances for which commonly available cancellation insurance, travel insurance with assistance or comparable insurance can be taken out are, for the purposes of these Terms, generally treated as foreseeable categories of the traveller’s personal risk. The mere fact that an event was unexpected, sudden, accidental, of a medical nature, unavoidable or independent of the traveller’s will does not in itself make it force majeure or an unavoidable and extraordinary circumstance.
Circumstances arising on the traveller’s side that concern his or her personal, health, family, employment, financial or other individual situation generally represent a risk related to the individual traveller and his or her ability to take part, not to the organiser’s objective ability to carry out the trip. Each case is assessed taking into account in particular the nature of the event, where it occurred, its predictability as a category of risk, the possibility of insuring its financial consequences, the possibility of preventing or mitigating its consequences, its direct effect on the package and the applicable law.
Events that objectively affect the trip itself – such as border closures, travel bans, war, natural disasters or airspace closures – are assessed differently.
The organiser therefore recommends that travellers take out suitable cancellation insurance before the trip and travel insurance with assistance for its duration. Unless the law provides otherwise in a particular case, cancellation by the traveller for personal reasons is handled under the cancellation terms in Article 12.
Circumstances for which suitable insurance can usually be taken out include in particular: accident, death or sudden deterioration of the traveller’s health preventing participation; pregnancy, where it prevents participation for medical or other objective reasons; accident, death or sudden deterioration of health of a close family member requiring the traveller’s presence; major damage to the traveller’s property at home caused by earthquake, flood, fire, storm, hail, landslide, explosion, robbery or burglary; a summons by a court or authority requiring personal attendance; unexpected loss of permanent employment through no fault of the traveller; starting a new job after a period of registered unemployment; filing for divorce immediately before a joint trip of spouses; lack of snow for ski packages, where it can be covered by insurance; an organ transplant or spa or comparable medical treatment scheduled after the contract was concluded.
The organiser is entitled only to reimbursement of its costs if the traveller withdrew because of circumstances he or she could not avoid or avert and which, had they existed when the contract was concluded, would have been a justified reason not to conclude it, or if the traveller provided a suitable replacement or the organiser found one. In applying this rule, the circumstances listed in this article whose financial consequences could reasonably have been insured are generally treated as the traveller’s individual risks and handled under the organiser’s cancellation terms, unless mandatory regulations provide otherwise.
If the traveller withdraws after the trip has started, for reasons other than those in the first paragraph, the organiser is entitled to the full agreed price, unless mandatory regulations provide otherwise.
Cancellation insurance. Cancellation insurance can only be taken out at the time of booking, together with the travel contract, and is valid only if paid on time (together with the deposit). It is not included in the price and is paid as a supplement. The price is stated for each programme. Claims are decided solely by the insurer under its general terms; if the insurer rejects a claim, the organiser does not refund any payments. Availability of cancellation insurance through the organiser may depend on the traveller’s country of residence – please ask us when booking.
Travel insurance with assistance. Each traveller must obtain suitable travel insurance (including medical costs, assistance and, for mountain programmes, mountain rescue) for the duration of the programme.
In accordance with applicable law, the organiser may cancel the contract no later than 20 days before departure if the minimum number of travellers stated in the programme has not been reached. Unless the programme states otherwise, the minimum is 6 travellers. If a small-group supplement is stated, both the traveller and the organiser must respect it; if fewer people book than stated in the programme, the organiser may charge no more than the maximum small-group supplement stated. Unless the programme states otherwise, a group is limited to 45 travellers.
The organiser may withdraw from the contract in full or in part without compensation if, before or during the programme, extraordinary circumstances arise that could not have been expected, removed or avoided and that would have been a justified reason for the organiser not to conclude the contract. The organiser may change the day and time of departure due to changes in flight schedules or force majeure, and may change the route if travel conditions change (new schedule, unstable situation in the country, natural disasters or other unforeseen causes beyond its control), without special compensation. The organiser is not responsible for changes to the programme caused by force majeure during the trip.
If the organiser cancels the trip, the traveller is not entitled to reimbursement of visa or vaccination costs required by the programme. The organiser is not liable for delays of means of transport (planes, trains, ships, buses, transfers) or for resulting changes to the programme. If the situation on the spot does not allow accommodation in the booked property, the organiser may accommodate the traveller in another property of at least the same category in the same place.
Bad weather, increased avalanche danger and other circumstances beyond the organiser’s control may lead to changes in the programme or cancellation of planned activities (reaching a summit, passability of certain sections, number of ski-touring, skiing or trekking days, and other activities). Although rare, such cancellations are possible and have happened in the past. The organiser does not guarantee replacement days for cancelled activities, and the traveller is not entitled to a partial refund or compensation for unused activities. Such decisions are made when the organiser judges that continuing could be dangerous for travellers or that continuing is impossible.
If services under the travel contract are performed incompletely or poorly, the traveller must inform the organiser of every defect he or she notices as soon as possible, in writing or in another appropriate form, on the spot, so that the organiser can remedy it. Later complaints are not taken into account. By using the service, the traveller waives the right to a claim.
If the defects were not remedied on the spot, the traveller may submit a written claim within eight days after the end of the trip (Article 893 of the Code of Obligations). If this deadline is missed, the organiser will not consider the claim, as the traveller loses the right to a proportionate price reduction. The claim must include appropriate evidence. If, through the organiser’s fault, the programme or some services were not performed, the traveller is entitled to a proportionate price reduction equal to the real value of the services not provided. If the scope or quality of the services deviated significantly from the contract, the traveller is entitled to a refund of the full amount paid. A request for a price reduction or refund does not affect the traveller’s right to claim damages. For handling claims, the deadlines of Article 39 of the Slovenian Consumer Protection Act apply accordingly.
The organiser must offer prompt assistance to a traveller who gets into difficulty during the trip due to unforeseeable errors not related to the contractual services, caused by a third party or resulting from force majeure.
How to complain: as soon as you notice a problem on the spot, report it to the organiser’s representative or, if not stated otherwise, by phone at +386 40 50 88 52 or by e-mail at ask@lifetrek.eu. The traveller must cooperate in good faith with the guide or representative to remedy the problem. If the traveller refuses a solution that is in line with the paid service, the organiser will reject the claim. If the problem was not remedied, the traveller and the representative draw up a written confirmation signed by all parties present; if the representative refuses, the traveller may draw up a statement signed by credible witnesses.
After returning, the traveller must send a written claim within eight days to Durango d.o.o., Partizanska cesta 18, 4000 Kranj, Slovenia, or to ask@lifetrek.eu, together with the written confirmation of the complaint and any receipts for additional costs. The organiser will consider only fully documented claims received within this deadline and will reply in writing within 8 days.
Because of the specific nature of Lifetrek programmes, the organiser may partly change the course of a programme if the guide or trip leader finds that the health or safety of travellers would be at risk. The guide or trip leader may also change the programme on the spot at his or her own discretion, provided the change is presented to participants at least one day in advance and the programme is not significantly reduced. The programme may also change due to social conditions, natural obstacles or impassable sections. The programme on the first and last day at the destination (until the first overnight stay and from the last overnight stay onwards) may change without prior notice if the logistics of transfers require it. Only the guide or trip leader may decide on changes to the programme.
The traveller confirms that he or she has been informed of the physical and mental fitness required for the programme, that he or she has no health or psychological impediments and is, in his or her own judgement, fit enough to take part. The guide or trip leader may exclude a traveller from the programme at the traveller’s expense if continuing would be too demanding for the traveller or if the traveller hinders or endangers the programme; in this case the traveller is not entitled to a price reduction. The organiser is not liable for a participant’s poor fitness and resulting exhaustion, or for costs related to exclusion. The traveller also confirms that he or she is familiar with the nature of the programme, Lifetrek’s way of travelling and our vision of travel that is responsible and respectful to the environment and local people.
Minors: by registering a minor, parents or legal guardians confirm that they are fully aware of the difficulty and nature of the trip and take sole responsibility for judging that the child is physically and mentally able, sufficiently experienced and equipped to take part safely in all activities. The organiser accepts no responsibility for the programme being unsuitable for a particular child. Parents and guardians undertake to take active care of the child’s wellbeing and to contribute to a positive group dynamic.
The organiser and the guide or trip leader accept no responsibility for inconvenience or accidents during the trip that are beyond their control. By booking, each traveller confirms that he or she takes part in the programme at his or her own risk. The organiser accepts no responsibility or related costs for flight cancellations or changes, denied boarding or other transport disruptions due to weather or other reasons; in case of flight delays the traveller is protected by EU Regulation 261/2004. The organiser is not responsible if a traveller is refused entry to a country. In that case the traveller arranges and pays for rejoining the group or returning home and is not entitled to any refund or reimbursement.
The organiser protects all traveller data in accordance with personal data protection legislation. Details are set out in our Privacy Policy.
Information given to the traveller verbally does not bind the organiser more than the programme or offer. In case of doubt, the written offer, written information or written explanation applies. Where the organiser is not the organiser of the trip, it acts as an information provider: it sells packages in the name and on behalf of another organiser, and the traveller settles any complaints with the original organiser.
The organiser may use photographs and other material created during the trip for reports and promotion; the traveller is aware of this and agrees. These Terms and the travel contract are governed by Slovenian law. The court in Kranj, Slovenia, has jurisdiction over any disputes, without prejudice to mandatory consumer protection rules. All prices include value added tax in accordance with Slovenian VAT legislation.
The person who books on behalf of other travellers must inform them of these Terms, the contract, the programme, the entry requirements for the destination and all notices sent by the organiser.
Change to the contract: €50 (administrative costs only). A change may not be possible, or other costs may arise in addition to the administrative costs.
