TERMS & CONDITIONS: HEARTLAND TRAVEL

By booking a tour with us, you are accepting the Terms and Conditions of Heartland Travel detailed below. Scottish Law and Custom is implied when a booking is made.

1. Definitions

1.1 Please note the following descriptions of terms used within these terms & conditions:

• (a) Scheduled Tour: A public tour with fixed itineraries where individual seats are purchased by consumers.

• (b) Private Tour / Corporate Charter: A customized, private vehicle hire booked as a single unit by an individual, group, or third-party business (such as a Destination Management Company).

• (c) Booking: Your booking for our Services, whether made online, verbally, or in writing;

• (d) Force Majeure / Event Outside Our Control: Is defined in clause 9.2;

• (e) Price: The purchase price for the Services quoted or displayed, as updated from time to time;

• (f) Reference Number: The unique number issued to You on Our acceptance of Your Booking;

• (g) Service(s): The identified scheduled tour, private tour, and/or provision of transport and guides by Heartland Travel;

• (h) We/Our/Us: Heartland Travel – Tours of Scotland (www.heartlandtravel.co.uk);

• (i) Working Day: Any day which is not Saturday, Sunday, or a local public holiday in Scotland; and

• (j) You/Your: The consumer, passenger, or corporate entity (such as a DMC) making the Booking and/or the Ticket holder.

1.2 When We use the words “writing” or “written” in these Terms, this includes e-mail.

2. Our Contract With You

2.1 These are the terms and conditions on which We supply our touring and transport Services to You.

2.2 Please ensure that You read these Terms carefully, and check that the details in Your Booking and/or Ticket are complete and accurate, before continuing with the Booking.

2.3 Bookings can be made on Our website or via direct written agreement/invoices for private charters.

2.4 We will confirm Your Booking by accepting payment from You for the full price or agreed deposit and issuing You with a Reference Number and Booking Confirmation. When We issue this, You are deemed to have accepted these Terms, and the contract between You and Us comes into existence.

2.5 The date, start time, and departure point shall be specified in Your Booking.

2.6 Age Restrictions & Car Seats:

• (a) On Scheduled Tours: The minimum age for passengers is 5 years old.

• (b) Passengers under 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult.

• (c) On Private Tours: Children under 5 are welcome. However, under Scottish law, children under 11 years old and under 135cm in height are required to travel in an approved car seat. We can provide one car seat upon prior request; any additional seats must be supplied by the client.

3. Strict Transport and Guiding Only Policy (No Tour Packages)

3.1 Heartland Travel does not sell, bundle, or offer package tours. The price for any tour or private charter is strictly for transportation and guiding services only.

3.2 Lunch, refreshments, evening meals, and entrance fees to attractions, castles, or ferries are never included in our prices and must be paid for directly by the passenger or client at the point of entry/sale.

3.3 Personal travel insurance is not included in any tour price. If desired, personal travel insurance should be organized independently before traveling.

4. Distinct Accommodation Policies (Paid Directly to Hosts)

4.1 Scheduled 3-Day Tours (Hostel-Based): Accommodation is not included in the tour price. On our 3-day scheduled tour, we always stay at a hostel, usually the Stationmaster’s Lodge, Stromeferry. Occasionally we use other hostels of similar quality; we reserve the right to make this change without prior consultation. Specific named accommodation requests are not possible on public scheduled tours.

4.2 Scheduled 4-Day Tours: Accommodation is reserved in your name by Heartland Travel based on your selection (Hostel, B&B, or Hotel), but you pay your accommodation host directly on departure. Named accommodation cannot be guaranteed or specified at the time of booking.

4.3 Private Tours & DMC Charters: For custom private itineraries, accommodation arrangements are entirely independent. You can choose to source your own lodging, or we can assist in pre-booking specific accommodations in your name. In all instances, all lodging costs are excluded from Heartland Travel’s service fee and must be paid directly to the accommodation hosts.

• Note: Many accommodation providers in rural Scotland only accept cash; we highly advise all passengers to carry cash when traveling.

5. Luggage Allowance

5.1 Scheduled Tours: Due to strict vehicle weight restrictions, passengers on scheduled tours are limited to one small suitcase per person, with a maximum weight of 15kg.

5.2 Private Tours: Luggage allowances for private charters are determined by the capacity of the specific vehicle hired and the total passenger count. This will be agreed upon during the booking process. We reserve the right to refuse baggage that exceeds vehicle safety limits.

6. Departures & Late Arrivals

6.1 Scheduled Tours: It is your sole responsibility to ensure that you arrive in good time for the specified departure. Heartland Travel cannot delay public scheduled departures for late arrivals. If you miss a departure, any additional costs incurred to catch up with the vehicle at a later stage will be borne entirely by the passenger.

6.2 Private Tours: As a private charter, the vehicle operates on your schedule. However, delays to the agreed itinerary timings may result in missed attraction time slots or driver hours complications. Heartland Travel is not responsible for itinerary cuts caused by client delays.

7. Passenger & Booker Obligations

7.1 Please bring Your booking confirmation and show it to your driver/guide as proof of Your Booking.

7.2 You are obliged to dress appropriately and wear suitable footwear, taking into proper account the unpredictable Scottish weather and varied terrain.

7.3 In the interests of health and safety, You must comply with all reasonable verbal instructions and requests from your driver/guide during the tour.

7.4 If You cause any damage to Our property or vehicles, You are obliged to indemnify Us for the full cost of replacing the item or repairing the damage.

7.5 You must not, at any time during the provision of Services, be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

7.6 Group & Third-Party Bookings (DMCs): Anyone booking on behalf of another individual, a group, or a third-party corporate client (such as a Destination Management Company booking for guests) accepts our booking terms on their behalf. It is the booker’s responsibility to make their group members or clients aware of our terms, luggage weights, cancellation policies, and safety guidelines in advance of the tour.

8. Distinct Refunds & Cancellation Policies

Because private tours involve blocking out an entire vehicle and driver, the cancellation rules differ significantly from individual public seat bookings:

8.1 Scheduled Tours (Public Passenger Bookings)

• Up to 28 full days prior to the tour departure date: There will be a 90% refund issued (10% is retained as a non-refundable deposit/admin fee).

• Within 28 days of departure: No refund applies.

• If you wish to change your tour dates, we will endeavour to accommodate your request subject to availability, but cannot guarantee it.

8.2 Private Tours & DMC Charters (Exclusive Vehicle Hire)

• Booking Deposit: A 20% non-refundable deposit of the total transport/guiding fee is required to secure your private vehicle, guide, and dates.

• Balance Payments:

  • Private Day Tours: The remaining balance is due in full 24 hours before the start of the tour.

  • Private Multi-Day Tours: The remaining balance is due in full 30 days before the start of the tour.

• Cancellations: If a private booking is cancelled after the balance has been paid according to the timelines above, no refunds apply.

8.3 Refund Method: We can only process and issue refunds back to the original credit/debit card or bank account that was used to purchase the tour services.

9. Alterations to Itineraries & Force Majeure

9.1 Alterations to Itineraries: We reserve the right to change tour itineraries, routes, or scheduled stops due to weather, seasonal availability of third-party attractions, roadworks, or any other situation beyond our control. Refunds will not be offered in these circumstances, and minor amendments will not affect the overall delivery of transport and guiding.

9.2 Force Majeure: Heartland Travel does not accept liability, nor will refunds be offered, for any failure or delay in performance caused by an event outwith our reasonable control. Such events include, but are not limited to: war or threat of war, terrorist activity or the threat thereof, civil commotion or riot, disease, epidemic, pandemic, quarantine, any action taken by a government or public authority, industrial disputes, strikes, collapse of buildings, fire, explosion or accident, traffic conditions, road closures, technical or mechanical breakdown of vehicles, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, and all similar events or circumstances.

10. Our Rights to Cancel

10.1 We may have to cancel Your Booking before the start date due to a Force Majeure event or if we are otherwise unable to provide the vehicle or guide for reasons beyond our control. If this occurs, we will promptly contact you and issue a full refund of all monies paid for our services, including your deposit.

10.2 We reserve the right to cancel or suspend a tour at any time with immediate effect, and without refund, if:

• (a) You fail to make payments when due;

• (b) There is any risk to our staff, vehicle, or the welfare of others due to unacceptable behavior from you or your party (to be determined at the sole discretion of the driver/guide);

• (c) You or members of your party appear under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

11. Complaints

11.1 Any complaints should be initially directed to your driver/guide on the day, who will make every effort to resolve the problem immediately.

11.2 In the event that a complaint cannot be resolved on the day of the tour, it must be made in writing within 30 days of the tour’s conclusion and sent via email to [email protected].

12. Intellectual Property & Media Usage

12.1 Photography & Media Usage: We may from time to time take photographs and videos of our tours which we may choose to use for promoting our business across different channels, including but not restricted to our website, social media, email marketing, and printed marketing materials.

12.2 Consent: By joining our tours, you accept that we can use any photograph or video you (or your group members) may appear in for the promotional reasons outlined in 12.1.

12.3 Opt-Out: You can request the immediate removal or blurring of any photograph or video you or your party appear in by contacting us at [email protected].

12.4 Company Assets: All intellectual property rights regarding our name, logo, website copy, and original brand imagery belong exclusively to Heartland Travel.

13. Liability

13.1 If We fail to comply with these Terms, We are responsible for material loss or damage You suffer that is a foreseeable result of Our negligence or breach, up to a maximum amount not exceeding the total Price paid for your transport and guiding booking. We are not responsible for unforeseeable or indirect losses.

13.2 We have no liability to business clients or DMCs for any loss of profit, loss of business opportunity, or business interruption.

13.3 Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or statutory rights under applicable Scottish consumer laws.

14. DATA PROTECTION & PRIVACY POLICY

This section explains our approach to privacy on our website and how it affects you. We regularly review the Heartland Travel website for GDPR compliance and make updates as appropriate. The website uses the secure HTTPS protocol.

14.1 Overview of Principles

• We collect anonymous usage statistics about your visit, such as which of our pages you viewed, to help improve our services.

• Some third parties like Facebook and Twitter may know you visited this website if you use their services. We cannot control them, but this is standard web functionality.

• If you share personally identifiable information with us (like name, email, or dietary needs), we take great care to keep it safe and will never share it with others without your express permission.

• We never sell or share your data with third parties except vendors specifically employed to help us deliver our own core services (e.g., booking software).

14.2 Cookies

Like most websites, we use cookies. Cookies are small pieces of data that websites store in their visitors’ web browsers to improve performance and tracking. Cookies show us which pages people visit most often and which need attention. If you wish to block cookies, you can easily do this via your individual web browser settings.

14.3 Email Communications

If you provide us with your email address, we may send you emails either in reply to specific enquiries (such as contact forms) or if you have opted into our newsletters. You have the ability to opt out of marketing communications at any time. We will never provide your email address to external third parties for marketing purposes.

14.4 Social Networks

Our website includes social media buttons (like the Facebook “Like” or Twitter “Tweet” tools). To do this, we embed code provided by those platforms which we do not control. These buttons generally track if you are logged into that respective social network. We do not have access to that information, nor can we control how those networks deploy it.

14.5 Google Analytics

We measure website traffic using Google Analytics. This records what pages you view within our site, how you arrived at our site, and basic information about your device (browser type, screen resolution). This data is completely anonymous—we don’t know your identity, just that a visit occurred. Any data collected by Google Analytics associated with cookies or identifiers is automatically retained for a maximum period of 26 months.

14.6 Your Legal Data Rights

You have absolute legal control over your personal data under data protection regulations. At any time, you may:

• Request a copy of any personal data we hold about you.

• Ask that your personal data be erased when it is no longer required for booking fulfillment.

• Demand that your data not be used for marketing purposes.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at [email protected].