Terms and conditions

Below you will find the general terms and conditions of Discover Sumatra GmbH i. G. (Limited company in formation), Karl-Marx-Allee 44, 10178 Berlin. Please read them carefully, as they contain important information for the relationship between Discover Sumatra and you as a traveller.

General Terms and Conditions of Business

The general travel conditions are effectively agreed upon at the time of booking and thus become the content of your travel contract. They supplement the legal provisions of §§ 651 a-m BGB and articles 250 and 252 of the EGBGB and fill them in.

1. Conclusion of the travel contract

1. If you contact us by telephone, e-mail or any other form, we will send you a non-binding offer according to your individual ideas and wishes regarding the individual travel services of the different service providers. After you have specified and sorted out your specific travel services from this offer, we will prepare a final offer including the itinerary of the specific services.
2. This offer is based on the travel description and all additional information for your trip. After you accept the offer, Discover Sumatra will check the availability in the travel period of the specific booking. If the conclusion of the contract takes place outside of business premises, the booking confirmation has to be in paper form.
3. You are responsible for all contractual obligations of fellow travellers for whom you make the booking as for your own.
4. If the content of the final offer differs from the content of the booking, a new offer is available. The contract is concluded on the basis of this new offer, provided that Discover Sumatra has informed you of the change with respect to the new offer and has fulfilled its pre-contractual information obligations and you declare your acceptance by express declaration or down payment.
5. The pre-contractual information provided by Discover Sumatra regarding essential characteristics of the travel services, the travel price and all additional costs, the payment modalities, the minimum number of participants and the cancellation fees (according to Art 250 § 3 numbers 1,3 bis and 7 EGBGB) will only not become part of the package tour contract if this has been explicitly agreed upon by the parties.

2. Objection

Discover Sumatra points out that according to the legal regulations (§§ 312 Abs. 7, 312 g Abs. 2 Satz 1 Nr. 9 BGB), there is no right of revocation for travel contracts concluded in distance selling, according to § 651 a and § 651 c BGB, but only the legal rights of withdrawal and termination, especially the right of withdrawal according to § 651 h BGB. However, a right of withdrawal exists if the contract for travel services according to § 651 a BGB was concluded outside business premises, unless the oral negotiations on which the conclusion of the contract is based were conducted on the consumer’s previous order; in the latter case, a right of withdrawal does not exist, either.

3. Prices and services

1. The prices indicated on our website are starting prices. They include all stated inclusive services. Increased prices apply primarily in the high season May – July and on Indonesian holidays such as Ramadan or Idul Fitri.
2. All prices are indicated in Euro and are per person (for round trips based on 2 participants).
3. For the service to be provided, only our advertisements on our website are authoritative. The photos used by us are for illustration purposes only and do not represent any commitments.
4. Special services, such as a twin room or balcony, will be gladly accepted by Discover Sumatra at the time of booking and forwarded to the contractual partner (e.g. the hotel). However, they are only a binding part of the contract if they are expressly confirmed by us in writing.
5. The travel services of third parties (e.g. ferry tickets), which are only arranged within the scope of the trip, are external services, as far as they are explicitly mentioned in the travel description and in the travel confirmation. We are therefore not liable for the performance of these external services, but only for the proper booking of this service. If an inclusive service is not properly provided on site, Discover Sumtra must be informed immediately so that the deficiency can be remedied. A subsequent claim for damages due to an unperformed inclusive service is not possible.

4. Price adjustment

1. You are advised that Discover Sumatra is entitled to increase the travel price according to §§ 651 f, 651 g BGB (German Civil Code) after conclusion of the travel contract if
   • an increase in the price of passenger transport due to higher costs for fuel or other energy sources,
   • an increase in taxes and other charges for agreed travel services, such as tourist taxes and port or airport charges, or
   • a change in the exchange rates applicable to the trip in question
   • have a direct impact on the price of the journey.
2. An increase of the travel price is only permissible if Discover Sumatra clearly and comprehensively informs the traveller in writing about the price increase and its reasons and in doing so informs the traveller about the calculation of the price increase.
3. The price increase is calculated as follows:
   1. In the case of an increase of the price for the transport of persons, according to 5.1, itravel may increase the travel price according to the following calculation:
   2. In the case of a seat-related increase, Discover Sumatra can demand the increased amount from you.
4. Otherwise, the additional transport costs required by the transport company per means of transport shall be divided by the number of seats on the agreed means of transport. Discover Sumatra can demand the resulting increase for the single seat from you.
5. In the case of an increase in taxes and other charges, according to 5.1, the travel price can be increased by the corresponding, proportionate amount.
6. In the case of an increase in exchange rates, according to 5.1, the tour price can be increased to the extent that the tour has become more expensive for Discover Sumatra.
7. Discover Sumatra is obliged to grant you a reduction of the tour price upon your request if and as far as the prices, taxes or exchange rates mentioned in 5.1 change after the contract has been concluded and prior to the start of the tour and this leads to lower costs for Discover Sumatra. If you have paid more than the amount owed hereunder, the additional amount shall be refunded by Discover Sumatra. However, Discover Sumatra may deduct the administrative costs actually incurred by Discover Sumatra from the additional amount to be refunded. Discover Sumatra has to prove to the customer upon his or her request the amount of administrative expenses incurred.
8. Price increases are only permitted up to the 20th day before the start of the journey.
9. In the case of price increases of more than 8%, you are entitled to either accept the change or to withdraw from the travel contract free of charge within a reasonable time limit set by Discover Sumatra simultaneously with the notification of the price increase. If you do not explicitly declare your withdrawal from the contract to Discover Sumatra within the set period of time, the change will be considered as accepted.

5. Payment

1. The amount of the remuneration and the payment modalities result from the travel registration in connection with our booking confirmation in the form of the invoice delivery by e-mail.
2. After conclusion of the contract, unless otherwise agreed in individual cases, 30% of the travel price is due for payment immediately. The remaining 70% is due for payment 4 weeks before the start of the trip, unless otherwise agreed.
3. In case of the sole booking of external services, such as hotel or transport, the entire price is due for payment immediately or 2 weeks before the travel date.
4. If you do not make the down payment and/or the final payment in accordance with the agreed payment due dates, although Discover Sumatra is willing and able to provide the contractual services properly, we have fulfilled our legal information obligations, and no legal or contractual right of retention of the customer exists; we are entitled to withdraw from the travel contract after sending a reminder with a deadline and to charge you the withdrawal costs according to section 7.
5. In the case of short-term travel bookings, the total sum of all individual services is due for payment immediately. Short notice applies to trips that are due to take place within 1 month.
6. Payment for the booked travel services must be made by bank transfer or, if possible in individual cases, by PayPal (at 5% extra charge) according to the specifications of the respective service providers.
7. You cannot raise any objections against Discover Sumatra because of the forwarding of the travel prices to the service providers, especially because of warranty claims in the travel contract.

6. Changes to services

1. Changes of essential travel services or characteristics of these from the agreed contents of the travel contract, which become necessary after the conclusion of the contract and which were not caused by Discover Sumatra acting against good faith, are only permitted to Discover Sumatra before the start of the journey, provided the changes are not substantial. They must not affect the overall design of the tour.
2. Discover Sumatra is obliged to inform you about changes in services immediately after becoming aware of the reason for the change, on a permanent data carrier (e.g. by e-mail or voicemail message), in a comprehensible and highlighted manner.
3. Possible warranty claims shall remain unaffected insofar as the changed services are defective.
4. After becoming aware of the reason for the change, Discover Sumatra is obligated to inform you immediately of any significant changes in services.
5. In the case of a substantial change to an essential travel service or in the case of deviations from special requirements of you that have become part of the contract, you are entitled to either accept the change or withdraw from the travel contract free of charge within a reasonable period of time set by Discover Sumatra simultaneously with the notification of the change. If you do not declare your withdrawal from the contract within the period of time set by Discover Sumatra, the change will be considered as accepted.

7. Cancellation by the customer before the beginning of the trip / cancellation fees

1. You can withdraw from the trip at any time. The withdrawal has to be declared to Discover Sumatra in writing.
2. Taking into account the period between the declaration of withdrawal and the start of the trip and the expected savings in expenses and the expected acquisition through other uses of the travel services, Discover Sumatra has determined the following cancellation costs. The compensation will be calculated according to the time of receipt of the declaration of withdrawal as follows, with the respective cancellation scale:
   • Deposit 100% refundable upon written notice 2 weeks prior to arrival
   • Payment 75% refundable with written notice 10 days before arrival
   • Payment 50% refundable with written notice 1 week before arrival
   • No refunds will be given if written notice is received fewer than 1 week before arrival.
3. We recommend the conclusion of a travel cancellation insurance.
4. This does not apply if we are responsible for the cancellation or if unavoidable, exceptional circumstances occur at or in the immediate vicinity of the destination that significantly affect the performance of the journey or the transport of persons to the destination; circumstances are unavoidable and exceptional if they are not under the control of Discover Sumatra and their consequences could not have been avoided even if all reasonable precautions had been taken. In this case, Discover Sumatra will refund the full travel price paid so far.
5. You or the replacement person are at liberty to prove to us that Discover Sumatra did not incur any costs at all or that the costs incurred were significantly lower than the (flat-rate) costs.
6. We reserve the right, in deviation from the lump sum mentioned in 6.2 of these terms and conditions, to claim a higher, specific compensation, as far as we can prove that substantially higher expenses than the applicable lump sum have been incurred. In this case, we are obliged to specifically quantify and substantiate the compensation demanded, taking into account the saved expenses and any other use of the travel services.
7. Cancellation fees are also payable if a travel participant does not arrive in time at the respective departure airport or place of departure at the times stated in the travel documents or if the trip is not commenced due to a lack of travel documents, such as passport or necessary visas, for which the service provider is not responsible.
8. If Discover Sumatra is obliged to refund the price of the tour as a result of a cancellation, we have to pay immediately, but in any case, we must pay within 14 days after receipt of the cancellation notice.
9. In connection with the possible cancellation, we strongly advise you to take out travel cancellation insurance. This is not included in the general, respective service price of the journey.
10. If you do not make use of individual travel services that are properly offered to you as a result of an early return journey or for other compelling reasons, there is no entitlement to a pro-rata refund of the travel price. In such cases, however, we will make every effort to request reimbursement of the saved expenses from the service providers on site. There is no claim for reimbursement. In connection with the possible premature interruption of a journey, we recommend that you take out travel interruption insurance.
11. Your legal right to provide a replacement participant according to § 651 e BGB remains unaffected by the above conditions. Irrespective of the amount of compensation with respect to the costs incurred for the trip not taken, we are entitled to charge a processing fee of €20.00 p. p. P. for the additional work involved if a trip is cancelled.

Rebooking

1. After conclusion of the contract, the customer has no claim to changes regarding the travel date, destination, place of departure, accommodation, meals, mode of transport or other services (rebooking). However, we shall endeavour to comply with your requests for changes, even after the conclusion of the contract. This does not apply if the rebooking is necessary because Discover Sumatra has not provided the traveller with any pre-contractual information or has provided the traveller with insufficient or false pre-contractual information according to article 250 § 3 EGBGB. In this case, the rebooking will be free of charge.
2. We are entitled to charge you a handling fee of €20.00 p.p. for the additional effort associated with considerable rebooking.

Service not used

If you do not make use of individual travel services that were duly offered to you for reasons that are attributable to you (e.g. due to an early return journey or other compelling reasons), you are not entitled to a proportional refund of the travel price. However, we will of course endeavour to obtain reimbursement of the saved expenses from the service providers. This obligation does not apply if the services in question are completely insignificant or if a refund is contrary to legal or official regulations.

Termination for reasons of conduct

Discover Sumatra can cancel the travel contract without notice if the traveller, despite a warning from us, causes a lasting disturbance or if he or she behaves in such a way that the immediate cancellation of the contract is justified. This does not apply if the behaviour contrary to the contract is causally based on a violation of the information obligations of Discover Sumatra. If Discover Sumatra terminates the contract, we keep the claim to the travel price. The value of the saved expenses and benefits obtained from any other use of the unused services, including any amounts credited by the service providers, will be offset.

Obligation of the traveller to cooperate/notification of defects

1. Irrespective of the method of payment, you are obliged to carry out a comprehensive check of the correctness and completeness of the transfer confirmation upon receipt. Any discrepancies must be reported to us in writing without delay. If this is not done, the right to withdraw from the contract on the basis of the unnotified discrepancy shall lapse, provided that you were specifically informed of this in the booking confirmation.
2. You must immediately check the booking confirmations of each service provider and hotel information and other travel documents handed out to you for completeness, correctness and, in particular, conformity with the booking.
3. If the trip is not free of travel defects, the traveller can demand redress.
4. As far as Discover Sumatra cannot find a remedy due to a culpable omission of the notification of defects, the traveller can neither claim a reduction of the tour price according to § 651 m BGB nor claim for damages according to § 651 n BGB.
5. The traveller is obliged to immediately notify the representative on site of his or her notice of defects. If a local representative of Discover Sumatra is not available and not contractually owed, any travel defects have to be brought to the attention of Discover Sumatra at info@discover-sumatra.com.
6. The local representative of Discover Sumatra is authorised to provide a remedy, if this is possible. However, you are expressly informed that the local representative is not authorised to acknowledge claims or decide on reimbursements on our behalf. Please always contact us directly for this purpose.
7. If the client/traveller wants to cancel the travel contract due to a travel deficiency of the kind described in § 651 i Abs. 2 BGB (German Civil Code), provided that it is substantial, he or she must first set Discover Sumatra a reasonable period of time for remedy. This does not apply only if the remedy is refused by Discover Sumatra or if an immediate and involuntary remedy is necessary.

Limitation of liability

1. The contractual liability of Discover Sumatra for damages that do not result from injury to life, body or health and that were not culpably caused is limited to three times the travel price. Possible further claims according to the Montreal Convention remain unaffected by this limitation of liability.
2. Discover Sumatra is not liable for service disruptions, personal injury and property damage in connection with services that are merely brokered as external services (e.g. brokered excursions, sports events, theatre visits, and exhibitions) if these services have been explicitly identified as external services in the travel description and the travel confirmation, with a statement of the identity and address of the brokered contractual partner, in such a way that it is clear that they are not part of the travel of Discover Sumatra and have been selected separately. The §§ 651 b, 651 c, 651 w and 651 y BGB remain unaffected.
3. Discover Sumatra is liable, however, if and as far as your damage is caused by a violation of the duties of information, clarification or organization of Discover Sumatra.
4. Participation in sports and other holiday activities is your own responsibility. You should always check sports facilities, equipment and vehicles before using them. We are only liable for accidents that occur during sports events and other holiday activities if we are at fault. In this context, we recommend that you take out insurance to cover repatriation costs in the event of accident, illness or death.

Assertion of claims, addressee

Claims according to § 651 i Abs. 3 Nr. 2, 4 – 7 BGB have to be asserted by you or the traveller against Discover Sumatra. It is recommended that claims be asserted in writing.

Passport, visa and health regulations

1. Discover Sumatra will inform citizens of a state of the European Union about passport, visa and health regulations, if desired, before the conclusion of the contract and about any changes before the start of the journey. For citizens of other countries, the responsible consulate will provide information. It is assumed that there are no particularities in the person of the traveller (e.g. dual citizenship, statelessness). Read more: Visa for Sumatra
2. You are responsible for obtaining and carrying the officially required travel documents, any necessary vaccinations and compliance with customs and foreign exchange regulations. Disadvantages arising from failure to comply with these regulations, such as payment of cancellation fees, shall be borne by you. This does not apply if Discover Sumatra has not informed you or has insufficiently or incorrectly informed you.

Travel insurance

Discover Sumatra will gladly arrange insurance cover for your trip. It is recommended that you take out insurance to cover the costs of cancellation/interruption of your trip and insurance to cover repatriation costs in the event of accident or illness.

Alternative dispute resolution, choice of law and place of jurisdiction

1. With respect to the Consumer Dispute Resolution Act, Discover Sumatra advises that Discover Sumatra does not participate in voluntary consumer dispute resolution. Should a consumer dispute resolution become mandatory for Discover Sumatra after these travel conditions have been rescinded, Discover Sumatra will inform the consumer of this in an appropriate manner. Discover Sumatra refers to the European online dispute resolution platform https://ec.europa.eu/commission/index_en for all travel contracts concluded by electronic legal transactions.
2. For you and the travellers, as long as they are not citizens of a member state of the EU or Swiss citizens, it is agreed that the entire legal and contractual relationship is exclusively governed by German law. Such customers can only be sued at their place of business.
3. For lawsuits of Discover Sumatra against customers or contractual partners of the travel contract who are merchants, legal entities under public law or persons who have their residence or usual place of abode abroad or whose residence or usual place of abode is unknown at the time of filing the suit, the place of jurisdiction is agreed to be Berlin.
4. The invalidity of individual provisions of the travel contract or these General Terms and Conditions of Travel shall not result in the invalidity of the entire travel contract.

Your tour operator

Discover Sumatra GmbH i. G. (Limited company in formation)
Karl-Marx-Allee 44
10178 Berlin
Germany

info@discover-sumatra.com

Owner: Christine Volpert

Tax number: 34/574/02169