Terms and Conditions

1. Who we are and what these terms cover

1.1 These Terms and Conditions apply to every tour, experience and travel service sold by Lang Thang in Vietnam, part of the Travel Neutral Collective (“Lang Thang”, “we”, “us”), whether you book through our website, by email, by messaging app or through an authorised agent. 1.2 The legal entity that contracts with you is named in your booking confirmation and invoice. Write to hello@langthang.travel if you need its registration details. 1.3 We act as the organiser of the tours we operate. Where a service is delivered by an independent supplier, such as a hotel, boat operator or workshop host, we arrange it on your behalf. Section 21 explains who is responsible for what.

2. Definitions

• “Traveler” means the person making the booking and every person named on it. Where “you” appears, it means the Traveler.

• “Tour” means any tour, experience, transfer or combination of travel services described on our website or in your booking confirmation, including multi-day packages and single-day experiences.

• “Package” means a Tour that combines at least two of transport, accommodation and activities, sold at one price.

• “Booking Form” means the form, email or message through which you ask to book.

• “Trip Notes” means the document we send you on confirmation, with the itinerary, inclusions, meeting point, refund terms and payment deadlines.

• “Website” means langthang.travel.

• “Working day” means Monday to Friday, excluding Vietnamese public holidays. Times are Vietnam time (UTC+7).

3. Applicable terms

3.1 These terms are the legal framework for every booking. A different or additional term applies only if we agree it in writing. 3.2 The terms in force on the date we confirm your booking apply to that booking. 3.3 Nothing in these terms limits any right you have under mandatory law that cannot be excluded, including Vietnamese consumer protection law.

4. Traveler requirements

Age 4.1 A Traveler under 18 is a minor. Minors must be accompanied by an adult, and each adult may accompany no more than two minors. The minimum age is 12 years, unless we agree otherwise in writing after checking that the Tour is suitable. 4.2 The accompanying adult is responsible for supervising the minor at all times during the Tour and, to the extent the law allows, for damage the minor causes to themselves or to others. 4.3 Every booking that includes a minor needs our approval, which can take up to two working days. Health and fitness 4.4 Before booking, read the Tour description and judge whether you can do every activity in it. If you are unsure, ask us. 4.5 Tell us before booking about any physical or psychological condition, reduced mobility or pregnancy that could affect your safety or your ability to take part in the Tour, or could affect other Travelers. If something arises after booking, tell us promptly. Some Tours are not suitable for Travelers with reduced mobility. 4.6 If we reasonably judge, on safety grounds, that a Tour or part of it is unsuitable for you, we will look for a workable solution with you. This may involve a different arrangement and a change in price, which we will agree separately in writing. 4.7 We will help you reach emergency medical care wherever we reasonably can. We cannot guarantee medical assistance or transfer to a hospital in every location, especially in remote areas. 4.8 We may exclude a Traveler from the Tour or from an activity, including during the Tour, if we judge in good faith that they are not fit to take part, that it is unsafe for them or for others, or that their behaviour, including intoxication, is seriously disruptive. 4.9 If you gave us incorrect or incomplete information about your health or fitness, we are not responsible for the consequences, and we may charge you the costs we incur as a result. 4.10 If you cannot take part, or are excluded under 4.8, because of your own condition or because information was withheld, there is no refund for the parts you did not use, except where the law requires one. Special requirements 4.11 Tell us at the time of booking about allergies, intolerances, dietary needs and any need for medical assistance. 4.12 Requirements we confirm in writing form part of your booking. We will try to meet requirements we have not confirmed, but they are not part of the agreement. We cannot guarantee allergen-free preparation where food is prepared by independent suppliers, such as home kitchens, markets and street vendors.

5. Groups, shared accommodation and single supplements

5.1 Some Tours are group Tours led by a guide we appoint, as stated in the Tour description. 5.2 We manage how Travelers are grouped, paired in accommodation and allocated to transport. 5.3 Travelers who want to travel together should book at the same time and tell us. We will take this into account, but we cannot always guarantee the same room or building. A group may be split across accommodation of the same category within a short distance. 5.4 If you travel alone on a Tour that includes accommodation, you agree to share with another Traveler of the same sex. Normally two people share a room, and only in exceptional cases up to four. You may ask for a single room at booking. If one is available, we will quote the surcharge separately.

6. The travel agreement

6.1 The agreement consists of your confirmed booking, the Trip Notes and these terms. 6.2 By booking, you confirm that you have read and accepted them for yourself and for everyone included in the booking. 6.3 Keep a copy of each of these documents.

7. Booking

7.1 You can book with us directly or through an authorised agent. 7.2 Before submitting a Booking Form, read the Tour description on the Website and these terms, and complete the form fully and accurately. 7.3 Your Booking Form is an offer. We accept it by sending written confirmation, normally within two working days. If you submit on a Sunday or during Tết, the two working days start at 09:00 on the next working day. The agreement is concluded only when we send you written confirmation, and from that moment you must pay the price stated in it. 7.4 Bookings with special requirements may take longer to confirm. 7.5 If you gave false or incomplete information that is material to the Tour, including about eligibility or health, we may end the agreement at any time and charge you the costs we have incurred. 7.6 If you book on behalf of other people, you are responsible to us for all obligations in the booking, including payment. 7.7 Prices are quoted in the currency shown in your booking confirmation. Bank and payment charges levied by your bank or payment provider are yours to bear.

8. Trip Notes and itinerary

8.1 When the agreement is concluded, we send you the Trip Notes, which form part of the agreement. They contain:

• our contact details;

• the price of the Tour, what it includes, the terms for a full or partial refund, the payment deadlines and any costs you must bear;

• the destination, duration, start and end dates;

• the itinerary, visits, excursions and other included services;

• the categories of transport used;

• accommodation standard and its suitability for people with reduced mobility, where relevant;

• any meals included;

• any age or fitness requirements for taking part;

• any arrangements specifically agreed at the time of booking; and

• the deadline by which you must tell us your decision where we ask for one.

9. Deposit

9.1 To reserve your place, you pay a deposit of 10% of the total price when you book. The deposit is refundable only as set out in section 11. 9.2 If you book less than 30 days before departure, the full price is due at the time of booking.

10. Payment

10.1 When we accept a booking, we issue a confirmation invoice within two working days. The agreement exists from the date we send written confirmation. 10.2 The balance is due no later than 30 days before departure. If it is not paid by then, we will remind you in writing. If it is still unpaid three working days after the reminder, we may cancel the booking, and section 11 applies as if you had cancelled. 10.3 If we do not receive the deposit within five working days of the confirmation invoice, the booking is cancelled without charge to you. 10.4 A special sale or discount applies to the full price of the Tour. Only one discount or promotion applies to a booking, and it cannot be combined with another, even where the Tour description lists more than one. 10.5 If a Tour is sold at a special rate, the discount does not apply to extra services such as single supplements, additional accommodation and airport pick-up.

11. Cancellation by the Traveler

11.1 You may cancel at any time. Cancellation must be sent in writing by email to hello@langthang.travel, and takes effect on the date we receive it. The following applies to the total price of the Tour:

• 31 days or more before departure: you receive a refund of everything you have paid, less bank fees and transaction costs.

• 30 to 15 days before departure: a cancellation fee of 25% applies.

• 14 to 8 days before departure: a cancellation fee of 50% applies.

• 7 days or fewer before departure, or if you do not show up: no refund is available.

11.2 Single-day experiences and shorter Tours may have shorter cancellation windows. Where they do, the terms in your booking confirmation or Trip Notes apply instead of 11.1. Costs we cannot recover from third parties, such as permits or advance payments to suppliers, may be charged in addition where we have told you so at the time of booking. 11.3 After departure, section 15 applies.

12. Inclusions and exclusions

12.1 The price includes everything stated in the Tour description and the Trip Notes. Anything not expressly stated is excluded. These are always excluded, unless the Trip Notes say otherwise:

• transport to the Tour’s starting point;

• transfers to and from airports or stations, unless purchased separately and stated in the Trip Notes;

• visas and fees for entering and staying in Vietnam;

• meals, unless stated as included;

• personal insurance;

• optional activities and personal expenses; and

• tips.

13. Cancellation by Lang Thang

13.1 Before departure, we may cancel a Tour because of force majeure or another circumstance we could not reasonably foresee or avoid. We may also cancel a Tour if the minimum number of participants stated in the Tour description has not been reached 30 days before departure. 13.2 In either case, we will first offer you another date or a comparable Tour. If you prefer not to accept, you receive a full refund of everything you have paid. Unless the cancellation results from our breach or negligence, or the law provides otherwise, we are not liable for further costs you have incurred, such as non-refundable flights. 13.3 For this section, force majeure includes strikes, war, civil disorder, riots, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, adverse weather or water conditions that make the Tour unsafe, epidemics, restrictions imposed by public authorities, and failures of transport that we do not control. 13.4 If a Tour is cancelled for reasons attributable to you, no refund beyond section 11 is due.

14. Changes to the Tour before departure

14.1 If, before departure, we need to change an element of the agreement significantly, we will tell you in writing straight away, describing the change and any resulting change in price. 14.2 A change is significant if it affects at least one day in three of the itinerary, changes the nature of the Tour as a whole in a way that matters physically, or raises the price by more than 10%. 14.3 If you do not accept a significant change, you may withdraw without charge and receive a full refund of what you have paid, or accept an alternative of equivalent value that we offer. 14.4 Tell us your choice in writing within three working days of our notice. If we hear nothing, we will send one reminder. If we still hear nothing two working days after the reminder, the change is treated as accepted.

15. Changes and problems after departure

15.1 If, after departure, we cannot provide an essential part of the agreed services, we will offer you a suitable alternative at no extra cost to you. A part is essential if its loss affects at least one day in three of the itinerary or changes the nature of the Tour as a whole. The ordinary flexibility described in section 16 is not an essential change. 15.2 If no alternative is possible, or you reject ours for good reason, we will arrange equivalent transport back to the starting point, or another agreed place, at no extra cost to you, subject to availability. We will refund the difference between the value of the services we provided and the value of those you received up to the time of return. 15.3 If the cause is not attributable to us, there is no full or partial refund or discount for services missed or unused. 15.4 If the cause lies in your own circumstances, there is no refund or discount for services missed or unused. 15.5 If a Tour is suspended for reasons outside our control, such as force majeure, illness or epidemics, mechanical failure, transport cancellations, strikes, political events or border problems, you are entitled to a refund for the unused services, less the costs of getting you to the nearest safe place to leave. If the unused services are domestic flights or rail in Vietnam, you will be offered a 12-month credit in line with the carrier’s policy. 15.6 You may leave the Tour at any time, temporarily or permanently. You do so at your own expense, we have no obligation to provide the remaining services to you, and no refund is due for unused services.

16. Flexibility

16.1 Tours of this kind involve changes to services, timetables and itineraries. You accept that we may make reasonable changes, such as to the order of activities, timings, accommodation, vehicles or activities, because of weather, local conditions or supplier availability. We will substitute services of a similar standard wherever we can. 16.2 Such a change is not a failure to provide an essential part of the service under section 15. 16.3 There is no refund or discount after departure for services that are replaced or unused as a result.

17. Changes to the booking

17.1 You may transfer your place to another person if all of the following apply:

• you tell us in writing at least 7 days before departure, with the reason and the new Traveler’s details;

• the new Traveler meets every requirement for the Tour, including health, fitness and insurance; and

• the same or equivalent services can be provided.

17.2 We charge a handling fee of USD 25 per change, payable immediately after we confirm the change. In addition you pay any extra charges that suppliers impose, such as changes to tickets or permits. 17.3 Fewer than 7 days before departure we cannot make changes. Any uncorrected error or omission may lead to charges on the ground, and no refund will be available.

18. Travel documents and compliance with the rules

18.1 You are responsible for having every document required to enter, leave and travel through each place you visit. This includes a passport valid for at least six months from the start of the Tour and any visa, permit, or medical or vaccination certificate required by Vietnamese immigration rules. 18.2 We are not responsible if you cannot use the Tour, or part of it, because your documents are missing or incomplete. We do not guarantee that information we give about entry rules is complete. 18.3 You must behave with reasonable care and respect for others, comply with the laws in force at your destination and follow the instructions we give for the Tour. You are liable for damage you cause to us, our suppliers and others by failing to do so, including the necessary costs of repatriation. 18.4 We are not responsible if you act unlawfully or dangerously, or contrary to reasonable prudence, on your own initiative. 18.5 In these cases we may exclude you from the Tour or from a service, for example for safety reasons or because you are not complying with these terms.

19. Travel insurance

19.1 You must have comprehensive travel insurance for the whole Tour, with at least USD 10,000 of medical cover (or the equivalent in your own currency), including cover for infectious disease and emergency medical evacuation. We recommend that it also covers cancellation, liability to others, and loss of or damage to belongings. 19.2 You are responsible for telling your insurer about the Tour and its activities so that your cover is adequate. 19.3 We may ask to see evidence of insurance before departure. If you do not have suitable cover for medical and repatriation costs when the Tour starts, we may exclude you from it, and no refund is due. 19.4 Your rights under an insurance policy are exercised directly against your insurer.

20. Risk

20.1 Travel carries risk, which can be higher on Tours with activities such as hiking, kayaking, boat travel, cycling or motorbike riding. By booking, you accept the risks that are inherent in the activities described. 20.2 We provide safety briefings for activities in the itinerary. You are responsible for following the guide’s instructions and for informing yourself about weather, local customs and the laws that apply at your destination. 20.3 Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or breach of contract, for fraud or wilful misconduct, or for any liability that the law does not allow us to exclude.

21. Our responsibility

21.1 We are responsible for the proper performance of the services in your agreement, including those provided by suppliers we select, such as accommodation, drivers, boat operators, guides and hosts. We will perform them with reasonable skill and care. 21.2 We are not liable for a failure or damage that is caused by you, including by initiatives you take on your own during the Tour. We are also not liable where the cause is an unforeseeable or unavoidable act of a third party unconnected with the services, force majeure, or an event that we, exercising professional diligence, could not reasonably have foreseen or prevented. 21.3 Services you arrange directly with others, and optional activities we have not organised, are separate agreements between you and the provider. 21.4 If we compensate you for something caused by a third party, we take over your rights against that third party to the extent of what we paid.

22. Limits on liability

22.1 You accept the risks that are inherent in travel, which can be greater on Tours that include adventure activities. 22.2 To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for injury, damage, loss, delay or additional expense caused by:

• the acts or omissions of independent third parties that we do not control and that are unconnected with the services in your agreement; or

• events beyond our control, such as force majeure, epidemics, war, civil unrest, strikes, criminal or terrorist acts, animals, overbooking or downgrading by third parties, illness not caused by our breach, or transport that fails to arrive or depart on time.

22.3 Except for death, personal injury, fraud, wilful misconduct and any liability the law does not allow us to limit, our liability for each booking is limited to the price paid for that booking. We are not liable for indirect, consequential or purely financial loss, such as missed connecting flights, lost income or business losses. Where consumer law gives you remedies that cannot be limited, those remedies apply. 22.4 Claims for compensation expire three years after the end of the Tour, or any longer limitation period the law requires. 22.5 We are not responsible for injury attributable to the injured Traveler.

23. Luggage and personal property

23.1 You are responsible for your belongings. We will take reasonable care of luggage and property while it is in our hands, but we are liable for loss or damage only where it results from our negligence, and then subject to section 22.3. We recommend insurance that covers your property.

24. Late arrival and non-use

24.1 We are not liable if you cannot use the Tour, or part of it, because you arrive late or do not appear at the stated time and place, or do not rejoin the Tour at any stage, unless the cause is our fault. 24.2 You pay all costs of rejoining the group during the Tour.

25. Authority of the tour leader

25.1 Where a guide or tour leader accompanies the Tour, their decisions about how the Tour is carried out, including your safety and wellbeing and that of the group, are final. If you do not follow those decisions, the leader may exclude you from the Tour. In that case there is no refund for the unused part or for the cost of getting you back to the starting point.

26. Complaints

26.1 If something is not as agreed, tell the guide or us during the Tour, so we can put it right quickly. If you do not give us that chance, any compensation may be reduced to the extent that it would have avoided or reduced the loss. 26.2 You can also complain in writing by email to hello@langthang.travel, ideally within 10 working days of the end of the Tour. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and give a substantive written reply within 28 days of receiving it.

27. Photographs and marketing

27.1 We may take photographs and video during Tours, and use them to promote Lang Thang on our website, social media, print and other channels. This includes images in which you appear. 27.2 If you do not want your image used, tell us in writing before or at the time of booking, or at any time afterwards. We will stop using it in new materials and remove it from the channels we control within a reasonable time. We cannot recall printed or already distributed material. 27.3 We use images of minors only with the consent of a parent or guardian. 27.4 We use photographs or other material that you send us only with your permission.

28. Privacy

28.1 We handle your personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy at langthang.travel/legal/privacy-policy. 28.2 We share personal information only as needed to deliver your booking and to run our services, and we take reasonable steps to ask recipients to respect privacy law. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third parties, and we encourage you to read the privacy policies of the suppliers we arrange for you.

29. Governing law and disputes

29.1 Vietnamese law governs these terms and any dispute between you and us. 29.2 The parties will first try in good faith to resolve a dispute through negotiation or mediation before starting court proceedings. Subject to that, you and we submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Vietnam. 29.3 Nothing in this section deprives you of mandatory consumer protections that apply to you by law. 29.4 If any part of these terms is invalid in a place, it is invalid only to that extent there, and the rest remains in force.

30. General

30.1 These terms and the documents named in section 6 are the whole agreement between you and us about the Tour. 30.2 We may update these terms. An update applies to bookings confirmed after the date it is published and does not change bookings already confirmed. 30.3 If we provide a translation of these terms, the English version prevails unless the law requires otherwise. 30.4 Notices to us go to hello@langthang.travel. Notices to you go to the email address in your booking.