Terms & Conditions

Section 1: Hawaii Bird Tours Inc. & You, The Client

About us: Hawaii Bird Tours

• Hawaii Bird Tours Inc, registered in the United States.  The Company’s registered address is 3045 Pualei Circle Apt. 109 Honolulu, HI 96815 and we can be contacted by email Mandy@HawaiiBirdTours.com
• Throughout the remainder of this document, references to “Hawaii Bird Tours”, “the Company”, “us” and “we” refer to Hawaii Bird Tours Inc.
• We are based in the United States and our contracts are subject to United States law as determined by United States Courts.

About you; The Client or Clients

Throughout the remainder of this document , references to “you”, “the client” and “participant(s)” refer to you.

Your booking will become a contract with us that is subject to applicable to United States law and the United States Courts. Because of this we would like to point out that you will need to satisfy yourself that you have considered and comply with the following checklist of conditions:

For tours outside your country of residence:

• You have, or will have, a passport with validity of at least six months after the last day of the tour, failure to do so is likely to result in immigration officials of the destination country denying you entry.
• You undertake to obtain any entry visas and/or vaccination, other health certificates or testing that are required by the destination country.  It will be your responsibility to ensure that you meet the requirements for the visa and entry, finding out too late may result in a lost deposit and final payment. Any verbal or written information given by us on any of the above should be taken as a guide only as we are neither medical or immigration experts.
• We do not book international flights on your behalf.  You will be responsible for booking these flights for yourself and these flights must connect with the dates and times in the tour itinerary.  We are happy to advise on flights, but will not undertake the bookings for you. Do not book any flights until we confirm that the tour will definitely be running.

General conditions for you

• The name and all other details that you provide on our booking form match exactly with those on your passport. This is essential to ensure that any domestic flights tickets, permits or any other required document is issued correctly.
• You must have adequate travel insurance to cover both medical treatment abroad and the need to cancel your holiday.  Your travel insurance must include cover for evacuation cover should there be an emergency, repatriation in the unlikely case of death during the tour, expenses occurring due to testing positive for Covid-19 (or any other illness, injury or unforeseen circumstance) while participating on the tour. These include, but are not limited to, extra hotel expenses, extra transport expenses, quarantines in the country the tour operates in or on return to your home country. Hawaii Bird Tours cannot be held liable for any of these expenses under any circumstances. It is a condition of booking with us that cancellation insurance is in place from the point of paying the deposit to confirm your booking.  We require you to provide us with a copy of your policy details before joining a tour, however, we do not check insurance policies and cannot be held liable if your cover turns out to be inadequate.
• You should ensure that your household policy covers high value items whilst traveling as travel insurance generally does not cover your optical equipment .
• You have made a full declaration of any disability that you, or any of those included in your booking, may have.  Where possible, we will attempt to make reasonable provision for disabilities that do not preclude you from undertaking a bird watching tour.  However, in almost all cases our tours cannot be reasonably modified for wheelchair users, due to the lack of access at accommodation and national parks and the unavailability of modified vehicles in the countries that we visit.
• You must declare any allergies or dietary preferences to us and we will advise on the practicalities of dealing with these on the specific tour(s) that you are interested in before you make a booking.  Once on tour we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that you are not exposed to allergens, but cannot guarantee this.  Our local guides and Hawaii Bird Tour representative will ensure that food allergies are explained clearly to all providers of food on our trips, but in a very small number of cases there will be limited or no choice.
• You can meet the physical requirements for a tour, which will be stated in the tour information and can be discussed with us further before making a booking if you are unsure.  Generally this means that you have a good level of mobility, are able to get in and out of vehicles without help, can walk up flights of stairs unaided, can cope with the climate of the locations being visited and can stand and walk for prolonged periods at birding pace. The pace of our tours is usually that which allows for most able-bodied people to participate fully and there are often periods that can be opted out of without causing any inconvenience to others.

• You will be responsible for taking an adequate supply of any medicines that you need, including a buffer in case of unforeseen delays.

We accept no responsibility for any expenses, denial of entry or any other problems that result from your failure to comply with any of these conditions.

Section 2: Prices & Payments

All prices are quoted in US Dollars and all payments received must be in the same currency via bank transfer or check.

2.1 Prices

The advertised cost of all birding tours is calculated well in advance of the trip commencement and sometimes unexpected changes to the cost can occur. With this in mind we reserve the right to amend the cost of the tour subject to increases due to, but not limited to, exchange rates (since the time at which the tour price was originally calculated), government actions, aircraft fuel costs, overflying charges, taxes and local transport expenses.

We will only pass on any increase if it is more than 2% of the total tour cost. If we make the decision to add a surcharge due to cost increases we will inform you at least 21 days before the trip begins and will provide an explanation of why the surcharge has been levied. Only amounts up to and including 8% of the total advertised price will be surcharged under these terms and conditions.

If it becomes necessary to increase the tour price by more than 8% of the total we will notify you and then you can either accept the surcharge or you have the right to cancel the trip and receive a full refund.

2.2 Deposit

The tour deposit for each trip is clearly displayed on the tour description page for each tour. Your tour booking is not confirmed until we have received the correct deposit amount in relation to the number of places on the tour (1 or 2) that you have booked. We aim to confirm the receipt of deposits within five working days.

If booking a birding tour within 60 days of the trip commencement full payment will be required rather than a deposit to secure your place on the trip.

2.3 Balance Payments

Full payment of the balance of the tour cost is required to be paid 60 days before tour commencement unless otherwise indicated. We will send a reminder close to the time via email. If we either do not receive the balance payment or have no correspondence from you within a reasonable period of time we reserve the right to judge the booking canceled by and apply any cancellation fee as described in “Section 3: Cancellations”.

If, for any reason, we find it necessary to change the balance due date we will notify you as soon as possible with the new payment deadline.

2.4 Single Supplement

The cost and availability of the single supplement for each tour is clearly indicated on each tour description page and is subject to the same terms and conditions as laid out in “Section 2.1 Prices”. We accept bookings for single accommodation entirely on the understanding and agreement that it may not be available either for the entirety of the tour or at some parts of the tour. Where single accommodation is limited it will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis on the date of your booking being confirmed by receipt of deposit.

We will take all reasonable measures to ensure that single accommodation is available as requested once the tour begins but there may be a very few occasions where single accommodation has been arranged but due to unforeseen circumstances is not available on arrival. In these unlikely circumstances twin sharing accommodation will be provided and the appropriate part of the single supplement payment will be refunded on conclusion of the tour.

Section 3: Cancellations

3.1 Cancellation by Hawaii Bird Tours

We will not be held liable for any cancellation of a tour, any part of a tour or any other service obligation of our contract occurring because of any cause beyond our control or any other unforeseen event including, but not limited to, weather conditions and any other natural event, political upheaval, conflict or disease outbreak. This includes cancellation either before or during a tour. Hawaii Bird Tour’s obligations under the contract with you will be suspended in this case for the duration of such events with a new tour date arranged for after the event. If a new date cannot be arranged within a reasonable time frame then both deposit and final balance will be refunded in full.

We also reserve the right to cancel the tour if insufficient reservations have been made and if clients who have booked on to this tour do not want to pay a surcharge to ensure that the tour can proceed with a smaller group size. The deadline for cancellation by us due to insufficient numbers will be 45 days. Under these circumstances all payments to us will be refunded in full or, with the express agreement of the client, transferred to another tour.

If we are forced to cancel a tour, either before or during the trip, we will have no liability for any additional costs incurred by you, nor will you be entitled to any compensation from Hawaii Bird Tours.

3.2 Cancellation  by you, the client

You, or any member of your party, have the right to cancel your tour at any time, notifying us in writing, either by email or dated letter, from the person who booked the tour. If you cancel the tour you may have to pay the following cancellation charges;

• For group day trips: There is a 48-hour cancellation policy for all daily tours. If you cancel prior to 48 hours of the tour, you will receive a full refund. 
If you cancel within 48 hours of your scheduled trip departure, no refund fees will be provided.
 No shows are responsible for 100% of trip fees. * If there is a cancellation due to weather/ unforeseen circumstances you will be reimbursed in full.
• For private day trips: There is a 7-day cancellation policy for all private tours. Credit cards will be taken at the time of booking. If you cancel outside of 7-days, you will receive a full refund. If you cancel within 7 days of the tour no refund fees will be provided. No shows are responsible for 100% of trip fees. * If there is a cancellation due to weather/ unforeseen circumstances you will be reimbursed in full.
• For multi-day Hawaii tours: Full payment is due 90 days before all-inclusive set departure date tours. Credit cards will be taken at the time of booking and charged a $1000 per person non-refundable deposit. If you cancel outside of 90 days, you will receive a full refund. If you cancel outside of 60 days, you will receive a 50% refund minus your $1000 deposit. If you cancel within less than 45 days of the tour no refund fees will be provided. No shows are responsible for 100% of trip fees. We strongly advise you to purchase trip insurance which may then cover compensation for any of the above charges depending on your reason for canceling.
• For multi-day International tours: Full payment is due 90 days before all-inclusive set departure date tours. Credit cards will be taken at the time of booking and charged a $1000 per person non-refundable deposit. If you cancel outside of 90 days, you will receive a full refund. If you cancel outside of 60 days, you will receive a 50% refund minus your $1000 deposit. If you cancel within less than 60 days of the tour no refund fees will be provided. No shows are responsible for 100% of trip fees. We strongly advise you to purchase trip insurance which may then cover compensation for any of the above charges depending on your reason for canceling.

However, in the cases of extreme and unexpected events affecting safety, including but not limited to war, natural disasters, disease outbreak or terrorism, that occur at the tour destination resulting in the United States issuing a travel advisory, you will be entitled to a full refund, minus costs already incurred that are unretrievable.

Section 4: The Tour

4.1 Tour Itineraries & Alterations

All tour descriptions are based on the circumstances at the time of writing. While it is expected that these itineraries will be adhered to, we, and our local agents,  reserve the right to alter these itineraries either before or during the tour when circumstances beyond our control change. This includes, but is not limited to, political situations, weather, access restrictions or even more up-to-date bird knowledge.

If we make any changes for any reason before the tour commences, you will be informed of these changes in advance at the earliest opportunity. Changes such as birding itinerary, accommodation, domestic flight carrier and/or time are judged to be minor changes. If we find it necessary to make more than minor changes to the tour you will be informed as soon as possible about it, including any extra charges that it may result in and you will have seven days to accept the changes, transfer your booking to another tour or cancel your booking and receive a full refund.

If we are forced to change the tour itinerary while in progress we will have no liability to any extra costs incurred by you, nor will you be entitled to any compensation by us.

If the itinerary is changed during the tour, by one of our guides for birding reasons, clients must respect their professional opinion.  This will only be done when it does not result in any extra cost to you.

4.2 Tour Leaders

All tours are fully intended to be led by the guides advertised; a Hawaii Bird Tours guide and a local guide. However, under certain circumstances such as sickness or any other unforeseen circumstance, we reserve the right to change the guide at any point. In some cases if not enough reservations have been received to reach the minimum group size for the trip to run, clients will be offered the opportunity to proceed with the tour under the sole supervision of the local guide, without being accompanied by a Hawaii Bird Tours representative. This arrangement will only ever occur where the absence of an accompanying guide, for a small group, will not affect the quality of the tour and only with the express agreement of all clients and local guides.

4.3 Group Size

Minimum and maximum group sizes are clearly indicated on each tour description page.  We reserve the right to raise the minimum number of participants required for the tour to proceed if tour operating costs determine this necessary. In very infrequent cases we reserve the right to raise the maximum number of participants by a single person, when there is only one vacancy remaining, if a couple wish to book the tour together.

4.4 Tour Protocol

When watching birds and other wildlife please be courteous to all other participants, guides and drivers at all times. Equally, please act with the same courtesy when interacting with local people and/or other birding groups. Similarly please respect all local laws, customs and culture.

Please also avoid any behavior that can disturb birds, taking particular care around nesting birds. Harassment of birds close to or on nests will not be tolerated and while taking photographs of birds is actively encouraged, please do not “flush” birds in order to obtain flight photos.

Call playback will be used on most, if not all tours, in order to give participants the best chances of seeing certain species that are difficult to see. However, we do not use playback with native Hawaiian bird species. We aim to create a balance between seeing the birds and minimizing disturbance so there may be times when the guide will not perpetuate call playback even when all members of the group have not seen the bird in question. Please respect the guide’s decision if and when this situation occurs.

All participants should understand that within a group there will be many different opinions on a wide range of subjects and while we consider that no subject should be off-limits for polite discussion and debate. Freedom to speak and friendly exchanges are an important part of the group dynamics but all participants are asked to be considerate to the beliefs of others. If a topic of conversation is deemed to have become too divisive, controversial or tiresome, in the opinion of the tour leader, a polite request to desist will be issued. Any kind of name-calling, bullying or discrimination will not be tolerated. If you are concerned about the behavior of another tour participant please discuss it with the Hawaii Bird Tour guide at the earliest opportunity.

Smoking is only allowed in areas away from all other participants and under the terms of local laws. Of course we request that smoking never takes place near people eating food and it is not allowed in vehicles at any time. While in the field we request that anyone smoking goes far enough away from the group to ensure that their enjoyment of the birds and environment is not disturbed. In some protected and/or very dry areas we will request that there is no smoking at all. Cigarette butts must always be disposed of in a way that ensures they are completely extinguished and not becoming a source of litter. All hotels and other accommodation should be considered non-smoking areas unless specifically told otherwise. Smoking in hotel rooms where it is not allowed and which results in a fine or damage compensation will be the full liability of the client and not of Hawaii Bird Tours.

Section 5: Complaints

Great attention to detail has been made when planning our tours with extensive discussion with local operators to ensure that things go smoothly and are described accurately in our tour write-ups. However, it should also be appreciated that the nature of this industry means that things won’t always go exactly according to plan.

If you do have cause for complaint we require our clients to address the nature of any problem as soon as it occurs with the Hawaii Bird Tours representative, so that it can be resolved quickly while on the tour. Not doing so may affect your rights. Dissatisfactions that Hawaii Bird Tour representatives are not made aware of at the time are difficult or impossible to resolve properly after the event.

If the nature of the complaint cannot be resolved quickly, while on tour, please notify us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done either via email while the tour is still in progress or via email/letter within 14 days of the tour conclusion.