Terms and Conditions

1 Applicability

These General Terms and Conditions govern the legal relationship between the tour operator Swiss Mountain Tours (hereinafter “SMT”) and the tour participants as well as third parties who book or arrange tours for tour participants (hereinafter “customer(s)”) for all services provided by SMT, in particular the organisation of excursions (hereinafter “tour(s)”) and their tour guides, unless these are provided by third-party providers. All activities of third-party providers are merely arranged by SMT, but are carried out on behalf of the third-party providers and in accordance with their terms and conditions. These GTC form an integral part of each individual contract, irrespective of the medium through which the contract is concluded.

2 Conclusion of the contract / booking

Bookings can be made via various sales channels (Internet, travel agency, hotel, tourist information centre, etc.) by telephone, e-mail, fax or in person. A booking must also be made for free participation, otherwise SMT may exclude the participant and, in the case of minors, their accompanying person (see Section 7) from the tour. The customer must provide SMT with their credit card details when making the booking. If bookings are made for customers by third parties (including bookings made by customers for other customers), the booking third parties are liable both for the payment of the booked service and for ensuring that the customers agree to these GTC. The contract between the customer or the third party making the booking and SMT is concluded upon unconditional acceptance of the booking by SMT. By making a booking, the customer and any booking third party recognise these GTC as binding. SMT cannot accept non-binding reservations.

3 Prices and terms of payment

The price per person for a tour (hereinafter “tour price”) is listed in the price list in Swiss francs. All prices are inclusive of VAT. Prices are subject to change in accordance with Clause 6. The tour price must be paid at the time of booking. Exceptions to this are only possible for short-term direct on-site bookings and simultaneous cash payment.

4 Cancellations / rebookings by the customer

SMT does not offer cancellation insurance.

4.1 Regular tours (seat-in tours)

Cancellations are possible free of charge up to 24 hours before the start of the tour. Cancellations less than 24 hours before the start of the tour and no-shows will be charged at the full tour price per customer. For bookings made less than 24 hours before the start of the tour, the above-mentioned cancellation/rebooking conditions apply equally. Exceptions are multi-day tours for which a cancellation deadline of 48 hours before the start of the tour applies.

4.2 Private tours

Cancellations and rebookings (i.e. any change of tour, change of number of customers or change of date) must be made in writing (incl. fax or e-mail) and are legally binding upon confirmation by SMT. In the event of a rebooking, a processing fee of CHF 150 is due in addition to any additional costs for the tour. The following costs are due for cancellations:

Up to 30 days before the start of the tour: CHF 150 processing fee
30 – 10 days before the start of the tour: 30% of the cancellation fee
09 – 04 days before the start of the tour: 50% of the cancellation fee
03 – 0 days before the start of the tour: 100% of the total amount of the originally booked tour

Cancellation conditions deviating from this will be communicated by SMT in the order confirmation.

It is at SMT’s discretion to accept changes to private tours confirmed by SMT.

5 Cancellation by SMT

It is at SMT’s discretion to cancel a tour that is endangered, made considerably more difficult or impossible due to force majeure, bad weather, official measures, political unrest, strikes, demonstrations, difficult traffic conditions, road closures or similar unforeseeable events. The same applies if the minimum number of participants is not reached for tours labelled accordingly. The tour price already paid will then be refunded. Further claims for compensation are excluded.

6 Price changes / service changes

SMT reserves the right to change the tour price according to the price list or the agreed tour price in the event of extraordinary circumstances. Extraordinary circumstances include in particular

– Price changes by third-party providers, e.g. transport companies
– Newly introduced or higher taxes, duties or fees

Changes to the tour price in the event of extraordinary circumstances will be communicated no later than 3 weeks before the start of the tour. If the price difference is greater than 10% of the original tour price, the customer has the right to either withdraw from the contract within 5 days of notification by means of written notification in return for a full refund of any tour price already paid or to book an alternative tour from SMT to the value of the originally booked tour without rebooking fees. Further compensation is excluded.

SMT reserves the right to change the tour programme at any time in the event of exceptional circumstances, to cancel the tour prematurely or to offer an alternative solution. Any additional costs of the tour shall be borne by the customer. SMT is obliged to inform the customer immediately of any changes to the service and/or programme. If the alternative solution is more expensive than the originally booked tour or is unreasonable for the customer, the customer will be offered a cancellation free of charge. Refunds will be made in the same way as the payment was made. Further compensation for damages due to price or service change(s) is excluded.  

7 Conditions of participation

Tours are offered in accordance with the conditions published by SMT (e.g. regarding language, accompaniment, etc.). The main tour participant must identify himself/herself at the start of the tour at check-in by means of ID or passport in accordance with the booking, otherwise SMT may exclude him/her and customers for whom the booking was made without refunding the purchase price. Every customer must carry their ID or passport on tours abroad. Underage customers must be accompanied by a person authorised to represent them. Customers with walking difficulties are requested to organise any assistance required for boarding and alighting themselves. Animals are not permitted. The customer undertakes to inform SMT of any health problems. The customer is responsible for ensuring that they have adequate health and accident insurance cover (including additional insurance for sports accidents in the case of tours involving sporting activities). Participation in a tour under the influence of drugs, medication and/or excessive alcohol is not permitted. The customer undertakes to strictly comply with these GTC, the conditions of participation of third-party providers, the instructions of SMT, third-party providers, auxiliary persons and external guide and rescue personnel. The customer further undertakes to wear seat belts and, if necessary, to use child seats. SMT reserves the right to exclude a customer from the tour with immediate effect due to health problems, failure to fulfil the conditions of participation or violation of these GTC or instructions. If a minor customer is excluded from the tour, he/she will be excluded from the tour together with the accompanying person. In the event of exclusion before the start of a tour, the cancellation provisions apply analogously. If the exclusion occurs during a tour, the customer is not entitled to a refund of the tour price. In the event of exclusion, all claims for damages against SMT are excluded.

If the customer does not arrive at the departure point or meeting point on time at the start of or during the tour, SMT reserves the right to exclude the customer from the event after a 5-minute wait in the case of a half-day tour and after a 10-minute wait in the case of a day tour and to depart without the customer. In this case, the customer is neither entitled to reimbursement of the tour price nor to compensation and must pay for any additional costs (e.g. return transport to the starting point).

8 Liability

8.1 Limitation of liability of SMT

The customer undertakes all activities at his own risk. Any liability of SMT is limited to the tour price and to direct damage caused by SMT wilfully or through gross negligence. SMT’s liability for slight negligence, auxiliary persons, consequential damage and loss of profit is excluded. SMT accepts no liability in the event of non-fulfilment of contractual obligations due to omissions or breaches of contract by the customer (in particular due to breach of the conditions of participation in Section 7). In the event of cancellation of a tour, SMT shall only be liable for reimbursement of the tour price if no replacement tour can be offered. SMT accepts no liability for the loss of personal effects, cash, valuables, luggage, photographic equipment etc. and the loss, theft, damage or misuse of cheques and credit cards.

8.2 Exclusion of liability for offers from third-party providers and in the event of force majeure

SMT rejects any liability for the offers and services of third-party providers and accepts no liability for damage caused by circumstances beyond SMT’s control, such as force majeure, natural events, disasters, programme changes due to non-compliance with the timetables of rail, bus or ship transport companies or other third-party providers, etc. The customer is obliged to address any claims for damages directly to the third-party provider. The customer is obliged to address any claims for damages directly to the third-party provider.

8.3 Liability of the customer

All activities arranged by SMT and carried out by third-party providers or organised and/or carried out by the customer himself are at his own risk. SMT is not liable for the consequences of accidents. SMT assumes a considerable degree of personal responsibility on the part of each customer. The customer shall only take part in activities that are compatible with his physical condition and in particular his health and fitness. In particular, the customer is responsible for appropriate equipment (clothing, footwear, sun protection, etc.).

9 Deadline for asserting claims

The customer must assert claims against SMT in writing within 30 days of the contractually agreed tour date for non-provision or non-contractual provision of services, giving details of the complaint. A complaint to the tour guide is not sufficient. Claims received by SMT after this deadline can no longer be accepted, unless the customer can prove that he was prevented from complying with the deadline through no fault of his own.

10 Data protection

The customer consents to the collection of data, in particular customer name, address, telephone number, date of birth, nationality, gender, credit card details, by SMT for the contractual performance of certain tours. This data may be passed on to third-party providers.

11 Amendment of these GTC

SMT may amend these GTC at any time. Such changes are legally effective and binding as soon as they have been communicated to the customer or published on https://swissmountaintours.com/.

12 Severability clause

Should any provision of these GTC be or become invalid, void or ineffective in any other way, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. In the event that a provision is invalid, it shall be replaced by a valid provision that comes as close as possible to the meaning and purpose of the invalid provision. The same procedure shall apply if a loophole becomes apparent.

13 Applicable law, place of jurisdiction

The legal relationship between the customer and SMT shall be governed by Swiss law (excluding the conflict of laws). It is agreed that the ordinary courts at the registered office of SMT shall have exclusive jurisdiction for legal actions against SMT.

Status: 01 June 2024