The Travelling Naturalist
- booking information

When to Book

The short answer is as early as possible! Because we run small-group holidays, popular tours can fill up very fast indeed, sometimes, as tour details appear on our website early, before the brochure comes out! Several bookings come in over a year ahead for tours, and as a rule of thumb, many tours are full around four to six months in advance. Single rooms are usually the first to be filled, so please think ahead even earlier if you require one of these. However we do get a few last-minute cancellations, and it is definitely worth enquiring about vacancies on any tour, even just a few weeks in advance. Please also note the section on early booking discounts below


How to book

  • Give us a ring or first to check availability of your preferred dates.
  • We can hold provisional telephone reservations for up to 10 days.
  • Please complete our secure booking form following the on-screen instructions carefully.
  • You will be asked for your credit card details to enable us to collect your deposit. All transactions are encrypted to ensure the highest level of security.
  • Alternatively, print off the completed booking form and mail it to us along with your deposit cheque in UK £sterling made payable to "The Travelling Naturalist" or credit /debit card details as deposit.
  • Please let us know about any extra arrangements, tour extensions or connecting flights that you would like us to arrange at time of booking.
  • We will forward, normally within seven working days, full written confirmation and an invoice, showing the balance due, and the date by which it should be paid. Please make a note of this date in your diary, as reminders are not sent unless stated.
  • About three months before departure you will receive joining instructions and details for the holiday.
  • Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries.

Payment

  • Payment can be made by cheque, drawn on a UK bank, in UK £sterling, or by credit or debit card, or by BACS or internet banking. Please ask for our bank details.
  • Payment by overseas clients may also be by credit or debit card, in UK £sterling.
  • Please note that there are no surcharges for using credit or debit cards for payment except for American Express, for which we charge 2.5% of the total.
  • If you are paying by credit or debit card, please use the secure payment facilities on this website, or let us have the card details on the printed booking form or by phone Š do not email us the card details. Card details are destroyed once used, so we may need to phone you for details for second or subsequent payments, and also sometimes need verbal authorisation from you in addition to the details.
  • Please note that we do not accept cheques drawn on US Banks in US Dollars, or cheques in Euros, or Eurocheques.
  • Please note that we do not accept part payment of deposits or balances, nor post-dated cheques, which will be returned to you.

Client Loyalty Discounts

Our loyalty discount scheme has been operating for several years now. This year, we're continuing to give a 5% discount of the main tour price (excluding any single supplement) on every fifth trip you take with us! To claim the discount, just let us know how many trips you think you've taken with us when you book (still sending the full deposit), and we'll check against our files, and deduct the appropriate amount from the final invoice. If you wish, you can save up two 5% discounts to get a 10% discount on your tenth tour! Please note that this loyalty discount scheme applies to tours that appear in this brochure, and on The Travelling NaturalistÕs website!

Early-booking Discounts

Early bookings help both you and us in many ways. Not only are you sure of your place on a trip, but we can secure flight tickets and accommodation much more easily well in advance. This is especially true for long-haul destinations. To further encourage early booking, we're offering a straight £ 40 per person discount for each 2012 departure booked before 30 September 2011. Please note that booking forms and full deposits must actually be received by us by that date to qualify, and that the discount will be deducted from the balance, not the deposit. Please note that this early booking discount scheme applies to tours that appear in this website, and that we have extended it to tailor-made tours, and cruises for independent travellers that appear on this website!

Recommend a Friend - and you can both save £50!

Why not request a brochure for a friend who is new to The Travelling Naturalist, and who you think would enjoy our style of holidays? In fact many of our new clients have already come to us this way... and then stay with us! If your friend then books for the first time with us, and you are named on their booking form, we'll say thanks by giving both you and your friend a £50 discount on your next holiday with us - and we'll repeat this for every new friend that books! For example: recommending two friends who book will save you £100 off your next holiday and your friends £50 each off their holiday. So go on - spread the word!

To claim your £50:

  • When your friend books a holiday, ask them to mention at time of booking your name and address
  • If they have never travelled with us before, we will give them a discount of £50 per person
  • We will send you a £50 voucher off a future holiday with The Travelling Naturalist for each friend you have recommended