Driving Holidays – Terms & Conditions

Our classic rally trips / driving holidays take place exclusively under the following general terms and conditions:

1. General

1.1 Organizer

Equis Rallies y Viajes S.A. (hereinafter referred to as ‘Equis Rallies’) organizes guided, accompanied rally driving holidays for self-drivers with their own vehicle or for self-drivers with a vehicle from Equis Rallies y Viajes S.A. under the brand name ‘Equis Rallies’ [sic].
Address: Calle Nuñez, última Finca, Hacienda Equis | Equis Helipad, CR-10304 San Rafael Arriba / Aserrí – COSTA RICA.
Registered in the ‘Registro Nacional’ under company number: 3-101-677589.

1.2 Validity

The present General Terms and Conditions (GTC) apply to all events between Equis Rallies and the customers (hereinafter: “Participants”). A service contract is concluded between the parties.

1.3 Third Party Providers of Rally Travel / Driving Holidays

Equis Rallies brokers services provided by third parties (hereinafter: “Third Party Operators”). The third-party organizers are legally independent companies. The contracts for events are concluded directly between the participant and the third-party organizer on their terms. The General Terms and Conditions of Equis Rallies set out here only regulate the effects of these third-party contracts on the present contract.

2. Participation & Vehicles

2.1 Eligibility

Attendees:
The minimum age to be a driver (driver) of Equis Rallies vehicles is 35 years. There are no restrictions for passengers.
There is no minimum age to drive the participant’s own vehicle.
Vehicles:
All vehicles offered by Equis Rallies are registered and insured.
If you are using your own vehicle, the following applies: Cars and motorcycles built before 1980 are eligible to participate. After consultation with Equis Rallies, slightly younger vehicles are also permitted.

2.2 Registration & Insurance

If the participant has his own vehicle: The vehicle must be registered and insured by law or in accordance with the laws typical of the country and must be able to circulate freely in the countries mentioned in the booked rally trip / driving holidays.

2.3 Maintenance status

The participant with his own vehicle is responsible for ensuring that his vehicle is in a state of maintenance at the start of the journey that allows a trouble-free journey to be expected. The participant is responsible for complying with all traffic regulations applicable in the travel country and for the road safety of his vehicle. If there is no road safety, the vehicle can and will be excluded from participation in the booked rally trip / driving holidays.

2.4 License to drive

At the start of the trip, the participant assures that he is in a good physical condition to take part and that he is in possession of a valid driver’s license for cars (or motorbikes).

2.5 Improper use

Driving historic vehicles differs significantly from driving modern cars and requires a certain sensitivity. If a vehicle is provided by Equis Rallies, the participant is liable without limitation for all damage caused by cargo and/or improper use/treatment of the vehicle. This includes, in particular, improper use of driving performance, taking along third parties, unregistered persons, exceeding the permitted number of persons in the vehicle or driving in a manner that is not suitable for the vehicle during the period of the lease.
The duration of the transfer expressly begins with the official handover of the vehicles and ends with the return of the vehicles or the participants to the end point of the respective rally / driving holidays. Use for private trips, e.g. for excursions before, during or after the rally is not permitted. The vehicles can only be used on the specified routes of the rally.

2.6 Fuels

Fuel for the vehicles is not included in the package price. The vehicles are provided with a full tank and must also be returned with a full tank of fuel. If this is not done, Equis Rallies will charge the fuel costs incurred at the standard price plus a US$ 25 fuel fee.

2.7 Breakdowns

For Equis Rallies vehicles:

In the event of minor breakdowns in the participating vehicle, an attempt will be made on site to make the vehicle roadworthy again within a period that is reasonable for all participants. All repairs (material/parts/labor costs) are at the expense of Equis Rallies.

In the case of participants’ own vehicles:

In the event of minor breakdowns in the participating vehicle, an attempt will be made on site to make the vehicle roadworthy again within a period that is reasonable for all participants. All repairs (material/parts/labor costs) are at the expense of the respective owner/vehicle driver.

2.8 Failure

For Equis Rallies vehicles:

If a vehicle breaks down completely during the trip, Equis Rallies will provide a replacement vehicle. There is no entitlement to an identical vehicle. A total failure does not entitle the participant to ordinary termination of the travel contract. In these cases, the traveler is also not entitled to a partial refund of the travel price. The participant is fully liable for self-inflicted damage, including unfitness to drive caused by alcohol or drugs, hit-and-run accidents or demonstrably improper vehicle handling.

In the case of participants’ own vehicles:

If a vehicle breaks down completely during the trip, the organizer is free to provide a replacement vehicle. A total failure does not entitle the participant to ordinary termination of the travel contract. In these cases, the traveler is also not entitled to a partial refund of the travel price. The traveler has no fundamental right to the provision or use of a replacement vehicle. If the participant is provided with a replacement vehicle, this only applies until the vehicle is restored, but at the longest until the end of the booked trip. The costs incurred (e.g. petrol, rent) are at the expense of the participant. The participant is fully liable for self-inflicted damage, including unfitness to drive caused by alcohol or drugs, hit-and-run accidents or demonstrably improper vehicle handling.

2.9 Routes

The routes and directions are defined by the road books or are specified by the rally director / travel guide. Within certain limits, the routes can be adapted in advance or continuously to the wishes of the participants.

2.10 Changes to the supporting program

The organizer (Equis Rallies) reserves the right to change the times, route and supporting program. Changes to the activity program or individual agreed services are considered in particular in the event of unforeseen circumstances, such as force majeure, weather or natural conditions, official measures, security risks and the behavior of the participants.

2.11 Exclusion of participants

During the entire rally trip, the organizer’s representatives and helpers are authorized to issue instructions to the participants. The organizer expressly points out that the participant must behave in a disciplined manner during the rally trip and must follow the instructions and hints of the organizer. Any case of negligence and/or unsportsmanlike conduct may result in immediate disqualification of the participant. In the event of violations of the organiser’s right to issue instructions, the road traffic regulations or the implementation regulations, the organizer is entitled to exclude the participant from the event without further warning. In this case, the participation fee will not be refunded.

3. Conclusion of contract & travel price

3.1 Travel price

The tour price is based on a team (two people) sharing a car/motorcycle and a hotel room. In the case of single occupancy of a hotel room, a single room supplement is usually charged.
The travel price is fixed, Equis Rallies does not increase or decrease the price for unsold driving holidays. The currently valid price for a classic car rally trip will be confirmed at the time of booking.

3.2 Rally / driving holidays registration

Registration for the rally trip can be completed online using the registration form, in writing by email or by post to Equis Rallies. With his registration, the participant submits the binding application for the conclusion of a service contract for himself and all other persons named in the registration and possibly his own vehicles.

3.3 Acceptance & Deposit

The acceptance of the application by the tour operator (Equis Rallies) only comes about with the written confirmation of the booking for the specified rally tour (by email or by post) to the participant. In principle, Equis Rallies reserves the right to reject applications without giving reasons.
If the participant has his own vehicle, the following applies: The booking confirmation is only valid for the registered vehicle and may only be changed with the written consent of the organizer.

By accepting the travel request by means of a booking confirmation, a deposit of 25% of the travel price is due.
A further 50% of the travel price is due after invoicing and a request from Equis Rallies, no later than 60 days before departure.
The remaining 25% is due 7 days prior to departure.

The following applies to rally trips that touch on the absolute peak season (December 15 to January 15 and March 25 to April 25):
A deposit of 35% of the travel price is due upon acceptance of the travel request by means of a booking confirmation.
A further 50% of the travel price is due after invoicing and a request from Equis Rallies, no later than 90 days before departure.
The remaining 15% is due 7 days prior to departure.

If a travel contract is concluded within 30 days before the start of the trip, the entire travel price is due immediately. If payment is not made within the set period, Equis Rallies is entitled to terminate the contract without notice and to withhold the down payment for expenses already incurred and to claim damages.

Payments can be made by bank transfer to a German account of the organizer (Volksbank Wümme-Wieste) or to an account in Costa Rica (BAC San José), or up to $1,000 US via credit and debit cards (VISA, Euro and Mastercard, American Express or Diners ) are provided.

4. Implementation

The scope of the services results from the travel descriptions in the online catalog and/or the website(s) of Equis Rallies. Specific service descriptions from individual hotels are not binding. Short-term, organizationally necessary changes (e.g. moving a day tour to another day during the trip) or changes caused by force majeure and/or strikes are possible at any time and, in the case of an equivalent replacement, do not lead to any entitlement to a reduction in the travel price. Verifiable claims for damages remain unaffected by this.
Equis Rallies reserves the right to withdraw from the service contract if demonstrable reasons or causes lead to a cancellation for which Equis Rallies is not responsible. In the event of a cancellation, the full amount of the travel price already paid will be reimbursed without any claims for compensation being made to the organizer.

We ask participants with special requirements to inform us in writing. A confirmation of execution, offspring or fulfillment of the requirements is also given in writing by the organizer.

5. Cancellation of the rally

5.1 General

The participant is entitled to terminate the contract and withdraw from the rally / driving holidays. The withdrawal must be declared in writing to Equis Rallies. The time of receipt of the declaration of withdrawal is decisive. If a participant cancels a trip – for whatever reason – the following cancellation conditions apply to all trips, which the participant has expressly confirmed to be aware of when completing the registration.
Time of cancellation – cancellation costs as a percentage of the travel price:
More than 90 days (12 weeks) – zero
56-90 days (8-12 weeks) – 33.3%
28-55 days (4-8 weeks) – 50%
14-27 days (2-4 weeks) – 75%
Less than 14 days (2 weeks) 100%

The following applies to rally trips / driving holidays that touch on the absolute peak season (December 15 to January 15 and March 25 to April 25):
Time of cancellation – cancellation costs as a percentage of the travel price:
More than 146 days (21 weeks) – zero
84-146 days (12-21 weeks) – 50%
42-83 days (6-12 weeks) – 75%
Less than 42 days (6 weeks) 100%

In the event that Equis Rallies cancels the rally (except for force majeure), we will reimburse the participants for all payments made, including the deposit.
We reserve the right to withhold the deposit if a rally trip is canceled or postponed due to an unforeseeable event (force majeure) beyond our control.
If a participant is unable to attend due to the Covid-19 issue, we will refund all payments made, including the deposit, to the participant.

5.2 Substitute(s)

The traveler can request that a third party (substitute) take over the rights and obligations of the travel contract. Equis Rallies can object to the change if there are important reasons for this (e.g. no availability of single rooms, underage of the minimum age for drivers). For a change of participant, the participant will be charged US$ 50 for administrative costs.

5.3 Damages & Cancellation Fee

The participant is entitled to provide evidence that Equis Rallies suffered no damage or that the damage was significantly lower than the cancellation costs requested by the participant. Reimbursement for services not used is not generally provided, this applies in particular to late arrival at the start of the trip or early departure. If, after the start of the package tour, essential components of the package tour cannot be carried out as agreed, the traveler must be offered other reasonable arrangements without additional costs. The traveler can withdraw from the contract without paying a cancellation fee if services are not provided in accordance with the contract and this has a significant impact on the provision of the contractual package travel services and Equis Rallies has failed to remedy the situation.

5.4 Force Majeure

In the event of extraordinary circumstances, participants can withdraw from the contract before the start of the rally trip without paying a cancellation fee, for example if there are serious safety problems at the destination that are likely to affect the trip. If the trip is canceled due to a travel warning from the German Foreign Office, Equis Rallies will reimburse the travel price in full.

5.5 Travel Insurance

To cover the trip / driving holidays, Equis Rallies expressly recommends that the participant take out travel cancellation insurance and international health insurance.

5.6 Other Documents

Complete and valid travel documents such as passport, visa, driver’s license, health insurance, etc. are the responsibility of the participant.

6. Exclusion & Status of Limitation of Claims

The participant must assert claims for non-contractual provision of services within two years after the contractually agreed end of the driving holidays only to Equis Rallies at the address stated. After the deadline, the participant can only assert claims if he was prevented from meeting the deadline through no fault of his own.

7. Liability & Responsibility

7.1 Liability

Within the scope of the duty of care, the organizer is liable for the correctness of the specified travel services and for conscientious travel processing. Insofar as damage was not caused by Equis Rallies through gross negligence or willful intent or Equis Rallies is solely responsible due to the fault of a service provider, liability for damage is limited to the simple travel price.

The organizer is not liable for theft, vandalism and any damage to the vehicle or other assets of the traveler. The organizer is not liable for service disruptions, personal injury and property damage in connection with services that are only mediated as external or third-party services and are expressly marked as third-party providers in the service description (e.g. hotel and transport services, tours). Claims for damages against the organizer are excluded insofar as Equis Rallies exclusively mediates the services of these third-party organisers.
Equis Rallies is only liable for its own fault or for the fault of its own employees. If the journey or parts of the journey are not carried out conscientiously and in accordance with the contract, the participant can demand remedy. In the event of problems, the participant is obliged to help avoid or minimize any damage. Above all, the traveler is obliged to report his complaints immediately so that remedial action can be taken immediately. If the traveler culpably fails to report a defect in good time, this can result in no claims (reduction in price, damages) being asserted for these defects. The notification of a defect by the participant to the tour guide is expressly not an acknowledgment of claims. If a trip is canceled due to force majeure, the organizer reserves the right to appropriate compensation for the services already rendered or necessary to end the trip.

7.2 Responsibility

The participants take part in the rally journey at their own risk and bear sole responsibility (civil and criminal law) for all damage caused by themselves or the vehicles, unless an exclusion of liability has been agreed. This also applies to the driver, co-driver and, if different, to the holder and owner of the vehicle.
The participants are expressly responsible for compliance with the road traffic regulations and all legal requirements.
With the conclusion of the travel contract, the rally participants and – if different from the participant – owners and/or keepers of the participating vehicles waive any right of action or recourse against the organizer with regard to all accidents that occur in connection with the trip and all types of damage , its employees, agents and any persons who are entrusted with the organization and implementation of the event, provided that the damage is not due to intent or gross negligence on the part of the designated group of people.

8. Privacy

For a conscientious and proper implementation of each trip / driving holidays, the data received from the participant must be passed on. The participant accepts the use and storage of the data provided by him in this context. Equis Rallies undertakes to treat this data confidentially and to use it only to carry out the rally trips.

8.1 Disclosure

The participants agree that their data as given in the registration (e.g. name) will be used for hotel and transport service providers and for the purpose of a list of participants for the event and may be shared among the other participants of the event.

8.2 Photos & Videos

The participants agree that Equis Rallies or a representative may take photos and film recordings of the participants as part of the event and then use these recordings (i.e. save, edit, alienate and reproduce if necessary).
The participants give their consent to the use of these recordings for the following purpose: sending them to the group members after the event, creating photo compilations, using them for journalistic purposes and advertising.

8.3 Personal Information

The participant knows that through the creation and use of the recordings, personal data worthy of protection within the meaning of the Data Protection Act is collected, processed and used. He is aware that the submission of this declaration of consent is completely voluntary and can be contradicted at any time. If the participant objects to individual points of the use of data, he must communicate this in writing.

8.4 Copyright

Equis Rallies holds the basic copyright for the entire classic driving holidays car trip.

9. Jurisdiction

Place of jurisdiction is San José, Costa Rica. If the lawsuit is directed against persons, contractual partners of the service contract, who are merchants or legal persons under public or private law or persons residing abroad or whose place of residence is unknown, the place of jurisdiction is also San José. The law of Costa Rica applies exclusively to the travel contract including these General Terms and Conditions.

10. Severability Clause

Should one or more provisions of these General Terms and Conditions be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.
San José, Costa Rica, April 2024
Equis Rallies y Viajes S.A. with the brand ‘Equis Rallies’