Terms and conditions

1. Who we are

ViajeTrek is the trade name of a travel agency based in Ecuador, whose registered name is OPERADORA DE TURISMO TREK ECUADOR (tax ID, RUC 1792001080001). We run this site and we also serve customers by WhatsApp, email, phone and in person at our office.

2. The role we play

For most services we act as an intermediary: we book in your name with airlines, hotels, insurers and local operators. The travel service is provided by that supplier, not by us, and it is also governed by the supplier's own terms of business, which we give you before you pay.

When the package is one we put together ourselves, we answer directly for organizing the trip on the terms of this document.

3. How a trip is booked

1. Quote. You tell us what you want and we send you a proposal with the price, the conditions and how long it is valid. A quote books nothing and does not guarantee availability. Hotels that can be booked online skip this step: you choose the room and pay on the site.
2. Confirmation. When you accept and pay what was agreed, we issue the booking with the supplier.
3. Travel documents. You receive the receipts, tickets or vouchers by email. The contract is closed when the supplier confirms the booking you paid for: with an online booking that happens at the moment of payment and the locator appears on screen, and the email is the written record of what was confirmed.

Check names, dates and destinations as soon as you get them. Correcting a misspelled name after a booking is issued usually costs money, and some airlines and/or suppliers do not allow it at all.

4. Prices and payments

• All prices are stated in United States dollars (USD).
• The prices you see in searches and in the fares of the week are for reference: they depend on availability and can change right up to the moment of issue. The firm price is the one on the valid quote you accept or, for an online booking, the total you confirm before paying.
• Unless the proposal says otherwise, the price does not include taxes payable at the destination, excess baggage, visas, vaccinations, tips or personal expenses.
• The taxes that apply in Ecuador are itemized on the invoice we issue under the rules of the SRI, Ecuador's tax authority.
• We accept the payment methods enabled at any given time, among them Payphone and PayPal. Your card details are entered in the payment gateway and never pass through our servers.

5. Travel documentation

It is each traveler's responsibility to travel with valid documentation: a passport valid for as long as the destination requires, visas, exit permits for minors, vaccination certificates and any immigration requirement.

We tell you the requirements we know of and we help with the paperwork when you hire that service, but we are not liable if you are denied boarding or entry to a country because of incomplete, expired or inconsistent documentation. There is no refund in that case, because the supplier does not refund us either.

6. Changes and cancellations

Change and cancellation conditions are set by each fare and each supplier, not by ViajeTrek. We give them to you in writing with the quote and they are part of the contract.

• Many promotional airfares allow no changes and no refund.
• Hotels usually have a free cancellation deadline; after that date a penalty is charged.
• Our handling fee is added on top of the supplier's penalty, and we tell you about it before you confirm.
• Any refunds due are processed through the same payment method and depend on how long the supplier and the payment gateway take.

If we have to cancel for reasons that are not your doing, we refund what you paid or offer you an equivalent alternative, whichever you prefer.

7. The AI planner

The planner generates suggested itineraries automatically. It is a tool for inspiration:

• It is not a commercial offer and it commits neither a price nor availability.
• It can be wrong about times, prices, entry requirements or whether a place is still open. Always check with us before you make decisions.
• Turning a plan into a real trip takes a quote confirmed by an advisor.

8. Use of the site

By using ViajeTrek you undertake to:

• Give truthful information, your own or that of someone who authorized you to give it.
• Not make false or speculative bookings, and not automate bulk queries against the site.
• Not try to reach restricted areas or interfere with the running of the service.

We can suspend an account that breaks any of the above. The text, images, brand and code of the site belong to us or are used under license; they may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without permission.

9. Our liability

We answer for handling the intermediation properly: booking what was agreed, issuing it correctly and giving you the information and the documents on time.

We do not answer for:

• The service delivered by the final supplier (flight delays and cancellations, overbooking, the quality of a hotel).
• Force majeure: weather, airspace closures, strikes, civil unrest, health emergencies or decisions by an authority.
• Losses arising from a traveler's documentation not being in order.

None of this limits the rights that the Consumer Protection Act (Ley Orgánica de Defensa del Consumidor) gives you as a consumer in Ecuador.

10. Travel insurance

We recommend taking out travel insurance with medical and cancellation cover. Some destinations require it to let you in. If you decide to travel without insurance, you take on the financial consequences of anything unexpected.

11. Complaints

Write to us at soporte@viajetrek.com with the booking number and what happened. We acknowledge receipt and reply with a solution or an explanation as soon as we can. If the problem is the supplier's, we take it up with them on your behalf.

12. Governing law

These conditions are governed by the laws of the Republic of Ecuador. Any dispute is submitted to the competent courts where the agency is domiciled, without prejudice to your right as a consumer to use the administrative channels the law gives you.

13. Changes to these conditions

We may update them. The version that applies to your trip is the one in force when you confirmed the booking. See also our privacy policy.