Frequently Asked Questions

One small item of hand luggage (handbag/laptop case) is included on all flights. There is a charge for checked in luggage on European holidays, unless otherwise stated. All long-haul holidays include checked in luggage in the price published. Find out more about our up to date baggage information.

Depending on the airline, it is not always possible to check in on-line in advance of your holiday. We will advise you on your ticketing documents if it will be possible for you to check-in on-line or if you will need to check-in at the airport.

We advise that you arrive to the airport at least 2.5 hours prior to your flight for European destinations and 3 hours for long-haul destinations, to ensure all processes can be completed with ease.

It is usually possible to upgrade your flight for long-haul holidays; however this is subject to availability and cost with the airline. Please contact our sales team on 01 6371600/020 7099 9665 who will be happy to assist you.

Should you or any member of your party need to cancel your chosen holiday once it has been confirmed, the party leader must immediately advise us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only be effective when it is received in writing by us at our offices. As we incur costs from the time, we confirm your booking, cancellation charges will be payable. Where the cancellation charge is shown as a percentage, this is calculated based on the total cost payable by the person(s) cancelling excluding insurance premiums, amendment charges and any paid or owed “extras”. Insurance premiums, amendment charges and paid or owed “extras” are not refundable.

Find out more about the details of cancellation charges.

We strive to meet our customer’s needs. If you find, after booking your holiday, that certain aspects are no longer suitable, please contact our sales team and we will do our best to accommodate your change requests. Please see our Terms and Conditions to see more details about changing your booking.

Bookings can be made online, or by telephone with our Sales Team. Please call 020 7099 9665 and one of our agents will be happy to assist you. 

The deposit amount depends on the holiday destination chosen. The deposit required is stated once you have selected your departure date and chosen your room. The minimum deposit amount is £100 per person. Deposits are non-transferable from one holiday to another and are non-transferable from one person to another. If you wish to book a holiday within 10 weeks of departure, full payment is required at time of booking. From time to time we may offer you the opportunity to take advantage of a lower initial deposit payment. Where this is the case the following terms apply:

• Only applicable to holidays that are booked within the specified offer dates and for the specified departure dates.
• Once you have booked your Travel Department holiday, paid the low deposit and received your confirmation invoice, you are liable to pay us a further deposit (the deposit balance) as advised to you at the time of booking and as specified on your confirmation invoice, no later than 28 days from the date your booking was made, and you are then liable to pay us the final balance of the cost of your holiday on the due date shown on your confirmation invoice.
• If the final balance due date applicable to your booking falls within the 28-day period mentioned above, then the full balance for your booking will still fall due on the normal balance due date.
• If you do not pay the deposit balance on the date it is due, we will be entitled to cancel your holiday and you will still be liable to pay the outstanding balance of the deposit.
• Where you make a booking under a low deposit offer, all of the standard booking and cancellations terms set out here will apply to your booking as normal.
• All deposits (including the initial low deposit and the deposit balance) are non-refundable and non-transferable and would not be reimbursed if you decide to cancel your holidays.
• Any low deposit offer that we promote is subject to availability and offered entirely at our discretion and can be withdrawn at any time.

Deposits and balance payments can be made by debit or credit card, postal order, bank draft or bank transfer. Please check our bank details on our Travel Essentials page for the relevant information. American Express can be used on bookings paid in sterling only. Cheque payment can be accepted provided you allow sufficient time for balance to clear prior to your balance due date. You can also pay on-line in the Manage My Booking link.

Travel Department holidays include flights, transfers and hotel accommodation on bed and breakfast, half board or full board basis, and excursions as specified.

All items that are included are clearly stated in our documentation. Add-ons such as insurance, bags and single room supplements are mentioned separately. In some cases you may have to pay a local departure tax or local transport cost. This will be detailed in your documentation and our local guides will assist you with these. Tipping is not included in your holiday price and information regarding tipping will also be included with your travel documents.

A single supplement is the cost levied by hotels for a person travelling alone and staying in a room on their own. Hotels traditionally price their services on the basis of minimum 2 people staying in one room together and therefore they charge per room rather than per person. If only one person is staying in the room, the hotel must still pay for the room to be cleaned etc, so the hotel will charge a supplement. The hotel also rely on additional revenue from food and beverages which they lose out on if only one person per room. This is standard practise is almost all countries and hotels. We pass on only supplements charged by the hotels. Some hotels have a limited number of true single rooms with single beds and the supplement for these will be lower than using a double room for one person, but there are still supplements. Please note that most single rooms around the world are smaller than twin-share rooms and will likely have only one single bed. A single room is included on our Solo Friendly holidays, at no supplement.

Travel documents (tickets and Itinerary) will be emailed to you approximately 10 days prior to your departure.

Yes, all passengers must have travel insurance for Travel Department holidays. We would suggest you pay special attention to any exclusion clauses and excess on your insurance policy to ensure you are happy with your cover. It is your responsibility to ensure you have adequate insurance for the holiday you are booking.

Upon booking, we will require your full name as it appears on your passport, along with your passport details including number and expiry date as well as date of birth. This information will be treated as confidential and will be only provided to airlines, hotels and cruise operators that require them.

Many of our destinations outside of the EU require some sort of visitors’ visa. Please refer to the visa page of the website for more information.

Terms and Conditions are emailed to you with your booking confirmation. 

We have holidays suitable for varying levels of mobility. We want to ensure that you make the correct choice when booking a holiday with us. If you have any concerns about the suitability of a tour, please contact us and discuss this with one of our experienced sales staff.

In order to ensure you chose the right holiday for you, we rate all our holidays with an activity level. This will help you to determine how suitable a particular holiday is for your needs. Learn more about our activity level guide.

Yes, Travel Department is licenced by the Civil Aviation Authority and bonded. Customers are fully protected under ATOL number 9373.

In advance of your holiday, we will be sending you out a Know Before You Go document. This will give you specific details for each country on the best way to get your local currency and whether or not it is possible for you use your bank cards locally etc.

You will be met on arrival at your destination airport and transferred to your accommodation. You will be accompanied on all included excursions by your Travel Department guide.

Travel Department is a responsible tour operator and will monitor any uncertainty that may cause any disruption to a holiday. We work closely with our airline partners, and we will contact all customers in the shortest timeframe possible, to advise of any changes or cancellations. 

Republic of Ireland 

We will always follow the advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs.  

UK 

We will always follow the advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.