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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Accommodation
You
should not expect to find the same standard of
furnishings and fittings in holiday accommodation in
Greece as you enjoy at home. Greeks spend most of their
time outside in the sunshine and warm air, so their
houses have much simpler and more functional furniture.
They also tend to relax with friends sitting at the
table over a good meal and a glass of wine, rather than
round the fire on upholstered suites, so Greek sitting
rooms are more like English dining rooms, insofar as
there can be a comparison.
There is a similar contrast in kitchen equipment. All
the villas/apartments we use have a kitchen/kitchenette
with a fridge and cooking facilities, and are adequately
equipped with linen, crockery, glassware and cutlery.
Most villas/apartments also have an electric kettle,
toaster and an iron.
Each
villa/apartment has hot and cold running water and a
bathroom or shower room. In one or two villas/apartments
the water is heated by solar power and the supply of hot
water therefore depends on how much sunshine there is.
If your holiday/course includes accommodation, this will not
normally be available before 13:00 local time. On your
day of departure, you must vacate your accommodation by
10:00, even if you are travelling on a late return
flight, so that the accommodation may be cleaned in time
for the next guests arriving. We will however endeavour
to make arrangements for your luggage to be looked after
and, where possible, for a shower to be made available
for your use.
Animals
The cats and dogs in Greece are very often strays and
even those that are not are rarely looked after as well
as they would be in
England.
On health grounds we therefore advise against physical
contact with these animals. In addition, Paxos is a very
rural island and the villas/apartments that we use are
in rural or semi-rural locations. You should therefore
expect to encounter local animals, including rodents,
and insects during the course of your stay.
Booking and Payment
Once
you have decided which holiday/course/activity you would like
to book, you will need to read our
Booking Conditions
and Important Information, and then complete and submit
the appropriate on-line Booking Form. We will then issue
a Booking Confirmation and ask you to pay a
non-refundable deposit equivalent to 25% of the cost of
your total booking within seven days. On receipt of your
deposit, we will issue a Confirmation Invoice
which you must check carefully to ensure that the
details are as booked. We will then ask you to pay the
remaining 75% of the cost eight weeks/56 days before the
commencement of the course/activity that you have
booked. If you book a holiday/course/activity eight weeks/56
days or less from the date of commencement, we will ask
you to pay the full cost on receipt of your Booking
Form. We will issue you with full details of your
itinerary and joining instructions at least two weeks
before your holiday/course/activity is due to start.
Booking Alterations
If you request an alteration and we are able to make the
alteration requested, there will be a charge of up to
£20 for each alteration made to cover administrative
costs, plus any additional charges that the
holiday/course/activity supplier may levy (see
Booking Conditions).
Breakages
We do not ask for local breakage deposits where
accommodation is included in the cost of the holiday/course.
However, you are responsible for the cost of repairing
or replacing any lost, broken or damaged items,
including lost keys (which could also include the cost
of changing the lock). If you break or damage anything,
or lose a key during your stay, please report this to
our Paxos office and agree a suitable replacement/repair
cost before your departure. This will then ensure that
guests coming after you will find the accommodation
properly equipped. If you fail to report breakages or
damage to our Paxos office, and we do not become aware
of these until after your departure, we will seek
reimbursement of the cost of replacement/repair from you
on your return home and this will be subject to a
handling charge of £20.
Car Hire
We work with one of the most reliable car hire
businesses on the island and can book your hire car for
you. You can find details of prices and vehicles
available on the ‘Car Hire’ page of this website.
Currency
The official currency of Greece is the euro and, as the
UK
is not in the euro zone, the sterling value against the
euro varies on the foreign currency markets from day to
day. If you want more information about taking money
abroad, speak to your bank or consult the travel pages
of the Foreign Office website at www.fco.gov.uk or the
European Central Bank website
at
www.euro.ecb.int.
Driving to
Greece
If you wish to drive to Greece, you can find information
about this on the ‘Getting to Paxos’ pages of this
website. We are always happy to discuss the various
options with you.
Extended Holidays
If you wish to spend some additional time on Paxos,
either before or after your course, we work with a
number of specialist tour operators and are familiar
with many of the villas and apartments that are
available for rent. Contact us if you would like
further information or would like to discuss your
accommodation requirements.
Financial Peace of Mind
Some
of our holidays and courses include accommodation as
well as tuition and are
therefore classed as “packages” under the Package
Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations
1992. In order to comply with the requirements of the
Regulations, all monies paid to us in respect of any
such holidays or courses will be held in a trust account until after
the completion of the holiday/course. This provides you with
financial protection, in the event of the Company’s
insolvency. Your Booking Confirmation and Confirmation
Invoice will state quite clearly whether or not the
holiday/course you have booked comes within the scope of the
Regulations.
Flight Timings
The cost of travel to and from Greece is not included in
any of our holidays/courses/activities and we do not arrange
this. If you are travelling via Corfu, you should choose
a flight that lands by 13.00 at the
latest in order to be sure of catching the afternoon hydrofoil service
to Paxos. If your flight lands later than 13.00, then you
may have to spend the first night of your holiday on
Corfu at your own expense.
On the return journey, the early morning hydrofoil from
Paxos will normally get you back to
Corfu in time to catch flights leaving after 11.00. If
you are at all concerned about getting back to Corfu in
time to catch your return flight to the UK, then you
might like to consider extending your holiday and
spending an additional night in Corfu town. We are
always happy to discuss the options with you.
Foreign Office Travel Advice
Up-to-date information about holiday destinations and
advice for British citizens travelling abroad is
available from the Foreign Office. Contact the Travel
Advice Unit, Consular Division, Foreign and Commonwealth
Office, Old Admiralty Building, London SW1A 2PA (tel:
0870 606 0290, fax: 020 7008 0155) or visit their
website at www.fco.gov.uk.
Group Discounts
We are keen to encourage group bookings and can usually
offer a small discount to groups of friends/family who
wish to book the same holiday/course/activity with us direct.
The number of participants required to qualify for a
discount and the amount of that discount will depend on
the holiday/course/activity booked but in some cases we can
offer a small discount to groups of at least four.
Health
Although it is a condition of booking our
holidays/courses/activities that you have comprehensive holiday
insurance that includes cover for the holidays/courses/activities
in which you are planning to participate, we strongly
advise you to also apply for a EHIC card (this has
replaced the E111) if you are a UK resident. This
entitles you to some medical treatment at certain
hospitals at a reduced or zero cost when visiting an EU
country. You can apply online for a card by visiting
www.ehic.org.uk, call 0845 606 2030 or pick
up an application form from the Post Office.
If you are taking any medication, you should take adequate supplies
with you and carry them in hand luggage only.
Insurance
It is a condition of booking our holidays/courses/activities that
you have comprehensive holiday insurance that includes
cover for the holidays/courses/activities in which you intend to
participate. We have therefore arranged a policy which
you can buy on-line with
Travel & General Insurance Company plc. You must,
however, ensure that this policy meets all your
requirements before you purchase it.
If you have already taken out
travel insurance, you will need to check your policy to
ensure that it provides cover for all the
holidays/courses/activities in which you intend to participate.
If it does not, then you will need to contact your
insurer to arrange additional cover. For holidays to Paxos it is particularly important that your insurance
policy includes cover for delayed departure, missed
departure and missed connections, as transport links
with
Corfu can sometimes be disrupted, due to adverse weather,
mechanical breakdown or other reasons. We will ask you
for details of your insurance policy before you travel
to
Greece and before you are allowed to take part in any of
our holidays, courses or activities.
Linen
Where the cost of your holiday or course includes accommodation,
linen and bath towels are included in the holiday price
and are changed once a week. Towels for the pool or
beach are not provided.
Medical Care
There is an English-speaking doctor on Paxos who attends
the Medical Centre each morning and will also visit you
in your villa/apartment in case of an emergency. In
addition, there are facilities for taking anyone who
needs hospital care to either Corfu or to Ioannina on
the Greek mainland. There are two dentists on the
island.
Money
The local currency is the euro. More and more retailers
and restaurants are starting to accept credit cards but
payment by this method should not be taken for granted.
Cash and travellers’ cheques can exchanged at the
tourist offices in Loggos, Lakka or Gaios and there is a
bank and a couple of ATMs in Gaios.
Noise
In Greece, the working day starts early in the morning
and finishes late at night, with local people travelling
to and from work by car, moped and motorcycles, which
are noisy. There is also increasing pressure on owners
to renovate and improve their properties, and this can
lead to building work, sometimes noisy, being started
without warning near any of the accommodation that we
use. We will endeavour to advise you as soon as possible
if any such work should begin near the accommodation in
which you will be staying but work may start at very
short notice or with no notice at all.
None of the accommodation we use is next to a bar or
disco, but the sound of the music does travel and may
therefore be heard. In addition, the locals may organise
musical events which can prove noisy without warning. In
rural areas such as Paxos, there are also the usual
countryside noises from animals such as donkeys,
cockerels and dogs which can start annoyingly early in
the day. The quietest time of day in Greece is siesta
time between
14:30 and
17:30.
Office Hours
You can contact us all year round either by emailing us
at
[email protected] or by telephoning either 0044
1444 258048 or 0030
26620 31207.
From May to October we also have an office on Paxos, which is situated
on the waterfront in Loggos and is open Monday to Friday 09.00 – 13.30
and 18.00 – 20.30 and Saturday 09.00 - 13.30.
Passports and Visas
It is your responsibility to be in possession of a valid
passport (preferably with the expiry date at least six
months after your return travel date) and of any
necessary visas. For British citizens, the UK Identity
and Passport Service has a website
www.ips.gov.uk and 24-hour Passport
Adviceline 0300 222 0000. If you do not yet have a
passport, it is currently recommended that you apply for
one at least six weeks before your holiday. The time
that you need to allow for your passport application to
be processed may however change and it is your
responsibility to check the latest position with the
Identity and Passport Service.
EU citizens do not need a visa to travel to Greece but
non-EU citizens should contact the Greek Consulate (020
7221 6467) and their own embassy for information about
the entry/re-entry requirements.
Problems
We will do all we can to ensure that everything is right
for your arrival and that the facilities and service
during your stay give no cause for complaint. However,
if there should be something you find unsatisfactory,
please inform our Paxos office immediately, so that they
can put things right. Please do not wait until your
return to lodge any complaint, as we can do nothing if
we are not informed while you are on holiday.
Single Travellers
A number of our courses
include accommodation in a villa/apartment on a
shared-room basis and are therefore particularly
suitable for people travelling on their own. A limited
number of rooms are also available for sole occupancy
upon payment of a supplement.
Suitability of our Courses and Activities
Our holidays, courses and activities are only open to people age
18 and over and we reserve the right to decline any
booking. As
Paxos is a relatively hilly island, we do not feel that
it is suitable for anyone with walking difficulties.
Transfers
Water
We do not recommend that you drink Greek tap water and
you should instead buy bottled mineral water. Water in
general is a precious commodity on Greek islands, as
most have virtually no rainfall during the summer months
and the inhabitants depend entirely on storing the
winter rain. Water shortages may result in low water
pressure in showers and taps, and when the stored water
runs out, more has to be bought at considerable expense.
If there is an acute shortage of water, we will do all
we can to minimise the impact on you. It should be
realised, however, that this is largely out of our
control.
Some houses on Paxos rely on the local public supply of
community water for flushing WCs and the supply can
occasionally be interrupted by the authorities for
repairs or other reasons.
September 2010
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