Terms and conditions

Updated June 20th 2024

§ 1 GENERAL 

§ 1.1 Lofoten Highlights

Lofoten Highlights is a travel service company in Lofoten, providing tours and experiences, travel itineraries and travel consultations. Lofoten Highlights is a part of the Norwegian Company Frese AS

Lofoten Highlights and Frese AS kan be contacted using the following information:

Lofoten Highlights
C/O Frese AS
Rækøyveien 58
8310 Kabelvåg

Number: +47 902 47 401

Mail: hello@lofotenhighlights.com

Web: www.lofotenhighlights.com

Org.nr: 933 591 247

§ 1.2 Introduction

These Terms and Conditions govern the agreement between you (referred to as “you” or “the customer”, and Lofoten Highlights (referred to as “us”, “we” or “Lofoten Highlights”). When booking any services provided by Lofoten Highlights, you have to accept our terms and conditions, and in doing so, that you will be bound by these. By accepting these Terms and Conditions you also agree that you have read and understand the Terms and Conditions and will abide by them.

Lofoten Highlights may use “Third Party Service Providers” as a part of delivering the full service. Bookings where such Third Party Service Providers are used, are subject to both these Terms and Conditions, as well as any applicable Terms and Conditions of the Third Party Service Provider. Please read the Terms and Conditions of the Third Party Service Provider carefully. The Terms and Conditions of other Third Party Service Providers may limit their liability.

§ 1.3 Privacy policy

By placing a booking you confirm that you will provide Lofoten Highlights with your personal data, and the consent to use such data for the purpose of delivering the service. You also confirm that you have read our Privacy Policy and have understood your rights in relation to the personal data you are sharing with Lofoten Highlights. This includes the permission to share the personal data with any Third Party Service Provider that is involved in your booking.  You also consent to the use of your personal data for promoting our products, services, company and brand. When consent is required by law, Lofoten Highlights will obtain such consent prior to using your personal data for marketing purposes. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. 


Should you be sharing any personal data on behalf of another person for the purpose of your booking, you confirm that you have obtained the prior consent of such person to share and use their personal data as described in our Privacy Policy, and that the person has read and understood the our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, and is aware of their rights in relations to the data shared with us.  


For more information about the use and processing of your personal data and your rights, please refer to the Lofoten Highlights Privacy Policy.

§ 1.4 Definitions of our services

On our website, lofotenhighlights.com, we offer a range of services. These services may be subject to different terms depending on the nature of the services. The services are as follows:

  1. Private tours: All private tours for groups of 4 people or less. Includes both custom tours and pre-packaged private tours found on lofotenhighlights.com.
  2. Custom itineraries: Custom travel plans and travel itineraries made on demand according to the customers’ preferences. Custom itineraries are usually initiated with a free discovery consultation.
  3. Paid consultations: Travel consultations for travelers who have questions or that want recommendations, or help planning their trip without receiving a full itinerary. No product is delivered to the customer other than the information provided in the consultation.
  4. Proposals: We help plan out romantic wedding proposals in the spectacular Lofoten scenery.
  5. Group tours: Tour groups of 4 people or more. 
  6. Company tours: Tours for companies traveling to Lofoten for learning and/or team building purposes. 
  7. Free consultations: Initial free discovery consultation for planning our custom services, hereunder; custom tours (a) custom itineraries (b), proposals (d), group tours (e) and company tours (f). The discovery consultation is used to discover customer expectations, needs, interests, and desires in order to create the perfect Lofoten trip tailored for you.



§ 2 SPECIAL CONDITIONS & EXEMPTION OF LIABILITY


§ 2.1 General terms

Lofoten Highlights and the company FRESE AS, is not liable for compensation, and cannot be held responsible for loss or damages incurred during any of our tours or our services. Lofoten Highlights cannot be held responsible or liable for any damages or additional expenses that might occur in connection with any experience purchased through Lofoten Highlights.

§ 2.2 Third Party Service Providers 

If the purchased tour or itinerary involves the services of a Third Party Service Provider, Lofoten Highlights shall not be responsible for such services. The customer acknowledges that Lofoten Highlights is not responsible nor liable for any wrongful or neglected acts from such Third Party Service Providers, and any issues will have to be addressed directly to the said third party. By utilizing services of the any Third Party Service Provider, you agree that you will look to such suppliers for any accident, injury, property damage, or personal loss to you or to those traveling with you, and that neither Lofoten Highlights  nor any representative of Lofoten Highlights shall be responsible or liable for the same. However, should you need assistance with a claim or complaint you may have against such Third Party Service Provider, Lofoten Highlights without any obligation on its part, may assist you with notifying such Service Provider of your claim. 

§ 2.3 Weather conditions

We do our best to deliver a reliable service and create the best experience possible for our customers. However, Lofoten is subject to unpredictable and changing weather, and we unfortunately cannot plan or anticipate the weather conditions for our tours and excursions. The weather conditions may therefore result in cancellations or alterations to all types of bookings. With midnight sun being a weather phenomenon, our Midnight Sun Tour is particularly susceptible to weather conditions.


§ 2.4 Limitations of services

When booking Lofoten Highlights tours and excursions §1.4 a), b), d), e) and f), the customer is responsible for making the necessary arrangements, and bringing the necessary travel documentation needed, to complete the tour or excursion both for themselves and for those on whose behalf they have booked any services. This may include, but is not limited to, airline tickets, transportation to the tour starting point, travel documents (visas, passports), travel insurance, accommodation, and, if transportation is not part of the booked service, means of transportation to complete the tour or excursion.

For services that are purely digital, § 1.4 b) c) and/or g), Lofoten Highlights is only responsible for delivering the digital service. Lofoten Highlights cannot be held responsible, liable or provide compensation for any part associated with the use of the information provided in  § 1.4 b) c) and/or g). These services are purely suggestions, and should be treated as such by the customer. The customer is responsible for their own travels entirely, which in addition to the points mentioned in the previous paragraph include, but is not limited to; obtaining means of transportation, checking opening hours for suggested locations and activities, making bookings and reservations, safety assessments, participation in various activities.

A special note about § 1.4 d). Lofoten Highlights is only responsible for creating the setup to facilitate a positive outcome, Lofoten Highlights cannot, however, be responsible for a positive outcome.



§ 3 CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITIES


§ 3.1 Bookings & reservations 

You have to be at least 18 years old to make a booking through Lofoten Highlights. You are responsible for providing us with accurate information and details when placing your booking.


§ 3.2 Insurance

The client is responsible for obtaining full travel and health insurance, and shall ensure that all persons on behalf of whom the customer is making the booking with us also have obtained all necessary insurances. 


We also recommend all of our customers to protect themselves against financial loss by getting trip cancellation insurance before traveling. 


§ 3.3 Health & medical issues 

You are required to consider the nature of the tour and ensure that you are fit to participate. You shall advise Lofoten Highlights in writing, in reasonable time prior to booking, of any medical condition that requires special equipment or special attention. If you require any specific equipment for the tour, you are responsible for bringing this with you on the tour. Your responsibilities mentioned in this paragraph extends to those on whose behalf that you have purchased a service/booking. Please note that not all of our excursions and tours are wheelchair-accessible. 

$ 4 LOFOTEN HIGHLIGHTS RIGHTS

§ 4.1 Right to refuse service

Lofoten Highlights reserves the right to refuse travel to a physically and/or mentally unfit passenger that can potentially be a safety hazard to the company’s employees or other passengers. During such circumstances, no refund or compensation will be provided.


§ 4.2 Photo policy
All photos and videos taken by Lofoten Highlights during our tours, including those portraying our customers, can be published, used and/or sold by Lofoten Highlights. This right includes, but is not limited to, web and social media content, advertising, marketing etc. This right is valid unless explicitly requested in writing by the customer in question.


Lofoten Highlights occasionally shares photos and videos from the tours with the customers attending the tours. The customer has unlimited use of these photos and videos for personal use. The customer cannot, however, sell, distribute or use for commercial or public purposes in any way or form, unless otherwise agreed in written contract with Lofoten Highlights.


§ 5 BOOKING TERMS


§ 5.1 General booking terms 

 Your booking is considered confirmed when you receive an order confirmation from Lofoten Highlights by email. Please keep your booking confirmation accessible at least until you have received the service. 


§ 5.2 Prices

All prices on www.lofotenhighlights.com are given in euros, and include any VAT and taxes. For customized services, like custom itineraries and tours, the client is provided an individual price quote depending upon the scope of the service. The price quote is to be provided to, and accepted in written or digital form, by the customer for an agreement to be considered entered.


Lofoten Highlights reserves the right to correct any potential typographical errors or pricing errors, that could mean that we cannot deliver according to information provided in our website, price quotes, marketing or otherwise. This can be done regardless if the customer has received an order confirmation. Such errors must, however, be corrected within reasonable time after the error is discovered. If a customer has already booked and/or purchased a service, they should be informed as soon as possible and have the option to cancel or modify their booking according to the new information.

We also reserve the right to increase the service prices at any time. Any price increases will not affect existing bookings that have been made.

5.3 Payment

Available methods of payment are: regular debit cards, credit cards (VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club, JCB, Discover), Apple Pay, Android Pay and Google Pay. For services that are delivered digitally payment should be made and processed via an online payment link. For larger groups and company tours, invoice is also available as payment option.  


a) Private tours: For all private tours, both custom and pre-packaged private tours, full payment should be made and processed at the time of service, usually when the tour starts. 


b) Custom itineraries: For custom itineraries, full payment should be made when receiving the itinerary. Payments are made online using a payment link.


c) Paid consultations: For paid consultations, payments should be made when receiving the service. Payments are made online using a payment link.


d) Proposals: For custom proposals, full payment should be made and processed at the time of service.

e) Group tours (4+ people): Payments for larger tour groups are made upon agreement, depending on the size and nature of the tour. Invoice is also a payment option here.

f) Company tours: Payments for larger tour groups are made upon agreement, depending on the size and nature of the tour. Invoice is also a payment option here.

g) Free consultations: Free consultations do not require any form of payment.


5.4  Payment security 

Our payments are processed through our payment solution provided by Zettle. Zettle, is a product of Paypal, a trusted, recognized  global payment provider with more than 25 years in digital commerce. Zettle is a PCI certified company. This means that Zettle complies with all the requirements of the security standard PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). It ensures a secure network for all their users, protects the information of each individual cardholder and reacts quickly should weaknesses in the network occur. As Zettle is a PCI certified company, you can feel confident that your information is always safe – both when Zettle stores, processes and transmits data.


All card information is encrypted through HSM's encryption servers, according to the strictest standards, to ensure that sensitive information never goes astray.


Zettle is approved by EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) and complies with the strict security standard PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) for handling card information.

§ 5.5  Refunds

For card payments, refunds are to be issued to the card the customer used to perform the original payment. The card processing fee is also refunded. We do, however, only refund the amount paid to Lofoten Highlights. We do not cover any charges related to the refund that are charged by your credit card provider or other payment providers. Lofoten Highlights is not responsible for any charges that follow international transfers or loss due to currency exchange rates .


In some instances, Lofoten Highlights will need to request your banking details in order to make the refund, e.g. to refund a payment through invoice. We require up to seven (7) working days for any refunds to be made. In addition to this, processing time at the payment provider and your bank/card issuer is added. 



§ 6 CUSTOMER CANCELLATIONS & BOOKING ALTERATIONS


§ 6.1 General terms 

To alter or cancel your booking, please contact Lofoten Highlights as soon as possible, by sending an email to hello@lofotenhighlights.com or calling us on +47 414 61 741.


Our cancellation policy and booking alteration policy is calculated based on the start time of the scheduled tour or activity. Requests for changes are subject to availability and will be considered on a case to case basis. We will do our best to accommodate changes and Lofoten Highlights reserves the sole right to approve changes.

§ 6.2 Deadlines

a) Private tours: 

  • Cancellations or booking alterations made up to 48 hours before the tour starts: No charges.
  • Cancellations or booking alterations made 0-48 hours before the tour start: 50% of full payment is charged.
  • No meet is considered a cancellation, the booking is charged in full. 


b) Custom itineraries: 

  • Cancellations made after entering agreement for custom itinerary, before delivery: 50% of the total agreed payment has to be paid. 
  • No notice / cancellation after delivery of custom itinerary: The agreement is to be paid in full.
  • Booking alterations: Alterations to the custom itinerary itself are included in the agreement. If a completely new itinerary is to be created, it is viewed as a new agreement entirely.


c) Paid consultations: 

  • Cancellation: No charges.
  • Booking alterations: No charges.

d) Proposals: For proposals and other custom excursions

  • Cancellations or booking alterations made up to 48 hours before the tour starts: No charges.
  • Cancellations or booking alterations made 0-48 hours before the tour start: 50% of full payment is charged
  • No meet is considered a cancellation, the booking is charged in full. 


e) Group tours (more than 4 people): 

Terms for cancellation and booking alterations for group tours are usually custom depending on the scope of the tour, group size, and number and type of third party service providers included in the agreement. You will receive a custom agreement specifying the terms of your booking. 

f) Company tours: 

Terms for cancellation and booking alterations for company tours are usually custom depending on the scope of the tour, group size, and number and type of third party service providers included in the agreement. You will receive a custom agreement specifying the terms of your booking. 


§ 6.3 Payment obligations 

If cancellations or alterations are made after the specified time limit and thus have to be paid, a payment request will be sent to the customer using an online payment link. Failure to provide payment as described in these terms will result in debt collection following Norwegian law.

§ 7 LOFOTEN HIGHLIGHTS CANCELLATIONS OR RESCHEDULING

$ 7.1 General terms
We strive to provide a reliable service and we will do our best to complete all tours and excursions as described on our web pages or in our custom agreements with you. However, we reserve the right to modify or cancel any tours and services based on existing field conditions. Lofoten is subject to unpredictable and changing weather, and cancellations or alterations to your booking may occur due to weather.

When possible, we will try to accommodate rescheduling to a different date rather than canceling, if desired by the customer. If your tour or service is canceled, and you have already paid, a full refund will be given. This is not, however, the case if your tour or service is canceled due to force majeure, unforeseen and unavoidable events that make it impossible for us to fulfill our obligations to our customers. Please read more in “ § 7.2 Force majeure”. If your tour or service is canceled by us we will do our best to contact all affected customers via email and/or SMS.

$ 7.2 Force majeure 

Lofoten Highlights does not bear liability or compensate where the performance of our obligations is affected by any event beyond our reasonable control including in respect of any injury, loss, or damage to person or property, death, delay, or inconvenience in connection with the provision of, or failure to provide, any goods or services occasioned by or resulting from – but not limited to, force majeure (force majeure shall include war, threat of war, riots, civil strife, hostilities, civil commotion, strikes, government actions, terrorism, industrial disputes, natural disasters, epidemics fire, road closures, pilferage, robbery and burglaries,  blockade, lock-outs, hyperinflation, disasters, quarantines, dangers incident to traveling, dangerous driving conditions, extreme weather conditions or any other circumstances outside its control. 



§ 8 JURISDICTION

Lofoten Highlights by Frese AS is incorporated in Norway and therefore operate under Norwegian law. Your booking is therefore subject to Norwegian Law.