By submitting registration forms and/or submitting a deposit, participants agree to the following terms and conditions.
Family Science Adventures LLC d/b/a Science Travel Adventures
These Terms and Conditions (the “Terms”) apply to all participants in a trip, program, or travel experience organized by Family Science Adventures LLC d/b/a Science Travel Adventures (“Science Travel Adventures,” “STA,” “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).
By submitting registration forms, signing a registration document, checking a box indicating acceptance, and/or submitting a deposit or other payment, each participant, and where applicable the participant’s parent or legal guardian, agrees to these Terms.
A participant’s registration is not complete until accepted by STA. Submission of a registration form, signed document, deposit, or payment constitutes acceptance of these Terms and any trip-specific itinerary, pricing summary, portal terms, waiver, release, medical form, code of conduct, or other trip documents provided by STA.
STA organizes educational and adventure travel programs and contracts with third-party providers for transportation, hotels, meals, guides, tours, activities, and, when applicable, airfare.
Unless otherwise stated in a trip-specific itinerary summary or addendum, trip pricing generally includes the land arrangements specifically listed in the itinerary summary, such as accommodations, ground transportation, guides, meals, activities, and departure taxes where stated.
Unless specifically included in the trip itinerary summary, trip pricing does not include airfare, tips for guides or drivers, optional activities, equipment rentals, medical testing, travel insurance, passports, visas, government entry fees, baggage fees, personal expenses, or any cost not expressly listed as included.
STA arranges travel services through third-party suppliers, including airlines, hotels, ground transportation companies, guides, tour operators, activity providers, and other vendors. Those services are not under STA’s direct control.
When STA arranges airfare, such tickets are booked with airlines or ticketing providers on regularly scheduled service. STA acts only as an intermediary with respect to such air arrangements and has no liability for the acts, omissions, defaults, delays, cancellations, schedule changes, or financial condition of any airline or ticketing provider. Airline travel is subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable carrier and ticket.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, STA is not liable for any delay, injury, loss, damage, expense, inconvenience, disappointment, or change in services caused in whole or in part by any act or omission of third-party providers or by circumstances beyond STA’s reasonable control, including weather, natural disasters, road conditions, strikes, labor disputes, war, terrorism, civil unrest, pandemic, epidemic, quarantine, government action, border restrictions, criminal acts, transportation disruptions, or mechanical failures.
STA reserves the right to make reasonable changes to the itinerary, dates, accommodations, transportation, routing, activities, or other travel services when deemed necessary or advisable due to safety, availability, supplier changes, weather, local conditions, transportation schedules, group needs, or other operational reasons.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any recovery against STA arising out of or related to a trip shall be limited to the amount actually paid by the participant to STA for the land portion of the trip. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, STA shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages, including lost profits, loss of enjoyment, or emotional distress, regardless of the legal theory asserted.
Nothing in these Terms is intended to waive or limit any rights that cannot legally be waived under applicable law.
Participant understands that educational and adventure travel involves inherent risks. Depending on the itinerary, such risks may include hiking on uneven terrain, swimming, snorkeling, boating, horseback riding, ziplining, climbing, river crossings, travel in remote areas, exposure to wildlife, insects, changing weather, food-related illness, transportation incidents, medical emergencies, and limited access to modern medical care.
Participant voluntarily assumes all risks inherent in travel and in participation in trip activities, whether such risks are known or unknown, foreseeable or unforeseeable, except to the extent caused by STA’s gross negligence, willful misconduct, or other liability that cannot legally be waived.
Participant authorizes STA and its representatives, contractors, trip leaders, guides, and service providers to seek or arrange emergency medical care for participant if circumstances reasonably appear to require it and participant is unable to make decisions personally, or if immediate action appears advisable under the circumstances.
Participant understands that medical care in travel destinations may differ from standards in the United States and may be limited or delayed.
Participant is solely responsible for all costs of medical treatment, evacuation, medication, transportation, or related services. Participant releases and holds harmless STA from claims arising out of the arrangement or non-arrangement of emergency care, except to the extent caused by STA’s gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Participant represents that they are physically and mentally able to participate safely in the trip and will disclose to STA, before departure, any condition, limitation, allergy, dietary issue, medication need, behavioral concern, or other circumstance that may affect the participant’s safety, the safety of others, or the participant’s ability to participate.
Participant understands that STA may decline or limit participation if a disclosed or undisclosed condition reasonably appears likely to create a safety issue, require support beyond what STA or local providers can reasonably provide, or materially affect trip operations.
Participant is responsible for consulting with their own physician or other qualified professional regarding fitness for travel, vaccination considerations, medications, altitude, activity level, and destination-specific health risks.
Participant acknowledges that destination-specific health and safety information is available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including information regarding vaccinations, disease prevention, insect-borne illness, and other travel health issues.
By registering or making a payment, participant acknowledges responsibility for reviewing relevant health guidance for the countries on the itinerary and for making their own decisions regarding vaccination, preventive measures, insect protection, and medical preparedness.
Participant is solely responsible for obtaining and carrying all required travel documentation, including a valid passport, visas, parental consent forms, vaccination records if required, and any other entry, exit, or transit documentation.
Participant is responsible for providing accurate legal name, passport details, birth date, and other identifying information required for bookings. STA is not responsible for losses or costs resulting from incorrect information supplied by participant.
Failure to obtain or carry proper documentation does not entitle participant to a refund unless otherwise required by law.
Trip pricing, deposits, and payment due dates vary by program. Participants should consult the trip webpage, portal, invoice, or group communications for current pricing and payment deadlines.
STA may impose a $25 late fee on late payments and a $25 returned payment or NSF fee on returned checks or failed payments.
If a participant fails to make required payments by the stated deadlines, STA may, in its discretion, treat the booking as canceled and apply the cancellation and refund provisions below.
If STA arranges group airfare, STA may charge a service fee, which is typically approximately $30 per ticket, unless otherwise stated.
Group airfare may be purchased in multiple ticket blocks at different prices, and STA may average those costs across participants. Government taxes, carrier fees, and other airfare-related charges may change until tickets are issued. If airfare costs increase after initial estimates but before ticketing, participant agrees to pay the additional amount invoiced.
If airfare or other travel services are purchased or committed on behalf of a participant, those amounts are considered participant-specific committed costs and may be nonrefundable.
Accommodations vary by destination, availability, and trip design. Unless otherwise stated, rates may be based on triple or quad occupancy.
Participants requesting double or single occupancy, or participants whose rooming circumstances require special arrangements, may incur additional fees.
STA reserves the right to assign or adjust rooming arrangements when reasonably necessary for safety, logistics, gender balancing, school requirements, occupancy requirements, or other operational needs.
Participants are expected to behave respectfully toward other participants, trip leaders, chaperones, guides, drivers, local communities, venues, wildlife, and the environment. Participants must comply with local laws, trip rules, safety instructions, and reasonable directions from STA, trip leaders, guides, and local providers.
STA is a family-oriented organization. Illegal activity, dangerous conduct, harassment, repeated disruption, possession or use of unlawful drugs, alcohol use by minors, or conduct that STA reasonably determines to be unsafe, inappropriate, abusive, or seriously disruptive may result in removal from some activities or from the trip entirely.
If a participant is removed from the trip, sent home early, denied boarding, or otherwise unable to continue due to their conduct, documentation issues, health issues, or failure to follow trip rules, all resulting costs are the participant’s or participant family’s responsibility, and no refund will be owed unless required by law.
On student trips, responsibility for participant well-being and behavior is shared by the participant, the participant’s parent or legal guardian, and the trip leaders, chaperones, school representatives, or other supervising adults. STA does not serve as the sole custodian or guarantor of participant conduct.
Parents and guardians remain responsible for truthful disclosure of medical, behavioral, and supervision-related information and for ensuring that the participant is appropriate for the trip.
During trips, participants may appear in photographs, video, audio recordings, writing samples, interviews, or other media created by STA or shared with STA by participants, trip leaders, or group organizers.
By registering, signing trip documents, or making payment, participant grants STA permission to use such images, recordings, writings, and likenesses for educational, promotional, outreach, website, social media, print, and program-related purposes without compensation, unless participant or parent/guardian notifies STA in writing before departure that they decline this release.
Participant represents that they have authority to grant this permission for themselves, or if the participant is a minor, that a parent or legal guardian has granted such permission.
Information provided by participant in registration materials or follow-up communications will be used for legitimate trip planning, administration, safety, communication, and operational purposes.
Participant authorizes STA to share relevant personal information with airlines, hotels, service providers, guides, trip leaders, school representatives, emergency contacts, insurers, and government authorities when reasonably necessary for trip planning, administration, safety, legal compliance, or emergency response.
STA does not sell participant personal information for marketing by unrelated third parties.
STA strongly recommends that every participant purchase travel protection or travel insurance of their choice, including coverage for trip cancellation, interruption, medical expenses, evacuation, baggage loss, and travel delays.
Unless expressly stated in writing, STA does not provide travel insurance and is not responsible for losses that could have been covered by insurance.
Refund amounts vary depending on trip type, timing, and any participant-specific costs already committed on the participant’s behalf.
Unless otherwise stated in writing for a specific trip, the following general refund policy applies to participant cancellations:
For purposes of these Terms, amounts paid or committed on a participant’s behalf may include airfare reservations, ticketing costs, hotel deposits, activity reservations, guide fees, booking fees, permits, transport costs, administrative fees, or any other nonrecoverable or partially recoverable costs associated with reserving the trip.
If a participant is removed from a trip, withdraws voluntarily, misses departure, lacks required documentation, or is unable to travel for personal reasons, medical reasons, behavioral reasons, school-related reasons, or government entry issues, refunds will be governed by this policy unless otherwise required by law.
If a trip leader, school, organization, or group organizer cancels a trip for the entire group, or if the entire group withdraws before departure, participant refunds will be governed by the standard refund schedule above unless STA states otherwise in writing for that specific trip. In addition to participant-specific amounts already paid or committed on a participant’s behalf, STA may deduct any nonrecoverable group-level costs already paid or committed in connection with that trip, including but not limited to lodging deposits, transportation deposits, guide or operator commitments, permit fees, activity reservations, ticketing costs, administrative setup costs, and other amounts that cannot be recovered from third-party suppliers.
If the entire group cancels but wishes to reschedule for a future departure, STA may, in its discretion, offer a dollar-value credit in an amount determined by STA toward a future trip in lieu of some or all cash refunds. Any such credit must be confirmed by STA in writing, will apply only to a future trip departing within 24 months of the original trip dates, and may be subject to supplier rules, rebooking costs, updated pricing, and any other trip-specific conditions stated by STA.
If a trip must be modified, delayed, interrupted, or canceled due to weather, natural disaster, disease outbreak, pandemic, quarantine, labor disruption, transportation failure, political instability, government action, border restrictions, civil unrest, safety concerns, supplier insolvency, or any other event beyond STA’s reasonable control, STA may take such action as it reasonably deems necessary under the circumstances.
In such cases, participant understands that refunds and credits may be limited by nonrecoverable amounts already paid or committed to third-party providers.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, participant, and where applicable the participant’s parent or legal guardian, releases and agrees not to bring claims against STA, its owners, officers, members, employees, agents, contractors, affiliated organizations, and representatives for injury, illness, death, loss, delay, inconvenience, or property damage arising out of or related to participation in the trip, except to the extent caused by STA’s gross negligence, willful misconduct, or other claims that cannot legally be waived.
This release is intended to be as broad and inclusive as permitted by applicable law.
These Terms shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict of laws principles.
Any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to these Terms or a trip shall be brought exclusively in a court of competent jurisdiction in Dallas County, Texas, unless applicable law requires otherwise.
If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.
These Terms, together with any trip-specific itinerary summary, portal terms, waiver, registration materials, invoices, and written addenda issued by STA, constitute the agreement between STA and participant relating to the trip.
Electronic acceptance, electronic signatures, online checkbox acceptance, and payment submission shall each be treated as valid evidence of agreement to these Terms to the fullest extent permitted by law.
By submitting registration forms or submitting a deposit, participants agree to the above terms and conditions.
Refund amounts vary by trip type, timing, and any nonrecoverable costs already paid or committed on a participant’s behalf.
In general:
Nonrecoverable costs may include airfare, hotel deposits, activity reservations, guide fees, permits, transportation bookings, administrative costs, and other trip-related expenses already paid or committed.
If an entire group cancels, refunds will generally follow the same timing guidelines above and may also be reduced by nonrecoverable group-level costs already incurred for that trip.
In some cases, if an entire group cancels and wants to reschedule, Science Travel Adventures may offer a dollar-value credit toward a future trip departing within 24 months of the original trip dates. Any such credit is determined by Science Travel Adventures and may be subject to updated pricing, rebooking costs, supplier rules, and other trip-specific conditions.
For full details, please refer to the complete Terms and Conditions provided during registration.
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