By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:
These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by English law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only. You may, however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live in those places and if you wish to do so. No variation to our contract with you shall be of any effect unless made in writing and with our authority.
When you book your holiday, you must pay the following non-refundable holiday deposit and any additional amount specified at the time of booking for additional requirements:
Type of holiday | Deposit (per person) | Final balance due |
|---|---|---|
Holidays at our UK country houses (less than 7 nights) | £150 | 6 weeks prior to departure |
Holidays at our UK country houses | £200 | 6 weeks prior to departure |
European holidays | £250 | 12 weeks prior to departure |
Trail & Island-Hopping holidays (less than 7 nights) | £150 | 12 weeks prior to departure |
Trail & Island-Hopping holidays (7 nights or more) | £250 | 12 weeks prior to departure |
Worldwide holidays | £350 | 12 weeks prior to departure |
The information and prices in our brochures and website have been carefully checked and we believe they are correct at the time of publication. However, occasionally changes and errors can occur, and we reserve the right to make changes and/or correct any errors. Such instances include:
We feel it is right to point out that advertised facilities may be subject to change by the various suppliers concerned. There may be occasions when an advertised facility or activity is not available during your holiday. This may be due to insufficient numbers, weather, operational or maintenance reasons. All hotel gradings are those provided by the countries concerned.
Walks and activities may be subject to variation or cancellation due to party size, weather, or operational considerations, and we cannot guarantee that a particular walk will operate during a holiday. We cannot guarantee that any specific leader or number of guests or leaders will be present on any holiday.
Unless stated on promotional materials, all offers sent from HF Holidays are for new bookings only and cannot be used retrospectively. Offers also exclude Group Bookings, Family Holidays, Festive Holidays and holidays already discounted by 50% or more.
All offers sent from HF Holidays are save 'up to' prices and subject to promotional availability on selected dates. Upgrade or double for sole occupancy supplements may also apply.
If, after your booking has been confirmed, you wish to transfer to a different holiday or departure date, we will make every effort to satisfy your requirements; however, this may not always be possible. Any request to change arrangements must be made in writing by the person who made the booking, or their travel agent, before the final balance payment date. You can amend your booking to the same holiday on a different date, or to a holiday of equivalent value, once.
If your amendment includes a change of travel date or location, your total holiday cost will be recalculated and based on the current advertised price. We cannot carry over previously applied promotions, except for the Welcome Home promo code, if applicable to your booking.
Where we can meet a request, all changes will be subject to payment of an administration fee of £40 per person per change, as well as any costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers in making this change. Costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and could be up to 100% of the holiday price.
If changes are requested after the final payment balance date of your booking, or if we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking, we will treat this as a cancellation by you. A cancellation fee may be payable in accordance with our booking conditions clause 7.
If you wish to make a change to your booking, please contact us as soon as possible.
If you wish to transfer your confirmed booking to another person, you can do so, provided that the following conditions are met:
You, as transferor of the holiday, and the transferee shall be jointly and severally liable to us for the payment of the balance due, together with all additional charges of whatever sort imposed by the suppliers providing component parts of your holiday.
Important Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended or transferred after they have been confirmed and any alteration could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements.
Should you, or any member of your party, decide to cancel your holiday booking you must advise us in writing, either by letter or by email or by calling us on 020 3974 8865. To cancel by email, please send a copy of your cancellation letter along with the original email confirmation to cancellations@hfholidays.co.uk. A cancellation will take effect from the date that written notice is received at our office.
Should one or more member(s) of a party cancel, it may increase the per person holiday price of those still travelling and you will be liable to pay this increase.
As we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements you will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges shown in the table below – these show the proportion of the full holiday cost, including VAT, and are applicable to both individual and group bookings.
Period before departure in which you notify us of your cancellation | Proportion of the full holiday cost | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Days | UK House Based Holidays | Europe | Trails & Worldwide |
More than 84 days | Deposit | Deposit | Deposit |
57-84 | Deposit | 30% | 50% |
50-56 | Deposit | 50% | 50% |
43-49 | Deposit | 60% | 60% |
29-42 | Deposit | 70% | 70% |
21-28 | 50% | 80% | 80% |
15-20 | 70% | 100% | 100% |
8-14 | 90% | 100% | 100% |
7 days or less | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Participation on our walks and activities requires an appropriate level of fitness. We reserve the right not to accept participants on our walks and activities if, in the reasonable opinion of the leader, this would compromise the safety or enjoyment of an individual or the group as a whole.
If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your booking, please provide us with full details before you make your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or, if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.
All our customers are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of others. If in our opinion or in the opinion of any hotel manager or any other person in authority, your behaviour or that of any member of your party is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any other customers or any third party, or damage to property, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we reserve the right to terminate your booking with us immediately.
In the event of such termination our liability to you and/or your party will cease and you and/or your party will be required to leave your accommodation or other arrangements immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and/or your party. No refunds for lost accommodation or any other arrangements will be made, and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of termination. You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions, and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party.
Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the hotel manager or other supplier prior to departure. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you.
We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.
If you or any of your party do not take up your accommodation within 24 hours of the date of arrival shown on your confirmation and do not contact us to notify us of the delay, it will be offered for re-letting and no refund will be offered.
Smoking, vaping and the charging of vaping units is prohibited at our UK country houses and on coaches.
In the UK children aged 15 and over may join walks with our groups without the need of a parent or legal guardian being present. The parent/legal guardian must give written consent for this to occur and make sure their child is fully aware of what they are signing up to do.
Children aged 14 and under must be accompanied at all times by a parent/legal guardian or someone acting in loco parentis.
Prices on our website are updated regularly. However, we:
In any instance, we will advise you of the current price of the holiday before your booking is confirmed or contact you within 72 hours of the correct price, as per clause 3 above.
In addition, we also reserve the right to increase the price of confirmed holidays solely to allow for increases which are a direct consequence of changes in:
Such variations could include but are not limited to airline cost changes which are part of our contracts with airlines (and their agents), cruise ship operators, and any other transport providers.
However, if this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 8% of the price of your confirmed holiday (excluding any insurance premiums, amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements), you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one (if this is of equivalent or higher quality you will not have to pay more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us, except for any insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 7 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy.
Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, then any refund due will be paid to you less an administrative fee of £10. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place. There will be no change made to the price of your confirmed holiday within 20 days of your departure nor will refunds be paid during this period.
Prices displayed on our website and marketing materials are full public price. Members will pay £30 less than the published price and will see their discount appear on their booking. Full membership is available for a minimum investment of 100 x £1 shares.
Please note, for any special requests or extra add-ons, additional charges and/or a higher and/or non-refundable deposit may be incurred. The total price will be notified to you before your booking is confirmed. Please see clause 16 for further details.
Children Pricing
We welcome accompanied children on all holidays, particularly our Family Holidays. Costs for children joining non-Family holidays at our UK country houses are 50% of the advertised adult rate.
All children’s prices are based on sharing a bedroom with one or more adults and may include rooms with bunk beds. Please check at the time of booking. Children’s prices and terms for Europe Family Holidays may differ, and we will confirm the prices and terms at the time of your booking.
Promotional rates apply for children joining our Family holidays. For more information go to https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/offers/kids-go-free
As we plan your holiday arrangements many months in advance, we may occasionally have to make changes or cancel your booking, and we reserve the right to do so at any time.
If we have to alter your holiday before departure, any alteration will either be significant or minor. Where an alteration is minor, we will, if practicable, advise you or your travel agent before departure, but we are not obliged to pay you compensation. Examples of minor changes include alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours, changes to aircraft type, change of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard, changes of carriers. Please note that carriers such as airlines used in the brochure may be subject to change.
Occasionally we may have to make a significant change to your confirmed arrangements. Examples of “significant changes” include the following, when made before departure:
If a significant alteration occurs, we will advise you as soon as is reasonably possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of: (i) accepting the alteration, (ii) taking an alternative holiday (and where this is of a lower price, we will refund the difference), or (iii) withdrawing from the contract and accepting a full refund of all monies paid.
You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer. If we do not hear from you within 7 days, we will contact you again to request notification of your choice. If you fail to respond again, we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements.
In addition to a full refund of all monies paid by you, we will pay you compensation as detailed below, in the following circumstances:
Period in which we notify you | Amount you will receive from us |
|---|---|
Before balance due date | A full refund |
Between balance due date and up to 14 days before departure | A full refund + £20 compensation per person |
Less than 14 days before departure | A full refund + £30 compensation per person |
IMPORTANT NOTE: We will not pay you compensation in the following circumstances:
Where, after departure, a significant proportion of the services contracted for is or cannot be provided, you will have the choice of returning to your point of departure and receiving a pro rata refund for the cost of the remainder of your holiday or accepting alternative arrangements. Where those alternative arrangements are of a lower standard, we will provide you with an appropriate price reduction.
We make every endeavour to operate all of our holidays.
If we have to cancel your holiday, you will have the choice of (i) taking an alternative holiday (and where this is of a lower price we will refund the difference) or (ii) withdrawing from the contract and accepting a full refund of all monies paid. We shall not cancel a holiday or travel arrangements after the date when the payment of the balance becomes due, unless this is as a result of Events Beyond Our Control or failure by you to pay the final balance or because the minimum number required for the package to go ahead hasn’t been reached. The minimum number required will be provided to you prior to booking.
We will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by “Events Beyond Our Control”. For the purposes of these Booking Conditions, Events Beyond Our Control means any event beyond our or our supplier’s control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Examples include warfare and acts of terrorism (and threat thereof), civil strife, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination, epidemics, pandemics (including the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic) or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination or remain at the travel destination, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, labour strikes, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster, unavoidable technical problems with transport and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned control.
We make group flight bookings for our holidays in advance. Once these seats have been filled, extra seats are requested on a booking-by-booking basis. Sometimes there may be the need for a further supplement to be paid in addition to any holiday costs shown in our brochure. This is beyond our control and comes from the airline provider and in such cases, clause 22 (Conditions of Suppliers) will apply. Any additional supplements will be quoted at the time of confirming your booking.
1. We provide financial security for flight-inclusive packages and ATOL protected flights by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 0710, issued by the Civil Aviation Authority, Gatwick Airport South, West Sussex, RH6 0YR, UK, telephone 0333 103 6350, email: claims@caa.co.uk. When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive package from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong.
We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL Scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).
If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL Scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL Scheme.
2. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which don’t include flights, by way of a bond held by ABTOT (The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited), membership number 5008, 69 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3A 2BG, 020 7065 5311, membership@abtot.com. ABTOT provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for HF Holidays Ltd, and in the event of our insolvency, protection is provided for non-flight packages. ABTOT cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if transportation was included in your package. Please note that bookings made outside the UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with HF Holidays Ltd, company number IP05713R.
ABTOT
In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call ABTOT’s 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company. You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made
You can find out more about ABTOT here: https://www.abtot.com/
Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking e.g. diet, room location, a particular facility at a hotel etc. You should then confirm your requests in writing. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed by us. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.
We may provide you the option to request extras in addition to our standard packages (‘add-on(s)’). Such add-on(s) options may include extensions, extra accommodation, upgrades and/or domestic flights, but will vary depending on when you make a booking with us. Such add-on(s) may result in a higher non-refundable deposit and/or non-refundable charges in addition to our standard package and you will be notified of the total price of your holiday before your booking is confirmed. Please note that where a flight upgrade has been booked and there is a change of airline prior to your departure date it may not be possible to offer an equivalent upgrade or there may be an additional cost payable (we will refund you the difference if the upgrade with the new airline is of a lower value). In this situation, we will offer you the opportunity to revert to economy class and refund you the cost of the upgrade, pay any additional costs for the equivalent upgrade or cancel with a full refund of all monies paid. Compensation will not be payable.
We will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical condition you must provide us with full details before you make your booking so we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. If any further health conditions arise before your travel date, please let us know as soon as you can. We may require a doctor's certificate to confirm that you are fit to participate.
Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.
We can only provide general information regarding the entry, passport, visa, immigration requirements and safety and health formalities applicable to your itinerary. It is your responsibility to check such requirements (in good time before departure) in order to make your decisions to fulfil such requirements regarding your destination and/or the country(ies) through which you may be transiting.
Such information which you may need to check includes (but is not limited to) passport requirements including (but not limited to) how valid your passport must be after return date, whether your passport must be machine readable or which visas/waivers may be required for entry such as ESTA for USA travel and/or ETIAS for EU travel).
You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant bodies as applicable. We have provided a few useful resources below, though it is your responsibility to check and see if such a body would be relevant to yourself.
For UK residents booking European travel you should obtain a UK Global Health Insurance Card (UK GHIC) prior to departure unless you are able to rely upon an existing European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). For travel to Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, UK GHIC and EHIC cannot be used for medical treatment. Passengers to these destinations should obtain comprehensive medical insurance prior to departure, including cover for emergency medical treatment and associated costs.
We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any entry, passport, visa, immigration requirements or safety and health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any entry passport, visa, immigration requirements or safety and health formalities.
Adequate travel insurance is mandatory for everyone travelling on a holiday with us and is a condition of booking (UK and overseas holidays). You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers all your personal requirements including pre-existing medical conditions, cancellation charges, medical expenses and repatriation in the event of accident or illness. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover would otherwise have been available.
If you have a complaint during your holiday, you must notify our management, leader or local representative immediately and they will do their best to resolve the problem. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please contact guestrelations@hfholidays.co.uk (020 8732 1233). Should it not be possible to resolve your complaint there and then, you should write to our Borehamwood office within 28 days. Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint and will affect your rights under this contract. All complaints that are received are thoroughly investigated and guests are kept informed. Sometimes investigations can take time, especially when awaiting a response from suppliers. We aim to settle all complaints amicably.
Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier's liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from us or the supplier concerned.
If, whilst you are on holiday, you find yourself in difficulty for any reason, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is appropriate in the circumstances. We will provide you with appropriate information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance, and assistance with distance communications and finding alternative travel arrangements. Where you require assistance, which is not owing to any failure by us, our employees or sub-contractors we will not be liable for the costs of any alternative travel arrangements or other such assistance you require. Any supplier, airline or other transport supplier may however pay for or provide refreshments and/or appropriate accommodation, and you should make a claim directly to them. Subject to the other terms of these Booking Conditions, we will not be liable for any costs, fees or charges you incur in the above circumstances, if you fail to obtain our prior authorisation before making your own travel arrangements. Furthermore, we reserve the right to charge you a fee for our assistance in the event that the difficulty is caused intentionally by you or a member of your party, or otherwise through you or your party’s negligence.
If you or any member of your party misses your flight or other transport arrangement, or it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over 3 hours for any reason, you must contact us, and the airline or other transport supplier concerned immediately.
A delay or cancellation to your flight does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight.
Under UK Law, you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from the airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details of these rights will be publicised at UK airports and will also be available from airlines. If the airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Civil Aviation Authority at www.caa.co.uk/passengers. Reimbursement in such cases is the responsibility of the airline and will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday price from us. If, for any reason, you do not claim against the airline and make a claim for compensation from us, you must, at the time of payment of any compensation to you, make a complete assignment to us of the rights you have against the airline in relation to the claim that gives rise to that compensation payment.
We cannot accept liability for any delay which is due to any of the reasons set out in clause 12 of these Booking Conditions (which includes the behaviour of any passenger(s) on any flight who, for example, fails to check in or board on time).
We strongly recommend that you purchase adequate travel insurance to cover any losses associated with flight delays or cancellations.
The carrier(s), flight timings and types of aircraft shown in our brochures or on our website and detailed on your confirmation invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation. We shall inform you of the identity of the actual carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of it. The latest flight timings will be shown on your final holiday departure document which will be despatched to you approximately two weeks before departure. You should check your tickets very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. If flight times change after tickets have been despatched, we will contact you as soon as we can to let you know.
Please note the existence of a “UK Air Safety list” (available for inspection at https://www.caa.co.uk/commercial-industry/airlines/licensing/requirements-and-guidance/third-country-operator-certificates/) detailing air carriers that are subject to an operating ban within the UK.
This brochure and our website are our responsibility, as your tour operator. The brochure and website are not issued on behalf of and do not commit the airlines mentioned herein or any airline whose services are used in the course of your travel arrangements.
Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your contracted arrangements with us. For any excursion or other tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.
The Government requires air carriers to provide personal information about all travellers on their aircraft to the Authorities before the aircraft leaves the UK. We will ask you for this information at the point of booking, or prior to departure in order to pass on to the air carrier. We may also need to pass this information on to hotels, and destination management companies associated with your holiday. You are advised to allow extra time to check in for your flight. Where we collect this data, we will treat it in accordance with our privacy policy.

If the flights we have organised are cancelled or changed, we’ll do everything we can to find alternative transport, with minimal disruption to your holiday
If we cancel your holiday, we honour all refund requests

We know that peace of mind is priceless, so we’ll always go above and beyond to meet – and exceed – expectations
If the flights we have organised are cancelled or changed, we’ll do everything we can to find alternative transport, with minimal disruption to your holiday

A British heritage brand with 111 years of experience
Offering a choice of over 260 itineraries in nearly 40 countries
Run as a co-operative with 40,000-plus members

If the flights we have organised are cancelled or changed, we’ll do everything we can to find alternative transport, with minimal disruption to your holiday
If we cancel your holiday, we honour all refund requests

We know that peace of mind is priceless, so we’ll always go above and beyond to meet – and exceed – expectations
If the flights we have organised are cancelled or changed, we’ll do everything we can to find alternative transport, with minimal disruption to your holiday

A British heritage brand with 111 years of experience
Offering a choice of over 260 itineraries in nearly 40 countries
Run as a co-operative with 40,000-plus members
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