About these terms
These booking conditions govern trips sold by OneSuitcase Travel of Chicago, Illinois (California Seller of Travel registration CST #2145678-40). By paying a deposit you accept them on behalf of everyone on your booking, so please read them and pass them on to your travelling companions.
For most arrangements we act as an agent for the hotels, operators, cruise lines and airlines who provide them, and their own terms apply alongside these. Where a OneSuitcase small-group departure is described as hosted and organised by us, we act as the organiser of that package.
Making a booking
A booking is confirmed — and a contract formed — when we have received your deposit and sent you a written confirmation. Please check that confirmation carefully and tell us within five days if anything is wrong. Names must match your passport exactly; airlines and cruise lines charge to correct them, and some will not correct them at all.
The lead traveler on a booking must be 18 or over and is responsible for payment and for passing our correspondence to the rest of the party.
Prices and what is included
Prices are per person, in US dollars, based on two people sharing a room, and include everything listed under What's Included on the trip page. Everything under What's Not Included is not included — most commonly international flights, travel insurance, meals not listed, and gratuities.
The price is fixed once your booking is confirmed, except for changes in government taxes or levies imposed after that date, which we pass on at cost. Single travelers pay the single supplement shown on the trip page.
Payment schedule
A deposit is due at booking; the amount is shown on each trip page. The balance is due 90 days before departure, or 120 days for expedition and cruise departures, which their operators require earlier.
Bookings made inside those windows are payable in full. If a balance is not paid by its due date we will chase you before doing anything else, but we may ultimately have to treat the booking as cancelled by you, with the cancellation charges below.
Custom trip design
Custom trip design starts at $450 per itinerary, payable before work begins and credited in full against your trip when you book it. It buys research hours and independent advice — it is not a booking fee, and it is not refundable if you decide not to travel.
Enquiring about a scheduled small-group departure costs nothing.
If you want to change or cancel
Changes. We will do our best, and pass on only what the suppliers charge us plus a $75 administration fee per booking. Some elements — most airfares and cruise deposits — cannot be changed once issued.
Transfers. Up to 120 days before departure, your deposit can be moved to another OneSuitcase departure, once, at no charge from us.
Cancellation. Tell us in writing. The date we receive your email is the date the charge is calculated on, as a percentage of your total trip cost:
- More than 120 days before departure — deposit only
- 120 to 90 days — 50%
- 89 to 60 days — 75%
- Fewer than 60 days — 100%
Expedition and cruise departures follow the operator's own scale, which is stricter and is set out on your confirmation. This is what travel insurance is for: if you cancel for a reason your policy covers, you claim these charges back from your insurer.
If we have to change or cancel
Occasionally a trip changes. Minor changes — a hotel of the same standard, a reordered day — we will simply tell you about.
If we have to make a significant change (a change of departure date, a substantial change of itinerary, or a drop in accommodation standard) or cancel your trip, you may choose between the revised arrangements, an alternative trip of comparable standard with any price difference settled, or a full refund of everything you have paid us.
Small-group departures need a minimum number of travelers to run. If a departure does not reach it, we will tell you no later than 60 days before departure and offer the same three choices. We will not cancel a trip within 60 days of departure except for reasons of force majeure or your failure to pay.
Force majeure
We cannot accept liability, pay compensation, or refund amounts already spent with suppliers where performance is prevented by circumstances beyond our reasonable control — including war, civil unrest, terrorism, epidemic or pandemic, government action or travel restriction, natural disaster, fire, adverse weather, volcanic activity, ice or sea conditions, industrial action, and airport or port closures. Where we recover money from suppliers in those circumstances, we pass it on to you.
Travel insurance
Comprehensive travel insurance is a condition of travelling with us on every trip. It must cover medical treatment abroad, repatriation, and cancellation to the value of your trip.
On expedition and polar departures, emergency evacuation cover of at least $250,000 is mandatory, and the operator will check your policy before you board. We are happy to point you at good options and we earn no commission on any of them.
Passports, visas and health
Making sure your travel documents are in order is your responsibility. Most destinations require a passport valid for at least six months beyond your return date, with blank pages. Visa and entry rules depend on your nationality, and we can only advise on requirements for US and UK passport holders.
Check vaccination and health requirements with your doctor or a travel clinic well ahead of departure. We cannot accept liability if you are refused boarding or entry because a document, visa or health requirement was not met.
Fitness, accessibility and special requirements
Each trip page states an activity level honestly, and expedition trips carry specific physical requirements such as boarding a zodiac unassisted. Please tell us before booking about any medical condition, mobility limitation or accessibility need so we can be straight with you about which days will work, which need an alternative, and which trips are not suitable. We hold Special Needs and Limited Mobility travel certifications and we would far rather have that conversation early than have you disappointed on day four.
We pass dietary requirements to every kitchen, but we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment abroad.
Behaviour on trips
Small groups depend on goodwill. If a traveler's behaviour is causing danger, distress or serious annoyance to others, we or a supplier may end their participation in the trip. In that event there is no refund and we are not responsible for costs of getting home.
Our responsibilities and their limits
Where we act as organiser, we accept responsibility for arranging your trip with reasonable skill and care, and for the acts and omissions of the suppliers we engage to deliver it. Our liability is limited to the total price you paid for the trip, except in cases of death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or fraud, where liability is not limited.
Where we act as agent, your contract for those arrangements is with the supplier, on their terms, and our responsibility is limited to arranging the booking with reasonable skill and care.
We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, for services you arrange independently during free time, or for changes caused by force majeure.
If something goes wrong
Tell us at the time. Almost everything can be fixed on the spot, and almost nothing can be fixed once you are home. Speak to your host or guide first, and call us if it is not resolved — our number is on your itinerary and we answer it.
If a matter remains unresolved, write to hello@onesuitcase.com within 28 days of returning, quoting your booking reference. We will acknowledge within five working days and reply in full within 28 days.
Using this website
The text, illustrations and design on this site belong to us and may not be reproduced commercially without permission. Itineraries, prices and availability shown here are indicative and confirmed only in writing when you book. We try to keep everything accurate but do not warrant that the site is error-free or continuously available.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, and any dispute is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Cook County, Illinois. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest continues to apply. Nothing here affects statutory rights you have that cannot be excluded by contract.