GTC
General Travel and Payment Terms
Chalo! Reisen
Inhaberin / Proprietor Sarah Appelt
Seeweg 9
14548 Schwielowsee
Deutschland / Germany
Version: September 2026
1. Scope and Contracting Party
These General Travel and Payment Terms apply to package travel contracts for which Chalo! Reisen, proprietor Sarah Appelt, Seeweg 9, 14548 Schwielowsee, Germany (“Chalo! Reisen”), acts as the tour operator. They supplement the mandatory provisions of Sections 651a et seq. of the German Civil Code (BGB) and Articles 250 et seq. of the Introductory Act to the German Civil Code (EGBGB).
For individual travel services expressly arranged by Chalo! Reisen only as an intermediary, the statutory rules on travel intermediation and the contractual terms of the respective service provider apply. The relevant offer and booking confirmation will state whether Chalo! Reisen acts as tour operator or merely as intermediary.
2. Conclusion of the Contract and Booking Confirmation
2.1 By making a booking, the traveller makes a binding offer to conclude a package travel contract with Chalo! Reisen. Bookings may in particular be made in writing, by email, by telephone or via electronic booking channels.
2.2 The contract is concluded when the traveller receives Chalo! Reisen’s acceptance or booking confirmation. Chalo! Reisen will provide the traveller with a confirmation or copy of the contract on a durable medium.
2.3 If the booking confirmation differs from the booking request, it constitutes a new offer by Chalo! Reisen. A contract on the basis of that new offer is concluded if the traveller accepts it expressly or by unequivocal conduct.
2.4 The person making the booking is liable for the contractual obligations of other registered travellers only if he or she has expressly and separately undertaken such liability.
3. Pre-contractual Information and Contract Content
3.1 The type and scope of the agreed travel services are determined by the service description in the respective offer, the pre-contractual information, the booking confirmation and any special requirements of the traveller expressly agreed by the parties.
3.2 The legally required pre-contractual information, in particular concerning the main characteristics of the travel services, the travel price, payment arrangements, minimum participant numbers and passport, visa and health requirements, forms part of the contract unless validly changed before the contract is concluded.
3.3 Tour leaders, local representatives and service providers are not authorised to make promises that deviate from the booking confirmation or agreed contractual terms unless they have been expressly authorised to do so.
4. Payment and Insolvency Protection
4.1 Following conclusion of the contract and delivery of the legally required insolvency protection certificate (Sicherungsschein), a deposit of 20% of the travel price, capped at EUR 300.00 per person, becomes due. The deposit is credited against the travel price.
4.2 The remaining travel price becomes due 28 days before the start of the trip, provided the insolvency protection certificate has been delivered and Chalo! Reisen can no longer exercise any agreed right to cancel because the minimum number of participants has not been reached.
4.3 For bookings made within 28 days before departure, the full travel price becomes due following conclusion of the contract and delivery of the insolvency protection certificate, provided the requirements in Clause 4.2 are met.
4.4 If the traveller fails to make a due payment despite a reminder and a reasonable additional deadline, Chalo! Reisen may, subject to the statutory requirements, withdraw from the contract and claim a cancellation charge under Clause 8.
4.5 Cancellation charges, agreed amendment fees and insurance premiums are payable at the respective notified due dates.
4.6 Chalo! Reisen protects customer payments in accordance with the applicable statutory insolvency-protection rules for package travel. Details of the insolvency protection provider are stated in the Sicherungsschein and/or the contractual documents.
5. Changes to Travel Services Before Departure
5.1 After conclusion of the contract, Chalo! Reisen may unilaterally change contractual terms other than the price only if the contract provides for such a change, the change is insignificant and the traveller is informed clearly, comprehensibly and prominently on a durable medium.
5.2 Active, cycling, motorcycle, trekking and expedition trips may require changes to the planned itinerary because of weather, road or trail conditions, official orders, safety considerations or local circumstances. Any such adjustment is reserved only to the extent permitted by law; insignificant changes must not affect the overall character of the trip.
5.3 If Chalo! Reisen can provide the trip only by making a significant change to an essential characteristic of the travel services or by departing from a special requirement of the traveller that has become part of the contract, Chalo! Reisen will set a reasonable period within which the traveller may accept the change or withdraw from the contract without a cancellation charge. Where offered, the traveller may instead take part in a substitute trip.
6. Price Increases and Price Reductions
6.1 Chalo! Reisen reserves the right to change the agreed travel price after conclusion of the contract only if, after conclusion, there is a change in the price of passenger transport resulting from higher fuel or other energy costs, taxes or other charges imposed on agreed travel services (for example tourist taxes, port or airport charges), or exchange rates relevant to the package.
6.2 Any price increase will be calculated on the basis of the actual increase in the relevant cost factor and communicated clearly and comprehensibly to the traveller on a durable medium, including the calculation. It is effective only if received no later than 20 days before departure.
6.3 If a proposed price increase exceeds 8% of the travel price, Chalo! Reisen may not impose it unilaterally. The statutory rules on significant contractual changes then apply, including the traveller’s right to accept the proposed change or withdraw from the contract without a cancellation charge within a reasonable period.
6.4 Where the contract permits a price increase, the traveller is entitled, in accordance with Section 651f(4) BGB, to a corresponding price reduction if the relevant cost factors decrease after conclusion of the contract and before departure. Chalo! Reisen may deduct actual administrative expenses from any refund and will provide evidence of those expenses on request.
7. Transfer of the Contract to Another Person
7.1 Within a reasonable period before departure, the traveller may declare on a durable medium that a third person will take over the traveller’s rights and obligations under the package travel contract. A declaration received by Chalo! Reisen no later than seven days before departure is always deemed timely.
7.2 Chalo! Reisen may object to the transfer if the substitute traveller does not meet the contractual travel requirements.
7.3 The original traveller and the substitute traveller are jointly and severally liable for the travel price and for reasonable additional costs actually incurred as a result of the transfer. Chalo! Reisen will provide evidence of those additional costs.
8. Cancellation by the Traveller Before Departure
8.1 The traveller may withdraw from the package travel contract at any time before departure. The decisive time is receipt of the cancellation notice by Chalo! Reisen. For evidentiary purposes, notice in text form is recommended.
8.2 If the traveller withdraws before departure or does not commence the trip, Chalo! Reisen loses its entitlement to the travel price but may claim reasonable compensation unless the law excludes such compensation.
8.3 Chalo! Reisen may calculate compensation on a standardised basis, taking account of the period between cancellation and departure and the expected savings and alternative use of the travel services. Unless a different, trip-specific scale is stated in the relevant offer, the following standard charges apply per person: up to 121 days before departure, EUR 200.00 processing/cancellation charge; 120 to 96 days: 15%; 95 to 46 days: 25%; 45 to 29 days: 50%; 28 to 15 days: 75%; 14 to 7 days: 90%; from 6 days before departure and in the event of no-show: 100% of the travel price.
8.4 The traveller expressly remains entitled to prove that Chalo! Reisen suffered no loss or a substantially lower loss. Chalo! Reisen may prove a higher loss to the extent permitted by law.
8.5 Chalo! Reisen may not claim cancellation compensation if unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occur at the destination or in its immediate vicinity and significantly affect performance of the package or the carriage of passengers to the destination. In such a case the traveller is entitled to reimbursement of payments made, but generally not to additional compensation.
9. Rebooking and Changes Requested by the Traveller
9.1 Except for the statutory right to transfer the contract under Clause 7, there is generally no statutory right to rebook. Chalo! Reisen will nevertheless endeavour to accommodate requested changes.
9.2 Where changes are made at the traveller’s request after conclusion of the contract, Chalo! Reisen may charge the additional costs actually incurred and a reasonable administrative charge notified in advance. If the requested change is economically equivalent to cancellation followed by a new booking, Chalo! Reisen may inform the traveller accordingly before carrying out the change.
10. Cancellation by Chalo! Reisen Before Departure
10.1 Chalo! Reisen may withdraw because an agreed minimum number of participants has not been reached if the minimum number and the applicable cancellation deadline were stated in the pre-contractual information or contract. Cancellation must be declared no later than 20 days before departure for trips lasting more than six days, seven days before departure for trips lasting between two and six days, and 48 hours before departure for trips lasting less than two days.
10.2 Chalo! Reisen may also withdraw if unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances prevent performance of the contract and Chalo! Reisen declares the withdrawal without undue delay after becoming aware of the reason.
10.3 In the cases described in Clauses 10.1 and 10.2, Chalo! Reisen loses its entitlement to the travel price and will refund payments already made without undue delay and no later than 14 days after withdrawal.
11. Traveller Conduct and Termination for Good Cause
11.1 The traveller must comply with any special requirements communicated for the trip and with legitimate safety and conduct instructions given by the tour leader and service providers.
11.2 If a traveller persistently disrupts or endangers the trip or materially breaches contractual obligations, Chalo! Reisen may terminate the contract for good cause in accordance with the law. Where a prior warning is possible and reasonable, termination will generally be preceded by a warning.
11.3 In the event of justified termination, Chalo! Reisen retains its entitlement to the travel price but must deduct saved expenses and benefits obtained from alternative use of services not taken.
12. Travel Defects, Remedy, Price Reduction and Termination
12.1 Chalo! Reisen must provide the package free from travel defects. If a travel defect exists, the traveller may, subject to the statutory requirements, in particular demand remedy, reimbursement of necessary expenses after permissible self-remedy, substitute services, a price reduction, termination and damages.
12.2 The traveller must notify Chalo! Reisen or the contact point/tour leader stated in the travel documents of any travel defect without undue delay. If Chalo! Reisen was unable to remedy the defect because the traveller culpably failed to notify it, statutory claims for price reduction and damages may be excluded.
12.3 When requesting remedy, the traveller must generally allow Chalo! Reisen a reasonable period to remedy the defect unless immediate remedy is necessary or Chalo! Reisen refuses to remedy it.
12.4 If a significant proportion of the agreed travel services cannot be provided as agreed, Chalo! Reisen will offer suitable substitute arrangements without additional cost in accordance with Section 651k BGB.
13. Damages and Limitation of Liability
13.1 Chalo! Reisen’s liability is governed by the statutory provisions.
13.2 In accordance with Section 651p(1) BGB, Chalo! Reisen may limit contractual liability for damage that is not personal injury and was not caused culpably to three times the travel price. This limitation does not apply where mandatory law provides otherwise.
13.3 Where international conventions or statutory provisions based on them apply to a travel service performed by a service provider and limit or exclude claims for damages, Chalo! Reisen may rely on those limitations in accordance with Section 651p BGB.
13.4 Where Chalo! Reisen expressly acts only as intermediary for an individual third-party service that is not part of the package, Chalo! Reisen is not liable for performance by the third-party provider, but only for its own obligations arising from the intermediary relationship.
14. Duty to Provide Assistance
If the traveller encounters difficulties during the trip, Chalo! Reisen will provide appropriate assistance without undue delay in accordance with Section 651q BGB, in particular by providing suitable information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance, helping with distance communications and assisting in finding alternative travel arrangements. If the traveller culpably caused the circumstances requiring assistance, Chalo! Reisen may claim reimbursement of reasonable expenses actually incurred.
15. Passport, Visa, Entry and Health Requirements
15.1 Before conclusion of the contract, Chalo! Reisen provides the legally required general information on passport and visa requirements, including approximate periods for obtaining visas, and on health formalities of the destination country.
15.2 Different requirements may apply to travellers who are not nationals of the state to which the information provided relates. They should obtain timely information from the competent embassies or consulates.
15.3 The traveller is responsible for complying with the entry, passport, visa, customs, foreign-exchange and health requirements applicable to him or her and for obtaining the necessary documents in time, unless Chalo! Reisen has expressly undertaken to obtain them.
15.4 Disadvantages resulting from the traveller’s culpable failure to comply with such requirements are borne by the traveller, provided Chalo! Reisen has properly fulfilled its own information and contractual duties.
16. Special Requirements for Active and Adventure Travel
16.1 Depending on the trip, cycling, e-bike, motorcycle, trekking, mountain, yoga and other active or adventure trips may involve particular physical, health-related or technical riding requirements. These will be stated in the respective trip description or communicated before conclusion of the contract.
16.2 Before conclusion of the contract, the traveller must inform Chalo! Reisen of special requirements or limitations insofar as they are relevant to proper performance of the booked travel service and require a specific agreement. Statutory rights, including those of travellers with reduced mobility, remain unaffected.
16.3 The tour leader may adapt or discontinue individual activities for safety reasons where specific circumstances require this. The traveller’s statutory rights in the event of changes to services or travel defects remain unaffected.
17. Limitation Period
Claims of the traveller referred to in Section 651i(3) BGB become time-barred after two years in accordance with Section 651j BGB. The limitation period begins on the day on which the package was contractually scheduled to end. Mandatory special statutory rules remain unaffected.
18. Air Carriage and Operating Air Carrier
At the time of booking, Chalo! Reisen will inform the traveller of the identity of the operating air carrier where it is already known. If it is not yet known, the likely operating air carrier will be stated. If the carrier changes later, the traveller will be informed as quickly as possible in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005. The current EU list of air carriers subject to an operating ban remains applicable.
19. Governing Law, Jurisdiction and Final Provisions
19.1 German law applies to the contractual relationship. For consumers, this choice of law applies only insofar as it does not deprive them of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the country of their habitual residence.
19.2 The statutory rules on jurisdiction apply to claims by Chalo! Reisen against consumers and to claims against Chalo! Reisen. An exclusive jurisdiction agreement is made only where legally permissible.
19.3 If an individual provision of these terms is invalid, this does not render the entire travel contract invalid.
19.4 Individual agreements and mandatory statutory provisions take precedence over these terms.
19.5 This English version is provided for convenience. In the event of discrepancies, the German version serves as the reference text to the extent legally permissible; mandatory consumer rights remain unaffected.
Note: This version has been editorially updated on the basis of German package travel law in force since 2018 and the legal position as of September 2026. It does not replace individual legal review, in particular of the specific cancellation scale, payment terms and business-specific information.
