Making your booking
A complete service for each different style of travel.
Our service
It's good to know that when you book your holiday with Geodyssey you not only get the benefit of our in-depth knowledge of our destinations from many years of making travel arrangements to Latin America, and our up-to-date knowledge of the best places, old and new. You also get our experience in designing holidays for different tastes and budgets, the confidence that your money is fully protected, and the reassurance that if anything goes wrong while you are away you have a network of helpful, knowledgeable and resourceful people locally and back in the UK to support you. We're just a phone call away when you are planning your trip, preparing to leave, or out in your destination.
When you get back we will send you a short questionnaire to make sure everything went well and to gather your comments on the places you visited. We will also ask what you think of us. More than 95% of our customers describe their overall level of satisfaction with their holiday as "Excellent" or "Good", with over 90% rating it as "Excellent". A staggering 99% rate the service that our office provides as "Excellent".
Financial protection
You can be sure that your booking with us is fully financially protected, no matter what. If your booking involves a flight you are covered by the Civil Aviation Authority under the terms of our ATOL licence. Others are protected by our ABTOT bond. For details see 'Your Financial Protection'
The AITO Quality Charter
AITO is the association for top flight independent and specialist holiday companies. Geodyssey has been a member of AITO for over 15 years. As AITO members we abide by the 'AITO Quality Charter'.
Booking a tailor-made holiday
Designing your trip
The selection of pre-designed 'suggested' itineraries on this website and in our brochures are a starting point for you to choose from if you prefer to travel independently, rather than in a group. These itineraries represent different holiday ideas, and are designed so that they work well in each particular country and offer good value.
We have designed them to give a selection of accommodation and other options to suit the location and a range of budgets. We can easily adapt these choices to suit you, so please do call us to talk through the possibilities.
Guide prices are per person based on two adults sharing twin/double rooms where applicable, e.g. at hotels and tourist lodges. Singles in your party pay an additional single supplement to cover the extra cost of single occupancy levied by the hotel.
Please call us for prices for solo travellers, families, three-somes and more-somes.
Our design service
We can adapt almost any of the suggested itineraries to suit you, or we can design something especially for you from scratch.
Call us to talk through your ideas. To design something from scratch we would need to know your broad requirements: the places you'd like to visit, how much or how little you'd like to do, any special interests, the standard of accommodation you prefer. We will then design a personalised itinerary which can be adjusted as often as necessary until it meets with your approval.
Fully tailor-made itineraries are only slightly more expensive than an equivalent pre-designed trip.
Very often we find that a design project that began as a fully tailor-made holiday ends up being identical or very close to one of our pre-designed itineraries. That's not a surprise - our pre-designed trips are based on a great deal of experience and local knowledge, and they really do work very well indeed. It is always best to look carefully at our 'suggested' itineraries - they might suit you perfectly just as they are.
How to book a tailor-made holiday
Once you have decided on an itinerary please send us a completed booking form and the appropriate deposit. We can then start to make firm arrangements locally. If there is a problem over availability we liaise with you to find an acceptable alternative, perhaps simply resequencing the itinerary you chose. If the itinerary you chose is not available without a substantial change, then you can cancel for a full refund.
You can download a booking form here.
Local flights
Our tour prices are based on fares for local flights that apply comfortably in advance. These fares can change at any time, but they usually increase close to the departure date. If at the time we are confirming your arrangements locally there are no seats available at the lower fares then there will be an extra supplement on the tour prices given here to cover such increases. Please book your trip as early as you can to avoid this potential extra cost.
International flights
You always have the choice of buying your international flight from us, or from another source.
Booking a small group holiday
Our Fair Price policy
Inclusive prices
We aim to include as much as possible in the tour price. Generally speaking, the exceptions are:
- some meals where there is a choice of places to eat (usually most of the group will choose the same restaurant and eat together, but you may be dying for a steak when the others would rather have a pizza), and on the first night when you may be tired after your journey.
- airport taxes
- optional items
'Local payments'
Some holiday companies charge a significant additional 'local payment' which has to be paid on arrival as part of the price of the tour. We don't.
Single supplements
Our standard tour prices for small group trips are per person based on two adults sharing twin-bed rooms where applicable. Hotels charge extra for single occupancy. We think this is unfair in the context of a group holiday and we will absorb this extra cost ourselves if you are willing to share with another person of the same sex in the group - regardless of whether there is another person to share with you.
(If you prefer a room to yourself and are not willing to share then you do need to pay the single supplement.)
Departure guarantee
For many of our small group touring trips we guarantee a reserve itinerary if the minimum number is not reached 30 days ahead, provided just two people have booked.
Reserve itineraries are adaptations of the brochure itinerary, at the same price and dates. If there are enough late bookings we will revert to the brochure itinerary. You may cancel for a full refund if you prefer.
How to book a small group holiday
- Telephone us to check availability and price. You can reserve a place by telephone for 3 days, and we can advise you about international flights at the same time. Talk through the trip with us if you have any questions.
- Complete and sign the booking form and return it to us at the address on the form, enclosing the appropriate payment. You can download a booking form here.
We will confirm your booking in writing, normally within 3-5 days, and send you an invoice for the balance with the due date by which it must be paid (normally 60 days before the start of your trip)
You will also receive a General Information pack for the countries you are visiting. This provides general travel information, background reading, etc and advice on what to pack - everything you need to get ready for your holiday.
About two weeks before you leave we will send you your final Joining Instructions with detailed timings, contact numbers, etc, and flight tickets issued in the UK. You don't have to book your international flight with Geodyssey. If you book with another company then it makes sense to book with one who will hold an option for you until the departure confirmation date, 4 weeks before the tour starts, just in case the tour cannot run.
Age and fitness
You must ensure that you are in sufficiently good health to enjoy the tour you have chosen: if after reading the trip grade you have any doubts please contact us. There are no upper age restrictions, we ask those of 65 or over for a doctor's certificate of fitness to travel appropriate to the tour. Our small group trips are not likely to suit children under 14. Children under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. We can tailor-make tours to suit families with young children.
Joining the tour
Our small group trips start in the evening of Day 1 at our chosen hotel, an easy drive from the main international airport. If you are flying in that day we will arrange to meet you at the airport and take you to the hotel at no extra charge. Otherwise we will send you full directions on how to get to the hotel with your joining instructions.