ATOL
Andean Trails has nearly two decades of experience of dealing with South America holidays.
We also offer ATOL (Civil Aviation Authority) protected holidays to give our customers peace of mind when booking and travelling.
We pay a fee to the CAA for every licensable passenger we book since we hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking.
When you buy an ATOL protected air holiday package from Andean Trails Ltd you will receive a Confirmation Invoice from us confirming your arrangements and your protection under our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 6275.
What is ATOL?
The CAA’s ATOL scheme offers protection to your money and your holiday if you book with us. Not everybody is covered (see ‘Who is covered?’ for more), as you must purchase an ‘air package holiday’ with Andean Trails to be protected.
And ‘air package holiday’ is defined as including a flight and some ground services (hotel, transfer, trek etc). This is also known as an ‘ATOL-protected holiday’.
Who is covered?
To be covered by ATOL, you must book a flight and some ground services with us and be from the UK. If you are from the UK and only book ground services and no flights, you are not covered by ATOL (see below for more on how non-ATOL clients are covered).
If you are outside the UK and buy flights with us, you will be ATOL protected IF any of the flights booked with Andean Trails touches/stops in the UK at any point during your holiday package booked with us.
If you buy your flights elsewhere, please check with that agent if you are ATOL protected. Be careful with online flight purchases and make sure you know what protection you have, if any, before paying for flights.
Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL scheme. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking.
For land only holidays not involving any air travel, in accordance with “The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992”, all UK passengers booking with Andean Trails Ltd. are fully protected for the initial deposit and subsequently the balance of all money paid to us, arising from cancellation or curtailment of travel arrangements due to the insolvency of Andean Trails.
I’m not ATOL covered, what protection do I have?
If you are not ATOL covered, any payments you make to us go to a Trust account.
We can only access this money once your tour has been completed, meaning that if anything happens to Andean Trails Limited while you are on holiday, then your money is secure and you can either complete the trip or be able to make it home.
If you pay for your holiday with a credit card, some offer payment protection – please check with your cardholder.
You also should have cancellation protection written into your insurance (which we recommend you have at the time of booking) in case you need to cancel.
Need more information?
Contact us for more and with any questions.
Testimonials
Pam and Paul, Australia, Paine W self-guided, Chile. March 2025 As an older non Spanish speaking couple hailing from Australia, booking our 5 day solo Torres del Paine W trek with Andean Trails was the perfect start to realise our adventure. Having all our accommodation, transfers, inclusive meals and comprehensive pack list sorted to suit our itinerary by such knowledgeable, professional and amenable travel experts meant we could focus our efforts entirely on the trek. We were blessed by great weather - a considerable bonus given we took a few hours longer to complete each daily walk as some of the trails were challenging too but the stunning views that unfolded along the trails provided impetus for us to persevere. We also found our walking poles were essential for ascents and descents on steeper slopes. Our last night was a fixed tent camping spot - comfortable enough and allowed for unreal Milky Way stargazing in the wee small hours. Our 3 nights in Refugios were good - took a bit of getting used to sharing space with 4 other bunk bed mates and it helped being organised the night before when setting off for a pre-dawn start with head torches. The food provided was fine and portions adequate to needs and the Chilean staff were all friendly and helpful. In summary whilst we have physically come down from the mountain tops we are still on an emotional high! Our entire Patagonian trip was nourishment for the heart and soul and a truly awesome experience to be immersed in such an incredible, diverse and unique natural environment - the sound of roaring rivers, the thunder of shifting glaciers , the winds through the forest and high peaks further complimented our sensory experience. There are many options for trekkers to explore in terms of walks and destinations within this mighty National Park to suit fitness and/or time constraints. Our advice would be take your time considering what you feel comfortable with challenging yourself (I was certainly apprehensive about my ability to complete the full 70km circuit and we ended up doing less kms towards the end which felt just fine and meant we we could have more time sitting on a rock admiring Grey glacier from a greater distance) and then make it happen, one beautiful step at a time - you might even glimpse a Puma along the way!
Pam Christmas
» Self-Guided Paine W Trek
C. Cooper, UK. Photography Tour, Chile and Bolivia, April 2025 We had a truly amazing experience. Chile and Bolivia are stunning. Our guides were professional, knowledgeable and friendly. All of the guides said we had a very well planned itinerary that gave us the best chance of acclimatising to the altitude properly (the hike in Atacama and the trek to the Hot Springs before departing for Bolivia). Our driver in Bolivia was fantastic. He was professional and very competent. Despite the condition of the roads and the amount of time we spent travelling we always felt completely safe. The hotels in Bolivia were basic but charming. Some of the facilities were a bit more rustic than we had expected (no heating and/ or no hot water in the mornings) but we managed. Food was simple but good. Overall, it was a very special trip and has given us a lot of amazing memories. If someone asks what the best part was, I couldn’t decide because there were so many best bits….Moon Valley, the flooded Solar de Uyuni, The Milky Way, Sunsets & Sunrises, the Flamingos at Laguna Colorado. It was exhausting and unforgettable - just how we like it :-) I will eventually get to reviewing my photos and will send you some. Many thanks for your help in organising everything.
C. Cooper
» Bolivia Uyuni Salt Flats 4WD Tour
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