In January, we went on a trip to Peru with the intent to continue on to Costa Rica. When we arrived

In January, we went on a trip to Peru with the intent to continue on to Costa Rica. When we arrived compare cheap airline tickets at the airport in Lima we were informed by our airline, Taca, that there was an agreement between the government of Peru and Costa Rica that no one could enter Costa Rica from Peru without a yellow fever vaccination.
We had no idea, and our travel agent had researched all restrictions beforehand, and there were no published restrictions. We were not allowed to go to Costa Rica and upon our return we confirmed that not even the official Costa Rican Embassy Web site had this information listed. We had no way of knowing!
The Lodge refuses to refund our deposit. While we understand the operating procedures of hotels, this was not information that was published and we had no way of knowing. Do you think we are entitled to our deposit?
The yellow fever vaccination requirements are listed on the Centers for Disease Control site . They are also prominently displayed on the Costa Rican embassy s Web site . Pace s travel agent should have known about that.
I would have a nice, long, chat with the travel agent. While the lodge certainly shouldn t be required to do anything, I think something from the travel agent would be appropriate. Maybe not a full deposit refund, but some sort of discount on future travel. I would think that this sort of thing would be the agents job. Knowing about restrictions is part of what you are paying the agent for, no? The agent should have known this before booking the itenerary.
So why does this oops not get the Chris Elliott treatment while people doing stupid things like making reservations in a married name for a honeymoon trip where therei is no way you can get legal id in a married name until you are married get it?
I will defer to our legal expert on this Joe F? but yes, I certainly would consider asking the travel agent for some sort of recompense. In any other agent/client relationship, the agent has some sort of fiscal responsibility to the client. I ve never employed a travel agent, compare cheap airline tickets so I am speaking from a position of ignorance here, but I m sure there s a contract, no? What does it say? What SHOULD it say? In general, isn t it an agent s (any agent, not just a travel agent) job to buffer the client from this kind of mistake? And if they fail? Should compare cheap airline tickets they just be able to throw up their hands and say, Whoopsie! Sorry about that. I don t generally advocate suing people for your own mistakes, but if you go the extra mile and spend the extra dollar to hire someone to navigate the tricky waters of international travel for you, don t you think you re entitled to some compensation when they screw up?
I agree, the agent should have known before compare cheap airline tickets booking the trip. They get paid to research this information. However, there is still a responsibility on the part of the traveler to find out for herself about restrictions.
Case in point: In 1998, I won a trip to Aruba. It was arranged and booked through AAA certainly compare cheap airline tickets a reputable, throrough service. Even though I didn t figure compare cheap airline tickets there would be any restrictions, I still looked on the Aruban consulate Web site, the CDC and the U.S. State Department to find out if there was anything my husband and I needed to know before leaving. It might have been something as simple as making sure our measles vaccines were up to date. You just never know. Turns out, there were no restrictions, but I did look. If I do the research myself, I know what I ve found, and can then ask the travel agent about what I ve discovered. But that s just how I am.
I do realize that many travelers leave this kind of legwork to their travel agents, and for that very reason, agents compare cheap airline tickets who book any trips outside the U.S. and Canada should be current with this kind of information.
As a travel agent, I would agree that the client had an expectation from the travel agent to help them be fully prepared for the situation. In any traveler/travel agent relationship, the agent has full responsibility to ensure the traveler is aware of all necessary documents, potential snafus, etc. and help them be prepared to overcome them. It is the traveler s responsibility, however, to ensure they actually LISTEN to the agent.
I have my international travelers acknowledge that they have been advised of the proper requirements and documentation needed to travel where they re going. They are also welcome to research the requirements and documentation on their own to verify my information, or to make themselves feel better about it.
If they booked the trip on behalf of the supplier, then the agent is an agent of the supplier. Some travel suppliers will not sell direct to the public. Maybe this was the case and it had to go through an agent?
Regardless, a competent agent should have at the VERY LEAST informed the client that they ought to look into any requirements. Ideally, they should have advised compare cheap airline tickets them of the requirements AT THE TIME and advise the client to re-check before departure.
As a travel agent with 23 years experience, I have plenty experience with these sorts of things and I am very careful in what I tell people. When it comes to passports, visas and travel restrictions I do a lot of research and if it is something unusual, such as a refugee from another country I will refer my customers to a passport/visa service who specializes compare cheap airline tickets in the unusual.
When it comes to something like this, I always consult the most current database compare cheap airline tickets of information on visas and health restrictions because I know that there are lots of them when you are dealing with third world countries. After checking the various websites and programs available to me, I always tell my clients what I have checked and what I have discovered and what they need to do. I also insist that my clients provide me with a copy of their passport so I can verify the names and validity of their documents. You would be surprised how many people book their domestic travel under their nicknames instead of their legal names, for example Ted instead of Edward or Jo instead of Joanna and while it can be a hassle getting by TSA, it isn t anywhere near the problem that it is when your name on your ticket doesn t match the name on your passport at Customs and Immigration in another country. Or the people who assume compare cheap airline tickets that it is okay to travel on a passport that will expire during their journey. compare cheap airline tickets Or that they don t need a passport to fly into Canada from the USA. These are commonplace errors that people make all the time and are the reason why I insist on a copy of their passport. No copy, no reservation, it s that simple.
If this had been my client, I would have covered the cost because in my view it was my error. If it was something that I had advised them of and they decided not to follow my advice, then I m not responsible.
Chris the simple answer is yes. The facts are likely to be convoluted, and the legal issue is what is the duty of care owed by the travel agent to inform the traveler of the governmental requirements.
What are the equities here? Traveler engages travel agent to set up a complex international trip that is more than a straight here to there, there to here itinerary. There are intermediate compare cheap airline tickets international stops what if there was visa requirement? Is the travel agent needed to tell the passenger about a visa? I think so. Even more elementary. . what about a passport? I think so there as well.
The other side of the coin is that the passenger is the traveler and is responsible for the proper documents. The difference is one of knowledge the travel agent HOLDS THEMSELVES OUT as having specialized knowledge. Do they? Did they tell the traveler Gee, I can help you with all that, either directly or indirectly?
Just because it is the responsibility of the traveler to get the proper vaccinations and documents, it is the role of the travel agent to KNOW what they are so the individual can comply with the rules. Otherwise, how hard is it to call a hotel to make a reservation and then make airline reservations?
you should NOT simply go to the US State Dept website to located this information since Americans arriving compare cheap airline tickets from the US are not required to have an inoculation unless you have been to a place where yellow fever is endemic.
The virus is constantly present with low levels compare cheap airline tickets of infection (i.e. endemic) in some tropical areas of Africa and the Americas. This viral presence can amplify into regular epidemics. compare cheap airline tickets Until the start of this century, yellow fever outbreaks also occurred in Europe, the Caribbean islands and Central and North America. Even though the virus is not felt to be present in these areas now, they must still be considered at risk for yellow fever epidemics.
Thirty-three countries, with a combined compare cheap airline tickets population of 508 million, are at risk in Africa. These lie within a band from 15°N to 10°S of the equator. In the Americas, yellow fever is endemic in nine South American countries and in several Caribbean islands. Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru are considered at greatest risk.
There is plenty of air service from the USA to Costa Rica without connecting thrugh compare cheap airline tickets Peru. Why were they connecting through Peru and whose idea was it to use that schedule? compare cheap airline tickets If the agent suggested using the non-stops on American from Miami to San Jose and the client says I found this really cheap fare going through compare cheap airline tickets Peru , then I m thinking this one rests on the passengers compare cheap airline tickets alone. If the agent suggested the schedule withouth checking required documentation, the agent needs to stand behind it.
You need to read it and understand it. . . . sorry for the sharpness of the response but s folks like you in situations who do not read what is plainly in front of them and then get upset because they do not understand what is happening.
Although yellow fever is not a disease risk in Costa Rica, the government requires travelers arriving from certain countries where yellow fever is present to present proof of yellow fever vaccination. If you will be traveling to one of these countries