Rio.com / Terms and Conditions

RIO.com – Terms and Conditions

• Airfare
• City Tax
• Deposit
• Final Payment
• Credit Card Charges in Brazilian Reais
• Electronic Commerce (Credit Card Security)
• Revisions and Cancellations
• Carnival, New Year’s and Other Special Dates
• Refunds
• Travel Insurance
• Tickets and Vouchers
• Check-in Requirements
• Travel Documents
• Responsibility

All prices are per person, in US Dollars, and are subject to change, without notice, by currency fluctuation, hotels or airlines rates changes, or increase in operational costs, until RIO.com receives the total amount.

Airfare: The airfare for all packages is not guaranteed with regard to price or availability until paid in full. Times, flights and fares are based on current rates at time of ticketing. These may change without notice. Every effort will be made to obtain the best fares and schedule.
Exclusions: Prices do not include gratuities and meals, except where otherwise noted by “included”. Nor do they include telephone calls, other personal or incidental items or any other features not listed above.

City Tax: Some hotels may charge City Taxes of approximately $3 per day per room. 4 and 5-star hotels normally charge $3 dollars per day per room while 2 and 3-star hotels charge $1 for the same period. These taxes can not be collected outside Brazil. The taxes will be included in your hotel charges and will be payable to the hotel upon checkout.

Deposit: A deposit of US$ 200.00 per person is required to book any package. This deposit is non-refundable for groups. It is refundable for individual travelers if no confirmation is made. However, since hotels require 100% prepayment for special time periods such as, Carnival and New Year’s these specific packages must be paid in full at time of booking and are not refundable, unless informed otherwise.

Final Payment: Full payment is due 60 days prior to date of departure. All packages are subject to price and availability changes until paid in full.
Forms of Payment: Cash, checks and all major credit cards are accepted. Personal checks cannot be accepted 30 days or less prior to departure on restricted airfare. All returned checks are subject to a US$ 55.00 service charge.

Credit Card Charges in Brazilian Reais (R$): For your convenience and better reference, prices shown on the site can be displayed in a variety of currencies, such as US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, British Pounds, Reais or Euros. The quote sent to you will be always in US Dollars (American Dollars). The actual charge, however will be in Brazilian Reais, with the exchange rate of the day of charge. Therefore the amount charged to you by your bank may differ slightly from the quoted price. The amount reflected on your credit card statement will depend on the exchange rate used by your credit card issuing bank at the day of charge. You may experience a variation from 1% to 3% – for more or less – of the values quoted in US Dollars shown on the website. Your credit card statement will read Rio.com, BRAZIL TOURISM AND CONGRESS, Brickel Travel Management, Premier Planner, and/or any of the airlines/consolidators we work with such as Brickell Travel, Baac, Travel2000, Blumar BrazilNuts, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, and TAM Brazilian Airlines.

Electronic Commerce (Credit Card Security): Credit card privacy is our primary concern. By making your hotel purchase on our secure server, you are protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology, utilized by most popular browsers, including Netscape and Microsoft Explorer. This technology allows us to use the most advanced encryption tools necessary to protect information transmitted between your computer and our server. Through encryption, the personal information you enter, including your name, address, and credit-card information, is converted into code that is then securely dispatched over the Internet. If you would like to make a Hotel reservation, but would rather provide your credit card and information over the telephone, you may call our reservation center the toll free number bellow.

Revisions and Cancellations: In the event you need to change your travel plans after booking, certain restrictions may apply. Revision, cancellation and refund policies vary in accordance with hotels and airlines policies. In addition, we reserve the right to charge $100 as an administrative fee per person. This fee will apply to every cancellation received up to 45 days. If received within 45 days, the following fees will apply:

• 45 – 30 days – 15% of the full trip cost
• 29 – 15 days – 30% of the full trip cost
• 14 – 08 days – 80% of the full trip cost
• 07 days – no show – 100%, the full trip cost

Carnival, New Year’s and Other Special Dates: The following policy is effective for all Carnival related travel arrangements including event tickets: If the land portion of the package is canceled prior to September 30, an 80% refund can be applied for. While, if cancellation occurs prior to December 31, a 60% refund can be applied for. Thereafter, 100 % penalty and there will be no refund can be processed. The following policy is in effect for all New Years’ related travel: If the land portion of the package is canceled prior to September 30, an 80% refund can be applied for. While, if cancellation occurs prior to October 31, a 60% refund can be applied for. Thereafter, no refund can be processed. Additionally, all amounts paid toward airfare travel during these time periods are 100 % not refundable and not transferable. Please inquire with your travel consultant at the time of booking for details of these restrictions and other restrictions. There are certain dates such as Congresses that are also included in the above special conditions, so please consult us at time of booking.

Refunds: Refunds of unused air transportation, if applicable are subject to carrier tariff rules. In all cases, cancellation fees will apply. Unused purchased hotel and ground options may be refundable under certain circumstances beyond our control. All requests for refunds must be made in writing 30 days prior to of travel and must include any unused vouchers. Refund policies can vary by hotel and airline. Some departure dates may have special minimum stay and refund policies for reservations during certain peak travel times in addition to the normal policies. Other restrictions may apply. Please inquire at time of booking.

Travel Insurance: RIO.com strongly recommends the purchase of travel insurance. Please inquire as to cost and coverage at time of booking.

Tickets and Vouchers: Travel documents will be mailed to you 21 days prior to departure. If expedited delivery of documents is necessary, passenger will incur additional charges. If reservations are made less than 45 days prior to departure, documents will be mailed upon receipt of full payment, but in no event earlier than 30 days prior to departure. For reservations made less than 21 days prior to departure, documents will be sent immediately upon receipt of full payment and an express delivery fee will apply. Please check your documents when you receive them. Lost, stolen or destroyed tickets or vouchers cannot be replaced or refunded.
Flight Confirmation: It is important to confirm flights with the airline prior to departure. For domestic flights, 24 hours is recommended. For international flights, 72 hours is mandatory. Failure to confirm international flights or to use any portion of the reservation may result in automatic cancellation for all continuing and return flights.

Check-in Requirements: It is important to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours prior to departure for all domestic flights and 3-4 hours prior to departure for international flights.

Travel Documents: A valid Passport will be required for international travel. For domestic travel, picture ID is required. US passport holder needs a Visa to enter Brazil. Please visit our visa page to get more information as well as to download visa forms. For some packages, inoculation is recommended. It is the sole responsibility of the passenger to obtain visas independently. Please consult with the respective country’s embassy and or consulate.

Responsibility: RIO.com and its authorized representatives act only as agents for the passengers in all matters pertaining to travel by air for surface. The shall not be or become liable for any loss, injury or damage or delay to person, property or otherwise in connection with any accommodations, transportation or other services referred to in this brochure resulting directly or indirectly from acts of God, dangers at sea, fire machinery or equipment breakdown, sickness, epidemics, quarantine, medical or customs regulations, pilferage, labor disputes, strikes, riots, thefts, government restraints, hostilities, civil disturbances, acts of terrorism of any kind, wars whether declares or not, losses or delays or additional expenses resulting from insufficient or improperly issued passports and or visas and other documents, or from any other causes beyond RIO.com.

The tickets, coupons, tariffs, rules or contracts currently in use by any carrier, hotel, restaurant or other contractor rendering services shall constitute the sole contract between such contractor and the tour member. No carrier shall be responsible for any act, omission or event during the time passenger are not on aboard its own conveyance. The right is reserved to cancel or change itineraries or substitute services without notice and to decline, accept, or retain any participant as a member of these tours at any time. The right is reserved until the time of departure to change the rates and fares referred to in this brochure without prior notification due to changes in current tariffs, fluctuation due to changes in current tariffs, fluctuation of exchange rates or fuel surcharges.

All disputes and matters shall be litigated, if at all, in and before a court located in Miami, to exclusion to the courts of any other city, county or state. The issuance and acceptance of tickets and or other documents in connection with a service provided by RIO.com is considered acceptance of the above terms.