Stag Mania FAQs

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Covid-19

  • Our COVID-19 policy:

    As a proud independent tour operator, we have faced numerous challenges since COVID-19 began impacting all our lives back in early March 2020. Throughout this period, we worked caringly & professionally with our customers & proud to have protected & retained all our staff, guides and drivers.

    Our efforts have been kindly recognised by the numerous positive messages received by affected customers & by the kind words posted on our Trust-Pilot and Facebook. In fact – we did not drop from our proud 5 star status throughout the whole pandemic.

    Covid-19 is still continuing to affect us, so below we attempt to answer your questions.

    What happens if we cancel your holiday? 

    If you are booked onto a ski trip which we must cancel, these are your options:

    OPTION 1

    1 – Consider an alternative destination

    As we operate in both Bulgaria & Slovenia it may be possible to transfer your holiday if circumstances are significantly different in either of these destinations. If this is feasible for us & your group, and you decide to do this, we will transfer the money you have already paid to your new booking. If the alternative holiday is cheaper, we will refund you the difference. If it is more expensive you will need to top up this amount up to match the new price.

    OPTION 2

    2 – Defer your holiday

    If you can support us by deferring your holiday, then this will be appreciated and in turn we will guarantee to hold the same price (as per your holiday receipt) for the corresponding dates the following winter season. If you would like to change your dates then we can do this for you, subject to availability of course, and we will honour the corresponding price (excluding Feb half term dates).

    OPTION 3

    3 – A refund less the non-refundable admin fee

    If you are unable to transfer to a new destination or defer your holiday to a new date, then we will arrange a full refund for you less an admin charge of £50.00 per person. This non-refundable admin charge has been introduced to protect our staff & partners to cover our most basic administration costs, in light of any Covid-19 related scenarios that may result in us being forced to cancel your holiday. This is a policy we have simply had to implement to protect our future during these prolonged tough times within the travel sector. Please be aware – it’s important to note throughout the pandemic the travel industry has received no industry specific support from the UK government.

    If we are booked for a country that has a travel ban. When will you know if the trip is operating or not?

    As per industry guide lines we will be regularly monitoring the FCDO status of your holiday. We will contact you at the very latest, 14 days prior to departure to discuss your options at that stage.
    We will also provide earlier updates and throughout you are of course welcome to check in on the status of your holiday prior to this; but it will be a minimum of two weeks before departure that we make a final decision.

    What happens if the travel advice for my destination changes whilst i am on holiday?

    If the FCDO change the travel advice whilst you are on holiday we will inform.

    Of course this is something outside of our control so although we will always do our best to assist you this would be dealt with as per our standard booking terms and conditions.

    As such, any loss would need to be reclaimed from your travel insurance policy so please check the wording carefully and ensure you are satisfied with the level of cover.

    What happens if there is a quarantine on my return to the UK?

    In this instance, if there was no advice against travelling from either the UK or your destination’s local government then we would operate the holiday as originally planned. As a quarantine upon your return to the UK would be out of both our own and our local partners’ control and it does not impact on our ability to provide the holiday. Therefore, in this situation our standard cancellation terms would apply. See: https://www.stagmania.com/terms-and-conditions/ If this scenario arose and you would like to change your travel dates to postpone to a different time, then we will do everything we can to assist this and minimise any non-recoverable costs.

    What happens if the flights I have booked are cancelled?

    If you have booked your own flights and they are cancelled, then first step would be to contact the airline to discuss the options available to you. These may be alternative flights, a voucher or full refund (this is likely to depend on the type of ticket you purchased & each airlines protocols). Once you are aware of all of your options please call your 1-1 travel manager.

    If you decide simply to cancel your holiday, then you must notify us & our standard cancelation terms will apply see: https://www.stagmania.com/terms-and-conditions/

    How would a ‘local’ lockdown affect my holiday?

    The local lockdowns which have been put in place in England and Scotland so far have not prevented people from going on holiday as planned. The advice has been different in Wales where lockdown specifically has prevented people from going on holiday. If this does happen in the future and you are prohibited from going on holiday due to local restrictions, then your first call should be to your travel insurer so please ensure you have a policy which covers such an eventuality.

    If you are unable to reclaim your money through a travel insurance policy, then we will work with our local suppliers to try to refund any recoverable costs. However, as nothing is preventing us from running the holiday for other guests and the local suppliers are able to provide it in full, we will be unable to refund any irrecoverable costs. The only way to ensure a full refund if you are prevented from travelling due to a local lockdown would be through your travel insurance.

    I’m travelling from a country outside of the UK – what happens if i’m banned from travelling?

    Stag Mania (Vamos Travel Ltd) is based in the UK and we take our guidance from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and other UK government bodies.

    As we do not handle flights your contract with us starts at the agreed meeting point in the destination country (e.g typically at the airport arrivals or at a pre-defined ferry port meeting point).

    If there are no national UK border restrictions preventing us from operating your holiday (i.e. unless the FCDO advise against all but essential travel to Bulgaria or Slovenia) OR the destination government bans all arrivals from the UK then we will continue to run the holiday as planned.

    For anyone who is prevented from joining the trip as planned due to medical reasons or government advice changing from a country other than the UK or the destination of your holiday, then this cancellation by you would be dealt with as per our standard booking terms and conditions see: https://www.stagmania.com/terms-and-conditions/

    As such, any loss would need to be reclaimed from your travel insurance policy so please check the wording carefully and ensure you are satisfied with the level of cover.

    Travel insurance?

    Travel insurance has always been a mandatory condition of travelling with us. Purchasing a comprehensive travel insurance policy should be first to do after booking your holiday with us.

    Your insurance needs to cover your general travel requirements plus your activities. In light of Covid-19 it’s also important to choose a travel insurance policy which covers you for a wide breadth of eventualities.

    COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of a comprehensive travel insurance policy.

    If you, or any member of your party, are diagnosed with COVID whilst you are on holiday then you need to be satisfied that your insurance policy will cover any medical costs incurred including testing, self- isolation and treatment.

    We would suggest choosing a policy which would allow you to claim for any elements of the holiday you were not able to take part in.
    Our COVID-19 policy:

    As a proud independent tour operator, we have faced numerous challenges since COVID-19 began impacting all our lives back in early March 2020. Throughout this period, we worked caringly & professionally with our customers & proud to have protected & retained all our staff, guides and drivers.

    Our efforts have been kindly recognised by the numerous positive messages received by affected customers & by the kind words posted on our Trust-Pilot and Facebook. In fact – we did not drop from our proud 5 star status throughout the whole pandemic.

    Covid-19 is still continuing to affect us, so below we attempt to answer your questions.

    What happens if we cancel your holiday? 

    If you are booked onto a ski trip which we must cancel, these are your options:

    OPTION 1

    1 – Consider an alternative destination

    As we operate in both Bulgaria & Slovenia it may be possible to transfer your holiday if circumstances are significantly different in either of these destinations. If this is feasible for us & your group, and you decide to do this, we will transfer the money you have already paid to your new booking. If the alternative holiday is cheaper, we will refund you the difference. If it is more expensive you will need to top up this amount up to match the new price.

    OPTION 2

    2 – Defer your holiday

    If you can support us by deferring your holiday, then this will be appreciated and in turn we will guarantee to hold the same price (as per your holiday receipt) for the corresponding dates the following winter season. If you would like to change your dates then we can do this for you, subject to availability of course, and we will honour the corresponding price (excluding Feb half term dates).

    OPTION 3

    3 – A refund less the non-refundable admin fee

    If you are unable to transfer to a new destination or defer your holiday to a new date, then we will arrange a full refund for you less an admin charge of £50.00 per person. This non-refundable admin charge has been introduced to protect our staff & partners to cover our most basic administration costs, in light of any Covid-19 related scenarios that may result in us being forced to cancel your holiday. This is a policy we have simply had to implement to protect our future during these prolonged tough times within the travel sector. Please be aware – it’s important to note throughout the pandemic the travel industry has received no industry specific support from the UK government.

    If we are booked for a country that has a travel ban. When will you know if the trip is operating or not?

    As per industry guide lines we will be regularly monitoring the FCDO status of your holiday. We will contact you at the very latest, 14 days prior to departure to discuss your options at that stage.
    We will also provide earlier updates and throughout you are of course welcome to check in on the status of your holiday prior to this; but it will be a minimum of two weeks before departure that we make a final decision.

    What happens if the travel advice for my destination changes whilst i am on holiday?

    If the FCDO change the travel advice whilst you are on holiday we will inform.

    Of course this is something outside of our control so although we will always do our best to assist you this would be dealt with as per our standard booking terms and conditions.

    As such, any loss would need to be reclaimed from your travel insurance policy so please check the wording carefully and ensure you are satisfied with the level of cover.

    What happens if there is a quarantine on my return to the UK?

    In this instance, if there was no advice against travelling from either the UK or your destination’s local government then we would operate the holiday as originally planned. As a quarantine upon your return to the UK would be out of both our own and our local partners’ control and it does not impact on our ability to provide the holiday. Therefore, in this situation our standard cancellation terms would apply. See: https://www.stagmania.com/terms-and-conditions/ If this scenario arose and you would like to change your travel dates to postpone to a different time, then we will do everything we can to assist this and minimise any non-recoverable costs.

    What happens if the flights I have booked are cancelled?

    If you have booked your own flights and they are cancelled, then first step would be to contact the airline to discuss the options available to you. These may be alternative flights, a voucher or full refund (this is likely to depend on the type of ticket you purchased & each airlines protocols). Once you are aware of all of your options please call your 1-1 travel manager.

    If you decide simply to cancel your holiday, then you must notify us & our standard cancelation terms will apply see: https://www.stagmania.com/terms-and-conditions/

    How would a ‘local’ lockdown affect my holiday?

    The local lockdowns which have been put in place in England and Scotland so far have not prevented people from going on holiday as planned. The advice has been different in Wales where lockdown specifically has prevented people from going on holiday. If this does happen in the future and you are prohibited from going on holiday due to local restrictions, then your first call should be to your travel insurer so please ensure you have a policy which covers such an eventuality.

    If you are unable to reclaim your money through a travel insurance policy, then we will work with our local suppliers to try to refund any recoverable costs. However, as nothing is preventing us from running the holiday for other guests and the local suppliers are able to provide it in full, we will be unable to refund any irrecoverable costs. The only way to ensure a full refund if you are prevented from travelling due to a local lockdown would be through your travel insurance.

    I’m travelling from a country outside of the UK – what happens if i’m banned from travelling?

    Stag Mania (Vamos Travel Ltd) is based in the UK and we take our guidance from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and other UK government bodies.

    As we do not handle flights your contract with us starts at the agreed meeting point in the destination country (e.g typically at the airport arrivals or at a pre-defined ferry port meeting point).

    If there are no national UK border restrictions preventing us from operating your holiday (i.e. unless the FCDO advise against all but essential travel to Bulgaria or Slovenia) OR the destination government bans all arrivals from the UK then we will continue to run the holiday as planned.

    For anyone who is prevented from joining the trip as planned due to medical reasons or government advice changing from a country other than the UK or the destination of your holiday, then this cancellation by you would be dealt with as per our standard booking terms and conditions see: https://www.stagmania.com/terms-and-conditions/

    As such, any loss would need to be reclaimed from your travel insurance policy so please check the wording carefully and ensure you are satisfied with the level of cover.

    Travel insurance?

    Travel insurance has always been a mandatory condition of travelling with us. Purchasing a comprehensive travel insurance policy should be first to do after booking your holiday with us.

    Your insurance needs to cover your general travel requirements plus your activities. In light of Covid-19 it’s also important to choose a travel insurance policy which covers you for a wide breadth of eventualities.

    COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of a comprehensive travel insurance policy.

    If you, or any member of your party, are diagnosed with COVID whilst you are on holiday then you need to be satisfied that your insurance policy will cover any medical costs incurred including testing, self- isolation and treatment.

    We would suggest choosing a policy which would allow you to claim for any elements of the holiday you were not able to take part in.

Insurance

  • Insurance

    Q:Is winter insurance included in the booking?
    A:     No. This is up to all travellers to book themselves.

    Q: Should I take out insurance before travelling?
    A: Yes. It is extremely important that all travelers booked must have travel insurance, whilst travelling with us. It is a booking condition of traveling with us that you have adequate travel and activity insurance in place; this is part of our booking / terms and conditions, as we want your safety to come first.
    Insurance

    Q:Is winter insurance included in the booking?
    A:     No. This is up to all travellers to book themselves.

    Q: Should I take out insurance before travelling?
    A: Yes. It is extremely important that all travelers booked must have travel insurance, whilst travelling with us. It is a booking condition of traveling with us that you have adequate travel and activity insurance in place; this is part of our booking / terms and conditions, as we want your safety to come first.

Accommodation

  • Accommodation

    Q: Will the accommodation be of the requested standard?
    A: We take great pride in our strong relationships with our accommodation partners and in their facilities. Our travel mangers or our long term local representatives will have always inspected & evaluated the accommodation you are staying in. Before making a booking with Stag Mania, your 1-1 manager will have communicated the standard and room type.

    Q: Will the hotel be in a central resort position?
    A: Yes. This is one of our main priorities; the hotel will always be in a safe and walkable distance to ski lift systems and nightlife.

    Q: What types of accommodation do you offer?
    A: Hotels only.

    Q: Why do you not offer chalets?
    A: We’ve been operating ski stag holidays for 20 years. So we’ve tried and tested both apartments and chalets. Both have some major disadvantages over using hotels. Chalets & Apartments don’t give one room key per person. There are less toilets, causing a bottle neck problem in the mornings. The private owners are much harsher with guests. Often taking deposit money or not fixing problems straight away. Apartments and chalets don’t have communal bars or pool tables. Trust us when we say, book hotels all the way!

     

     
    Accommodation

    Q: Will the accommodation be of the requested standard?
    A: We take great pride in our strong relationships with our accommodation partners and in their facilities. Our travel mangers or our long term local representatives will have always inspected & evaluated the accommodation you are staying in. Before making a booking with Stag Mania, your 1-1 manager will have communicated the standard and room type.

    Q: Will the hotel be in a central resort position?
    A: Yes. This is one of our main priorities; the hotel will always be in a safe and walkable distance to ski lift systems and nightlife.

    Q: What types of accommodation do you offer?
    A: Hotels only.

    Q: Why do you not offer chalets?
    A: We’ve been operating ski stag holidays for 20 years. So we’ve tried and tested both apartments and chalets. Both have some major disadvantages over using hotels. Chalets & Apartments don’t give one room key per person. There are less toilets, causing a bottle neck problem in the mornings. The private owners are much harsher with guests. Often taking deposit money or not fixing problems straight away. Apartments and chalets don’t have communal bars or pool tables. Trust us when we say, book hotels all the way!

     

     

Flights to Sofia

  • Flights to Sofia

    There are a few popular airline routes into Bulgaria. We recommend flying int Sofia.

    – Easy JET
    – Wizz AIR
    – British Airways
    – Ryan AIR
    – Bulgarian AIR
    – JET2
    Flights to Sofia

    There are a few popular airline routes into Bulgaria. We recommend flying int Sofia.

    – Easy JET
    – Wizz AIR
    – British Airways
    – Ryan AIR
    – Bulgarian AIR
    – JET2

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Stag Mania offers ski stag weekends in Europe. We have been operating for over 20 years and can inspire so many great winter stag do ideas. All aspects of your skiing stag do is handled by a team of professionals. We are very proud of our 5 star rated reputation. See verified reviews on Facebook, Google Business and Trust Pilot. At the end of an amazing ski stag holiday, you’ll take the credit for being a planning hero. We work, so you can party. Get a free Quote today. UK LIMITED, ATOL HOLDERS

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