General Terms and Conditions

These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) apply to all contracts for services provided by Sightseeing Avenue, in particular city tours, harbor tours, ship charters, bus rental and transfers – with consumers as well as with businesses and public-sector clients.

For ship charters and bus rental, our “Additional Terms for Ship Charter” and “Additional Terms for Bus Rental” also apply. Further additional terms are stated in the offer and sent with it. The following order of precedence applies: individual agreements, then the additional terms, then these GTC.

Deviating terms of the customer only apply if we expressly agree to them in text form.

Online tickets: By completing the booking, the customer submits a binding offer. The contract is concluded with our booking confirmation by email.

Individual offers (e.g. groups, charters, bus rental): Our offer is valid until the date stated. The contract is concluded when the customer accepts it within the deadline – online via “Accept offer” with the button “Book with obligation to pay”, or in text form. We confirm receipt by email.

We store the contract text. The customer receives it with the confirmation by email, together with these GTC and, where applicable, the additional terms. The language of the contract is German.

Anyone who books on behalf of a group, a company or an association is liable for the obligations under the contract if they expressly declare this or act without authority of representation.

We carry out city tours and walking tours ourselves or through tour guides commissioned by us.

For harbor tours, ship charters and bus services, we act as organizer and intermediary. Transport is carried out exclusively by licensed shipping companies or by bus companies licensed under the German Passenger Transport Act (PBefG), under their own responsibility (service providers). Their conditions of carriage and the instructions of their staff also apply on their vehicles and vessels.

The scope of services results from the service description on our website or from the offer. Harbor tour routes depend on the tide and may vary; the Speicherstadt can only be navigated at suitable water levels. Tours take place in any weather, provided safety is not at risk.

Please arrive at the meeting point in good time. Ships and tours depart on time and cannot wait for late participants. There is no entitlement to a refund in the event of late arrival or no-show. A minimum age applies to some tours (e.g. 18 years for the St. Pauli & Red Light District Tour); otherwise minors may only take part when accompanied by a person responsible for their supervision.

Changes: We may replace the guide (e.g. due to illness), make minor adjustments to the schedule or route and use an equivalent ship or vehicle, provided this is reasonable for the customer and does not significantly change the character of the service.

Special needs: Not all ships, vehicles and meeting points are barrier-free. Please inform us of wheelchairs, strollers, animals and any other special needs when booking so that we can clarify and prepare participation with the service providers.

All prices are in euros and include statutory VAT. The accepted payment methods are stated during the booking process or on the invoice. When paying via a payment service provider (e.g. PayPal, credit card), its terms also apply.

Online tickets must be paid for when booking. For bookings on account, the payment term stated on the invoice applies.

For invoice amounts of €1,000.00 or more, a deposit of 25% is due within 7 days of receipt of the invoice. The balance is due no later than 28 days before the start of the service, unless a different payment term is stated on the invoice. For bookings made less than 28 days before the start of the service, the payment term stated on the invoice applies.

The customer receives tickets or vouchers by email once payment has been received in full. If no confirmation has arrived within 48 hours, please contact us (please also check your spam folder).

If a payment due is not received despite a reminder with a reasonable deadline, we may withdraw from the contract and claim compensation in accordance with section 6. Statutory claims for default remain unaffected.

More participants than booked: If more people attend than agreed, we will invoice the additional participants at the applicable prices. If the capacity (e.g. seats on board or in the bus, group size of the guide) is insufficient, we may refuse additional participants.

Reductions: Reduced prices (e.g. for children, students, students or seniors) only apply upon presentation of proof. If proof cannot be provided on request, the difference to the regular price must be paid on site.

Gift vouchers: Where we issue gift vouchers, they are valid for three years from the end of the year in which they were purchased, unless otherwise stated on the voucher. Cash payment is excluded; any unused residual value remains as credit.

We process personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG). We pass on data required for the performance of the service (e.g. name, number of participants, contact details for the day of the service) to the service providers involved (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). Details can be found in our privacy policy on our website.

Photos and videos: We occasionally take photos or videos on tours for our website and social media channels. We announce this on site. We only publish recordings in which individual participants are the focus and recognizable with their consent. Anyone who does not wish to be photographed should tell the guide; we will remove recordings that have already been published on request.

No right of withdrawal: There is no right of withdrawal for contracts for services related to leisure activities that are provided on a specific date or within a specific period (Section 312g (2) No. 9 German Civil Code, BGB). This also applies to tickets booked online. We grant the following rules on rebooking and cancellation voluntarily.

Individual tickets – rebooking: Individual tickets for walking tours, harbor tours and the Evening Lights Cruise booked online can be rebooked free of charge once to another available date up to 24 hours before the start of the service.

Individual tickets – cancellation: Individual tickets booked online can be canceled free of charge up to 24 hours before the start of the service; the ticket price will be refunded in full. There is no refund for later cancellation or no-show.

Group tours and private tours with a guide: In the event of cancellation, we charge the following compensation of the agreed total price (receipt of the cancellation before the start of the service). The 10% covers our costs for planning, organization and coordination with the guide, which have already been incurred even in the case of early cancellation:

Ship charter and bus rental: The cancellation terms of the “Additional Terms for Ship Charter” and the “Additional Terms for Bus Rental”, which form part of the offer, apply. For third-party services arranged by us (e.g. admissions, catering), the terms of the respective provider stated in the offer apply.

Cancellations and rebookings must be made in text form (e.g. by email to info@sightseeing-avenue.de); the date of receipt by us is decisive. Saved expenses have already been taken into account in the compensation. The customer remains entitled to prove that we have incurred no damage or significantly less damage.

Refunds are made within 14 days to the account provided or via the original payment method.

Cancellation by us: We may cancel a service if force majeure (e.g. severe weather, flooding, official orders) makes it impossible to carry out or endangers safety, or if a minimum number of participants stated in the service description is not reached (cancellation no later than 24 hours in advance). We will inform you immediately, offer an alternative date where possible and refund any amounts already paid in full.

Substitute participants: Tickets are transferable unless they are issued in a name. For groups, the customer may replace individual participants with other persons at any time free of charge.

We are liable without limitation for damage resulting from injury to life, body or health and for damage caused intentionally or through gross negligence.

In the case of slight negligence, we are only liable for the breach of essential contractual obligations, the fulfilment of which makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on which the customer may rely; liability is then limited to the typical, foreseeable damage. Otherwise, liability for slight negligence is excluded.

For services that we only arrange (section 3.2), we are liable for careful selection and arrangement. The respective service provider is liable for the performance of the transport in accordance with the statutory provisions applicable to it.

We do not take custody of valuables and clothing brought along; in this respect we are only liable in accordance with section 8.1.

Liability under the German Product Liability Act and mandatory statutory liability provisions remain unaffected.

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies. For consumers, this choice of law only applies insofar as it does not deprive them of the protection of mandatory provisions of the country in which they have their habitual residence.

If the customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the place of jurisdiction is Hamburg.

We are neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

Should any provision of these GTC be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.