frequently asked questions


why should i book through wonderful world rather than booking the trip myself? There are four main reasons to book through us: 1) Our knowledge of the destination in question 2) Having one point of contact for all arrangements 3) Value for money 4) Financial protection Wonderful World has spent time selecting the very finest hotels and activity providers from around the world. We have negotiated agreements with our suppliers (hoteliers, activity providers, ground handlers) so that you should never pay more to go on a Wonderful World holiday than you would by arranging the trip yourself (that’s of course assuing you had the time to research, plan and book your holiday independently in the first place). Finally and most importantly, our ATOL bond means you benefit from financial protection. Our ATOL number is 9232.
do I have to book my flights through wonderful world? No, whilst we are happy to arrange your flights for you, you are free to book them independently. Upon request, we will provide you with recommended airlines that currently serve the nearest airports to your holiday destination and the best ways to book with them. Increasingly, the internet is proving to be the most efficient way to do this, but alongside the websites, we will also provide phone numbers where applicable. Please note we try to keep this information 100% correct and up-to-date, but if you find an inaccuracy, please do let us know so that we can update our files. If you do book your flights independently, we ask that you arrange your flights prior to confiming your booking with us and do please check that you are insured as you are not covered by the airline for most individual internet bookings.
what is ATOL bonding? ATOL is short for “Air Travel Organisers Licensing” and it exists to protect the public from losing money or being stranded abroad because of the failure of air travel firms. 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. ATOL gives comprehensive consumer protection to 28 million people in the UK who buy flights or holidays each year.
what does wonderful world do to counter the adverse effects of air travel on the environment? Air travel is a major source of atmospheric pollution. Carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft are one of the fastest growing contributors to rising levels of the greenhouse gases which cause global warming. Aircraft emissions cause particular damage because they are pumped directly into the upper atmosphere where they have nearly three times the environmental impact of equivalent emissions released at ground level. As passenger numbers around the world increase rapidly from year to year, so too does the environmental impact of aviation. Wonderful World is committed to reducing this negative impact as much as possible. We have teamed up with Climate Care to help our clients offset the environmental cost of their trips. Wonderful World clients will be offered the choice of paying a small surcharge in order to offset the CO2 emissions of their air travel. (We have worked out the 'climate cost' of each of our destinations - long haul obviously costs more than short haul). The money raised is then passed to Climate Care, which works as a repair service for the climate - it runs a variety of projects that reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, thus making your trip 'climate neutral'. The charge will be on an 'opt-out' basis, i.e. the Climate Care surcharge will appear on your invoice, but you have the option not to pay - rather like the service charge in a restaurant. Climate Care's projects are located in the developing world. This means that all the emissions reductions that you pay for go over and above the cuts in greenhouse gases that the UK government is already committed to making. The projects avoid, reduce or absorb greenhouse gases by either promoting renewable energy (cutting out fossil fuels); promoting energy efficiency (applying technologies that use less energy); or reforestation (absorbing and storing CO2 ). Climate Care's projects make a real difference to the climate, to communities and to the local environment. All projects are monitored and verified by a third party to ensure the highest standards of environmental integrity. Alternatively, if you are feeling more adventurous and travelling within Europe, you could try travelling overland to your destination making it part of the feature of your trip at www.seat61.com
will I need a visa, and/or vaccinations for my holiday? We will inform you of any visa and passport requirements, and will offer advice on vaccinations required. We do however recommend that you seek a qualified opinion from your GP for further inoculation advice.
if I get insurance by booking a wonderful world holiday using my credit card, or already have an annual insurance policy, should I take out wonderful world travel insurance as well? Credit card companies' insurance coverage often offers the very lowest cover on the market. Furthermore several of Wonderful World's holidays involve activities that you are unlikely to be covered for under your existing policy. We will not sell a holiday to someone who is not sufficiently covered. We can issue policies that provide the very highest level of insurance cover for your holiday and for the activities you will be enjoying.
are wonderful world holidays child-friendly? While several of Wonderful World’s trips cater for children, some of the holidays are adventurous by nature, and so may not be appropriate. Please consult us for further advice on the particular holiday you are interested in.
will I be joining a group on my wonderful world holiday? The choice is yours. Wonderful World does sell a select number of fantastic group holidays as well as offering a tailormade service to create your own entirely private holiday. Group holidays will mean you are restricted to set departure dates but if you are a solo traveller you may prefer this option. If you would rather we design your holiday to meet your individual needs, this leaves you with the freedom to do as much or as little as you would like, for as long as you want and indeed whenever you would like to do it.
what is wonderful world’s policy on holidays that have been booked to countries that have subsequently been put on the foreign and commonwealth office’s ‘watch list’? Wonderful World will either a) refund your holiday in its entirety subject to any cancellation charges as set out in the Terms and Conditions or b) offer you an equivalent holiday to a different destination either refunding or charging you any difference in cost with the original holiday. Wonderful World can bear no responsibility for those who insist on going ahead with their travel plans despite the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice.
what else do I need to know before coming away? When you have booked we will send you a letter with a detailed list of things to consider before your time away including contact details and address of the venue, recommended flights (which we can advise at time of booking), temperatures to expect while away, currency details and passport/visa requirements if any. We will ask you to complete our booking form via the link on our website. You can call us any time on 020 7938 5383 if you have any questions in advance of your trip, and we’ll be happy to chat with you.
other questions? Please email us or call us with any other questions you might have. Please click here with your query and ask us to call you back, or call 020 7938 5383. We will be very happy to talk to you.

why should i book through wonderful world rather than booking the trip myself?

There are four main reasons to book through us:

1) Our knowledge of the destination in question

2) Having one point of contact for all arrangements

3) Value for money

4) Financial protection

Wonderful World has spent time selecting the very finest hotels and activity providers from around the world. We have negotiated agreements with our suppliers (hoteliers, activity providers, ground handlers) so that you should never pay more to go on a Wonderful World holiday than you would by arranging the trip yourself (that’s of course assuing you had the time to research, plan and book your holiday independently in the first place). Finally and most importantly, our ATOL bond means you benefit from financial protection. Our ATOL number is 9232.

do I have to book my flights through wonderful world?

No, whilst we are happy to arrange your flights for you, you are free to book them independently. Upon request, we will provide you with recommended airlines that currently serve the nearest airports to your holiday destination and the best ways to book with them. Increasingly, the internet is proving to be the most efficient way to do this, but alongside the websites, we will also provide phone numbers where applicable. Please note we try to keep this information 100% correct and up-to-date, but if you find an inaccuracy, please do let us know so that we can update our files.

If you do book your flights independently, we ask that you arrange your flights prior to confiming your booking with us and do please check that you are insured as you are not covered by the airline for most individual internet bookings.

what is ATOL bonding?

ATOL is short for “Air Travel Organisers Licensing” and it exists to protect the public from losing money or being stranded abroad because of the failure of air travel firms. 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. ATOL gives comprehensive consumer protection to 28 million people in the UK who buy flights or holidays each year.

what does wonderful world do to counter the adverse effects of air travel on the environment?

Air travel is a major source of atmospheric pollution. Carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft are one of the fastest growing contributors to rising levels of the greenhouse gases which cause global warming. Aircraft emissions cause particular damage because they are pumped directly into the upper atmosphere where they have nearly three times the environmental impact of equivalent emissions released at ground level. As passenger numbers around the world increase rapidly from year to year, so too does the environmental impact of aviation.

Wonderful World is committed to reducing this negative impact as much as possible. We have teamed up with Climate Care to help our clients offset the environmental cost of their trips. Wonderful World clients will be offered the choice of paying a small surcharge in order to offset the CO2 emissions of their air travel. (We have worked out the 'climate cost' of each of our destinations - long haul obviously costs more than short haul). The money raised is then passed to Climate Care, which works as a repair service for the climate - it runs a variety of projects that reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, thus making your trip 'climate neutral'. The charge will be on an 'opt-out' basis, i.e. the Climate Care surcharge will appear on your invoice, but you have the option not to pay - rather like the service charge in a restaurant.

Climate Care's projects are located in the developing world. This means that all the emissions reductions that you pay for go over and above the cuts in greenhouse gases that the UK government is already committed to making. The projects avoid, reduce or absorb greenhouse gases by either promoting renewable energy (cutting out fossil fuels); promoting energy efficiency (applying technologies that use less energy); or reforestation (absorbing and storing CO2 ). Climate Care's projects make a real difference to the climate, to communities and to the local environment. All projects are monitored and verified by a third party to ensure the highest standards of environmental integrity.

Alternatively, if you are feeling more adventurous and travelling within Europe, you could try travelling overland to your destination making it part of the feature of your trip at www.seat61.com

will I need a visa, and/or vaccinations for my holiday?

We will inform you of any visa and passport requirements, and will offer advice on vaccinations required. We do however recommend that you seek a qualified opinion from your GP for further inoculation advice.

if I get insurance by booking a wonderful world holiday using my credit card, or already have an annual insurance policy, should I take out wonderful world travel insurance as well?

Credit card companies' insurance coverage often offers the very lowest cover on the market. Furthermore several of Wonderful World's holidays involve activities that you are unlikely to be covered for under your existing policy. We will not sell a holiday to someone who is not sufficiently covered. We can issue policies that provide the very highest level of insurance cover for your holiday and for the activities you will be enjoying.

are wonderful world holidays child-friendly?

While several of Wonderful World’s trips cater for children, some of the holidays are adventurous by nature, and so may not be appropriate. Please consult us for further advice on the particular holiday you are interested in.

will I be joining a group on my wonderful world holiday?

The choice is yours. Wonderful World does sell a select number of fantastic group holidays as well as offering a tailormade service to create your own entirely private holiday. Group holidays will mean you are restricted to set departure dates but if you are a solo traveller you may prefer this option. If you would rather we design your holiday to meet your individual needs, this leaves you with the freedom to do as much or as little as you would like, for as long as you want and indeed whenever you would like to do it.

what is wonderful world’s policy on holidays that have been booked to countries that have subsequently been put on the foreign and commonwealth office’s ‘watch list’?

Wonderful World will either a) refund your holiday in its entirety subject to any cancellation charges as set out in the Terms and Conditions or b) offer you an equivalent holiday to a different destination either refunding or charging you any difference in cost with the original holiday. Wonderful World can bear no responsibility for those who insist on going ahead with their travel plans despite the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice.

what else do I need to know before coming away?

When you have booked we will send you a letter with a detailed list of things to consider before your time away including contact details and address of the venue, recommended flights (which we can advise at time of booking), temperatures to expect while away, currency details and passport/visa requirements if any. We will ask you to complete our booking form via the link on our website. You can call us any time on 020 7938 5383 if you have any questions in advance of your trip, and we’ll be happy to chat with you.

other questions?

Please email us or call us with any other questions you might have. Please click here with your query and ask us to call you back, or call 020 7938 5383. We will be very happy to talk to you.