Terms of Service

By using arubaplaybook.com (the “Site”), you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Site.

1. Who we are

Aruba Playbook is an independently operated Aruba travel guide. Contact: info@arubaplaybook.com.

2. Use of the Site

You may use the Site for personal, non-commercial purposes. You agree not to scrape, copy, redistribute, or republish content without written permission. Reviews, photographs, written guides, itineraries, and graphics are the intellectual property of Aruba Playbook.

3. The three ways a booking works here

What we owe you depends on which of these three you used. Each page says which one applies.

• A partner referral. Most tours, hotels and cars on this Site are booked on a partner platform (Viator, Agoda, Travelpayouts, DiscoverCars and similar). You leave this Site, pay there and contract with that operator or platform. Aruba Playbook is not a party to that booking. Their terms, their cancellation policy, their refunds.
• An offer we arrange ourselves. On the direct pages we take your request and arrange the activity with the crew who runs it. You pay a deposit to Aruba Playbook, which is our arranging fee and counts toward the price of the activity. The balance is paid to the crew on the day, or by Zelle the day before where that offer says so; we never take the balance. The activity itself is performed by the crew under their own operating rules, and they decide whether conditions allow it to run. Section 4 covers what happens to the deposit in every cancellation case.
• Paid planning. Custom trip planning in the tiers shown on our services page: The Blueprint at $149, Done-For-You at $349 and White-Glove at $699, each a one-time fee per trip, plus photography sessions, priced per session. Scope, deliverables and fee are confirmed with you by email before any work starts. The fee buys planning time and, where agreed, bookings placed on your behalf; the cost of the trip itself (tours, hotels, cars, restaurants) is always paid separately by you and is not included in the fee. Section 3.1 sets out exactly what that means.

No card details are ever entered on this Site. A deposit or a planning fee is paid on a Revolut payment page, which shows the Aruba Playbook account holder, who takes payments on behalf of Aruba Playbook, as the recipient. We do not sell digital downloads.

3.1 Paid planning: what the fee buys, when it lands, and who books

What the fee is. The fee buys planning time and nothing else. Tours, hotel nights, restaurant tables, car rental and transfers are separate purchases you make with the operator at their own published price. We do not mark those prices up, we do not resell them, and outside the deposit-based direct bookings described above we do not take your money for them.

When work starts and when it lands. You hear back from a person within 24 hours of your request. Once you agree a tier and the fee clears, your plan reaches you within 3 business days. On Done-For-You and White-Glove, every reservation we ask for on your behalf is given a date we agree with you in writing before we ask for it.

Booking authorization. On Done-For-You and White-Glove we request reservations only after you have approved the list by email. Nothing is reserved in your name without that written go-ahead. Each operator is paid directly by you, on their own booking page or on the day, unless we agree something else with you in writing first. Where we request a booking for you we act as your messenger to that operator; the contract for the activity is between you and the operator, as set out in section 6.

If something is unavailable. If a place you wanted is already full, we tell you, offer the alternative we would take ourselves on your dates, and wait for your word. The planning fee is unchanged in that case, because the planning is the work. We cannot guarantee availability, an operator’s price, or an operator’s performance.

Support boundaries. The Blueprint includes email answers about your plan until you fly home. Done-For-You includes a direct line to the team while you are on the island. White-Glove includes priority same-day support throughout your stay. We are not a 24 hour emergency service, a travel agency, a tour operator, or an insurer.

4. Deposits, cancellations and refunds

Direct bookings. For the activities booked person to person through this Site, you pay a deposit to us and the balance to the operator who runs the activity. We can only refund the deposit, because the balance never passes through this Site. Cancel 48 hours or more before the activity and the deposit is returned in full to the card used. Inside 48 hours, and for a no-show, the deposit is not refunded, although we will move the date or transfer the booking where the operator can take it. If the operator cancels for weather or does not reach a minimum group size, the deposit is returned in full, or the booking is moved, at your choice. All cut-off times are Aruba time (AST, UTC minus 4). The full matrix, offer by offer, is on our refunds and cancellations page, which forms part of these terms. Because the balance is paid to the crew and never to us, a cancellation never involves a balance refund from us: if you never went, you never paid it.

Paid planning. For custom planning and photography, the fee is refundable in full until we start building your plan. Once work has started or a photography session has been delivered, the fee covers the hours already spent and is not refundable. A refund is returned by the same route you paid. A refund of our planning fee never covers what you paid to an operator: anything already booked for you follows that operator’s own cancellation terms, which we point you to before you book.

Partner referrals. Tours, stays and rentals booked on a partner platform carry that platform’s own cancellation terms and any refund comes from them, not from us. We hold no money, so we cannot refund one: cancel with the platform or operator you booked with, under their terms, and tell us anyway and we will help you chase it. See section 6.

To raise a refund question, email info@arubaplaybook.com with your booking code.

5. Travel information disclaimer

All travel information on this Site is provided for general informational purposes. Prices, hours, availability, and conditions change frequently. We do our best to keep recommendations current but make no guarantees of accuracy. Always confirm details directly with the operator before booking. You are responsible for your own travel arrangements, safety, insurance, and documents.

6. Who you are contracting with

On a partner referral you leave this Site and contract directly with that platform or operator. Aruba Playbook is not a party to that booking and is not liable for changes, cancellations, refunds or anything else arising from it.

On an offer we arrange ourselves, your agreement with us covers the arranging and the deposit. The activity is delivered by the crew, under their own safety rules, minimum ages, weight limits and weather judgement, and their decision on the day is final. Where a crew runs its own booking and payment platform, such as the Jeep rental, you book and pay there and their terms apply to the rental itself.

7. Affiliate relationships

We participate in affiliate programs and may earn commissions on bookings made through our links. See our Affiliate Disclosure for details.

8. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent allowed by law, Aruba Playbook is not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Site, from any partner booking made through our links, or from an activity delivered by a crew. Our total liability is limited to the amount you actually paid us in the past 12 months, which for a direct booking is the deposit.

9. Changes

We may update these Terms at any time. Continued use of the Site after a change constitutes acceptance of the new Terms.

10. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Netherlands. Any disputes will be resolved in the courts of the Netherlands, unless local consumer protection laws require otherwise.

See also our Privacy Policy and Affiliate Disclosure.