Deposit and Payment: A $200 per person deposit will secure and hold reservations for the tour. Two weeks before the tour date final payment is due.
Passport: If you already have a passport, be sure it is valid until your return. For United States citizens: to acquire a passport, complete an application form at the nearest Federal Passport Agency of the State Department of Federal or State Court. Present two 2 1/2" by 2 1/2" photos and furnish proof of citizenship. A birth certificate, naturalization papers, expired passport or military status papers will satisfy this later requirement.
Visa: In order to visit Russia, you must have a valid visa. Upon receipt of a $200 deposit and visa application forms/photos/passport photocopies, White Nights will,
for USA residents, apply for a Russian visa valid for the tour (if deposits received less than three weeks before tour departure date, an extra fee will be assessed to cover the extra charge of the Russian Embassy for express visa processing.) For countries other than the USA, tour participants must apply for visas themselves since Russian Embassies outside the USA require personal passports for visa processing
($40 per person reduction in tour price for obtaining Russian visa individually).
Note: During 1997 Russian embassies will start issuing Russian visas stamped in one's passport instead of the separate visa document. If this should be instituted by North American Russian embassies before March, 1997, USA residents will also be responsible to procure their Russian visas themselves ($40 per person reduction in tour price).
Cancellation: In the event that you have to cancel, the charges are as follows: Deposit is refundable up to three weeks before departure, minus a $100 administrative fee (and to cover cost of obtaining Russian visa). For refunds more than one week and less than three weeks before departure, 50% of the tour price plus the $100 fee is refundable. For cancellations less than one week prior to departure or no-shows, no refunds will be granted. All cancellations must be received in writing. Once air tickets are issued, airline cancellation penalties may apply. If a Russian visa is denied or not obtained by tour member, the above cancellation fees apply.
Responsibility: White Nights acts as agent for the hotels, restaurants, airlines and bus companies providing services for the tour. By the acceptance of tour membership the tour member agrees to the foregoing and also agrees that neither White Nights nor its Russian affiliates shall be or become liable or responsible for any loss, injury or damage to person, property or otherwise in connection with any accommodations, transportation, or other services, resulting directly or indirectly from any acts of God, dangers incident to the sea, fire, breakdown in machinery or equipment, acts of government or other authorities, de jure or de facto, wars whether declared or not, hostilities, civil disturbances, strikes, riots, thefts, pilferage, epidemics, quarantines, medical or custom regulations, defaults, delays or cancellations of or changes in itinerary or schedules, or from any cause beyond White Nights control, or for any loss or damage resulting from insufficient or improperly issued passports, visas or other documents, and that neither White Nights nor any of its affiliates shall be or become liable or responsible for any additional expenses or liability sustained or incurred by the tour member as the result of any of the foregoing causes. Tour member understands that no insurance coverage is included as part of the tour cost. If the tour must be withdrawn, White Nights liability is limited to a refund of monies received by White Nights. White Nights is not responsible nor liable for defaults of those not directly under the control of White Nights.
White Nights cannot guarantee that weather conditions in Chita, Russia, March 9, 1997, will permit clear viewing of the total solar eclipse (although meteorological statistics indicate a better than 60% probability of fine viewing weather).
White Nights will not be responsible for eye-damage to tour members who disregard procedures for viewing the solar eclipse safely when it is in partial phase (the solar eclipse may be safety viewed directly only during the 2 minutes 15 seconds of eclipse totality).
White Nights will endeavor to adhere to the tour itinerary, described separately. However, domestic air schedules in Russia are usually not determined more than one month in advance, which may necessitate itinerary changes. Additionally, air/train schedules may change due to weather conditions or other reasons. Museums listed in the itinerary may unexpectedly be closed on dates listed, necessitating a change of museums to be visited. Hotels may be substituted for hotels of equal or greater quality.
Return to eclipse tour home page
Detailed itinerary of tour
Tour safety/Travel tips
Weather conditions/clothing
Map of eclipse path through Mongolia/Siberia
How to apply