Terms and conditions

Who you are contracting with

Elysium Sea Experience is a trading name of Frantoio Oleario di Fauzzi Angelo, VAT number 08471860729, registered office Via Torquato Tasso 21, 70015 Noci (BA), REA BA-630424. In these terms “we”, “us” and “Elysium” mean that company.

You can reach us by email at info@elysiumseaexperience.com or on WhatsApp at +39 340 841 9052. Written contact is best: it gives us both a record.

What we sell

A private boat excursion from Cala Ponte Marina, Polignano a Mare (BA), Italia. You book the whole boat — never a seat on someone else’s day. The boat carries a maximum of ten guests, and that limit is not negotiable at the pontoon.

There are four departures:

• Il Mattino — 09:30 to 13:00
• Il Pomeriggio — 13:30 to 17:00
• Il Tramonto — 17:30 to 21:00
• La Giornata — 10:00 to 17:00

The route is a plan, not a promise. Where the boat goes and where it stops is decided by the skipper on the day, according to the sea, the wind and the traffic. The cave paddle in particular depends on conditions. If it cannot be done safely it will not be done, and the day is rearranged around sheltered water instead.

Prices, and what they include

The price is for the boat, not per person: the same for two guests as for ten. A half-day departure is €650. La Giornata is €1,200. Prices are in euro and include VAT where it applies.

Included: the skipper and fuel, unlimited SUP boards and snorkelling masks, an aperitivo aboard, fresh towels, cold water and ice, shade, a double cabin and a private toilet, and ten photographs of your day.

Not included: getting to the marina and parking there, travel insurance, gratuities, and — on every departure including La Giornata — a full lunch. Lunch is an optional extra chosen when you book and charged separately. The aperitivo is included on every departure; lunch is not.

Booking and payment

Bookings are taken through Bókun, the reservation platform we use, and card payments are processed by Stripe. We never see or hold your full card details.

Your booking becomes a contract when we send you a confirmation, not when you submit the form. If a departure turns out to be unavailable after you have paid — a double booking, a boat out of service — we will tell you at once and refund you in full.

Please check that the name, date and departure on your confirmation are the ones you meant. Tell us straight away if they are not.

The right of withdrawal, and why it does not apply

Distance contracts normally carry a fourteen-day right of withdrawal. It does not apply here. Article 59(1)(n) of the Italian Consumer Code (Legislative Decree 206/2005) excludes leisure services supplied on a specific date — which is exactly what a dated boat departure is. Booking a specific morning takes that morning off the calendar for everyone else.

What we offer instead is more generous than the law requires: free cancellation up to 48 hours before departure. See below.

If you cancel or want to move your day

• More than 48 hours before departure — cancel for a full refund, or move to another date at no charge, subject to availability.
• Within 48 hours of departure — we refund half the price paid. Inside two days the boat, the skipper and the day are committed and cannot realistically be resold.
• If you do not arrive — no refund is due. If you are running late, tell us: we will wait where we safely can, but a departure cannot be held indefinitely.

To cancel or move a booking, write to us at info@elysiumseaexperience.com or on WhatsApp at +39 340 841 9052, quoting your booking reference. The time we receive your message is the time that counts.

Refunds go back to the card you paid with, normally within fourteen days.

If the sea says no

If conditions make the departure unsafe, we cancel it — and you choose: a full refund, or another departure on a date that suits you. No penalty either way. We decide by 07:30 on the morning of your departure and we write to you first, so you are never left guessing at the marina.

The skipper’s judgement on safety is final, and can be exercised before departure or at any point during the day. If a day is cut short for safety, we will refund a fair proportion of it.

We are not able to refund travel, accommodation or any other cost you have arranged around the booking. That is what travel insurance is for.

Aboard

The skipper is in command. Instructions given aboard are about safety and must be followed — this is not a matter of hospitality.

• Life vests are aboard in every size and must be worn when the skipper says so, and by everyone on the boards.
• The boat never enters the caves. Guests do, by paddle, only when conditions allow and with a guide in the water.
• We may refuse boarding, or end the day early without refund, if a guest is intoxicated, behaves dangerously, or puts others at risk.
• Your belongings are your own responsibility. Salt water and boats are hard on phones and cameras.

Health, swimming and children

You do not need to be a strong swimmer — much of the day is spent at anchor, and vests are available to everyone — but you do need to tell us before you book about any medical condition, mobility need, pregnancy or non-swimmer in your party. We would far rather plan for it than discover it at sea.

Children are welcome and every departure carries vests in children’s sizes. Guests under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult, who remains responsible for supervising them throughout the day.

Photographs

Ten photographs of your day are included and sent to you on WhatsApp the following morning. They are yours.

We would sometimes like to use a photograph publicly — on this site, on social media, or in our listings. We will only do that if you have given us permission, and we will ask for it separately and explicitly. Saying no is free and changes nothing about your day. If you say yes and later change your mind, write to us and we will stop using the image and remove it where we can.

We never publish a photograph in which a child is identifiable without the explicit permission of their parent or guardian.

Liability

We are liable for damage caused by our own fault or negligence, to the extent Italian law provides. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.

We are not liable for loss or damage caused by a guest ignoring the skipper’s safety instructions, by a guest’s own belongings, or by circumstances outside our reasonable control.

The vessel carries civil liability insurance with Unipol Assicurazioni S.p.A.. Ask us and we will send you the certificate.

Complaints, and the law that applies

If something goes wrong, tell us first — most things are fixable quickly, and we would rather hear it from you than read it later. Write to info@elysiumseaexperience.com. We answer complaints within thirty days.

If we cannot resolve it between us, you may bring the matter to an accredited alternative dispute resolution body, or to the courts. These terms are governed by Italian law. If you are a consumer, you keep the protection of the mandatory rules of the country you live in, and you may bring proceedings in the courts of the place where you are resident.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The version that applies to your booking is the one published when you booked, and the date at the top of this page tells you which that is.