General conditions of sale Zwin Nature Park

About us

The vendor is the Province of West Flanders, with its registered office at Provinciehuis Boeverbos, Koning Leopold III-laan 41, 8200 Sint-Andries, Belgium.
The provisions made below jointly constitute the legal terms and conditions for using the web shop of Zwin Nature Park. For more information please refer to the 'Frequently Asked Questions' page. If you are unable to find the answer to your question, you should contact Zwin Nature Park, Graaf Léon Lippensdreef 8, B-8300 Knokke-Heist, Belgium, T +32 (0) 50 60 70 86, E [email protected]. 

These general conditions govern the legal relationship between the Province of West Flanders on the one hand and any person who uses the Zwin Nature Park web shop on the other (hereafter called 'the User'). By making an online purchase or reservation, the user confirms that he or she has read and accepted the general terms and conditions, irrespective of whether payment is made at the time of the online purchase, in accordance with the invoice terms and conditions of the Province of West Flanders, or at the time of the visit.

The user's own terms and conditions of purchase cannot be enforced against the Province of West Flanders. Any deviation from these general terms and conditions must be agreed upon in writing.
The Province of West Flanders reserves the right to amend these general conditions of sale at any time without notice. Such changes shall apply to all purchases from the time the changes are published on the webshop.

Prices

• The product prices stated on the webshop are in euros inclusive of VAT. The prices of the products are subject to change at any time. 
• The price payable for a purchase or reservation placed on the webshop is always the price applicable at the time of placing the purchase or reservation.
• Personnel of the Zwin Nature Park can and may ask anybody who wishes to purchase a reduced price ticket or a subscription holder to show means of identification or an official document by way of validation.
• Discounts cannot be combined. Nor may a participant benefit from an individual discount if the group to which he or she belongs already benefits from a group discount.
• Children younger than 6 are admitted to the park free of charge. Children from 6 up to and including 17 fall under the 'Child' category. The 'Adult' category covers persons aged 18 and over. Children not yet 12 years of age may enter the park only if accompanied by an adult.
• Admittance to the park is free for a person who is needed to accompany a person with a disability. The free admittance ticket is obtainable only at the cash desk and cannot be purchased online.

• A car parking ticket must be purchased at the car park machine. Free parking is allowed for a maximum of 30 minutes.

   

Visit to the park

• Dogs are not allowed in the Zwin Natuur Park.
• It is forbidden to smoke or light fires in the Zwin Natuur Park. 
• It is forbidden to pick flowers or plants in the Zwin Natuur Park. 
• It is forbidden to feed or pet the animals present in the Zwin Natuur Park. 
• In order not to disturb the peace, bicycles, scooters, etc. are not allowed in the Zwin Nature Park.
• The provincial police regulations and park regulations Zwin Natuur Park (user regulations) apply at all times.           

View the complete park regulations here.

Any more questions? View all frequently asked questions here. 

Payments

It is possible to pay by debit card, cash or credit card at the cash desk. Online payments can be made by Bancontact or credit card.

When paying by credit card, the amount will be charged immediately at the time of the transaction.

In case of an invoice, the payment term is 30 days. Any protest against an invoice must be sent by registered letter within fourteen days of receipt. Such protest must be detailed and well-founded.

In the event of complete or partial non-payment of an invoice after the due date of the first payment reminder has expired, a fixed compensation of €10 will be charged (in accordance with the rate regulation PR 05/12/2019 and/or Article XIX.4 of the Economic Law Code). If payment is not made after the final reminder, the Province of West Flanders reserves the right to turn the file over for (judicial) collection.

Group bookings

Prices:

The group discount applies to online booking requests made up to three weeks prior to the day of the visit in the period from 1 April to 30 September inclusive. In the period from 1 October to 31 March inclusive, the group price applies up to two weeks before the day of the visit. A booking requested later will be subject to the normal e-discount for individual visitors. To qualify for the group price, the visiting group must consist of at least twenty paying persons, unless otherwise indicated.
Definitive numbers. Not later than seven working days before the visit, the definitive number of persons must be confirmed by emailing [email protected] phoning 050 60 70 86. The definitive number will be binding for the invoice and will determine the number of guides (a maximum of 20 persons per guide).

Arrival:

On arrival the person in charge of the group must report to the cash desk. The final number of visitors must be stated at the cash desk. There will be no charge for lower numbers. Higher numbers will be admitted only if the guide quota is not exceeded and subject to the extra visitors' paying the normal admission price.

Liability during visits and/or activities

• The instructions of the staff at the visitor centre and/or the Zwin guides must be followed to a tee. If any participants fail to follow the instructions or do so insufficiently, with safety potentially compromised as a result, the activity will be terminated (by unilateral decision) without any entitlement to compensation and/or reimbursement.
• For groups of participants from schools or organisations with minors, a teacher or an accompanying adult who is responsible for the group will continue to bear responsibility for the group during the visit/activities at the visitor centre.
• If a participant from a school group or another organisation with minors gets injured, the teacher or accompanying person in charge will decide whether the injured person needs to be transported for medical care. The cost of this transport will in any case be borne by the school or organisation.
• The visitor centre and its appointed staff/guides cannot be held liable for theft or loss of the belongings of participants, for any damage caused to participants by another participant or third parties, nor for damage resulting from the failure to comply with the safety rules and instructions provided by the visitor centre and its staff/guides. Each participant remains responsible for his or her own belongings during the entire visit (including during activities), in particular but not limited to glasses, hats, shoes, mobile phones, backpacks, etc.
• The civil liability of participants to each other is not covered by the insurance policies of the visitor centre. No insurance coverage is provided for personal injury either, except for events organised by the visitor centre itself. Schools and organisations are normally expected to see to the necessary insurance for their participants, teachers, and accompanying persons.
• All costs incurred for equipment or materials made available by the visitor centre for an activity must be fully reimbursed in the event of loss or damage owing to irresponsible use by the participants. A damage fee will be charged for damage caused by irresponsible use. This fee shall amount to the repair cost or the purchase price of similar new materials.

Buyer/user

• The person or the organisation that places the purchase or reservation will be regarded as the sole buyer or user. Only he or she will be bound to make payment.
• The online purchase or reservation will be accepted by the Province of West Flanders only if the user has provided proper means of identification.
• The Province of West Flanders reserves the right to decline a requested purchase or reservation if it has reasonable grounds for suspecting that incorrect or incomplete information has been provided.

Personal data

• By placing a purchase or reservation on the webshop website of the Province of West Flanders, the user expressly consents to the Province of West Flanders processing his/her personal data and using it for purposes such as maintaining the customer database, managing purchases or reservations, deliveries and marketing. 
• The user has the right to object at any time free of charge to the use of his/her data for marketing purposes. To this end it is sufficient to send an email stating the objection to the Province of West Flanders.
• The Province of West Flanders is not allowed to disclose the data to third parties.
• The user has the right to inspect and correct his/her personal data.

Issue of tickets

• After acceptance of payment, the ticket may be printed out by means of our webshop (when logged in with account) or via the email address entered during the purchase.
• The ticket will be issued in PDF format.

Ticket validity

To be valid the ticket must have been printed out on white A4 paper in portrait format with a perfectly legible barcode or must be presented on a smartphone or tablet. This will constitute as the only and unique admission ticket. If you print the ticket out, everything must be of perfect quality and legible in order to rule out any confusion. The admission ticket is valid only on the date of the visit that the user selected when making the purchase. The ticket will be scanned at the reception desk. A ticket may be scanned once only and solely on the date that the user selected. Any attempted falsification, misuse or fraud will result in legal action. A ticket cannot be refunded or exchanged. Purchase the tickets online only on the Zwin Nature Park webshop and never accept a ticket offered to you by an unknown person.

Delayed departure of guided walk

In case of a group booking or of an open group activity or group visit where individual persons have registered, the following provisions shall apply:

Individual visitors:

- If an individual visitor is late, the activity will start on time with those already present, and the visitor who is late will join when he or she arrives if still possible. The activity or visit will not be extended to make up for lost time.

- The visitor who arrives late will not receive a refund or compensation. This shall apply also to visitors who did not show up at all (cf. the terms and conditions of cancellation supra).

Groups:

- If a user is late, he or she must notify the Zwin Nature Park as early as possible by phone.

- If the group is late, the guide will wait one hour maximum, and the duration of the visit or activity will not be extended to make up for lost time. The visit may be extended depending on the guide’s availability and consent. In such a case, a supplement of €40 per hour per guide can be charged, to be paid  on the day of the visit.

- If the guide is late, the group will wait half an hour. The visit can be extended to make up for lost time, subject to the group’s consent and the guide’s availability. If this is not possible, an alternative will be provided.

- If the group wishes to end earlier (the group has to return to school or is dependent on public transport), no (partial) refund or compensation will be provided.

Problems/complaints about a purchase, reservation or delivery

If you have a complaint, you should contact Zwin Nature Park by email or letter at [email protected] or Zwin Nature Park, Graaf Leon Lippensdreef 8, 8300 Knokke-Heist, Belgium.

Refund policy

For tickets purchased on a specific date or reservations for activities on a specific date via the web shop, the right of withdrawal shall not apply and such tickets shall never be refunded.

Individual visitors

Once purchased by the user as an individual visitor, tickets for a visit, tickets for participation in an activity, or subscriptions shall not be exchanged, resold, or refunded, except in cases where the right of withdrawal applies or when a visit or activity is cancelled by the Province of West Flanders or cannot take place due to force majeure.

If there is a reason for a refund, the user shall provide all the information requested by the Province of West Flanders to facilitate the process.

The fact that the ticket or subscription was not used by the user during the validity period does not create a right to a refund either.

Groups

If group bookings such as from schools, companies, associations, or other organisations, are cancelled, the following terms and conditions of cancellation shall apply:

• In case of cancellation, the user must notify Zwin Nature Park as soon as possible by e-mail or phone (with confirmation later by e-mail).
• Cancellation is free up to 7 calendar days (1 week) before the visit or planned activity.
• In case of cancellation less than 7 calendar days before the visit or planned activity, cancellation costs of 100% of the guide's fee shall be charged.
• Bad weather is not a valid reason for cancellation.

Extreme (weather) conditions

The Zwin Nature Park is a dynamic natural area and some of its activities take place in the open air. Extreme conditions such as storms or very high spring tides may unexpectedly (and temporarily) curtail some activities. The chance that this will occur during your visit is very slight, but in such cases the Zwin Nature Park may be forced to cancel or limit certain activities. Such decisions are made to ensure the safety of participants in those activities. Zwin Nature Park will notify the user in advance if possible, although this may be very late due to unforeseen circumstances. The Zwin Nature Park will then assist you in finding a suitable activity.

The Zwin Nature Park therefore reserves the right to cancel planned activities or to modify activities in consultation with the user or to offer suitable alternatives in case of extraordinary circumstances as mentioned above. The normal price will be charged for a modified activity, and the user will not be liable for any costs for the rebooking. In case of cancellation by the Province of West Flanders, no additional costs will be charged to the user for said cancellation. The user in turn cannot claim any compensation from the Province of West Flanders for any reason or on any basis (e.g., transportation, accommodation, etc., already booked for the visit). In case of cancellation by the user, the above cancellation costs shall apply.

Proof

• The user and the Province of West Flanders will accept electronic means of proof for the purposes of their agreement.
• For example, parties will accept emails originating from the computerised registers of the Province of West Flanders as proof.

Electronic and intellectual property rights

• The contents and the structures of the web shop of the Province of West Flanders, including brands, logos, drawings, data, databases, product names, company names, texts, images and similar, are protected by intellectual property rights held by the Province of West Flanders or by the right-holding third parties.
• Any dissemination, reproduction, sale or other exploitation of these works, regardless of how or in what form it occurs, either for gain or otherwise, is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of the Province of West Flanders.

Limitation of liability

• The Province of West Flanders makes every effort to ensure that the information provided via the web shop is complete and correct. However, the Province of West Flanders cannot be held liable for any direct or indirect damage arising from use of the information in the web shop. Images and product descriptions cannot be deemed to bind the Province of West Flanders.
• A customer who observes inaccuracies in the information that the Province of West Flanders provides via its web shop should contact Zwin Nature Park by email at [email protected].
• The contents of the web shop may be changed or supplemented at any time without prior announcement or notice.
• The Province of West Flanders does not guarantee the proper working of its web shop and cannot be held liable in any way whatsoever for the poor functioning or temporary unavailability of the web shop or for any form of direct or indirect damage arising from access to or use of the web shop.
• The website may contain hyperlinks to other websites or to pages of third parties, or may link to them indirectly. The placing of such links does not in any way constitute any implicit approval of the contents of such other websites. Under no circumstances can the Province of West Flanders be held liable for the contents or the features thereof or for any other kind of damage incurred by the use thereof.

Force majeure

• The Province of West Flanders cannot be held liable for instances of force majeure that delay or prevent performance of this agreement.
• Force majeure includes but is not limited to: strikes, natural disasters, floods, fires, sit-ins, extreme weather, government measures, technical defects and incorrect delivery or non-delivery by the postal service.
• The Province of West Flanders has no obligation to furnish proof of the unforeseeable or unavoidable nature of such instances of force majeure.

Applicable law and forum.

In case of any dispute regarding the terms and conditions of sale or a situation not provided for in these terms and conditions, Belgian law shall apply, and the courts of West Flanders, Bruges division, shall be competent.

Important regulations

• Park regulations Zwin Nature Park
• Police regulations Provincial Domain 
• Zwin Nature Park photo and film regulations 

Contact details

Zwin Nature Park
Graaf Léon Lippensdreef 8
8300 Knokke-Heist
Belgium
T: +32 50 60 70 86
E: [email protected]