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Ordering and delivery

How long does delivery take?

We aim to process and ship your order within 1-2 working days. The Cicerone office and our warehouse (BookSource) are closed on weekends and Bank Holidays.

  • UK orders are sent first class and should arrive the next working day.
  • European orders should arrive in 10-14 working days.
  • International orders are sent by airmail – please allow up to 30 working days for deliveries.

How much is postage and packaging?

For all website orders to:
  • UK addressesfree postage (first class).
  • Europe – postal charge of £3.50 per book.
  • Rest of the world – postal charge of £5.50 per book.

What are the Christmas posting dates for 2024?

We'd recommend that if you'd like to receive your guidebooks before Christmas, orders should be placed before:

  • Wednesday 18th December2024 for orders to UK addresses.
  • Tuesday 3rd December 2024 for international orders, whether in Europe, the US, Australia and beyond.
If you miss these dates, don't worry! Our books are stocked and sold all around the world, so make sure to pop into your local bookshop or outdoor retailer as they may be able to help. Find out more here.

Can I change my delivery address?

BookSource processes orders very quickly, so we can't edit them once they’ve been sent to our warehouse. However, if you placed your order within the last 30 minutes, we may be able to help with changes to the delivery address or order details. Please call us on 01539 562069, and we’ll do our best to help.

Can I cancel my order?

BookSource processes orders very quickly, so we can't cancel them once they’ve been sent to our warehouse. However, if you placed your order within the last 30 minutes, we may be able to help with cancellation. Please call us at 01539 562069, and we’ll do our best to help. Our office is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, so cancellations cannot be processed outside these hours.

We also have a no-quibble returns policy – if your order has already shipped, wait for it to arrive, and then you can send it back for a refund.

Why haven't I received my order confirmation email?

We will always send you an order confirmation email after you have placed an order. If you have not received an order confirmation email it may be for one of the following reasons:

  • Your email may be in your spam folder.
  • The email address you provided with your order is incorrect. You may have mistyped it or used an alternative email address by mistake. Please check any other accounts, such as your work email or other personal accounts, that you might have used for the order.
  • Your order has not been finalised. Please get in touch with us to check whether we have received your order.

Is there tracking available for my order?

You can check the status of your order anytime by logging into your Cicerone account, where you can view your order history and the status of current orders. We’ll also send an email to confirm your order and another one once your order has been dispatched.

We currently don’t offer tracked or expedited shipping due to the substantial cost. However, if you'd like to discuss the option of adding a tracked service for an additional fee, please call us at 01539 562069 before placing your order, and we’ll do our best to help.

Where can I buy your guidebooks if I don’t live in the UK?

Our guidebooks are for sale on our website or through online outlets worldwide including Wordery and Amazon. In some European countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain), you may find Cicerone guidebooks in travel bookstores; otherwise, they can order them for you. We've compiled a list of some of the retail and online options for buying our books in Europe.

How does VAT work for orders to the EU?

For EU orders, Cicerone is registered for VAT within the EU (specifically in France). Each parcel will include our French VAT registration number to help ensure smooth delivery without unnecessary delays. VAT is applied at the correct rate for each EU country, and we report and remit this to the French authorities, who then distribute it to the respective countries. This VAT is added during checkout once we know the delivery destination (for physical books) or the customer’s location (for eBooks). Shipping costs are also subject to VAT, but any donations through our site are not taxed. To comply with the EU’s IOSS scheme, each transaction must be under €150 (around £120 or 6-8 books). VAT rates vary across the EU, from 0% on print books in Ireland to 25% on all books in Denmark.

Because we participate in this scheme, orders should not incur customs clearance fees. If you are charged such fees, they may have been incorrectly applied due to the adjustment period for new systems. Please let us know if this occurs, and we’ll help as best we can.

What is the no-quibble refund policy?

If you’re not satisfied with the guidebook you ordered, simply return it to us in perfect condition with a note of your contact details, and we’ll arrange a refund or exchange it for an alternative Cicerone guidebook. For overseas orders, if you’d prefer not to pay for return postage, we may be able to offer a discount voucher toward a new purchase instead. Please contact us for more details.

If there was any lack of clarity in our catalogues or website about the guide’s content, we’d appreciate your feedback to help us improve.

Who are BookSource?

BookSource, a professional book distributor based in Glasgow, handles Cicerone’s books and orders on our behalf. You can learn more about them on their website.

What is the privacy policy?

Both BookSource and Cicerone treat your information with the highest confidentiality, using it only to process your transaction. For further details, please see our Privacy Policy and our information on payment security.

What are the terms and conditions?

Read our full Terms and Conditions here.

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