Return & Refund Policy

Payments, Refunds & Credits

Payments

DEPOSITS: A deposit, paid via one of our accepted payment methods, is required to secure your Tour Only booking, which will be applied toward the cost of your package. Selected tours will now require an increased deposit when airfare to and from your destination is included. Deposits vary by package, and some departure dates and/or departure cities may require a different deposit. Please check the package page, start a booking, or contact us to find out the required deposit. Changes or customizations you request to our packages may require an increased or additional deposit. Deposits are generally nonrefundable after we confirm your booking, unless covered by our Carefree Booking policy or we cancel your departure.

If you add Travel Protection coverage when you book, the premium will be added to your deposit amount.

FINAL PAYMENT: If any balance is due after making your booking, you must pay this balance via one of our accepted payment methods by your final payment due date. This date varies by package but is most often 75 days prior to departure. The due date for your booking will be listed in the booking process, in your booking receipt email, under Your Booking, and on your invoice. You may make as many payments as you like in any amount until the due date. If you have not paid in full by your due date, your booking will be subject to a $50 late fee. If you have not paid in full 15 days after your due date, your booking will be cancelled, and your deposit will be forfeited. If you make payments in excess of your balance due, you can choose to receive a refund of the excess amount or to convert it to a Travel Credit with no expiration date.

PAYMENT METHODS: We accept payments towards your deposit or balance due by the following methods:

Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express: You can use one of these cards when booking or making a payment via our website or with an agent by phone. To pay your deposit with multiple credit cards, please call us. You may also pay by credit card by printing our credit card authorization form, completing and signing it, then emailing, faxing, or mailing it to our office.

PayPal account: You can use your PayPal account to make payments via our website only. You will be redirected to the PayPal site and required to log into your account during the process.

Checks, including personal checks, cashiers checks or money orders, drawn on a U.S. institution: To make a payment via check, please make it payable to Friendly Planet, write your booking number on the check, and mail it to our office. To pay your deposit with a check, we strongly suggest you first call us to start your booking, then mail your payment via overnight delivery, as we cannot confirm your space or price until we receive it.

Travel Credits issued by us: To redeem travel credits, please contact us.

We do not accept any other forms of payment. Payments must be made in U.S. currency or a conversion fee may apply.

RETURNED PAYMENTS: If a check payment made to us is returned due to insufficient funds, stop payment, a closed account, or any other reason, we will notify you, and a returned check fee of $50 will be added to your balance due. You are responsible for making alternate payments to pay your balance due by the final payment due date. If we notify you after your final payment due date that a check has been returned, we must receive a replacement payment within 48 hours, or your booking may be subject to cancellation.

Refunds

Refunds will be processed and paid as promptly as possible. If we need to recover funds already paid to our partners for your services, your refund will be issued after those funds have been recovered. Most refunds are processed within six weeks of being requested. Refunds for payments by credit card will be credited to that card, provided your refund does not exceed the amount paid on the card. Otherwise, your refund will be issued by check.

Travel Credits

In many cases, we may issue you credits for trip cancellations, referring new travelers to Friendly Planet, promotions, or other reasons. In some cases, these credits have a stated expiration date, while other credits may have no expiration. To redeem credits, they must be used towards a booking that is made before the credits expire, but the travel need not be complete before the expiration. Expired credits are void and may not be redeemed. In most cases, credits used toward a booking which you later cancel are forfeited, unless the cancelled booking is covered by our Carefree Booking policy or otherwise stated.

Credits are issued to individuals, who must be over the age of 18. In the case of credits awarded to a former traveler who referred a new traveler to us, they are issued to the person who made the referral. In most other cases, including those where a credit is related to a booking, the credits are issued to the person who made the booking. Credits may be transferred to another individual, provided you notify us first in writing.

Credits are issued in U.S. dollar amounts and may be redeemed towards a balance due to Friendly Planet on a future trip. Credits may not be used towards visa fees, airport, port & border crossing fees, optional excursions, or any other items purchased on tour and/or not payable to Friendly Planet. You may redeem as many credits as you like towards a new booking. If the new booking totals more than the value of your redeemed credits, you are responsible for paying the difference by the final payment due date. Credits are not redeemable for cash, and any credits not redeemed for a new booking will carry over and be used towards another future booking, provided they have not expired.

Changes

Carefree Booking The Carefree Booking policy only applies to a new booking—defined as booking without the use of funds on file from a previous cancellation.

The Carefree Booking policy only applies to your original booking—limiting rebookings to one. Subsequent bookings will be subject to standard cancellation penalties. Additionally, any coupon or discount (other than our Instant Savings) does not transfer from the cancelled booking and therefore will not be applied to the new booking.

Under this policy, should you:

Decide not to travel for any reason Your booking was not made using a previously cancelled booking & funds You let us know before your final payment due date You may cancel your booking and choose one of the following:

Select another available departure on the same or a different package. We will credit all payments you have made, including any travel insurance premiums, towards a booking for that departure for the same or a greater number of travelers.

Receive future Travel Credits worth everything you have paid, excluding any travel insurance premiums. These credits will be issued to the booking customer and may be redeemed towards any future trip but must be used or transferred within 5 years of your booking. Receive a refund equal to all payments made, excluding any travel insurance premiums, and minus $199 per person in Travel Credits. These credits will be issued to the booking customer and may be redeemed towards any future trip but must be used or transferred within 5 years of your booking. You will not be charged any fees or penalties, except:

If you requested special flight arrangements and you paid for and asked that we issue tickets for those flights, airline change or cancellation fees may apply and will be deducted from your credit or refund. If you originally booked prior to Mar 19, 2020 and then cancelled and rebooked (defined