Usually cancelling a trip you are really looking forward to is only done with a heavy heart.
And most of the time it is very much a decision forced upon you by extenuating circumstances.
But does that mean you have lost the chance of going on that trip forever?
Not necessarily, but how about if it was a trip with friends and you might not want to do it at a later date without them?
We are going to take a look at G Adventures’ cancellation policy, and try to get to the bottom of exactly how it works.
What is G Adventures Cancellation Policy?
G Adventures’ cancellation policy is covered broadly by its Book With Confidence terms and conditions. They allow you to rebook a tour at no extra cost up to 45 days before departure (or 14 days before if you have COVID). If you want to cancel entirely, generally you will not get a refund, but you will need to check with G Adventures the terms and conditions of your specific tour.
The Basics
Cancelling a trip with most tour providers falls into one of two categories, and G Adventures is no different:
- Cancelling and rebooking a trip.
- Completely cancelling a trip and (hopefully) getting a refund.
These are dealt with in different ways, and you won’t be surprised to hear that G Adventures is much more amenable to you cancelling and rebooking a trip.
So let’s look at that option first.
Canceling and Rebooking a Trip With G Adventures
Wading through cancellation jargon for anything can be confusing.
G Adventures has what I would call a ‘headline’ cancellation policy, part of its ‘Book With Confidence‘ policy, that is easy to understand and fairly straightforward.
However there are varying rules depending on the type of tour you have booked, and the reason for the cancellation of your tour.
There are certain tours that are excluded from the Book With Confidence cancellation policy and subject to G Adventures’ standard terms and conditions, and we will go into more detail on these later in the article.
But for now, we will focus on G Adventures’ main Book With Confidence cancellation policy that does cover the majority of its tours.
The basics of the Book With Confidence cancellation policy are:
- You can cancel and rebook your trip up to 45 days before departure with no added costs.
- You can cancel and rebook your trip up to 14 days before departure with no added costs if you test positive for COVID and can provide an official COVID test to G Adventures.
Note that currently, this policy is valid until 31 December 2023.
If you are reading this article sometime after then, I hope I have written a more up-to-date article somewhere.
If I haven’t please leave me a comment below!
The small print of the Book With Confidence cancellation policy is:
- The rescheduled date of the tour must be within two years of the initial departure date.
- A booking can only be cancelled and rebooked once unless you cancel due to COVID then the tour may be cancelled and rebooked one further time.
- You must rebook your trip at the same time as you cancel it for the policy to be valid.
- If you rebook on a tour that is more expensive you must pay the difference.
- If you rebook on a tour that is cheaper you will receive a G Adventures travel credit that will be valid for two years.
- If you are cancelling due to COVID reasons, at the discretion of G Adventures you may also receive a travel credit for the canceled tour that is valid for two years.
Canceling and Not Rebooking A Trip With G Adventures
So it is all very well having the option to cancel and rebook a trip, but what about if you don’t want to rebook anything, you just want to cancel?
Under the Book With Confidence policy this is what G Adventures’ terms and conditions say:
- For cancellations made within 45 days before departure, a Lifetime Deposit will be held and full fees will be charged.
The exceptions to this are the excluded tours that we alluded to in the section above.
We go into more detail on these tours later in the article, but basically they are subject to G Adventures’ standard cancelation terms, which are:
- Cancelling 60 days or more before departure: Your Lifetime Deposit will be held, other payments you have made will be refunded.
- Cancelling 30 to 59 days before departure: Your Lifetime Deposit will be held, 50 per cent of payments you have made will be refunded.
- Cancelling 30 days before departure: Your Lifetime Deposit will be held, no refunds will be made.
There are a couple of other points worth highlighting in G Adventures Terms and Conditions:
- If “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” occur at the place your trip is taking place you can cancel without paying a cancellation charge and receive a full refund.
You may be eligible for a refund and compensation from G Adventures if:
- It makes a significant change to your tour less than 60 days before you depart (or less than 90 days if you are booked on an Expedition Tour).
- Your booking is cancelled and no alternative arrangements are available.
Tour Types With Separate Cancelation and Rebooking Terms and Conditions
So as we have previously mentioned certain types of tours booked via G Adventures have additional terms and conditions imposed on them.
Let’s take a closer look at them.
Book Your Bubble Tours
These can be cancelled and rebooked either 45 days before, 60 days before or 190 days before the tour starts depending upon your destination.
For full details go to the ‘Book Your Bubble Cancellation Terms section of the Book With Confidence page.
Expedition Tours
Expeditions Tours with G Adventures are subject to different cancellation terms, they are:
- Cancelling 90 days or more before departure: Your Lifetime Deposit will be held, other payments you have made will be refunded.
- Cancelling 60 to 89 days before departure: Your Lifetime Deposit will be held, 50 per cent of payments you have made will be refunded.
- Cancelling less than 60 days before departure: Your Lifetime Deposit will be held, no refunds will be made.
TailorMade Tours
TailorMade Tours with G Adventures are also subject to different cancellation terms, they are:
- Cancelling 90 days or more before departure: 30 per cent of your deposit will be held, other payments you have made will be refunded.
- Cancelling 60 to 89 days before departure: An amount equal to 50 per cent of the cancelled tour will be refunded.
- Cancelling less than 60 days before departure: No refunds will be made.
Day Tours
The following cancellation terms apply to all Day Tours booked with G Adventures:
- Cancelling 8 days or more before departure: You will receive a full refund.
- Cancelling 4 to 7 days before departure: You will receive a 50 per cent refund.
- Cancelling 3 days or less before departure: No refund will be made.
Inca Trail Tours
Finally any tour that involves visiting the Inca Trail has its own specific set of cancellation terms, namely:
- Cancelling 60 days or more before departure: Your Lifetime Deposit less £165 (€130/$200) will be held, other payments you have made will be refunded.
- Cancelling 30 to 59 days before departure: Your Lifetime Deposit will be held, 50 per cent of payments you have made will be refunded.
- Cancelling 30 days before departure: Your Lifetime Deposit will be held, no refunds will be made.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, it can get a little tricky navigating your way through the cancellation conditions to see what you are entitled to.
Hopefully this has made things (a little) clearer.
As a general rule of thumb, you can cancel and rebook without any charge up to 45 days before the planned departure date of your tour, or 14 days if you test positive for COVID.
If you want to completely cancel though that is a different story, in most instances you will not get any money back.
For full details you can read:
Whatever you decide, please go on that tour one way or another, it could change your life like it did mine!