Terms & Conditions
Bookings & Prices
We do our best to provide accurate and up-to-date information on our website, but errors may occur. Please confirm pricing and details with us prior to making a booking.
By making travel bookings on our website or with one of our agents, or otherwise purchasing any travel services offered by Friendly Planet, you warrant that 1) you are at least 18 years of age and have the legal authority to create a binding legal obligation; 2) you accept and agree to all the Terms presented herein; and 3) all information supplied by you for the purposes of that booking is true, accurate, current, and complete to the best of your knowledge.
BOOKING ON BEHALF OF OTHERS: If you make a booking for anyone other than yourself, you are considered the designated contact person for those other travelers. You represent and warrant that you are legally authorized to act on their behalf; that you have obtained all required consents; and that you will inform them of these Terms and warrant that they accept and agree to them. You are also responsible for making all payments due for your booking; notifying us if any changes or cancellations are required; and keeping the other travelers informed of all information relevant to your trip.
REGISTRATION: After you complete your booking, we’ll send you an email containing a link to a secure traveler registration form. For most packages, you must complete this form within 5 days of booking. Let us know if you are unable to complete it within this timeframe, or your booking may be subject to cancellation.
CONFIRMATION: After we receive your booking and deposit, we will confirm availability of all components and send you a confirmation email within 1–2 business days. If any option or component you selected is not available, we will alert you and give you the option to modify your booking or to cancel and receive a refund of your deposit.
From the time of your booking confirmation until your final payment; your price may only be changed if: 1) you request Changes or Customizations to your booking; 2) new or increased government taxes or fees are implemented that apply to your package or its components; 3) vendor costs applicable to your package or its components increase. Under any of these circumstances, we will inform you how your package price will be affected.
Once your booking is fully paid the package price will not change, unless: 1) you request Changes or Customizations to your booking; 2) new or increased government taxes or fees are implemented that apply to your package or its components. In either case, we will inform you how your package price will be affected.
SPECIAL MEAL REQUESTS OR DIETS: You may enter special meal requests or dietary restrictions for each traveler when you complete your registration. We will relay your requests to the airlines and our partners in destination. Please confirm meal requests with the airlines by 72 hours before departure. We cannot guarantee that your requests will be honored, and some requests or restrictions may be difficult to accommodate in some destinations.
PRICES: Advertised package prices are based on double occupancy rooms or cabins and the least expensive travel dates, departure city, hotels, and other options available, and do not include Optional Excursions or other optional items, unless otherwise noted. Your total price will vary based upon the dates, flights, hotels, and other options you select when you book.
Advertised package prices may reflect an “Instant Savings” discount. On occasion, we may also offer price reductions, sale discounts, coupon discounts, or other promotional discounts on certain packages, departures, or services. Such discounts are valid for a limited time, only apply to new bookings, and may have other conditions or limitations. Existing bookings for which a deposit has been received are not entitled to price reductions or discounts that were not valid at the time of booking.
Prices and availability are subject to change until you make a booking and that booking is confirmed. After that, your package price will not change, with some exceptions listed under Confirmation.
All advertised prices and costs are in U.S. currency, unless noted otherwise.
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 21 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, cashier’s 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’s 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 as transferring all deposits and payments from a cancelled booking to a new booking), and we had already issued airline tickets for the original booking, airline change or cancellation fees may apply, which we will deduct from your credit or refund.
Changes or cancellations requested after your final payment due date are subject to our standard change and cancellation fees and policies. Carefree Booking may not be available for all packages, including private and custom group departures and Biblical Journeys. See the package page for eligibility.
Changes & Customizations
CHANGING YOUR PACKAGE OR DEPARTURE: Requests to modify an existing booking to change your package or to change your departure (to another scheduled departure date for the same package) are subject to availability of the new package or departure. When not covered by our Carefree Booking policy, such changes are subject to fees, which will be added to your balance due. When such requests are received on or before your final payment due date, the change fees schedule below applies. When such requests are received after your final payment due date, they are considered cancellations and are subject to cancellation fees, but any refund due to you after such fees may be applied as a credit towards the new package or departure. In either case, and regardless of our Carefree Booking policy, if the total price of the new package or departure you select (including all selected options and any applicable fees payable to Friendly Planet) is more than your previous total, you are responsible for paying the difference, which will be added to your balance due. If the total price of the new package or departure you select is less than your previous total, we will apply the difference as a credit to your balance due, or if you have already paid in full, refund you the difference.
CUSTOMIZATIONS: If you wish to arrange flights from other cities or otherwise modify or customize one of our packages, please make your request when you book or contact us prior to booking. If you wish to make changes to an existing booking, please contact us as soon as possible. We will let you know if your request is possible and the cost. After your final payment due date, changes to your package are usually difficult and may involve significant additional cost.
Requests for significant changes to our packages, particularly those involving flights, including upgrading your flight cabin, departing and/or returning to a different city, modifying your travel dates, adding or changing destinations, or combining two packages, are considered Customizations. We quote Customizations once you have made a booking and paid a deposit. We will research the best options and send the quote, including a tentative flight schedule if relevant, usually within 5 business days. If you request a Customization involving flights departing more than 330 days in the future, we will provide you with an approximate quote and flight schedule based on information available at the time of your request. Once those flights come in range, approximately 330 days prior to departure, we will send you an updated quote and schedule.
Quotes are valid for a limited time. Once you accept our quote, we will add the amount to your balance due. Some customizations may require immediate payment while others will be payable by your final payment due date. Once a Change or Customization has been quoted, accepted, and confirmed, it is generally subject to the same cancellation policy that applies to your package, with the exceptions listed under Carefree Booking policy.
For some Customizations involving flights, quoted prices cannot be guaranteed until flight tickets are issued. In this case, you can choose to pay the cost of the flights immediately to lock in your airfare, and we will issue the tickets immediately. Once flight tickets are issued, they are subject to any applicable airline policies and are generally unchangeable and nonrefundable.
EXTENDED STAYS: On some packages, you may be able to extend your stay by departing after and/or arriving before the scheduled dates. We can arrange modified flight dates, extra hotel nights, and/or transfers, subject to availability and other restrictions. See Changes & Customizations for more information.
CHANGE FEES: Except when covered by our Carefree Booking policy, most Changes and Customizations are subject to fees. When you request a change, we will advise you of the applicable costs and fees or include them in your quote. The fee schedule below currently applies.
