Cancellation Policy

TourByLocals Cancellation Policy

Any cancellation by you must be initiated by email to the TourByLocals office to cancellation@tourbylocals.org. We will acknowledge your cancellation by email.

In certain cases you may be eligible to receive a full or partial refund depending upon:
• the reason for your cancellation or
• the number days of prior to the start of the tour your cancellation request is received or
• the amount expended by the individual guide to prepare for your tour or
• the cancellation policy option you choose

TourByLocals is not responsible for any incidental expenses You may have incurred as a result of the purchase of your tour such as visas, vaccinations, non-refundable flights or loss of enjoyment, etc.

Please contact us if you have any questions about our cancellation policy.

24 HOUR ANY REASON cancellation option

For 10% of the tour cost, payable at time of booking, a ’24 HOUR ANY REASON’ cancellation option is available. If you choose to purchase this option, we will refund you the full amount you pay TourByLocals for your tour, provided you notify us of cancellation 24 hours or more before the start of your tour.

If you cancel less than 24 hours before the tour’s start time, the Standard Cancellation Policy above applies.

If you do not make use of this cancellation option, we will issue you a coupon equal to the amount you paid for it. This coupon is issued after the tour and is valid for two years. It is valid for ANY TourByLocals tour and cannot be redeemed for cash.

Standard Cancellation Policy

If you cancel or cannot take your tour as a consequence of force majeure, TourByLocals will refund the amount you have paid for your tour to a limit $1000 USD. If you have paid more than $1000 for your tour, TourByLocals will refund the amount you have paid less any non-recoverable out-of-pocket costs the Tour Guide has incurred on your behalf – car rentals, admissions, hotel reservations, tickets etc. We may require you to provide verification to confirm that you were unable to take your tour if you request a refund under this provision.

Force Majeure includes impersonal events such as war, civil insurrection, strikes, volcanoes, extreme weather, earthquake or natural disaster that makes it dangerous or impossible to safely undertake the tour. The determination of what constitutes ‘Force Majeure’ is at the discretion of TourByLocals. However, a travel warning issued by the US Department of State AFTER you book your tour invokes ‘force majeure’ or if you are on a ship and it is unable to dock for whatever reason, you are covered under this ‘Force Majeure’ provision.

For cancellation due to any other reasons (such as illness, change of personal circumstances), the date on which the request to cancel is received by TourByLocals will determine the refund due as follows:

If you cancel 60 days or more before the start of the tour: No cancellation fee. We will refund the amount paid less any non-recoverable upfront costs incurred by the Tour Guide on your behalf. These upfront costs represent out of pocket expenses of the Tour Guide for tickets, transportation deposits and other non-recoverable tour expenses. Please send a message to the Tour Guide to find out what, if any, these costs are.

If you cancel 59 to 30 days before the start of the tour: 20% cancellation fee. If you have paid for your tour in full, we will issue a refund of 80%. If you paid only a deposit we will refund only the amount paid in excess of 20% of the tour price.

If you cancel less than 30 days before the start of the tour: 100% cancellation fee.

In some cases, the Tour Guide may cancel a tour due to weather or other circumstance. In the event that the Tour Guide cancels the tour, you may choose between a rescheduling of the tour, a full refund of all monies paid OR a credit towards an alternative tour. If you choose to accept a credit, the difference in the cost of the alternative tour will be refunded or paid by you as applicable.