ECUADOR TOURS: BOOKING AND CANCELLATION POLICIES
These policies apply to both day tours and multi-day tours operated by Neotropical Nature and Birding Trips. Where different terms apply, this is clearly indicated below
SKIP TO
1. Booking confirmation
Your booking is confirmed once we receive the required initial deposit.
Until the deposit has been received, we cannot guarantee availability for all services, accommodations, permits, guides, or other arrangements included in the tour.
Once the deposit is received, we will send a service voucher, confirmation, or receipt showing the trip details, dates, included services, and any outstanding balance.
The person making the booking accepts these booking conditions on behalf of all individuals included in the reservation.
2. Payment terms
A 30% deposit is required to confirm the booking.
For day tours booked 7 days or less before departure, full payment is required at the time of booking.
For all other confirmed day tours, the remaining balance must be paid no later than 48 hours before departure.
Bookings requested less than 72 hours before departure are subject to availability and must be verified directly with us before confirmation. These bookings may be declined due to guide, transportation, permit, or service availability.
A 30% deposit is required to confirm the booking.
For multi-day tours booked within 90 days of departure, full payment is required at the time of booking.
For bookings made more than 90 days before departure, the remaining balance is due 60 days before departure.
For bookings made within 90 days of departure, full payment is required at the time of booking. For bookings made more than 90 days before departure, the remaining balance is due 90 days before departure.
Please note that until we have received the required deposit, we cannot guarantee availability for all services, accommodations, permits, flights, or other arrangements included in the tour.
3. Payment methods
Tour prices do not include credit card fees, bank transfer fees, intermediary bank charges, or other transaction-related costs.
Payments may be made through our online payment platform or by wire transfer. Additional card fees may apply depending on the card and country of origin. ACH payment from U.S. accounts are also be available.
Full payment instructions will be provided at the time of booking.
4. What is included in the price
The price includes the services specifically listed in the itinerary or tour description.
The price does not include credit card or bank transaction fees, visa or passport fees where applicable, tips, personal expenses, travel insurance, or any costs arising from emergencies.
For private or tailor-made multi-day tours, quoted rates are based on the number of paying participants specified in the proposal. If the number of participants changes before departure, including due to cancellations, the price per person may be adjusted to reflect the final group size.
For shared or scheduled group departures, the quoted price per person applies to each participant independently, unless otherwise stated in writing.
5. Itinerary changes
Our itineraries are planned in advance, but changes may sometimes be necessary due to circumstances beyond our control.
Neotropical Nature and Birding Trips reserves the right to modify arrangements or itineraries when necessary, either in the best interest of our clients or due to circumstances beyond our control. These may include weather, road or air travel disruptions, local regulations, operational limitations, or other unforeseen events.
We will make every reasonable effort to communicate any such changes as soon as possible.
6. Cancellations
We reserve the right to cancel a tour for reasons beyond our control.
If this happens, we will either issue a full refund of all monies paid or offer an alternative tour of comparable standard, unless the cancellation results from failure to pay the balance within the required time.
We do not accept responsibility for additional compensation or consequential expenses.
Any cancellation of a confirmed booking must be submitted in writing and takes effect on the date written notice is received by Neotropical Nature and Birding Trips.
The cancellation charges below apply to the total tour price. If unrecoverable third-party charges or penalties apply to any part of the booking, these may be added to the cancellation fees shown below or may apply instead, depending on the supplier’s terms.
DAY TOURS
- 8 or more days before departure: no cancellation fee applies
- 7 days to 48 hours before departure: a 30% cancellation fee applies
- Less than 48 hours before departure: a 100% cancellation fee applies
- No-show: a 100% cancellation fee applies
MULTI-DAY TOURS
- 121 days or more before departure: no cancellation fee applies
- 120 to 90 days before departure: a USD 250.00 administrative fee per person applies
- 89 to 60 days before departure: a 30% cancellation fee applies
- 59 to 30 days before departure: a 60% cancellation fee applies
- Less than 30 days before departure: a 100% cancellation fee applies
GALAPAGOS LAND BASED TOURS - 121 days or more before departure: no cancellation fee applies; third-party penalties may apply.
- 120 to 91 days before departure: a USD 250.00 administrative fee per person applies; third-party penalties may apply.
- 90 days or less before departure: for Galapagos tours that include navigable services, or other services subject to stricter supplier terms, cancellation fees may be up to 100% of the total tour price, depending on the operator’s policy.
Some services included in our tours may be subject to the terms and conditions of third-party suppliers, including lodges, hotels, reserves, transportation providers, guides, permits, entrance fees, domestic flights, charters, cruises, and other local service providers.
Where these suppliers apply stricter booking, payment, amendment, or cancellation terms than our own, their terms will apply to the affected part of the booking.
Any unrecoverable charges or penalties imposed by such suppliers may be passed on to the client.
7. Travel insurance
Comprehensive travel insurance is strongly recommended.
As supplier flexibility is often limited, insurance should ideally cover trip cancellation and interruption, medical expenses, baggage loss or delay, and travel disruptions caused by illness or other unforeseen events.
8. Special considerations
In exceptional cases, and strictly at the sole discretion of Neotropical Nature and Birding Trips, payments received may be credited toward future travel within 12 months of the original departure date.
Any such credit will be subject to availability, supplier approval, applicable price adjustments, and any third-party penalties or administrative charges. The granting of such credit is not guaranteed and does not constitute a refund.