CONTIKI
Travel Alerts Information
Latest update July 1, 2020 1PM BST
Your health, hygiene and wellbeing is our top priority. Find out more about the new hygiene measures being introduced so you can travel with confidence. Read more
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated travel restrictions, Contiki trips due to depart on or before August 31, 2020 have now been suspended globally with the following exceptions.
In accordance with revised travel guidelines for the UK and EU the following trips are scheduled to run in August and September 2020 (for people travelling from UK and Europe):
- Croatia Island Escape Plus: 22nd and 29th August 2020
- Greek Island Escape: 15th, 22nd and 29th August 2020, 5th September 2020
- Devon Surf Weekend: 24th and 31st July 2020, 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th August 2020, 4th, 18th and 25th September 2020
Additionally, given the announcement from the German government that this year’s Oktoberfest has been cancelled, all of our Contiki Oktoberfest trips have unfortunately been suspended. Our reservations teams around the world will be reaching out to all travellers scheduled on these trips to provide them with all available options and alternatives.
Coronavirus travel update
Our hearts go out to all who’ve been impacted by this unprecedented pandemic; we want you to know that the wellbeing of our travellers and our teams is – and always will be – our first priority.
Due to new government mandates, our physical offices are closed and our teams are working from home. We remain as committed as ever to supporting you all through this difficult time, but this change has further negatively impacted our call and chat times.
If you have a booking with us, rest assured that your trip can be postponed and rebooked without any penalty at any time. Here are the options available to you:
For all trips departing before or on 31 August 2020
In accordance with travel restrictions imposed by government advisories worldwide, Contiki has temporarily suspended all trips across the globe for trips departing up and until 31 August 2020 (with the exception of those listed above for travellers from the UK and Europe).
What are my options if my trip has been suspended?
If you have a trip booked during this suspension period, don’t worry, you’ll have a travel credit automatically available to you for the full value of the land portion of your trip, to use for travel before 31 December, 2022.
You’re eligible to either:
- Rebook now and change your travel dates or destination to any trip in 2020 or 2021, without penalty on the land portion of your trip. Any discounts that had been applied to your original booking will be transferred and applied to your new booking.*
OR
- Elect to hold a Future Travel Credit of the full amount paid for land portion of the suspended vacation, redeemable against any new booking for travel to any destination departing before December 31, 2022.**
Future Travel Credits can be redeemed with Contiki or another TTC brand (Costsaver, U by Uniworld or Busabout) on any destination or trip for travel before December 31, 2022.
Please note: These policies are subject to change at any time and are not retroactive for bookings cancelled prior to March 16, 2020.
For all other 2020 bookings
If you have an existing booking on a non-suspended trip departing more than 30 days from today, we’re temporarily offering a change fee waiver, meaning that no fee will be charged for you to change your booking, on the land portion of the trip until 30 days prior to departure. Airlines may have different policies and penalty charges, any and all of which are your responsibility*.
If your trip has been suspended and you’re unsure what to do next, we’ve put together some FAQs to help guide you.
COVID-19 FAQs
Why are trips being suspended?
The decision to suspend trips is not something we would ever take lightly. We came to this decision in accordance with WHO guidelines and government advisories across the world. In light of official advice, it became clear that the best way to ensure the wellbeing of our travellers and staff was to suspend all operations globally.
My trip is suspended, what happens next?
Our team are currently working to contact all travellers who are booked on trips that have where due to depart before August 31, 2020 and have now been suspended. If you booked through a travel agent you’ll be contacted by your agent directly.
These trips will not be going ahead due to operation in these destinations being suspended. This decision hasn’t been taken lightly, but our first priority is and always will be the well-being of our travellers.
But don’t worry, you’ll have a travel credit automatically available to you for the full value of the land portion of your trip, to use for travel before 31 December, 2022.
Are there fees associated with changing the trip?
There are no fees to move your booking to another Contiki trip. You’ll only ever need to pay the difference in price for the re-booked trip, if applicable.
What about fees to change my flights?
Contiki cannot cover any of the costs associated with amending any flight bookings. If you booked your flights through Contiki then our team will do everything we can to assist you in making the necessary changes to your flights. If you booked your flights independently or through a travel agent, please contact your airline or provider directly to determine what options are available to you.
I have a trip booked that has not been suspended, what happens next?
All other trips from September 1, 2020 are currently scheduled to run as planned, however we will continue to monitor the advice from WHO and global government bodies carefully to ensure we are acting responsibly and in accordance with these guidelines. Any additional changes to planned Contiki trip departures will be advised on this page as soon as the information is available.
If you do want to reschedule your trip, to give you more flexibility we’ve temporarily changed the terms of our cancellation policy. This means you have even more time to make decisions about your future travel plans without worrying about increasing penalties.
Effective immediately and until further notice for 2020 - for Contiki trips departing April 1, 2020 or later - we are temporarily waving our cancellation penalty until 30 days before departure. As long as you reschedule your trip at least 30 days before departure there will be no cancellation penalties or fees and you will not lose your deposit.
(This applies to land bookings only. Please note: Airlines may impose different change policies).
What if my trip is departing in less than 30 days?
If your trip is due to depart in less than 30 days and has been suspended we’ll rebook it for you. Our team are currently working to contact all travellers impacted by the suspension. If you booked through a travel agent you’ll be contacted by your agent directly.
If your trip is to any other destination then your trip is running as planned with no changes to your departure date or itinerary. If you wish to cancel then the following cancellation penalties apply:
- Departing within 30-22 days: 25% of trip fare
- Departing within 21-8 days: 50% of trip fare
- Departing within 7-1 days: 75% of trip fare
- Day of departure: 100% of trip fare
*The temporary change fee waiver only applies to the land portion of all trips and does not apply to group bookings. If you choose a trip or departure that is more expensive than the original, you are responsible for the difference in price; if the trip or departure is less expensive than the original, a Future Travel Credit will be issued for the difference. Please note however, you are responsible for any airline penalties imposed due to trip changes and/or cancellations.
** If you select this option, the new invoice will serve as the Future Travel Credit confirmation. The Future Travel Credit amount will stay assigned to the original booking number. To redeem the Future Travel Credit, just give us the booking reference number when calling to make the new reservation departing at any time before December 31, 2022. A Future Travel Credit will be issued in the value of the amount paid for the land portion of the trip and is not redeemable for cash. If the new trip or departure is more expensive than the original, you will be responsible for the difference in price; if the new trip or departure is less expensive than the original, a Future Travel Credit will be issued for the difference. Please note that you are responsible for any airline penalties imposed due to trip changes and/or cancellations. This offer may be withdrawn at any time and other restrictions may apply.
All offers are valid until further notice and may be withdrawn at any time without notice. Policies are subject to change at any time.