Refund policy
This page reproduces the payment, cancellation and refund provisions of SherpaHolidays Terms and Conditions SH-TC-2026-10-14. Your accepted booking version and mandatory rights remain in effect.
SherpaHolidays Terms and Conditions SH-TC-2026-10-14. Your accepted booking version and mandatory rights remain in effect.
| Item | What applies |
|---|---|
| Scheduled departure deposit | $500 per person for bookings more than 90 days before departure |
| Private journey deposit | 30% of the trip price for bookings more than 90 days before departure |
| Final balance | Due 90 days before departure. Bookings made 90 days or fewer before departure are paid in full at booking. |
| You cancel 90 or more days before departure | Your deposit becomes credit toward any SherpaHolidays trip for 24 months. Payments above the deposit are refunded, subject only to a specific supplier exception disclosed and accepted before payment. |
| You cancel 89 to 60 days before departure | Cancellation charge: 50% of the total trip price |
| You cancel 59 to 46 days before departure | Cancellation charge: 75% of the total trip price |
| You cancel 45 days or fewer before departure | Cancellation charge: 100% of the total trip price. No refund. |
| Our conditions promise | A qualifying Nepal advisory change or trek-region closure within 60 days of departure lets you move dates free or take full credit for 24 months. |
| We cancel or cannot provide contracted services | Refunds for services not provided as required by California law. An alternative or credit is your choice, not a required substitute. |
| Scheduled departures | No minimum group size |
The traveler-cancellation table does not remove our conditions promise, rights under an already accepted booking, or refunds and other rights required by law.
2. Price and payment
Prices are in US dollars unless stated otherwise. Scheduled prices are per person. Your quote states room occupancy, any single-room supplement, inclusions, exclusions and all mandatory amounts payable for your journey. Private sample itineraries and from prices are not confirmed reservations; we agree the final plan and price before booking. International flights are excluded unless your written itinerary expressly includes them.
The deposit is part of the total price, not an additional fee. A scheduled booking made more than 90 days before departure requires $500 per person. A private journey booked more than 90 days before departure requires 30% of the trip price. The balance is due 90 days before departure. At 90 days or fewer, full payment is due at booking. Your disclosure and invoice state the exact amounts and dates.
Once your deposit is received, your price is locked except for government taxes, park fees or levies introduced after that date. We tell you in writing as soon as we learn of one and identify its amount and basis. A different route, hotel upgrade or optional activity is not an automatic extra charge; any additional cost requires your agreement before it is booked.
We do not charge a stored payment method without your authorization for the amount and payment date. If a balance is overdue, we contact you before treating the booking as canceled for nonpayment. Any cancellation charge must follow the terms you accepted. A failed charge alone does not authorize a different fee or a later, harsher cancellation tier.
3. If you cancel
Email your cancellation to info@sherpaholidays.com. It takes effect when we receive your written notice, not when we reply. We count days by subtracting the date we receive your notice, measured in Pacific Time, from the confirmed trip start date. The trip starts on the first day of your contracted itinerary, not when you leave home or begin the trekking section.
The table above applies to scheduled and private journeys. Percentages are calculated on the total confirmed trip price, including booked supplements and additions, not just on the unpaid balance. At 90 or more days, the deposit portion of a fully paid booking is still eligible for the deposit credit. Payments above the applicable cancellation charge are refunded to the original payment method. A cancellation charge does not exceed the total trip price.
At 45 days or fewer, including the departure date, there is no refund for a voluntary traveler cancellation. The same rule applies to a no-show, late arrival or a voluntary early departure. Illness, work changes and personal circumstances do not automatically change the schedule. Insurance may cover an eligible loss, but we cannot promise that it will.
Some boutique or heritage hotels require nonrefundable payments when reserved. If an exception applies, your pre-payment documents identify the supplier, exact amount and how it changes the standard refund calculation. We do not count the same amount twice or add a supplier charge on top of a percentage charge unless that difference was expressly disclosed and accepted before payment. Supplier exceptions cannot remove the approved early-cancellation deposit credit, our full conditions-promise credit or rights required by law. Without a stated exception, the standard table applies.
Requests to change dates are not guaranteed. We explain availability and any quoted cost before you decide. A date change cannot silently replace your accepted terms or convert a cancellation into an undisclosed charge.
We process traveler-cancellation refunds promptly, normally within 14 business days after receiving notice. A shorter legal deadline takes priority. Your bank may take additional time to post the refund.
4. Your 24-month credit
For a traveler cancellation received 90 or more days before departure, the scheduled or private deposit stays as a dollar credit toward any SherpaHolidays trip for 24 months. We confirm the amount, issue date and expiration date in writing. You may apply it to a new booking made within that period, subject to availability. The new trip is priced when you rebook; you pay any difference. Unused credit remains available until its original expiration date. It is not a cash refund. Any longer validity or cash-redemption right required by law still applies.
5. Our conditions promise
If the US State Department raises Nepal to Level 3 or higher, or your trek region is closed, within 60 days of departure, you can move your dates free or take full credit toward any SherpaHolidays trip for 24 months. This applies instead of the normal traveler-cancellation charges, including the 45-day rule and any supplier cancellation exception.
Full credit means the payments you made for the affected trip, not only the deposit. We record the trigger and your choice in writing. The credit follows Section 4's use and validity terms. A free date move has no change fee; we disclose any price difference for the replacement trip before you decide. The promise does not replace a cash refund owed when we cancel or cannot provide contracted services.
6. If we cancel or cannot provide your trip
Scheduled departures have no minimum group size. We do not cancel them because too few travelers book. This is not a promise to operate through unsafe conditions or government restrictions.
Weather, natural disasters, government action, border or route closures, civil unrest, epidemics and other events beyond our reasonable control may prevent a trip or service from operating. We notify you promptly if we cancel or cannot provide contracted services. We refund payments for services not provided as required by California law. We do not make an automatic deduction for unrecoverable supplier costs or force you to accept credit. You may choose an alternative trip or credit in writing after we explain the options.
Where California Business and Professions Code Section 17550.14 requires a refund, we return the required amount within the applicable deadline: the earlier of 30 days from the relevant scheduled departure, refund request or seller cancellation, or three days after we first cannot provide the services. We do not wait for a supplier to reimburse us before meeting our own refund obligations.
International flights and other arrangements you purchase separately are not part of our refund calculation. We do not promise reimbursement for separately purchased travel or preparation expenses, but nothing here excludes liability or rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
7. Changes, flights and extra nights
We may change the order of activities, timing or route for weather, access or safety. If a named hotel is unavailable, we provide an alternative of equivalent character and standard. A minor change that preserves the agreed character and standard is not itself a cancellation. We tell you promptly about a material change, explain available alternatives and your applicable refund rights, and obtain agreement before charging more. Calling a change operational or safety-related does not remove a refund required by law.
Mountain flights depend on weather and airline decisions. Lukla flights may use Ramechhap instead of Kathmandu; your itinerary identifies the included transfers. If weather delays your Lukla flight and you need to wait, we cover up to 2 extra nights while you wait, and more when the situation calls for it. Nights you choose to add, or a helicopter you choose instead of waiting, are your cost, quoted before anything is booked. Other delay arrangements and costs are stated in your written itinerary. This weather-delay wording applies to bookings made from October 14, 2026; bookings made earlier keep the wording of the version they accepted. We suggest booking your flight home one or two days after the trip ends. That buffer does not guarantee a connection.
We cannot guarantee a summit, pass crossing, mountain view, wildlife sighting or on-time flight.
13. Questions and disputes
Please contact us promptly with questions about your booking or a charge. We reply within one business day. We provide a substantive response to a written complaint within 14 business days. Contacting us does not limit your right to contact your card issuer or meet its deadlines.
California law governs these terms. We first try in good faith to resolve a dispute in writing. Subject to mandatory jurisdiction and consumer rights, proceedings are brought in the state courts in Santa Clara County, California, or the federal court serving that county. These terms do not impose binding arbitration or waive a right that cannot lawfully be waived. If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent permitted by law.