SherpaHolidays Terms and Conditions

Version: SH-TC-2026-10-14

These terms apply to journeys booked with SherpaHolidays LLC, a California limited liability company, whether you book online or directly with our team.

Your booking at a glance

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.

1. Before you book

An inquiry starts a conversation, not a booking. We reply within one business day. Before you pay, we provide your itinerary, price, payment schedule, these terms, any trip-specific differences and the applicable California pre-payment disclosure in writing.

Your booking documents are these dated terms and your written booking confirmation, including its itinerary, price and any clearly identified trip-specific differences you accepted before payment. The confirmation supplies your trip details. A trip-specific difference changes these terms only where it identifies the affected provision and was disclosed and accepted before payment. An invoice, later email, supplier form or revised website cannot remove a right you already have. Later changes require your written agreement and remain subject to applicable law. The separate participant risk release addresses activity risks, not payment or refund rights.

A booking is confirmed when the required payment and booking acceptance are received and we issue written confirmation. Private journeys also require a signed booking agreement. We send confirmation within two business days after receiving the required payment and acceptance. If we cannot confirm the arrangements you agreed to buy, we return your payment rather than apply a traveler-cancellation charge. Please check names, dates and arrangements promptly and tell us about errors.

Each adult traveler must receive the booking terms and sign any participant release required for their activities. One person making payment does not sign another adult's release. Participation by a minor requires arrangements confirmed with us in advance and the necessary parent or guardian documentation.

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.

8. Health, fitness and participation

Road travel, rafting, wildlife activities and travel in remote places carry risks of illness, injury and death. Experienced staff, briefings and equipment reduce risk but cannot eliminate it. Your itinerary identifies your guide team, including Sherpa guides on Himalayan routes, and the support and equipment included.

High-altitude travel can cause serious illness, even in fit travelers. Acclimatization reduces risk but cannot eliminate it. Tell your guide promptly about symptoms. Your guide may stop an ascent, change the route or arrange descent. Rescue and medical treatment depend on location, weather, access and available resources and cannot be guaranteed.

Read your trip's walking demands, highest daytime and sleeping altitudes, terrain, technical requirements and gear list before booking. Seek advice from a clinician familiar with your health and altitude travel. Tell us about relevant medical conditions, prior altitude problems, allergies, mobility needs and requested accommodations so we can discuss the trip with you. A room or assistance request is not confirmed until we confirm the arrangement in writing.

Follow reasonable guide instructions, local laws and activity briefings. Guides have final authority on immediate safety decisions. We may stop participation where continued activity creates a serious safety risk, or remove a traveler for dangerous, unlawful or seriously disruptive conduct. Decisions are based on the actual situation and reasonable accommodation where applicable, not a blanket age or diagnosis rule. We explain the reason when practicable. Unused services following a voluntary departure or removal for misconduct are not refunded under the traveler-cancellation schedule; legally required refunds remain available. Additional personal return, treatment and evacuation costs are your responsibility except where law or our own responsibility requires otherwise.

9. Required travel insurance

Comprehensive travel insurance is a condition of every booking. Your policy must cover emergency medical treatment, emergency evacuation, trip cancellation and interruption, and repatriation. Confirm with your insurer that it covers your itinerary's activities and maximum altitude, including technical climbing, rafting, helicopter evacuation and search and rescue where applicable. Provide proof before departure. Consider obtaining cover when you book because some benefits have purchase deadlines.

We are not your insurer. Receiving your documents is not a determination of coverage and does not guarantee payment of a claim. Medical and evacuation providers may require payment in advance. Keep insurer emergency details available during your trip.

10. Travel documents and local operators

You are responsible for valid passports, visas, health documents and entry requirements for your nationality and route. We help prepare the permit and visa paperwork described in your itinerary. Approval and entry are decided by the authorities, not by us. Check requirements before booking flights and again before travel.

SherpaHolidays LLC arranges and sells your journey from California. The local services identified in your pre-payment disclosure are operated by the local operator named in that disclosure, together with the identified local suppliers. Airlines, hotels and other providers have their own service responsibilities. Each party remains responsible for its own duties and conduct under the booking and applicable law. Using an independent provider does not remove SherpaHolidays' own duties, promises or mandatory refund obligations.

11. Privacy and photographs

Our Privacy Policy at https://www.sherpaholidays.com/policies/privacy-policy explains how we collect, use and share booking and traveler information, including information needed by overseas operators and authorities. We collect relevant passport, emergency-contact, health, dietary and mobility information where needed to arrange your journey. We share necessary information with the operators, service providers and authorities involved in your arrangements, including in the countries you visit. Inquiry or booking acceptance is not newsletter consent. Permission to use your identifiable image or testimonial in marketing is separate and optional, not a condition of your trip.

12. California Seller of Travel

SherpaHolidays LLC, 775 N 14th Street, San Jose, CA 95112. Phone: +1 855 743 7725. Email: info@sherpaholidays.com. CST No. 2169657-50. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.

The Travel Consumer Restitution Corporation's public directory lists SherpaHolidays under TCRC No. 710274. Fund eligibility depends on the transaction and California law. Before payment we provide the applicable customer-fund disclosure and claim information. A public directory listing is not a guarantee that every traveler or loss is covered.

California law requires certain sellers of travel to have a trust account or bond. The Seller of Travel bond issued by Westfield National Insurance Company is bond No. 527400X, in the amount of $10,000, for March 7, 2026 through March 7, 2027. The supplied instrument names Sam Sherpa doing business as SherpaHolidays as principal. A surety bond is not travel insurance or a guarantee that every customer payment or loss is protected.

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.