The fine print, minus the fog
Cancellation & refunds
Plans change. Here is exactly what happens to your money when they do — written before you pay, not after you ask. Short version: every payment is non-refundable unless the departure is cancelled, which is why travel insurance is a condition of travelling.
Every payment is non-refundable unless the departure is cancelled.
The deposit, the balance and any payment made in full are non-refundable from the moment they are paid. That applies whatever the reason you cancel or cannot travel — a change of plans, illness or injury, a family emergency, a visa refusal, a missed or cancelled flight, a passport problem, a travel advisory, or anything else — and it applies to no-shows, to leaving the trip early and to any part of the itinerary you do not use. Travel insurance exists to cover exactly these situations, which is why it is a condition of travelling with us.
If the departure is cancelled, you get everything back.
If we or the operating partner cancel your departure for any reason — including not reaching the minimum crew size — you get a full refund of every payment you made through this site, deposit included. That is the only situation in which money comes back. Refunds go to the card you paid with and are started within five business days of the decision. Flights, visas, insurance and anything else you bought separately are not reimbursed, which is why we ask you to wait for written confirmation before booking any of it.
We sell the trip. A licensed operating partner runs it.
Not Your Parents' Tour designs, markets and sells this trip, and takes your booking and payment as booking agent for a licensed Chinese operating partner. That partner operates the trip: the hotels, transport, guides, tickets and everything else on the ground are provided by it and its suppliers, and it — not us — is responsible for those services. We do not own, operate, manage or control any of them. We stay your point of contact throughout, but that is customer service, not responsibility for how the trip is run. We do not publish which partner operates a departure, and it may change before the departure runs — that is not a cancellation and does not give a refund.
You travel at your own risk, and travel insurance is required.
Travel in China involves real risks that neither we nor the operating partner can remove: long days on foot including a genuine mountain hike, high-speed rail and domestic flights, road traffic, variable air quality, food and water, limited English in hospitals, site closures, government action and immigration decisions among them. By booking you accept those risks for yourself and for everyone you book for, and you release us from claims arising from them to the fullest extent the law allows, as set out in the booking terms. A travel insurance policy covering emergency medical treatment, evacuation and repatriation (we recommend at least US$200,000) and cancellation of your non-refundable payments is a condition of travelling. Without it you may be refused participation, with no refund.
How to cancel
Email us from the address you booked with. We confirm it in writing the same or next business day and release your seat. Nothing you have paid is refunded — a cancellation claim goes to your travel insurer, and we will supply whatever paperwork it needs.
Don't book flights yet
A departure is only confirmed once it reaches its minimum crew size and we tell you so in writing. Airfare is not included in the trip price and is never reimbursed by us, so please wait for that email.
Changing your dates or your name
We will always ask the operating partner whether a move to another departure or a name change is possible. It is at the partner's discretion, subject to seats, and any cost it charges is passed on to you. A transfer is not a refund and does not create one.
Travel insurance
Required, not recommended. Buy it the day you pay your deposit so the cancellation cover starts immediately, and make sure it includes emergency medical, evacuation and repatriation cover of at least US$200,000 plus cancellation cover for the full trip price. We ask for your policy number and your insurer's 24-hour emergency line in your traveler details before departure, and you may be refused participation without them.
Prices
Prices are per person based on double occupancy, in US dollars, before any applicable taxes. The price is fixed at the moment you pay your deposit and is never increased afterwards.
Last updated: 26 August 2026
This policy forms part of the booking terms. Anything unclear? Email hello@notyourparentstour.com and a human will answer.