AFS Tour Cancellation Policy 

We understand that travel plans can change. Here’s how cancellations and refunds work for tours booked with us, effective January 1, 2026:

Why is there a cancellation penalty?  When you pay a deposit, you’re reserving a spot on the trip, and we immediately use these funds to secure bookings with hotels, cruise lines and other suppliers. Each of these partners has its own rules and deadlines, and we’re required to commit to a certain number of participants in advance and pay funds on their schedule.  That’s why your deposit is forwarded directly to them rather than held in reserve.

Because of these commitments, canceling your spot often comes with penalties—our partners may not refund us, and we can’t recover those funds. We always recommend purchasing travel insurance to protect yourself.

If you need to cancel, we do our best to find a replacement for your spot, though this process can take several weeks. If you’re able to find your own replacement before the required deadline, you’ll receive a refund of your deposit minus a $100 administrative fee.

Refunds for Initial Deposits

You are eligible for a full refund of your initial deposit if you notify us within five (5) business days of making your initial deposit, unless the trip is closing out and a final payment is due. After this period, 50% of your initial deposit is non-refundable.  If you find a replacement for your reservation, we may waive the deposit penalty, less a $100 admin fee.

Secondary Payments

Once you make a secondary payment, all funds paid—including your initial deposit—are non-refundable. No credits or refunds will be issued after a secondary payment, as these funds are committed to our suppliers.

How to Cancel – To request a cancellation, text 770-432-8225 or email us.

• For trips with multiple payments: Cancel at least 14 days before your first scheduled payment.
• For trips with a single payment: Cancel at least 45 days before your final payment due date.

Late Cancellations – If you cancel within 20 days of your initial payment due date (or within 60 days of the final payment due date for single-payment trips), no refunds or credits will be issued. Scheduled payments will still be processed as agreed.

Supplier Payment Terms – Some trips require us to pay our suppliers on non-refundable deposits by specific dates, such as camps, resorts, hotels, ground services, cruises and more. These non-refundable dates and details will be shown with pricing on your itinerary. Once a supplier deadline is reached, payments for those segments are fully non-refundable, regardless of other cancellation timelines. These supplier terms override our general policy.

Special Cancellation Terms – Certain trips may have unique cancellation rules, which will be clearly noted with your itinerary pricing. These terms take precedence over our general policy.

Third-Party Payments – We cannot issue refunds after payments have been sent to hotels or land suppliers on your behalf. These are non-refundable, regardless of when you cancel.

Acknowledgment – By booking a tour with us, you agree to the above cancellation terms. After the five-business-day window for initial deposits and after any secondary payment, your payments are non-refundable and non-transferable. If your itinerary specifies non-refundable dates or payment structures, those terms take precedence.

Transferring the initial deposit to a different trip – You may transfer your initial deposit, less $50, from one AFS trip listed on our website to another available trip once per year, as long as the new trip still has space. Deposits cannot be held for future, unspecified trips or applied to trips in later years. If you request a second transfer of your deposit within the same year, 50% of your original deposit will be forfeited. This policy applies only to your initial deposit. Once the secondary payment deadline has passed, no changes or transfers can be made. Please note that we are unable to transfer deposits to trips that are already full.

This policy applies to all trip bookings.

We highly recommend purchasing Travel Insurance that covers trip cancellations. We recommend Travel Safe or Allianz. AFS isn’t responsible for any personal or financial losses due to cancellations or interruptions of our tours. Cancellations can impact other travelers and our ability to operate the tour, so we can’t provide refunds in these circumstances.

 Just follow this link to –>   Purchase Travel Trip Insurance on-line

If you have questions, please text us at 770-432-8225. Be sure to include your name and a brief description of the reason for cancellation.