Payment Process

A deposit is a small partial payment of your tour…a show of good faith that you are coming on the trip. We save your seat for free up until a certain amount of time. The we ask for a partial payment (deposit) so we know you are really coming. Paying the deposit happens only after you have sen all the detailed trip information, and made the decision you really want to come. If you need extra time to pay and you know you want to come on the trip, just ask for extra time.. we are flexible.

Deposits are due after we guarantee a departure, as way to show that you are really coming on the trip. Once 8 or more people are signed up for any tour we “Guarantee the Departure” At that point, the trip will happen no matter what! You will get emailed an information packet with all the detailed trip information to review, and a secure deposit payment link. You can pay your deposit with no extra fee's or charges to save your seat on the trip.

The total amount for a trip is normally due 45 days before departure. So expect to have your final payment in our office, 45 days before the trip.

New for 2025... All deposits for all trips are only $100. This will go toward your final payment. Again, this shows us that you are really interested in coming on the trip 🙂

Check, money order, or credit/debit card Once a tour is guaranteed, you will receive all the trip detailed information. After reviewing all the details, making sure everything looks good, you can finalize your reservation by paying the deposit via a secure online payment link with any debit/credit card to lock in your tour price. There is no credit card fee for deposits. Then, when it is time for your final payment you will be emailed your final invoice. For your final invoice, we encourage you to pay with a check because it's doesn't cost us anything to take a check. If you want to use a credit card/debit card to pay you final invoice there is an 4.5% fee that is no longer included in the trip cost. We have removed this fee to lower the overall cost of all our trip. This fee is what we have to pay the bank to take your credit/debit card payment. It might not sound like much, but for example.. if we take a credit card for the California sun tour, the bank takes almost $70 just to process the payment. So historically, we have had that built into the trip price. But we decide that it's better to keep that in your pocket if we can. Starting in 2025 we have lowered the price of all our trips because we no longer need to pay the bank fee. So we are keeping more money in your pocket, and keeping the cost of the trip as low as possible 🙂 But this only work if you send a check for your final payment. You can still choose to pay with a credit/debit card if you would prefer to, but then we will have to add a 4.5% fee for the bank.

Nope! Our tours are priced hundreds of dollars less than the other companies that do similar trips. We believe in having the absolute lowest price possible from the very beginning. We have many travelers that book 2 and 3 and even 4 tours with us! Everyone gets the same low price for each trip. We have structured our company to be sustainable across the whole season without the traditional business model of jacking up prices when demand is high, and discounting when sales are low. Everyone who travels with us pays the same low price all season long, whether you travel at the least popular or most popular time of year.

So far, in the history of our company, we have only had to cancel a “Guaranteed Departure” when the covid-19 pandemic started and all travel came to a stop for a few months! When that happened we refunded every customer 100%. If APA ever needs to cancel a trip for any reason, we will refund 100% We are proud to say don't know of any other travel company who does this.

Each situation is different so please refer to our cancellation policy below: To qualify for any refunds, we must receive notification in writing, email: info@aupairadventures.com Cancellation date is the date the notice is received by Au Pair Adventure Tours in writing, by email In the unfortunate event that you must cancel your trip, your refund will be determined according to the following formula: Days prior to departure Refund, 91 or more days - 50% of your deposit, 90 – 61 days 25% of your deposit, 45 days or less No refund of any kind, Au Pair Adventure Tours reserves the right to cancel or alter a trip due to unforeseen weather, unsafe conditions, low registrations or other circumstances. If Au Pair Adventure Tours must cancel a trip, all payments received to date will be refunded, including the non-refundable portion of your deposit. Au Pair Adventure Tours is not responsible for expenses incurred in preparation for any canceled trips, including airplane tickets. Cancellation Insurance: WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND TRIP CANCELLATION/TRIP INTERRUPTION INSURANCE, WHICH COVERS YOUR COST IF YOU NEED TO CANCEL OR INTERRUPT YOUR TRIP for medical reasons, trip delay, lost baggage, and other unforeseen emergencies. You may purchase coverage through your own insurance company or You can also sign up for it online at Travelex Insurance (www.travelex-insurance.com). In order to avoid disappointment and expense in the event that you must cancel your trip we strongly urge you to purchase some type of insurance coverage.