Canceling a trip is never enjoyable but in these unprecedented times amid the worldwide Covid19 pandemic, travel restrictions are forcing thousands of people to cancel their upcoming holidays. If you have booked a trip to Egypt in the coming weeks or months that you need to cancel, this information on how to cancel a trip to Egypt will be helpful.
Depending on how you booked your trip, whether online via your airline, with a travel agent, with a third party website like Expedia or a mixture of all of these, is going to determine the steps needed to cancel your trip to Egypt. I have outlined the various steps you will need to take to change your dates or cancel your vacation to Egypt.
How to Cancel your Trip to Egypt
This first thing you are going to want to do if you are forced to cancel your trip to Egypt is to get all of your bookings together in one place and skim the details of each booking. This will ensure you know what you have already paid for, what you have booked but not yet paid for (such as an upcoming hotel stay that charges you on check-in) and any other documents related to your trip.
The Great Temple at Abu Simbel will still be there when it is safe to visit Egypt again. Although having to cancel your trip to Egypt can be heartbreaking, this pandemic will end and travel will happen again. Abu Simbel will be waiting.
Cancel your trip to Egypt with a Travel Agent
If you booked your trip with a travel agent, this is the easiest way to cancel. Your travel agent “should” take care of everything for you. Whether you get a refund or a voucher for future travel will depend on the vacation provider and the airline and your travel agent will send you the voucher and outline expiration dates of your vouchers.
Cancel your Airline Tickets to Egypt
If you booked your airfare to Egypt and now need to cancel it, if you have booked directly with the airline, you will need to reach out to them directly. If they have not already canceled your tickets for your upcoming flights, you will need to read the type of ticket you purchased and what your cancellation options are. Most countries are not advising travel outside of your home country, and that is often enough to cancel your flights. You will have to live with the airline’s cancellation policy, however. Some are offering refunds for canceled flights, others are offering vouchers for use in the upcoming months.
If you booked your trip to Egypt on a third party site such as Expedia or the dozens of other flight sellers online, you will need to reach out to THEM to cancel your upcoming tickets. They then will reach out to the airline on your behalf to cancel your tickets. They often have their cancellation policy in addition to that of the airline. It can sometimes be difficult to get a hold of some third parties and some have complicated cancellation policies. This is why booking directly with the airline can be advantageous. If you have ever had to change or cancel a flight with a third party, you will likely consider booking direct with the airline in the future. Airlines will not discuss your reservation if you booked on a third party.
Canceling your Hotels in Egypt
Canceling hotels are usually a bit easier than airfare. If you booked direct with the hotel, you can usually cancel right from your reservation. If you booked your hotel on a third party, you need to contact them, as your hotel will not have your name, they just know that a third party has booked a room. A lot of hotel reservations are cancellable, but some rates offer a discount for non-cancelable rooms. If you have booked a non-cancellable rate, you will need to ask for an exemption to cancel and may have to pay some sort of fee to cancel.
A lot of hotels are also closed, which means they would be lenient on canceling and may even have canceled your reservation on you.
Canceling your Tour to Egypt
If you booked with an international supplier, something like G Adventures or Intrepid or another tour operator that has a local office, you will need to contact them to reschedule your trip to Egypt. Read the restrictions and find out what they are offering, as tours are not happening right now.
If you booked with a local tour operator in Egypt, you will need to reach out to them directly to find out what your options are and depending on what you have already paid, what your options are to reschedule or cancel your upcoming tour.
Check your Credit Card and Bank Statements
After you have canceled all of your reservations for your trip to Egypt, ensure you track your refunds. Ensure you are refunded what you are entitled to. Make note of your vouchers and their numbers and expiry dates in a safe place when you can rebook your trip once this pandemic is over.
Reschedule your trip to Egypt
When all of this is over, I highly suggest you reschedule your trip to Egypt and see all of the wonders it has to offer. Whether it is shopping the souqs in Egypt or hot air ballooning over Luxor, or spending a day exploring the Giza pyramids, there are so many adventures to have in this wonderful country.
Lindsay Nieminen hails from Vancouver, Canada and shares her love of travel on this website. She is passionate about showing others that they should not put off traveling the world just because they have young children or are single parents. She aims to encourage them to seek out adventure, whether it is at home or abroad by providing information on how just about everywhere can be a destination to explore as a family.