01
Deposit
$300
Per person, by card or bank transfer, when you book a multi-day tour. It holds your seats and rooms.
Booking terms
Food tour booking terms in plain English
How payment works, what happens if you or we cancel, and what your travel insurance should cover. These terms apply to every booking, and we send a copy with your confirmation.
Last updated
Pinhão, Douro Valley
Payment
Deposit, balance and supplements
02
Balance
60 days
The rest is due 60 days before departure. We send a reminder two weeks before. Day tours are paid in full at booking.
03
Single room
$560 to $1,590
Extra, depending on the tour; none on selected solo departures. Prices are per person in a shared double room.
If you cancel
Cancellation scale
What we keep if you cancel, counted from the day we receive your email to the first day of the tour.
| Days before departure | We keep | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| More than 60 days | The $300 deposit | Or move once to another date or tour, free, up to 45 days out |
| 60 to 31 days | 50% of the tour price | Travel insurance usually covers this for listed reasons |
| 30 to 15 days | 75% of the tour price | We still try to resell your seat and refund what we can |
| 14 days or less | 100% of the tour price | Restaurants, classes and boats are booked and paid by then |
| Day tours | Nothing up to 72 hours before | Within 72 hours, the full price; you can still send a friend in your place |
Late bookings and day tours
Booking close to departure
Book a multi-day tour 60 days or less before it starts and the full price is due when you book, because hotels and restaurants are already being paid. The cancellation scale above then applies from the day you book.
Day tours, the food walks and the cooking class, are always paid in full at booking. Cancel or move to another date free up to 72 hours before the start; after that the full price applies, but you can send a friend in your place.
Gift cards
Gift card terms
- Valid for three years from the date of issue, on every tour, walk and class, including private groups
- Can pay a deposit, part of the balance or the whole price
- Not exchangeable for cash; a balance left on the card stays valid until it expires
- A booking paid with a gift card follows the same cancellation scale, and refunds go back onto a gift card
Travel insurance
What your policy should cover
Insurance is not included in the price, and we ask every guest on a multi-day tour to have it.
- Trip cancellation and interruption, for the full price including your flights
- Medical care and evacuation abroad: many US health plans and Medicare do not cover it
- Missed connections and delayed baggage
- Pre-existing conditions, if you have any: read the conditions carefully
We do not sell insurance and take no commission from any insurer.
If we cancel
Your money comes back
If we have to cancel a departure, because of too few guests, a serious weather warning, a strike that closes the route or something bigger, you choose: a full refund of everything paid to us, or a move to another date or tour.
We have done it before. In 2020 every departure from March onward was cancelled, and every guest had that choice.
Terms
Questions about terms
Ask Lena directly
Lena Ortiz in reservations replies within one working day, Monday to Friday.
- Email[email protected]
- General[email protected]
What happens if you cancel a departure?
You choose: a full refund of everything you paid us, or a move to another date or tour. In 2020 we did this for every guest booked from March onward.
When is a departure guaranteed?
Once five guests have booked it. Below that we may move you to a nearby date or cancel with a full refund, at least 45 days before departure.
What if a restaurant or pit room closes on our day?
It happens: a pit sells out, a boat cannot go out in a storm. Your host swaps in a stop of the same kind and value, and tells the group why.
Do you sell travel insurance?
No. Buy it from an independent provider soon after paying the deposit, so cancellation cover starts early.
Groups of 12 fill early
Ask about 2027 departures
Tell us the tour and the month. We reply within one working day with dates, seats left, the price and the menus we can adjust for you.