The benefits of using Zip is that you can book your trip, and travel on it, without having to have paid your full balance before the trip departs. You can keep making payments on a flexible payment plan after the trip has ended. If you’d prefer to pay over time, interest free, you can pay in as many installments as you like, but you have to pay the full balance of your trip at least 60 days before it departs.

FlexDeposit is a policy you automatically get once you’ve paid a deposit on any Contiki trip 7 days or longer. It means that if you need to cancel or change your trip for any reason you won’t lose the deposit paid, as long as it is at least 60 days before your trip departure. Your deposit will remain secure until you’re ready to use it on new trip dates or on a different trip.

FlexDeposit can be used up until your 36th birthday, after which time it can then be transferred for use with any other travel brand within The Travel Corporation family of brands. It can also be gifted to a friend within 5 years of the original booking date.

Contiki’s Gold Seal Protection (GSP) plan costs only A$99 per person (payable with your deposit only & non refundable) and includes:

Pre-Departure Cancellation: GSP allows you to cancel your Contiki trip for any reason without penalty prior to 30 days from your Australian departure date (or 30 days prior to your trip departure if travelling in Australia).

If no Force Majeure Event* has occurred when you cancel, the value of your Contiki trip pre-payment** will be refunded; or

If a Force Majeure Event* does occur causing you to cancel, the Contiki trip pre-payment ** will be converted to a Future Travel Credit (FTC) of the same value. The FTC may be redeemed against the cost of a new trip provided by Contiki or one of our Travel Corporation sister brands, departing at any time within 24 months of your cancellation but is not redeemable for cash. If the new trip or departure is more expensive than the FTC you are responsible for the difference in price; if the new trip or departure is less expensive than the FTC, a new FTC will be issued for the difference.

Airline travel costs and any related cancellation or rebooking costs are not covered by the GSP plan.

Please note that the Gold Seal Protection plan cost is not refundable for any reason. Travel Agent fees and cancellation costs may apply.

On Your Trip – Should you, or your travel companion, leave at any time during the trip due to personal illness or injury; or be required to return to Australia due to the serious injury, illness or death of an immediate family member^:

a) you and your companion will be refunded up to A$90 per person per day for the unused portion of the itinerary (in some cases hotels require a one-night cancellation fee).

b) Contiki will pay the additional cost of airline travel for earlier or later return to Australia in the same class of air travel on the first available flight, provided you hold round-trip tickets on Contiki’s recommended airline(s) booked through Contiki from Australia.

A medical certificate is required to qualify for this trip interruption and return flight security provision.

Prior to departure from Australia your airfares are not covered by GSP. We recommend you take out Covermore Travel Insurance specifically covering the value of your airfares should you cancel your trip (Please review Covermore terms and conditions around cancellation cover). We are happy to help you with arranging that travel insurance. Any rebooking costs of airfares prior to departure are not covered by GSP.

*Force Majeure Event – means any event or circumstance beyond Contiki’s control, including but not limited to: an act of God (such as earthquake, flood, fire, explosion, landslide, lightening, action of the elements, force of nature, washout, typhoon, hurricane, tsunami, storm or storm warning or natural disaster);industrial disputes, work ban or other labour dispute or difficulty; acts of terrorism, political unrest, war or threat of war, riots or civil strife; closure of airports or ports; pandemic, epidemic or health risk; governmental and administrative actions (including closure of borders and travel warning and restrictions).

**Contiki trip pre-payment – means all monies paid to Contiki in respect of land arrangements only.

^Immediate Family – means a parent, sibling or child.