Booking Terms
Cancellation Policy
Below is exactly how payment, refunds and cancellations are handled for every dune buggy, quad bike, desert safari, hot air balloon, dirt bike and camel booking made with Dubai Desert Safari Tours. It covers what happens if your own plans change, and what happens on the rare occasion we have to cancel a tour ourselves. If any part of it isn't clear before you book, send us a message on WhatsApp and we'll talk you through it first.
Payment Confirmation
We accept MasterCard and Visa for every reservation, and there's no extra card-processing service fee added on top of your package price — the number you see is the number you pay. A reservation only becomes a confirmed booking once payment is made in full; we don't hold a slot against a partial deposit or a promise to pay closer to the date. The charge will appear on your statement under the name Dubai Desert Safari Tours, so it's easy to recognise later. Once your payment goes through, a written booking confirmation reaches your inbox within 48 hours, setting out your package, date and any pickup arrangements.
Refund Policy
A handful of rules apply across the board, whatever cancellation tier your booking falls under below:
- Service charges and taxes are excluded from every refund, with no exceptions.
- Once your tour has started, or once any part of a package has already been used, that portion is no longer refundable.
- Any refund is returned to the same card or account the original payment came from — we can't redirect it elsewhere.
- Tickets sold for a fixed time slot, whether for a coupon, an event, an attraction or an accommodation booking, carry no refund at all.
- Every refund we process has a 5% payment-processing fee taken off the top, on top of whichever cancellation fee applies.
- Refunds normally land within 7 to 10 business days of approval, and are never issued later than 30 days after your original transaction date.
If We Cancel A Tour
On rare occasions we have to call off a tour ourselves, usually because of weather or another situation outside anyone's control. When that happens, you're offered a refund of the full amount minus the standard 5% processing fee, or a no-cost move to the next available date for the same package — whichever suits you better. This applies most often to our hot air balloon flights, since they only fly in calm, still conditions at dawn and are the single package most affected by weather. Either way, we get in touch as soon as a decision is made rather than waiting until pickup time to tell you.
Non-Group Bookings Cancellation Policy
As a starting point, a cancelled booking carries a 10% fee, though the exact figure moves up or down depending on how much notice you give before your scheduled departure:
- Cancel 96 hours (four days) or more before departure and the fee is waived entirely — you'll receive a full refund, minus only the 5% processing fee.
- Cancel 48 hours or more before departure and the fee rises to 50% of the booking.
- Cancel with less than 24 hours' notice and the fee reaches 100%, with no refund.
- Coupon, event and attraction tickets stay non-refundable regardless of notice given, and certain accommodation bookings follow the same rule under their own voucher terms.
- Whichever tier applies, any refund owed is wrapped up no later than 30 days after your transaction date.
Group Bookings (4 Or More Pax In A Single Booking)
Bookings that cover four or more people in a single reservation run on their own, tighter schedule:
- 7 or more days before departure: a 50% cancellation fee applies.
- 5 days or fewer before departure: the fee reaches 100%, with no refund.
- As with single bookings, any balance owed is settled no later than 30 days after your original transaction date.
Rescheduling Your Tour
Moving your booking to a different date costs nothing, as long as the new date still has space. Just get in touch on WhatsApp with your booking reference and the date you'd like instead, and we'll lock in the change on the spot — no need to cancel and start over.
How To Request A Cancellation Or Change
We only take cancellation requests by email — write to [email protected] and tell us your name, which tour you'd booked, and the date it was scheduled for. That email is our official record, so the timestamp on it is what decides which fee tier above applies, not the moment you first thought about cancelling. Wait for our reply confirming we've got it before you consider the booking cancelled.