Trust & Payments
Every DRC Tourism booking is confirmed with a 70% deposit; the balance is due 30 days before departure. Refunds follow a published sliding scale (100% at 60+ days, 50% at 30–59 days, 25% at 15–29 days, none inside 14 days). If we or the operator cancel inside our control, you receive a full refund or a free reschedule. Payments run on PCI-DSS-compliant Stripe and PayPal over 256-bit SSL.
One clear deposit rule across every experience, package and tour. No hidden top-ups after checkout.
The remaining 30% is due 30 days before departure. We send an automatic reminder 45 days out.
If we or the operator cancel a trip inside our control, you get a 100% refund or a free reschedule.
Every booking is fulfilled by a five-point-vetted, insured, ICCN-accredited operator.
Every deposit produces a booking reference, itemised receipt and named in-country contact.
One number, answered around the clock while you are on the ground in the DRC.
The 70% is not a booking fee — it is what we immediately spend on your behalf to hold your trip. That includes ICCN permits for gorilla, bonobo, okapi and chimpanzee tracking, ranger and armed-escort logistics for national parks, remote-lodge accommodation, internal flights (Kinshasa–Goma, Kinshasa–Lubumbashi, Kinshasa–Mbandaka) and pre-committed driver-guide time.
The remaining 30% covers on-the-ground extras, tips, contingency and the operator's margin. We invoice it automatically 30 days before departure, with a 15-day and 7-day reminder. If you book inside the 30-day window, the full 100% is due at checkout.
Any cancellation inside our control — operator failure, an internal permit issue, a logistics collapse we could have prevented — triggers an automatic 100% refund within 14 business days, or a free rescheduling of your trip at the same price.
Force majeure — natural disaster, sudden park closure, government travel restriction, epidemic — is handled under a rebooking-first policy: we first offer to move your deposit to a new date within 24 months at no penalty. Only if no rescheduling is workable do refund terms kick in, and those depend on what ICCN and lodges are willing to release back to us.
Every payment on drctourism.com runs through a PCI-DSS-compliant processor — Stripe for card and Apple/Google Pay, PayPal for PayPal balance and eligible cards. All traffic is encrypted with 256-bit SSL. We never see, log or store your full card number; only a masked token and last-four digits appear on our side, and only for reconciliation.
Every successful payment produces a booking reference in the format DRC-XXXX-XXXX, an itemised email receipt, and the direct contact of your in-country operator liaison.
Our traveller care team walks you through the deposit, insurance and cancellation terms before any payment is taken. There is no pressure and no obligation.
Full legal detail lives in our Terms of Service. Related: Privacy & Data Handling.
Every DRC Tourism booking is confirmed with a 70% deposit at checkout. The remaining 30% is due 30 days before departure, or immediately if you book within 30 days of the start date. This universal deposit covers ranger permits, ICCN park fees, partner accommodations and in-country logistics that must be pre-paid on your behalf.
Almost every cost we commit on your behalf is non-refundable to us: gorilla and bonobo permits are pre-paid to ICCN, ranger and armed-escort logistics are booked weeks in advance, remote-lodge rooms are held with full pre-payment, and internal flights (Kinshasa–Goma, Kinshasa–Lubumbashi) must be ticketed on confirmation. A 70% deposit is what actually reserves your trip.
Yes, on a sliding scale. Cancel 60+ days before departure for a full refund of the deposit minus payment-processor fees. Cancel 30–59 days before for a 50% refund. Cancel 15–29 days before for a 25% refund. Cancellations within 14 days of departure are non-refundable because permits and lodges have already been paid on your behalf and cannot be recovered.
If we, our verified operator or ICCN cancel your trip for any reason inside our control (operator failure, permit issue, logistics collapse), you receive a full 100% refund within 14 business days, or you can move the deposit to a rescheduled trip with no penalty. Force majeure events (natural disaster, sudden security closure, government travel restriction) are handled under a separate rebooking-first policy explained in the full terms.
Yes. All payments run through PCI-DSS-compliant processors (Stripe and PayPal) over encrypted 256-bit SSL. DRC Tourism never sees or stores your full card number. You receive a receipt and booking confirmation by email within minutes of a successful payment.
Contact us immediately on the 24/7 support line included in your booking confirmation. Our in-country team will adjust ranger, driver and lodge scheduling where possible. Missed permit slots (gorilla, bonobo, okapi) cannot be refunded because ICCN slots are non-transferable, but every other element we can protect, we will.
Yes — strongly. We require every traveller to hold a valid international travel insurance policy that covers medical evacuation from remote areas, trip cancellation and interruption. We can point you to specialist Africa policies but we do not sell insurance ourselves.
Email refunds@drctourism.com with your booking reference. Refund requests are acknowledged within 1 business day and resolved within 14 business days. If you disagree with the outcome, our escalation contact is the Head of Traveller Care, whose details are included in every refund reply.
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