Last Updated: October 30, 2021
At Knutson Travels we take the health & safety of our guests as our first priority and as such we have decided to suspend all tours through March 12, 2022.
All guests on suspended tours will be transferred to the same itinerary for 2022. The rate at which the suspended tour was booked will be honored for 2022.
Those with departures greater than 60 days can request a refund including the cost of the non-refundable deposit.
Knutson Travels Wellness Pledge
Before each tour we operate, all Knutson Travels employees, supplier partners, and guests will take Knutson Travel’s Wellness Pledge. Our commitment to the environment through our earthtravels initiative and our 100% paperless guarantee, the Wellness Pledge will be available for completion on an iPad at the hotel as you are greeted at the airport by a Knutson Travels representative. As a company, we will follow our enhanced protocols with diligence and rigor; review them frequently as the landscape changes and always make common-sense decisions grounded in purpose and pride. We embrace these new and necessary measures to combat COVID-19 and will do our very best to provide the best Knutson Travels service, safely and effectively.
Knutson Travels has worked meticulously with our global supplier partners to plan for every itinerary following the hiatus in travel. All partners, whether they be a hotel, museum, restaurant, or other partners, have been thoughtful about how to provide a Knutson Travels experience in this environment.
And while it’s impossible to list all of the enhanced health and safety protocols for the hundreds of Knutson partners across Asia, we ensure we and they are adhering to and surpassing the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), The Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO) and the European Tourism Association (ETOA) TourCare, guidelines.
Knutson Travels has always been known for a la carte dining; having more freedom to decide when and with whom to dine now has more value than ever. Additionally, our partners whether they be hotels, special venues, or restaurants, are raising their already rigorous hygienic standards. Here are some examples:
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Waitstaff will likely be wearing face coverings and gloves.
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Seating will be adjusted to accommodate physical distancing (6ft, roughly 2m).
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Self-serve buffets will be eliminated. Common use menus will no longer be used unless sanitized.
Our hotel partners all have world-class health and safety protocols. However, these guidelines may vary depending on local situations and regulations. Here are some typical examples:
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Upon-arrival, health questionnaires, and temperature checks may be required. Some hotels may even require daily temperature scans.
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Physical distancing (6ft, roughly 2m) may be required in public areas, bars, and restaurants.
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High-touch areas such as railings, door handles, and elevators will undergo enhanced cleaning.
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In-room measures may include the removal of tent cards and magazines. Common use items, such as coffee makers and minibar amenities may be on-demand.
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High-touch areas, such as light switches, thermostats, remote controls, and door handles will be subject to enhanced and frequent cleaning.
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Guests will have the option to determine housekeeping frequency.
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All hotel staff will undergo daily health screenings.
Keeping on-tour transportation safe is a major focus of our team who has worked with hundreds of partners to ensure continuity in health and safety protocols:
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On motorcoaches and other on-tour ground transportation, such as airport transfers, the guest should expect physical distancing (6ft, roughly 2m) and will be required to wear face coverings if unable to maintain physical distance.
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Prior to each trip, our motorcoaches (we have secured a vehicle larger than group size to add spacing between guests), vans, airport transfer vehicles, and on-tour aircraft will undergo a deep sanitizing process.
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Luggage may also be sanitized at each movement.
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Drivers will wear gloves and face coverings during all guest-facing interactions.
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Drivers will frequently clean handrails, door handles, armrests, tables, seats, air conditioning/HVAC units, restrooms, and overhead storage areas.
Many of our experiences are exclusive and/or private and that’s important in taking care of you. Whether it be a guided tour, a visit to an iconic museum or private home, a musical performance, or any other special Knutson Travels activities, we are applying the same rigor to health and safety protocols:
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Knutson Travels listening devices will be sanitized thoroughly and frequently.
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Sightseeing is being adjusted to ensure proper physical distancing (6ft, roughly 2m).
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Admission times at venues may be altered to ensure no crowding.
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Paper tickets, handouts and the like may be eliminated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Transfers/Cancellations
We are canceling all of our tours with start dates through March 12, 2022. All guests on cancelled tours will be moved to the same tour in 2022/2023 with no rate increase. For those traveling on tours more than 60 days to departure can request a 100% refund for each affected tour member, issued to the original payment method. We are processing the cancellations in order of departure date.
Our first 2022 tour take us to India, if you feel unsure about the tour please let us know. If you are booked on a tour starting March 12 or later, our standard cancellation and transfer policies still apply. If you cancel your tour reservation after the 30-day deposit refund period and before the final payment deadline, your deposit will be issued as a credit for a future booking, not a refund.
The decision is ultimately yours. We are trying to cancel as few tours as possible, but we understand that every traveler needs to decide for themselves how comfortable they are with the risk. The situation is extremely fluid and we are evaluating conditions on a daily basis. When the situation improves and it’s safe to travel, we still want to take you to Asia.
Transfers/Refunds
If possible, your refund will be issued against your original form of payment — PayPal or credit card. All refunds will be processed through PayPal regardless of how you paid.
Unfortunately, tour credits are not refundable. We are returning funds for canceled tours to the original method(s) of payment — and credits used to pay part of your 2020 tour balance are considered a method of payment. Therefore, a credit from 2019 will go back into your account with us. We will extend the expiration date until 2022 — meaning it can be applied to any tour departing in 2022.
We start the refund process once we cancel a tour departure and process refunds in order of tour departure date. That means the people on a tour departing closest to today’s date get processed first.
Tours
Our tours are back, but each country has placed various entry requirements to enter the country, please visit our partner site for the current guidelines to enter the tour-specific country.
As always, our tour itineraries are subject to change — and often do so, even in the absence of major world events. If the closures become so significant that we don’t think we can give you the tour experience we promised, we’ll cancel your tour before it departs and give you the option of transferring to another tour or getting a refund. Otherwise, if we need to make minor adjustments to your itinerary, we’ll work with your tour group and guide to manage the situation safely, smartly, and fairly.
If a tour member is diagnosed with the coronavirus, our tour will follow all directives from the local authorities. This may include a quarantine.
If a tour member shows the symptoms of the coronavirus, the tour guide will put them in touch with a local health provider to be screened.
If we are mid-tour and the CDC recommends any restrictions against travel to the country we are in (or will be going to during the tour), we will continue operating the tour but adapt it as needed, depending on the circumstances. (For example, we will re-route a tour if it is scheduled to go through an area that has been quarantined.) We will assist tour members who wish to leave mid-tour (giving them a pro-rated refund), but we will not cancel a tour during its operation except in the most severe circumstances.
At this time, we are requiring all guests, employees, & third-party vendors to be vaccinated. Multiple countries are requiring foreigners to be vaccinated upon entry or face a long quarantine period before they are allowed to travel within the country. If you are unable to be vaccinated prior to your tour, please let us know and we will book you on the same tour next year.
All guests will only be required to wear a mask indoors or outdoors in accordance with local guidance & restrictions while traveling with the tour.
Please visit our terms & conditions page for more information.
Where can I find more information about coronavirus (COVID-19)?
For the most current information about coronavirus (COVID-19), go to
- World Health Organization (WHO).
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
- Your local health authority
How did coronavirus (COVID-19) start?
In December 2019, China and the World Health Organization (WHO) identified the presence of a new virus that stemmed from several confirmed pneumonia cases occurring in the Chinese city of Wuhan in the province of Hubei. It was given the temporary name of 2019-nCoV, or COVID-19. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
