Payments and Refunds
This policy explains how you pay, when you can cancel, and exactly how much money comes back. It applies to every tour, activity and park ticket bought on riocelestegeorgeous.com and forms part of our Terms and Conditions.
The short version. Cancel more than 24 hours before your tour and we refund 70 % of what you paid. The other 30 % covers payment processing and administrative costs already incurred. Inside 24 hours, or if you do not show up, there is no refund. If the tour runs but the weather is bad or the river is not blue, there is no refund — the tour was provided.
1. Payment
1.1 Accepted methods
| Method | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal | PayPal balance or any credit or debit card, processed by PayPal | Available 24/7 on the website |
| Bank transfer | Details provided on request | Only with prior arrangement; booking confirmed when funds clear |
| Cash | At our base in Guatuso | Only with prior arrangement |
1.2 Currency and taxes
All prices are in US dollars (USD). Costa Rican VAT (IVA) is shown as a separate line at checkout and is included in the total you pay. Your bank or PayPal may apply its own currency conversion rate if your card is in another currency; that conversion is outside our control and is not refundable by us.
1.3 When you are charged
You are charged when you complete the checkout. The order is created first and the payment is captured immediately after, so in normal conditions you receive your confirmation within minutes.
1.4 Card data
We never receive or store your card number, expiry date or security code. All card data is entered on PayPal’s secure pages and handled by PayPal. Our site only receives the result of the transaction and a transaction identifier.
1.5 Failed or pending payments
If a payment fails or stays pending, the booking is not confirmed and no spots are held. Some bank cards require an extra verification step from your bank; if you abandon that step, the payment remains pending. We contact you if we see a pending payment, but the booking only exists once the payment is captured.
2. Cancellations and refunds
2.1 Refund table
| Situation | Refund |
|---|---|
| You cancel more than 24 hours before the tour start time | 70 % of the amount paid |
| You cancel less than 24 hours before the tour start time | 0 % |
| You do not arrive, or arrive after the departure time | 0 % |
| Rain, storm, cloud cover or a river that is not blue — tour still operates | 0 % |
| You leave the tour early or do not use part of the service | 0 % |
| You are excluded for safety reasons, alcohol or drugs | 0 % |
| We cancel for safety (flood, lightning, park closure, government order) | 100 % or a new date, your choice |
| Park ticket already issued by SINAC in your name | 0 % — the park does not refund issued tickets |
| Park ticket not yet issued | The 24-hour rule above applies |
2.2 Why 70 % and not 100 %
The 30 % we retain is not a penalty. It covers costs that are already spent or committed by the time you cancel:
- Payment processing and bank fees charged by PayPal and by the banks involved, which are not returned to us when we refund.
- Administrative costs of processing the booking, issuing documents and handling the cancellation.
- Reserved capacity: guides, equipment and transport are blocked for your group and cannot always be resold at short notice.
This charge is disclosed before you pay, at checkout and on this page, so that you can decide with full information.
2.3 Weather, rain and a river that is not blue
This is the part most people ask about, so we prefer to be explicit:
- It rains in a rainforest, and we operate in the rain. Getting wet is part of the experience and is not a reason for cancellation or refund.
- The blue colour is natural, not guaranteed. After heavy rain the river can run brown or grey for hours or days. The tour can still be done safely and the guides will run it. A river that is not blue does not entitle you to a refund.
- If we judge it unsafe — flooding, dangerous current, lightning, a closed park or a government order — we cancel. Then you choose between a new date or a full refund.
As a courtesy, and even when there is no right to a refund, you may ask us to move your booking to another date with availability. We will do it at no administrative cost when we can. This is goodwill, not an obligation.
2.4 How to request a refund
- Write to [email protected] or message us on WhatsApp +506 6457 8613.
- Include your booking number, the name used for the booking and the tour date. Without the booking number we cannot locate the payment.
- We confirm receipt within one business day and tell you the amount to be refunded.
- The refund is issued to the original payment method. We cannot send a refund to a different card, account or person.
Requests must reach us before the 24-hour cut-off to qualify for the 70 % refund. A request sent after the tour date is treated as a no-show.
2.5 Processing times
| Step | Time |
|---|---|
| We acknowledge your request | Within 1 business day |
| We process the refund | Within 5 business days |
| Money appears on your statement (PayPal) | Usually 3 to 10 business days, depending on your bank |
Once we issue the refund, the time it takes to appear is controlled by PayPal and your bank, not by us. We will send you the transaction reference so you can follow it.
2.6 Refund fees
We do not charge a fee for issuing a refund. However, PayPal and banks may keep the original processing fee, which is why it is inside the 30 % retained. If your payment was in another currency, exchange-rate differences between the payment date and the refund date are not refundable.
3. Changes to a booking
- Changing the date more than 24 hours before the tour: free, subject to availability. Tell us as early as possible.
- Changing the date less than 24 hours before: subject to availability and a possible administrative charge.
- Adding or removing travellers: possible until 24 hours before, subject to availability. Removed travellers follow the refund table above.
- Changing the tour to a different product: we apply the price difference.
4. Chargebacks and disputes
If something went wrong, please contact us before opening a dispute with PayPal or your bank. Almost every case is solved with a message, and a chargeback freezes the process for weeks. We cooperate fully with legitimate disputes and we keep records of every booking, payment and message.
5. Abuse
We may refuse future bookings from anyone who repeatedly cancels at the last minute, disputes a legitimate charge or behaves abusively towards our guides or staff. This does not affect your consumer rights.
6. Questions
Write to [email protected] or [email protected], or message us on WhatsApp at +506 6457 8613. We answer every message, usually the same day.