Coronavirus – Central Asia
If you are planning a trip to Central Asia or have already booked a tour, you’ll likely have some questions about the impact coronavirus (COVID-19) may have on your plans. At Kalpak Travel, our priority is the safety and well-being of our travelers and staff; therefore, we will try to help you understand more about how the spread of coronavirus may or may not affect your travels in Central Asia. Below, we explain changes to our Booking Terms & Conditions due to the coronavirus. In addition, we require all travelers on our scheduled group tours to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
We are making some changes to our general Booking Terms and Conditions due to the coronavirus, which has impacted travel plans for individuals around the world. For this year’s bookings, we apply no change fee. If you will decide to postpone a trip you can do it free of charge.
Overview of the situation in Central Asia as of June 9, 2022:
Just like in the rest of the world, the Omicron wave had hit Central Asia. However, the number of new infections is extremely low right now and according to official figures, the virus is practically non-existent anymore in Central Asia.
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan have lifted all covid-related entry restrictions. You can now enter these countries without covid test and without vaccination. Within the countries, there are also no covid-related measures in place anymore.
Tajikistan still requires proof of covid-19 vaccination or a covid-19 PCR test, not older than 72 hours at the time of arrival to the country.
Turkmenistan is still completely closed and it is not clear when it will open for tourism – possibly not before 2023.
New Bookings — Deposit and Full Payment
To confirm the booking, you are required to pay a non-refundable 500 EUR per person deposit. The payment of the trip price balance is due 15 days before the departure date.
We highly recommend getting good insurance that covers repatriation and medical costs, as well as cancellations of the trip and flights.
Cancellation by You
- If you cancel your trip up to 16 days before the departure, we will hold the deposit you have paid as a credit towards an alternative trip in the future with Kalpak Travel (no expiration date). No refund of the deposit is possible. If you have paid already more than the deposit more than 15 days prior to your trip, you may choose to use this amount as credit towards a future trip or to get it refunded.
- If you have paid in full and canceled 15 days or fewer prior to departure, we will charge the deposit as a cancellation fee and hold the remaining amount as credit towards any future trip with Kalpak Travel
Cancellation by Us
If we cancel your trip booking, you can choose to transfer 100% of the money paid for any future trip with Kalpak Travel. The alternative option is to receive a refund of payment, minus the deposit to allow for unrecoverable costs.
The amount paid can be also transferred to another person as a credit towards any future trip with Kalpak Travel.
How does Kalpak Travel determine whether or not to cancel a trip?
Your safety is our number one priority. We consult all travel advisories of the countries where our travelers are from as well as updates from the World Health Organization. We are also constantly in touch with our local partners in each Central Asian country and monitor closely the situation on the ground. If you are affected by a cancellation we will directly get in touch with you.
Important Terms & Conditions that apply to the above
Unrecoverable Costs
The coronavirus pandemic became a worldwide “force majeure event,” which is an event that is outside of the reasonable control of either party to a contract. In circumstances like this, in which a force majeure event results in the cancellation of your trip, we suffer unrecoverable losses. Therefore, if we cancel your trip and you select a refund, we will deduct the deposit from any refund issued to you to cover these losses.
Travel Advisories
Entry requirements and travel advisories are changing fast and frequently. Please check your government’s travel advice before you decide to proceed with a trip. Below, we have compiled links to some of the larger government travel advisories:
Covid-19 Travel Regulations Map powered by Timatic on the IATA website
World Health Organization (WHO) coronavirus situation reports
Canada: Travel Advice and Advisories
United Kingdom: Foreign Travel Advice
United States: US Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs
Questions – Contact us
The best way to contact us is via email – info@kalpak-travel.com, WhatsApp – +41786572701, or Skype – Kalpak Travel.
These are extraordinary times and we are trying to be as accommodating as possible. We are happy to discuss each case individually and provide suggestions.