Congratulations! We're glad you decided to travel with us!

Please take the time to read this before making a reservation... It's actually important!

Green Tortoise trips are clearly not luxury tours. We provide self-service adventure travel vacations oriented towards outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming, camping, and exploring remote natural destinations. They are very reasonable in cost because we have eliminated the frills of overindulgent, hotel- a- day, never- leave- the- pavement type bus tours. There are no age limits on our trips, but we don't recommend them for people who are unable to carry all of their own luggage, crawl around on the bus, help out with food preparation and cleanup, and generally take care of themselves.

If you are unsure, you can read Why NOT Green Tortoise? to make sure the Green Tortoise style of travel is for you.

Don't trust computers! All information on this website is subject to change without notice - please call us to confirm everything before you make your travel plans.

Green Tortoise reserves the right to adjust itineraries at any time. The tour descriptions in our catalog and on this site are general overviews, and itineraries are subject to road conditions, safety considerations, the weather, other unforeseen circumstances and acts of the Gods or Goddesses. Your hard working drivers, who are ultimately responsible for everyone's well being, have final decision making authority. We work very hard to provide the best tour values your hard-earned money can buy, so relax and enjoy the ride.

The Green Tortoise Adventure Travel Co. reserves the right to refuse service to any person at any time. Please rest assured that in very rare cases seriously disruptive individuals will be left promptly at the nearest lighted place with a telephone.

Smoking is not permitted on Green Tortoise buses. However, we try to make frequent rest stops, during which you may have time to get off the bus for a smoke.

Making Your Reservations

Before reserving, please call first to be sure there's space for you. Call the Green Earth Travel, and we will fax or mail you the necessary information. Next, fill out one reservation form for each passenger and mail it in with the appropriate deposit(s). Please see the Reservation Form for exact amount.

If you've never ridden the Green Tortoise before, (or haven't ridden it in a while) make sure you read "Be Prepared!" for important information on what to bring, our food & provisions policies, and your day-to-day physical comforts on the trip.

Thinking of traveling with your children, or sending them on the bus unaccompanied? Please read our policies and advice on child passengers.

Important! Before you reserve, you need to read about our Cancellations policy,Credit Card policy, and General Release form below.

Your deposit MUST be in the form of Traveler's Check(s), a Money Order or a U.S. bank cashier's check, payable to The Green Earth in U.S. Dollars. Please be sure to countersign (sign twice) all travelers checks.

For information on paying by credit card, please call our office for details. No Personal Checks can be accepted. Do not try to wire money.

We cannot make a reservation for you on any of our adventure trips until we have received your deposit and reservation form.

In the US, Regular First Class Mail can take as long as a week. From outside the U.S., it can take even longer. If a trip is soon to depart and you need to rush your deposit, or if you have called us and know a certain trip will soon be full, Express Mail Overnight from the U.S. Post Office will get it to us in one day from most cities. As of this writing, Express Mail costs $11. You can also send it express by Federal Express or U.P.S., but they are generally more expensive. You can also pay your deposit in person at our San Francisco office.

After we have received your deposit, we will send you a ticket and other important information. We really want to send this information and ticket to you, so please give us a clear, correct, and complete address. If you are traveling or if there is no time for you to receive your ticket, you can pick up your ticket at departure, but be sure to call us to verify that your deposit was received.

At departure, please pay your remaining balance in full to the driver. You must pay with Cash, Money Order, or Traveler's Checks ONLY.

( *All WESTBOUND, COAST TO COAST trips must be paid in full ONE WEEK in advance. ALASKA and CENTRAL AMERICA trips must be paid THREE WEEKS in advance. MAIL THE AMOUNT DUE TO OUR SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE using either TRAVELER'S CHECKS or MONEY ORDERS or a U.S. BANK CASHIER'S CHECK.)

Cancellations, Credit Card Policy, and General Release form

Cancellations

YOUR DEPOSIT IS NOT REFUNDABLE. But you may apply it (Minus a $10 service fee) to another Green Tortoise trip if you notify us at least 7 days before the departure. If you notify us less than 7 days before departure, you forfeit the deposit. The food fund which everyone pays, covers about 60-70% of breakfasts and dinners. You are responsible for all other meals. The balance of your fare including the food fund, (see individual trips for amount) is due at departure in cash, money order or travelers checks in US funds.

Exceptions:

Westbound cross-coutnry trips require full payment one week in advace. The Alaskan expedition, the Southern Migration, The centeral American Expedition, and all Costa Rican trips must be cancelled 21 days before departure, and only 50% of your deposit for those trips is transferable, and only if you cancel at least 21 days before departure. Full payment for these trips is also due 21 days before departure in cash, money order, or travelers checks, and is not refundable or transferable after the due date.

Credit Card Policy

We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover credit cards. For information on paying by credit card, please call our office for details.

General Release

When you board your bus, your driver will give you a general release to sign. You may view this release in HTML here (close the popup window to return to this page) or or download it in PDF format. .

All information on this website is subject to change without notice - please call us before you make travel plans.