The calendarPackage holiday · cancellation
Cancelling a package holiday in France: the fees, the free cases and the refund deadline
Before departure, you can always cancel a package holiday, but the organiser can keep appropriate and justifiable fees (Tourism Code, article L211-14). No fees are due if exceptional and unavoidable circumstances at or near the destination seriously affect the trip or transport. When the organiser cancels, for too few participants or because it is prevented, it refunds everything. The refund comes within 14 days of the cancellation at the latest.
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Can you cancel a package holiday before departure?
Yes, at any time before the trip starts. The seller can then ask for appropriate and justifiable cancellation fees: those of a reasonable scale set in the contract, based on the cancellation date, cost savings and expected income from reselling the services, or failing that the price minus the savings and income it makes by reselling the services (Tourism Code, article L211-14).
On request, the seller must justify the amount of the fees. The 14-day withdrawal right for distance purchases does not apply: the Consumer Code excludes package holidays from it (article L221-2).
Sources: C. tourisme L211-14 · C. consom. L221-2
When can you cancel free of charge?
If exceptional and unavoidable circumstances, occurring at the destination or in its immediate vicinity, have serious consequences for the trip or for the transport to the destination (Tourism Code, article L211-14, II). You then get all your payments back, but no additional compensation.
Before cancelling, you can also transfer the contract to a person who meets the same conditions, with reasonable notice on a durable medium; R211-7 requires notice allowing acknowledgement of receipt at least 7 days before departure, unless the contract is more favourable. The transfer costs cannot exceed those the organiser actually bears, and it must prove them (article L211-11).
Sources: C. tourisme L211-14 · C. tourisme L211-11
What happens if the organiser cancels the trip?
The organiser can cancel with a full refund and no additional compensation if the minimum number of participants set in the contract is not reached and it tells you in time: at the latest 20 days before a trip of more than 6 days, 7 days before a trip of 2 to 6 days, 48 hours before a shorter one; or if exceptional and unavoidable circumstances prevent it and it notifies cancellation as soon as possible before departure (article L211-14, III). The contract can require earlier notice for too few participants. For a trip lasting exactly 2 days, the statutory category boundaries overlap: have the applicable notice checked.
If it cancels without meeting these conditions, the additional compensation you can receive is at least equal to the penalty you would have borne by cancelling yourself on that date (Tourism Code, article R211-10).
Sources: C. tourisme L211-14 · C. tourisme R211-10
Within which time limit are you refunded?
As soon as possible and at the latest 14 days after the cancellation, whether you cancel, fees deducted, or the organiser cancels (Tourism Code, article R211-10).
The same 14 days apply if you refuse a change to an essential element or a price rise of more than 8%, and the contract is ended with no other service accepted (article R211-9).
Sources: C. tourisme R211-10 · C. tourisme R211-9
Who cancels, and what are you owed?
The amount refunded depends on who cancels and on the reason for the cancellation.
| Situation | Fees | Refund | Text |
|---|---|---|---|
| You cancel for another reason | Appropriate and justifiable fees | Payments minus the fees, within 14 days | C. tourisme L211-14 and R211-10 |
| You cancel: exceptional and unavoidable circumstances at the destination, serious effect on the trip or transport | None | In full, within 14 days, no compensation | C. tourisme L211-14 |
| The organiser cancels, minimum number not reached, notified in time | None | In full, within 14 days, no compensation | C. tourisme L211-14 |
| The organiser cancels: exceptional and unavoidable prevention, notice as soon as possible before departure | None | In full, within 14 days, no compensation | C. tourisme L211-14 |
| Price rise of more than 8%, contract ended | None | In full, within 14 days | C. tourisme R211-9 |
A rise requires an express clause with the calculation and right to a reduction, the exhaustively specified causes and justified notice on a durable medium at least 20 days before departure (L211-12).
Sources: C. tourisme L211-14 · C. tourisme R211-10 · C. tourisme R211-9 · C. tourisme L211-12
How much will you be refunded, and by which date?
Give the departure date, the cancellation date, who cancels and why, the total contract price, the amount already paid and, if you cancel, the percentage of fees in the scale: the calendar works out the refund or indicative additional cancellation fees and places the dates. The example: an 8-day stay departing on 20 November 2026, cancelled by the traveller on 15 October, €2,400 paid and 30% fees in the scale.
Fictional example · cancellation calendar
Indicative refund of €1,680.00 from the entered data, by 29 October 2026 at the latest.
- Cancellation fees
- €720.00
- Amount refunded
- €1,680.00
- Indicative additional cancellation fees
- €0.00
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- Cancellation
- Refund at the latest
- Planned departure
The percentage applies to the total contract price, not the deposit. Check the fees in the scale: they must be reasonable and reflect the cancellation date; the seller justifies them on request.
The amount is indicative under the entered scale: this calculation does not decide whether the fees are appropriate. Refunds must be made as soon as possible, without routinely waiting 14 days. For too few participants, the contract can require earlier notice than the statutory limit. Contractual notice in hours and the statutory 48-hour notice are not calculated; a standalone flight, linked travel arrangement and excluded regime follow other rules.
What does article L211-14 of the Tourism Code say about cancellation?
The text that lets the traveller cancel, with or without fees, and frames the organiser’s cancellation.
I.-Le voyageur peut résoudre le contrat à tout moment avant le début du voyage ou du séjour. Dans ce cas, le vendeur peut lui demander de payer des frais de résolution appropriés et justifiables. […] A la demande du voyageur, le vendeur justifie le montant des frais de résolution.
II.-Le voyageur a le droit de résoudre le contrat avant le début du voyage ou du séjour sans payer de frais de résolution si des circonstances exceptionnelles et inévitables, survenant au lieu de destination ou à proximité immédiate de celui-ci, ont des conséquences importantes sur l’exécution du contrat ou sur le transport des passagers vers le lieu de destination.
In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): The traveller can end the contract at any time before the trip starts, and the seller can then ask for appropriate and justifiable cancellation fees, which it justifies on request. The traveller can end the contract before the trip without paying fees if exceptional and unavoidable circumstances at or near the destination have serious consequences for the trip or the transport there; the traveller then gets a full refund but no additional compensation.
What do travellers ask before cancelling?
Does a package booked online give 14 days to change your mind?
No. Contracts for a package holiday are excluded from the withdrawal right for distance contracts (Consumer Code, article L221-2). The 14 days of the Tourism Code are the maximum refund time after a cancellation.
Which trips are package holidays?
For example, at least two different types of service for the same trip, lasting more than 24 hours or including a night, combined by a professional before a single contract or sold at a total price (L211-2). Other sale arrangements are also covered. A single main service with a minor tourist activity or one bought after that service starts may not form a package; linked travel arrangements are distinct. A flight alone is not a package. This calendar excludes general business-travel agreements and offers made only occasionally, without profit, to a limited group (L211-1 and L211-7).
Can the organiser raise the price after the booking?
Only if the contract expressly provides for revision, its calculation and a corresponding right to a reduction: a direct increase in transport energy, third-party taxes or fees, or exchange rates relevant to the contract. Notice must be clear, on a durable medium, with justification and calculation at least 20 days before departure. Above 8%, the traveller receives the choices, a reasonable reply deadline and the consequences of silence; if the contract ends without an accepted substitute, refund within 14 days, without prejudice to possible compensation (L211-12 and R211-9).
Can you transfer your trip to someone else?
Yes, to a person who meets the same conditions, with reasonable notice on a durable medium before departure; the transferor and transferee remain jointly liable for the balance and transfer costs, which must be reasonable, actual and proven. R211-7 requires notice allowing acknowledgement of receipt at least 7 days before departure, unless the contract is more favourable (Tourism Code, article L211-11).
Which texts is this cancellation calendar based on?
- Tourism Code, article R211-7 (transfer and seven-day notice)Légifrance, in French
- Tourism Code, article L211-1 (scope and occasional nonprofit offer)Légifrance, in French
- Tourism Code, article L211-7 (general business-travel agreements excluded)Légifrance, in French
- Tourism Code, article L211-14 (ending the contract before departure)Légifrance, in French
- Tourism Code, article R211-10 (refund within 14 days)Légifrance, in French
- Tourism Code, article L211-2 (definition of a package holiday)Légifrance, in French
- Tourism Code, article L211-11 (transferring the contract)Légifrance, in French
- Tourism Code, article L211-12 (price revision)Légifrance, in French
- Tourism Code, article R211-9 (essential change, rise of more than 8%)Légifrance, in French
- Consumer Code, article L221-2 (contracts excluded from the withdrawal right)Légifrance, in French
Texts cited last checked: 26 September 2026