You can cancel a package holiday at any time before it starts. As a rule you pay the reasonable cancellation fee set out in the contract. However, you get all your money back, with no fee, when extraordinary events at the destination seriously affect the trip or when the organiser significantly changes the terms.
These rules come from Presidential Decree 7/2018 (Government Gazette A’ 12/29.01.2018), which transposed Directive (EU) 2015/2302 on package travel into Greek law. Article 11 of the decree governs termination of the contract before the start of the package.
What is a “package holiday”
A package is a combination of at least two different types of travel services for the same trip – for example a flight with a hotel, or a hotel with car hire. A single hotel booking or a flight on its own is not a package and follows its own terms.
Cancellation cases at a glance
| Case | Cancellation fee | What is refunded |
|---|---|---|
| You cancel for personal reasons | Yes, the reasonable standard fee in the contract | What you paid minus the fee |
| Extraordinary events at or near the destination (war, natural disaster, serious epidemic) that significantly affect the trip | None | 100% (no additional compensation) |
| The organiser significantly changes key elements (e.g. hotel, dates) | None | 100% or an alternative package |
| Price increase of more than 8% | None | 100% |
| The organiser cancels | None | 100% + possible compensation |
How the cancellation fee is calculated
The contract may set a sliding scale of fees depending on how early you cancel. The fee must be reasonable: it takes into account the costs the organiser saves and what it can earn by reselling the services. If the contract sets no scale, the fee equals the package price minus those savings. The traveller can ask for a justification of the amount.
Unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances
The decree defines them as situations beyond the control of the party invoking them, whose consequences could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. They must occur at or very near the destination and significantly affect the package or the transport. Your own fear or illness does not qualify; that is what cancellation insurance is for.
When the money must be refunded
The organiser refunds the amounts without undue delay and at the latest within 14 days of termination of the contract.
Right of withdrawal for off-premises contracts
If you signed the contract away from the agency’s premises (e.g. at a fair or at your home), you have a right of withdrawal within 14 days without giving a reason, under Law 2251/1994. This right may be excluded when the price is a special offer you were informed about.
An alternative to cancelling: transfer
Instead of cancelling, you can transfer the package to another person who meets the conditions, by notifying the organiser within a reasonable time (at the latest 7 days before departure). You pay only the actual costs of the change, e.g. a name change on the ticket.
Travel agency tip
Read the cancellation scale before signing and keep the contract. For personal reasons such as illness, only travel cancellation insurance bought together with the booking protects you.
Frequently asked questions
Can I cancel a package for any reason? Yes, always before departure, by paying the cancellation fee in the contract.
If there is an earthquake at the destination, do I get all my money back? Yes, if it significantly affects the trip, with no fee.
Within how many days must my money be refunded? At the latest within 14 days.
Sources: P.D. 7/2018 – e-nomothesia.gr · Article 11 P.D. 7/2018 – lawspot.gr · EUR-Lex – Package travel consumer rights
Validity: This article reflects P.D. 7/2018 as in force at the date of the sources (most recent source: EUR-Lex summary, 2022). The EU is working on a revision of Directive 2015/2302; any new rules are not included.
Photo: Angelina Litvin / StockSnap.io, CC0 – free to use (source)