Wingbuddy Cancelation Policy Review: What Medical Travelers Need to Know

Just a few days ago, my friend Dean agreed to still go with me on the France and Ireland trip, so having the travel companion portion of that trip settled, I'm ready to go deeper and get more detailed in planning. At the end of this post, I'll delve into Wingbuddy's cancellation policy and how they suggested I change arrangements if that was necessary.

I'm so happy that it isn't going to be different and we can go forward as planned.

Our Plans as They Stand

We used Wingbuddy to book the flights and hotels for this trip with a few activities arranged.

The highlights of the trip are:

• September 5th: Flight from Kelowna to Dublin through Vancouver

• September 6th: Arrive in Dublin for a 4 day stay

• September 10th: Flight to Paris with transfer to our hotel

• September 11th: Hop on Hop off bus tour of Paris

• September 12th: Siene Cruise from the Eiffel Tower

• September 13th: Flight to Nice with transfer to our hotel

• September 14th: Visits to Antibes and Cannes

• September 16th: Visits to Eze and Monaco

• September 18th: Visit to St. Tropez

• September 20th: Flight from Nice to Kelowna

I was happy with the itinerary from Wingbuddy because it gives us an opportunity to see other cities on the French Riviera but also an opportunity to just relax every second day. Their itineraries leave a lot of time for self-directed travel decisions, so in Paris we will be able to see what we want to and since we're flying into Dublin first, we should already be through our jetlag and ready to see Paris for all three days we are there.

What is Wingbuddy and How Does It Work?

Wingbuddy is a travel booking platform designed to simplify the process of arranging flights, accommodations, and activities. It aims to provide personalized recommendations and streamline bookings in one place. Users can compare options, read reviews, and secure reservations without visiting multiple websites.

The platform often appeals to travelers who want a one-stop solution for their trip planning. It also offers features like price alerts and curated activity lists, which can help maximize your travel experience.

The only real downside to our flights from Wingbuddy was that the flight home is very early. Especially if we want to get there 3 hours before for the international flight. But since they're handling hotel transfers, we will leave it in their hands to get us to the airport on time to come back after a very relaxing but eventful week in the south of France.

Still Left-Over to Book and Plan

Wingbuddy covered a lot of the logistics of the trip, but our main challenge arises from the fact that we used a re-direct to fit Dublin into the trip. Mainly, it's accommodations we have to plan for in Ireland, but there are some additional logistics. Our to-do list as it stands includes:

• Find a Hotel in Kelowna the night before our morning international flight

• Arrange Pet Care for Dash & Suki

• Find a Hotel in Dublin

• Book Transfers from and to the Airport in Dublin

• Choose Activities in Dublin

• Choose Restaurants in Dublin, Paris, and Nice

• Arrange Activities for Paris

• Arrange Activities for Nice

• Investigate Travel Insurance Options and Buy

• Confirm with Wingbuddy what Monaco, Eze, Cannes, Antibes, and St. Tropez trips involve.

  
  

The activities for Dublin, Paris, and Nice are very important and many have to be booked weeks out to ensure we can do them. I'm not sure which hotel is best for Dublin, but I'll probably start looking soon through all the booking portals to see if anything stands out.

Paying in Installments

One great thing about booking with Wingbuddy is that they let you pay in two installments. They charge the first installment, half of the cost of the trip, the day that you book it. The remainder is a few months later. For me, that remainder charge is coming up next Tuesday, July 7th. So $6244 dollars to go and we'll be on our way.

Research before Booking

To better manage my spending, I'll be doing my booking for the rest of the trip in early August. I'll do a series on making travel arrangements that month, starting with pet care and hotels. I'll start my research now, so there's a chance I may have posts before August in this series if I'm really moved to action by a listing that I find.

I've already started a list of Dublin, Paris, and Nice activities on GetYourGuide. I want to maximize my time on this trip, but also maintain enough downtime for relaxation and health management.

Wingbuddy Cancelation Policy Workaround

I called Wingbuddy trying to cancel this trip in early June. I was informed that unfortunately their trips are completely non-refundable and not modifiable either. It's something to be aware of if you want more flexibility from companies you make travel arrangements with.

After several emails back and forth, I was informed that I could cancel my travel companion's portion before the remainder was charged. In that case, I would have had to pay the single supplement then whoever wanted to come with me would have had to call Wingbuddy's sales department and book to be my travel companion. It wouldn't guarantee that we'd be taking the same flights though.

Ultimately, this is a good workaround if you book a trip and your travel companion's circumstances change and they cannot go.

I've never taken a trip with Wingbuddy before, but I have to say that their cancellation policy sucks. There was a lot of reason they should have worked with me on cancelling entirely, but I'm still excited to go and so happy that Dean can come.

Dublin is on the Bucket List Because

I've always wanted to go to Ireland for the lush green scenery. When I was on the Spain cruise, I met a woman from Dublin and she recommended it among the places to visit in Ireland, with self-acknowledged bias.

There is a lot of literary history in Dublin, and as a former English major, I really would love to see that city from a perspective of a literary tour.

Alcohol is synonymous with Ireland. Everyone knows Guinness and Jameson. A day to go on a liquor tour complete with pubs and cocktails needs to be on the list. Google helped me by suggesting a lot of different places to have cocktails and drinks in the city. Temple Bar sounds like the attraction I've got to see.

I also recently found out that I'm 2% Irish from my Ancestry DNA test. Dean found out that he's more Irish than I am, so that will be neat for us both to feel some ownership over the cultural heritage in Ireland.

Why Paris and the French Riviera

Paris appeals because I've never been there and I've always wanted to see the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. I was looking for options around Dublin and Paris together, but couldn't find anything. Then I stumbled upon Wingbuddy's Paris and the French Riviera tour and it seemed to be the perfect thing if we could fit in Ireland too. They accommodated!

The French Riviera is also highly literary. I've read about it in Hemingway and Fitzgerald books and short stories. It seems romantic and it will also extend our summer a bit because it will remain warm in September in the South of France. There's a lot of glamourous things to do there, from visiting Cannes to seeing Monaco. Nice will be a great central place from which to see the whole Riviera.

Next Steps

Our next steps are to research and settle upon accommodations for Ireland and ensure the pups are sheltered and taken care of while we're away. I'll start researching Dublin hotels within the week, but I want to hold off booking if possible until August.

I'll want to confirm with Wingbuddy about our activities in Cannes, Antibes, Eze, and Monaco, and St. Tropez. If it's just free time, we will probably need to book activities in those destinations to make the most out of our trips to see them.

Lots of time remains before we go, but it will go fast and I want the trip to be memorable. I will do a deep dive on all the destinations and cities we're going in the next few weeks as I settle on the best activities. Please join me in my research and share your own insights if there's something we need to see.