Ill before your holiday: getting money back

Short answer: Illness doesn’t give you the right to cancel a package holiday free of charge. The tour operator keeps the cancellation fee set in the contract — ten days before departure, usually 75–80% of the price. Cancellation insurance taken out before you fell ill gives you your money back: the cancellation fee after deducting the 10% excess, or in full if you’re hospitalised. See a doctor straight away and cancel the holiday in writing.

One-minute summary

A medical report before departure: the diagnosis, the length of treatment and confirmation that your condition doesn’t allow you to travel.
Cancel the holiday in writing as soon as possible. The cancellation fee is calculated as of the day the tour operator receives your notice of withdrawal.
For a holiday costing CZK 36,000 cancelled ten days before departure, the cancellation fee can be CZK 28,800. Cancellation insurance pays back CZK 25,920 of it.
The insurance only covers an illness that arises after it’s taken out. It doesn’t cover problems you already had before.
Without insurance, try transferring the holiday to another person. You must tell the tour operator no later than 7 days before departure.

What to do straight away if you fall ill

See a doctor before departure. The insurer needs a medical report with the diagnosis and length of treatment, in which the doctor confirms that your condition doesn’t allow you to travel. The report can’t be issued by a doctor who is a close relative of yours. If you end up in hospital, keep the discharge report.
Cancel the holiday in writing as soon as you know you won’t be going. The cancellation fee is calculated as of the day the tour operator receives your notice of withdrawal, and it rises as departure approaches. If you delay cancelling unnecessarily, the insurer may reduce the payout. You’ll find the steps and withdrawal text in the guide How to cancel a package holiday.
Ask for a statement of the cancellation fee. You’ll need proof of how much the tour operator kept and how much it’s refunding for the insurer.
Report the claim to the insurer without undue delay, always with your policy number. You’ll find the process and the online form on the how to make a claim page.

How much the tour operator keeps

Neither illness nor injury is among the reasons for which the law allows you to withdraw from a package holiday without a cancellation charge. So the tour operator keeps the cancellation fee under the package holiday contract and its terms. The amount depends on how many days are left until departure.

Under the current terms of the big tour operators, three months before departure it’s a flat fee of CZK 990–1,500 per person or 15–30% of the price. Ten days before departure it’s 75–80%, and in the last few days 90–100%. You’ll find the figures for individual tour operators in the overview of tour operators’ cancellation fees.

If you have cancellation insurance

Cancellation insurance reimburses the cancellation fee after deducting the 10% excess if you can’t go because of your own illness or injury. If you’re hospitalised for at least 24 hours, no excess applies and the full cancellation fee is paid back. You’ll find everything you can insure with a package holiday on the package holiday cancellation insurance page.

Example: a holiday for two for CZK 36,000, premium CZK 3,240. Ten days before departure, you get pneumonia and the doctor advises against travelling. The tour operator keeps 80% of the price, i.e. CZK 28,800. The insurer pays you CZK 25,920. If you had been in hospital for at least 24 hours, it would pay back the full CZK 28,800.

What to watch out for

You have to take out the insurance before you fall ill. The insurance only covers events that occur after it’s taken out. It’s always taken out for a specific booking — a package holiday, flight or accommodation you’ve paid for or booked on a binding basis.
The 30-day deadline. If there are more than 30 days until departure, you can take out the insurance at any time. A holiday bought 30 days or less before departure can only be insured at the same time as you pay for it.
When the illness can arise. Illness, injury, death and pregnancy are covered if they arise no more than 180 days before departure.
Only a sudden illness. The policy terms cover an acute and unexpected illness that prevents you from going and for which you need a doctor.

The premium is 9% of the price, at least CZK 26. We’ll email you a quote: I’d like a package holiday insurance quote. Work out the price for your amount in the calculator.

If you don’t have insurance: what else to try

Then you pay the cancellation fee yourself. But it can be reduced or avoided:

Transferring the holiday to another person. You can assign the contract to someone who meets the conditions for taking part. Tell the tour operator in text form no later than 7 days before departure, together with their consent (Czech Civil Code, Section 2532). You only pay the actual costs of the transfer, such as renaming a flight ticket. The tour operator has to prove them.
Changing the dates. You’re not entitled to a change, but tour operators often allow it for a fee. Some also offer a free change or cancellation within a certain period for early bookings. Details are in the overview of cancellation fees.
Justification of the cancellation charge. The cancellation charge must be reasonable, and the tour operator has to justify the amount if you ask (Czech Civil Code, Section 2533(2)). If it seems high to you, ask for the justification in writing.
Insurance elsewhere. Check whether you have cancellation cover with the tour operator, in annual travel insurance or with your payment card. Its terms are what count.

If a fellow traveller or someone in the family falls ill

The insurance also covers illness, injury or death of a family member, a business partner or the person you booked the trip with. It also covers the case where you have to look after a sick family member who isn’t travelling with you. You’ll find who counts as family on the what the insurance covers page.

If only one of you cancels, their share is reimbursed. The whole cancellation is reimbursed if one of you, your children or grandparents would otherwise have to travel alone. What to do if a child falls ill is described in the guide Child ill before your holiday.

An illness you knew about in advance

The insurance doesn’t cover an illness or injury you already had when you took it out. Nor does it cover problems for which a doctor recommended treatment in the 6 months before you took it out. If you take out the insurance with a fever, that fever won’t be covered.

The exception is a stabilised chronic illness. That’s an illness where nothing in the 6 months before departure suggested that you wouldn’t go or that you’d need a doctor, different medication or a hospital. If it then unexpectedly gets worse, the insurance covers it.

What about your annual leave at work?

If a doctor certifies you as unfit for work at a time when you’ve been granted annual leave, the leave is interrupted under Section 219 of the Czech Labour Code. The days you’re ill don’t count as leave.

Frequently asked questions

Will the tour operator refund my money if I fall ill?

Only the part that exceeds the cancellation fee. Illness isn’t a reason to withdraw without a cancellation charge. You can only withdraw free of charge in the cases set by law, for example if extraordinary circumstances occur at the destination or the tour operator significantly changes the holiday.

Can I take out insurance when I’m already ill?

You can take it out, but the illness you already have won’t be covered. The insurance only applies to events that occur after it’s taken out. Other reasons, such as the illness of someone in your family, will be covered.

Does the doctor have to write that I can’t travel?

Yes. For a serious acute illness or injury, the treating doctor must confirm that your condition prevents you from travelling, and state the diagnosis and length of treatment.

How much will I get back if I end up in hospital?

If you’re hospitalised for at least 24 hours, no excess applies and the insurance reimburses the full cancellation fee, up to the price of the holiday (CZK 500,000 per person and policy).

Sources

We verified the wording of the laws on 26/10/2026. The links lead to third-party websites.

This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. The wording of the policy terms and your seller’s terms is what counts. The example scenarios are illustrative.

Fallen ill before your holiday? When you get your money back