Dev Deepawali boat evening, Tuesday 24 November 2026

1. Who these terms are between

“We”, “us” and “Kashi & Kin” mean Kashi & Kin Travels & Tours, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. “You” means the person who made the booking, on behalf of everyone named on it.

If you booked for other people, you are responsible for passing these terms on to them, and for the conduct of everyone in your party. By booking, you confirm you are 18 or over and authorised to accept these terms for the whole group.

2. Your pass, and who may use it

• Your pass is valid only for the named party and the headcount shown on it, on Tuesday 24 November 2026. Extra people who turn up cannot be accommodated, because capacity is fixed by the boat’s licence.
• Bring the pass with you, on your phone or printed. Save it or screenshot it in advance; phone signal at the ghats is poor on festival night.
• We may ask any traveller for photo identification at the boarding point.
• Names can be changed free of charge up to Tuesday 17 November 2026. Tell us in writing.
• Passes are not for resale. A pass offered for sale or transferred commercially is void, without refund.

3. Cancellation by you

• On or before Tuesday 17 November 2026 (11:59pm IST): we refund 95% of the amount you have paid. We retain 5% to cover payment processing charges and the administrative cost of the booking, both of which we incur whether you travel or not.
• After Tuesday 17 November 2026: no refund is payable, whatever the reason, including illness, a missed or cancelled flight, a change of plan, or a visa refusal.
• A cancellation takes effect when we receive it in writing, at namaste@kashiandkin.com or on WhatsApp to +91 90443 99595. The time we receive it governs, not the time you sent it. Please get an acknowledgement from us and keep it.
• Reducing your numbers counts as a cancellation of those places and follows the same dates above.

4. If you do not turn up, or turn up late

Boarding is at the time shown on your pass, normally between 4:00pm and 4:30pm. The boat leaves once loaded, because the river and the ghats are under police control that evening and departure slots are not ours to move.

We will wait as long as the boatman and the authorities allow, and we will call you. But if you miss the boat, no refund is payable and we cannot put you on a later one, because there is no later one on this night.

This is the single most common way a Dev Deepawali evening goes wrong. Roads across the old city close from the afternoon. Leave far earlier than seems reasonable.

5. If we cancel

If we cancel your boat for any reason of our own, you receive a full refund of everything you have paid, or a place on an alternative boat or date if one exists and you prefer it. The choice is yours.

Our responsibility in that situation is limited to that refund. We cannot reimburse flights, trains, hotels, visas, time off work or other costs you have committed to around the evening, which is why clause 12 asks you to insure them.

6. If the authorities cancel or restrict boating

This is a real possibility on Dev Deepawali and not boilerplate. The Varanasi district administration, the police, the NDRF or the Jal Police can and sometimes do restrict or prohibit boat movement on the river at short notice on festival nights, for crowd control or safety reasons. Nobody selling you a boat can override that.

If boating is prohibited, or the river is closed, or our boarding point is barred and no workable alternative exists, then:

• you receive a full refund of everything you have paid, or
• you can move the amount to another Kashi & Kin service or date, if you would rather.

Beyond that refund we have no further liability for a decision taken by a public authority.

7. Weather and river conditions

The boatman’s decision on whether it is safe to sail is final, and so is any instruction from the authorities. High water, strong current, storms or heavy fog can stop boats.

• If we cannot sail at all, you receive a full refund, as in clause 6.
• If the evening is cut short after boarding on safety grounds, no refund is automatically payable, because the boat, crew and provisions have been committed. Talk to us: we look at these case by case and we are not unreasonable.

8. Changes to the boat, boarding point or timing

The exact boarding ghat and time are confirmed a few days beforehand, because police restrictions on ghat access differ every year. Your pass may say “confirmed nearer the date” until then. We will send you the ghat, the meeting point, the walking route from where your car can stop, and your boatman’s name, in writing.

• We may substitute a boat of equivalent or better capacity and standard. That is not a ground for a refund.
• If we can only offer you a materially smaller or lower-standard boat than you booked, you may accept it with a fair reduction, or cancel and take a full refund.
• Boarding points and timings may move for reasons outside our control. A change of ghat is not a cancellation.

9. Safety on board, and our right to refuse

• Life jackets are provided and must be worn by everyone, throughout, including children. Anyone who refuses will not be permitted to board or to remain on board, and no refund is payable.
• Instructions from the boatman and crew must be followed at all times. Do not stand on the gunwale, lean out, sit on the roof, or move around while the boat is manoeuvring.
• We will refuse boarding, or require someone to leave the boat, if in our or the boatman’s reasonable judgement they are intoxicated, under the influence of drugs, behaving dangerously, or putting others at risk. No refund is payable, and we may involve the police.
• Alcohol is not permitted on board.
• Do not light diyas, candles or anything else except where and when the crew tells you it is safe.
• Children under 12 must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times, one adult per two children. Children count towards the headcount and the boat’s licensed capacity.
• Smoking is not permitted on board.

10. Who operates the boat, and the limits of our responsibility

Boats are owned and operated by licensed boat operators registered with the relevant authorities in Varanasi. That operator is responsible for the vessel, its seaworthiness, its crew, its navigation and its compliance with river regulations. Kashi & Kin arranges and sells the booking, selects the operators we work with, and looks after you around the evening.

Accordingly, and to the fullest extent the law allows:

• We are not liable for loss, injury, damage or delay caused by the act, default or negligence of the boat operator, its crew, or any other independent third party, including hotels, drivers and other suppliers.
• We are not liable for anything outside our reasonable control, including acts of a public authority, weather, river conditions, crowd behaviour, civil disturbance, or accident on the water not caused by us.
• Where we are liable, our liability is limited to the amount you paid us for the booking, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses such as missed flights, lost holidays or lost earnings.

We will always help. If something goes wrong on the water, we will be the ones dealing with it with you, whatever this clause says about who is legally responsible.

11. Health, mobility and pregnancy

Boarding a boat at a Varanasi ghat means uneven stone steps, no handrail, a step across open water and an unstable surface, in the dark, in a crowd. There is no step-free access and no lift.

• Tell us in advance about reduced mobility, a heart condition, a recent operation, a wheelchair, pregnancy, or anything else that affects boarding or four hours seated on the water. We will tell you honestly whether it is workable and what we can do.
• If you do not tell us and we have to refuse boarding on safety grounds at the ghat, no refund is payable.
• If you do tell us and we then decide we cannot carry you safely, you get a full refund.
• Travellers who cannot swim are carried, as everyone wears a life jacket, but please tell us.

12. Insurance

We strongly recommend travel insurance covering cancellation, curtailment, medical treatment, personal accident and belongings. We do not provide personal accident or travel insurance, and the refund positions above are the limit of what you can recover from us.

This matters most for the window after Tuesday 17 November 2026, when we cannot refund you but an insurer may.

13. Your belongings

Bring what you need and keep hold of it. Your belongings are your responsibility and we are not liable for items lost, damaged or dropped into the river, including phones and cameras. There is no secure storage on a boat, and no realistic prospect of recovering anything that goes into the Ganga after dark.

14. Refreshments and dietary requirements

Refreshments and drinking water are included. Tell us about dietary requirements, including vegetarian, Jain, or no onion and no garlic, at least 48 hours before and we will arrange accordingly.

We cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment. Food is prepared in shared kitchens. If you have a severe allergy, tell us and carry your own medication.

15. Photography

We sometimes photograph or film our boats and guests and may use those images in our own marketing. Tell us, in advance or on the night, if you would rather not appear, and we will respect that without argument. If you find an image of yourself you want removed, email us and we will take it down.

Everything we publish as “from our boat last year” is exactly that.

16. Payments and refunds

• Prices are in Indian Rupees and fixed once your booking is confirmed. No festival surcharge is added afterwards.
• Where a balance is shown as due on the day, it must be paid before boarding.
• Refunds go back to the original payment method, normally within 7 to 10 working days of us confirming them. Bank and gateway timelines are outside our control.
• Any bank charges or currency-conversion losses on a refund are not ours to reimburse.

17. Things outside anyone’s control

Neither of us is in breach of these terms for failing to do something prevented by an event outside reasonable control, including natural disaster, flood, epidemic, war, terrorism, civil unrest, strike, a government or police order, or the closure of the river or the ghats. In that situation the refund positions in clauses 5 and 6 apply and neither of us owes the other anything further.

18. Complaints

If something is wrong, tell us at the time, on the night, on +91 90443 99595. Almost everything can be fixed in the moment and almost nothing can be fixed a fortnight later.

If it is still unresolved, write to namaste@kashiandkin.com within 28 days of Tuesday 24 November 2026 with your pass number and what happened. We reply to every complaint.

19. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of India. The courts at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute. Nothing here removes your right to approach a consumer forum under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

If any clause is found unenforceable, it is severed and the remaining terms continue to apply. These terms, together with your pass and anything we have confirmed to you in writing, are the whole agreement between us.