VIET HERPING · TOUR POLICY
Terms & Conditions
These terms explain how Viet Herping works with wild reptiles and amphibians in the field, the conditions under which animal interaction may take place, the risks guests accept, insurance requirements, expected guest conduct and the authority of your guide.
3.1
Wildlife Interaction & Handling
3.2
Assumption of Risk
3.3
Insurance Requirement
3.4
Guest Conduct
3.5
Guide Authority
SECTION 3.1
Wildlife Interaction & Handling
Our position
Viet Herping offers a supervised handling experience. It is led by guides who work with venomous snakes outside of tourism through rescue and education work, and it operates under conditions we set — not on request.
Handling is offered, never assumed. Many guests join to observe and photograph only, and that is a complete experience in itself.
What we offer
NON-VENOMOUS SPECIES
Supervised handling, subject to the species, the individual animal's condition, and the guide's assessment. No age limit; guests under 16 need a parent or guardian present.
VENOMOUS · PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Supervised handling at the guide's discretion, only where conditions allow. Protective gloves rated for venomous species are provided, and this is how venomous handling is done by default. Guests must be 16 or older. This is not available on every tour, in every location, or with every animal.
VENOMOUS · BARE-HANDED
By advance request only. Guests must be 18 or older. You must request this when you book, not in the field, so that your guide can prepare and assess whether it is realistic on your itinerary. A separate liability waiver is signed on the first day of your tour, before departure. Your guide retains full discretion to decline on the night, and frequently will.
OBSERVATION ONLY
Always available, and always a valid choice.
Guests under 18 require a parent or guardian to sign the participation acknowledgement on their behalf, whether or not the guardian is required to be present.
Conditions
Handling proceeds only when every one of the following is true:
The guide's decision is final and is not open to negotiation in the field.
A guide may decline at any moment, including mid-encounter, without giving a reason. This applies even where handling was discussed at booking. We would rather disappoint you than take a risk that is not worth taking.
Insurance requirement
Comprehensive travel and medical insurance is required to take part in the handling experience. It must cover wildlife-related injury and emergency medical evacuation.
Check your policy's exclusions before you travel — many standard travel policies exclude injury caused by wild animals.
Guests without qualifying cover are welcome on the tour and take part in everything else — observation, photography, guiding — but will not be offered handling.
Participation acknowledgement
Guests who wish to handle animals sign a short acknowledgement before departure, confirming they understand the risks, hold qualifying insurance, have disclosed relevant medical conditions, and will follow guide instruction. Where the guest is under 18, a parent or guardian signs.
Safety and emergency response
Every tour carries a first aid kit and operates under a written emergency protocol. Guides know the nearest medical facility for each site and the route to it.
Conservation
A portion of the revenue from each tour supports reptile conservation through Viet Snake Rescuer. Our guides work in snake rescue and education outside of tourism, relocating animals safely rather than killing them — the same field knowledge that makes these tours work.
SECTION 3.2
Assumption of Risk
Herping is a wildlife activity conducted at night, in natural habitat, in the presence of venomous animals. The risks are real. We manage them; we cannot eliminate them.
By joining a Viet Herping tour you acknowledge that you understand and accept the following:
Venomous species
Venomous snakes occur in every habitat we visit. An encounter may happen at any point, including unexpectedly and at close range. Envenomation is a medical emergency that can cause serious injury or death.
Night operations
Tours run after dark on uneven natural ground — wet rock, loose soil, exposed roots, stream crossings, steep sections. Visibility is limited to what your headlamp shows. Slips, trips and falls are the most common cause of injury on this kind of tour.
Distance from medical care
Many sites are one hour or more from a hospital capable of treating envenomation, and some have limited or no mobile signal. Evacuation from a forest site at night takes time.
Wild animals are unpredictable
No guide can fully predict how a wild animal will behave. Other hazards include insects, leeches, spiders, centipedes and, at some sites, larger wildlife.
Weather and terrain change without warning
Rain, flooding, fog and falling branches can occur during a session. Conditions at highland sites change faster than at lowland sites.
Physical demand
Tours involve walking at night, in some cases for several hours, on natural terrain. Multi-day and highland tours are physically demanding.
Medical disclosure
You are responsible for disclosing any medical condition, allergy or medication relevant to your safety, before the tour begins. We cannot manage a risk we do not know about.
You accept these risks voluntarily. Where a guest wishes to take part in the supervised handling experience, a separate written participation acknowledgement is signed before departure — see section 3.1.
SECTION 3.3
Insurance Requirement
Required for handling
Comprehensive travel and medical insurance covering wildlife-related injury and emergency medical evacuation is a condition of taking part in the supervised handling experience. This is a requirement, not a recommendation. Guests without qualifying cover join the tour and take part in everything else, but will not be offered handling.
Strongly recommended for every guest
Tours run at night, in forest terrain, often far from major hospitals. Trip disruption, illness, injury and evacuation are exactly what travel insurance exists for.
Check your exclusions
Many standard travel policies exclude injury caused by wild animals, or exclude activities classified as adventurous or hazardous. Read your policy before you travel. A policy that excludes wildlife-related injury does not meet our requirement.
Verification
We may ask to see confirmation of your cover before the tour begins. Providing accurate information about your insurance is your responsibility.
Viet Herping is not an insurer
We do not provide medical, travel or accident cover, and we are not a party to your insurance contract. Any claim is between you and your insurer.
SECTION 3.4
Guest Conduct
Your guide is responsible for your safety and for the welfare of the animals we find. Both depend on guests following a small number of rules without exception.
Consequences
A guest who breaches these rules — particularly around alcohol, refusing guide instruction, or handling animals without permission — may be removed from the tour. No refund applies, and the cost of returning to your accommodation is the guest's responsibility. See our Cancellation & Refund policy.
We have needed to do this rarely. We state it plainly so that nobody is surprised.
SECTION 3.5
Guide Authority
The guide's decision is final. This applies to routing, timing, whether a session continues, and every interaction with an animal. Decisions are not open to negotiation in the field.
Your guide may, at any time and without giving a reason:
Ending a session for safety is not a service failure. A guide who stops a night because conditions have turned is doing the job correctly. Where a tour is shortened or stopped on safety grounds, our Cancellation & Refund terms apply — you are not penalised for your guide making the right call.
Animal welfare sits alongside guest safety. A guide will decline an encounter that would put an animal under unnecessary stress, and will move on from an animal rather than extend the encounter for a photograph.
Safety and animal welfare come first
Participating in a Viet Herping tour means accepting these conditions and following your guide's instructions in the field. Wildlife interaction is never guaranteed, and any handling opportunity remains subject to the animal, the environment, guest eligibility and the guide's final assessment.
