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Trip preparation

• What to bring?

  Here are some suggestions.
  
  Choose the ones that may apply to your child’s trip:

  • For air travel, keep in mind that two bags (for a total of 44 pounds/20kg) and one carry-on bag that the students may bring on the plane with them are normally allowed. If you exceed the allowance, you will have to pay for the surcharge.
  • For a long trip (5 days or more), heavy and hard to carry, so prepare a suitcase that your child can easily lift.
  • Roll the clothes: they will be less wrinkled.
  • If your child wears glasses, include a spare pair.
  • If your child has a medical drug prescription, give a copy to the person in charge of the group.
  • If your child brings any prescriptions, keep the labels attached to the containers so that customs officers will be able to verify the contents of the medication.

  
  

  Don’t forget to consult our Checklist when packing your bags!

• Insurance information

  It is important to have proper travel insurance.
  
  To guarantee the best protection, we offer Blue Cross Travel Insurance.
  
  
  
  
  
  Blue Cross - known throughout the world!
  
  
  More Information on medical and cancellation insurance.

• How much spending money should my child bring?

  Most trips include all the meals and admission costs. A certain amount of money has to be prepared for extras like gifts and treats.

  The following grid should help you estimate the amount of pocket money your child should bring for meals only.

   

  DESTINATION	DAILY ALLOWANCES
  United States (3)	$20 US to $30 US
  Montréal (4)	$7
  Québec / Ottawa (4)	$6
  Toronto (1)	$25
  France (2)	$6 à $10
  Spain(2)	$6 à $10
  Italy (2)	$10 à $20

  (1): Most of the time, breakfast is included in Toronto packages.

  (2): For Europe packages, breakfasts and dinners are often included. Only lunches have to be paid.

  (3): If breakfast is not included.

  (4): Only for lunch meals.

   

• Required documents

  Before you leave, please ensure you have all the documentation required by your destination’s governmental authorities.
  
  Canadian citizens must provide a valid canadian passport (adults) proof of citizenship (students) for any United-States destinations.
  
  You must obtain every required documents, pay the appropriate fees and ensure you have them in your posession before you leave. If a passenger does not fulfill these requirements, the carrier may refuse boarding or the border authorities may refuse border crossing.
  
  To obtain a passport application, visit the Passport Agency Internet site.

  
  For trips to the USA (by bus):

  • ATTENTION, since June 1st 2009, the passport is mandatory to travel to the United States (adults) - see the FAQ section on our Web site.

• Self-financing

  Student Tour suggests that you use the services of Humeur Groupe Conseil. There are more advantages than getting tons of ideas and resources to finance your trip. Ask one of our tour consultants about them.

  
  

• Travelling safety tips for your child

  Here are some safety tips that you can give to your child.
  
  Of course, some of these tips do not apply to every kind of trip, select only those that you consider useful.
  
  Always tell someone where you are going and when you will come back. Never leave the group. If students want to separate from the group, they have to bring the emergency phone number with them.
  
  Keep your passport with you at all times. Preferably in a waist belt hidden under your clothes. Never lend your passport to anybody. Do not write in your passport. Never tear off any pages of your passport. Sign your passport as soon as you get it.
  
  Do not carry your passport, your wallet or any other valuable (credit card), in your pants pockets. Put all those things in a hidden belt.
  
  If you have a handbag or a purse, carry it on the side opposite to the street, or even better, wear it diagonally around your neck. Be sure that it has a zipper and, preferably, a snap-on cover also.
  
  Mix in with the locals as much as possible. Observe their behaviour on the street and do the same. If the residents avoid eye contact and do not greet one another, do likewise. If locals do not laugh out loud and speak loudly, you would be better not to do so. Act like them, that is the watchword.
  
  Always be watchful and observe your surroundings. Trust your instinct. If at some point of a walk you end up in a place where you do not feel safe, change your itinerary. If the person sitting next to you in the bus or metro worries you, change seat or get out and take the next one.
  
  Leave all expensive jewellery and things of sentimental value at home. Since you will be moving around a lot, it becomes very easy to forget or misplace jewellery.
  
  Carry your money in the form of traveler’s checks. If your travelling outside the country, we strongly recommend that you do not carry large sums of money. Buy traveler’s checks instead. Be sure to note the serial numbers and put those numbers somewhere else than where you keep the checks. You can use an ATM card but there will be charges for each transaction and the change rate will surely be unfavourable.
  
  To move around town, the group could divide in many small groups all associated with an adult leader.
  
  Make copies of the passport of your child, keep one and give another to the teacher/organizer.

   

• Vaccinations?

  Before going on a trip, it is important to know what are the precautions to take and to obtain the vaccines your child must receive.
  
  Of course, you will have to plan according to your trip. If you stay in a tourist area, the preparation will be different than if your group is planning to go into a more remote area.

  Consult the web site of the Public Health Agency of Canada for all the information about the vaccines needed for your destination.