7 steps for planning college group travel
There are lots of reasons you might be planning a college group travel experience.
Whether it’s a history trip to WWII battlefields, a geography trip to Ancient Rome or an expedition to see the Northern Lights, allowing students to experience new places can be a great way to support their learning.
Not to mention, these trips can provide them with once-in-a-lifetime experiences and memories that last forever.
But while these ideas might all be very exciting, planning a college group travel trip also requires lots of careful organisation. So, to help you out, we’ve put together seven tips to ensure your travel planning goes smoothly.
1. Define the purpose of the trip
It doesn’t matter whether it’s academic enrichment, leisure or team-building, the best way to get started is to define the purpose of your trip. This will help guide your decisions about the destination, budget, group activities and more.
2. Form a planning committee
Whether it’s you and a couple of students or some other teachers from the department, it can be helpful to set up a planning committee. That way, you can delegate responsibilities accordingly and take some of the weight of planning off your shoulders.
By holding regular meetings, everyone can share their thoughts, ideas, and progress regarding planning and booking the group trip.
3. Set your budget
Another one of the most important stages of planning is setting your budget. This requires you to do careful research into the average cost of transport, accommodation, food, activities and insurance in order to get a rough idea of how much it will cost per student.
This way, you can present your students with a rough idea of how much they will need to contribute towards the trip to see if it is going to garner enough interest.
You might also wish to look into funding options if you’re going to need extra help with covering expenses.
4. Choose your destination
You may already have a destination in mind if it is relevant to your area of study. Alternatively, you may be selecting from a number of different destinations.
Online research can be a good place to start and can help you to narrow down your options. You could also talk to group travel agents as they will be able to advise you on the best destinations for your trip.
At this stage, you need to once again consider the purpose of your trip and the landmarks, activities, and historic sites in the area. You also need to think about accessibility and safety to ensure the destination is OK for large groups of students.
5. Work with the experts to book early
The earlier you can book your trip in advance, the better the rates and the longer you’ll have to pay it off and avoid any last minute issues.
By working with experts in the industry, such as group travel agents and flight specialists, you can make planning and booking your college group travel experience much easier.
Start by booking group flights, transport and accommodation. Then you can move on to arranging tours, day trips, activities or tickets to local attractions. The earlier you can get everything arranged, the sooner you can create an itinerary and communicate this with the students.
6. Don’t forget about meal planning
Getting the basics in place is vital, and meal planning should also be part of this. Make sure to research meal options, looking at local restaurants or dining halls that can accommodate large groups.
You might also consider self-catering options if you’re staying in a rental. This could also be a safer option if you have multiple students with food allergies or intolerances.
7. Make contingency plans
When you’re in charge of a large group of students, it’s important to have backup plans in place just in case of weather issues, flight delays or other big changes. This includes:
Making sure you’ve got the right travel insurance in place
Assigning emergency contacts and ensuring you have contact details for all student’s parents
Asking students if they have any medical conditions or dietary restrictions
Having a surplus in the budget just in case you need access to funds quickly
Finally, it’s a good idea to choose trusted providers, accommodation and flight specialists so you know they have your back should something go wrong. For example, choosing a tour provider that will sort other activities if weather issues cancel your existing plans.
Similarly, choosing a trusted flight specialist like BTG Travel Management means you will have a dedicated representative on hand to help you should you experience problems with your flights.
If you’d like to know more about how BTG Travel Management can help you plan and book your college group travel experience, get in touch with our friendly team today.