You’ve booked your school trip… now what? Here are tips and resources to help your school trip be successful.
1. Communicate Early and Often
- Communicate with students and parents as early and as often as possible. The sooner you start, the sooner families can begin budgeting for the trip. Let students and parents know your travel dates and pricing as soon as you do.
- Keep travelers and parents “in the know” throughout the planning process. Email monthly updates. Build fun and momentum by including travel tips, fun facts about the destination, or a destination crossword puzzle or word search in your emails.
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2. Host an Information Meeting
Build excitement for your trip and answer everyone’s questions at once by hosting an information meeting. Announce your meeting with our field trip letter template. Multitask even more by turning the information meeting into a fundraising night by hosting at a participating restaurant! Use our pre-trip presentation template to effectively communicate your trip details with destination photos.
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3. Market in Print and Online
Our quality flyers and posters will keep your students informed and excited. Hang these in your classroom to promote your trip. Have a website? Post pictures from past trips along with important dates and information for the upcoming trip. What is the social media policy for your school? If your policy allows, create a Facebook page for the trip or a Twitter account. Communicate meeting dates and fundraising during the planning stage and trip photos during travel.
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4. Lead Excitement Building Activities
Engage students in learning about the destination before you arrive. Hold a poster design contest, start a class trip blog, begin a class scrapbook or have students create Pinterest boards about the destination. Give students the chance to become an expert on the place they will be visiting and design a project around being the tour guide. More details here.
5. Fundraise
One of the most important aspects of trip preparation is raising the funds to travel! Outline a clear fundraising calendar and stick to it. Check out our fundraising page for many great fundraising ideas.
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6. Remember Important Dates
Deposit Dates: The trip agreement lists the dates the deposit amounts are due. Certain confirmed reservations need early deposits. These are the dates that you agreed upon with your travel consultant.
Rooming List Due Date: Rooming lists must be received 45 days prior to departure.
Final Payment Due Date: Receiving this on time permits our staff to complete the pre-trip preparations for your tour. Paying the balance to transportation companies, hotels, and attractions is the best way to ensure the availability for your group.
Are you ready to get started?
