School trips are a great chance to have students truly enjoy themselves without being entirely focused on academics. It allows them to get to know each other a whole lot better on a personal level, have a great time, experience new things, and make memories they will cherish forever outside the school walls.
That said, when it comes to planning a school trip, there are certain things you need to keep in mind to ensure that it’s absolutely perfect:
Choose Your Destination
When organizing a school trip, the first thing you should do is consider the nature of the trip and choose a destination accordingly. If it’s a senior year trip, you’d probably like the students to explore different cultures and have fun. Or is it an educational trip where you want them to get exposed to a certain history, geography, or culture? The experts of http://www.adaptabletravel.co.uk/ recommend combining educational travel with innovative tours and events to fulfill the learning objective. That way, your students will be able to broaden their horizons, enjoy the learning experience, and get exposed to a great many new things. Once you’ve selected a destination and the theme you’ll be focusing on, everything else will fall into place naturally.
Create a Detailed Itinerary
In order to get the students and parents excited about an upcoming trip, you need to do your research properly. Get familiar with what’s special or unique about the place you’re heading to, and be sure to explore it in depth even if it’s not related to the curriculum. It will definitely be an exciting experience. In any case, you should plan out each day, including all the important monuments, events, and day trips, without forgetting to make time for eating, relaxing and free quarters. Once you’re familiar with everything you want your students to be exposed to, you’ll be able to set a budget and get a cost estimate of how the trip should be priced.
Book in Advance
In order to get good deals on travel tickets, accommodation, or tours while traveling, you should always reserve at least 3 months in advance. It’s always best to book refundable tickets just in case anything happens; also, this allows you to book even before getting confirmation from the students and their parents. You could end up saving a lot of money. When booking for groups, you’ll also be able to get travel fair discounts as well as many deals on entertainment, visits, and tours.
Get the Parents’ Confirmation
While you’ll need to plan everything in advance, you can only confirm your bookings and plan accurately when you know how many people will actually be on board. After that, you’ll be able to see how many chaperones you’ll be needing, arrange transportation and accommodation, and enable yourself to start planning all the details.
Leave Time for Some Fun
Even if it’s an educational school trip, it’s always best to give your students the time to explore on their own and have a bit of fun without sticking to a pre-established plan. Give them time to relax, go shopping, have some adventure, and enjoy being in a new environment. Nonetheless, they should still be able to reach you and know what to do in case anything goes wrong or in the event of an emergency. You can even add day trips by the beach or exploring the wilderness where you can all be close by but enjoy a relaxing, laid-back, and fun day without having to hurry from one place to another.
Health and Safety
In order to minimize accidents and make sure the trip ends well, it is crucial that you have medical insurance. Letting the students know a few rules to follow for safety will help limit risks and prevent dangers. Likewise, a good idea would be to get familiar with any health issues the students may have prior to departing, and ensure that you have the needed medication on hand. Before you leave, you should also take a first aid certification or have someone on board who knows how to handle emergency situations. Finally, make sure to check the closest hospitals and to write down the necessary emergency numbers you need to know.
All in all, school trips can be the highlight of the students’ year. When prepared flawlessly, it can be one of those memories they’ll look back to and forever hold in their hearts. However, to make it beneficial, educational, and fun, a lot of planning, research, and effort needs to go into it. With these useful tips in mind, you’ll be able to plan the absolute perfect trip that your students will really enjoy and remember for years to come.