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When planning an educational trip, determining which items on your checklist are the highest priority may seem overwhelming.

One aspect that definitely needs attention is how far out to begin planning the trip itself. With the beginning of a new school year upon us, keep these insights in mind when outlining your next student trip.

It’s never too early to start!

The further out you begin to plan, the more successful your outing could be. Consider these three advantages of getting ahead of the game:

  1. Planning early allows parents and students time to save money or conduct fundraisers. As final payments are typically due 60 days before departure, providing families plenty of time to gather funds is critical for participation.
  1. Sites and attractions can fill up fast—especially in the spring or during certain holidays. By contacting Hemisphere 12 months or more in advance, your buses, flights, hotels, sites and other reservations will be obtained at a much higher success rate.
  1. Educators are busy throughout the year. Hemisphere does much of the work for the educators, yet there’s still administrative work to be done on the school’s end—trip approval, parent meetings, fundraisers, et cetera. Planning ahead of time helps eliminate the stress of accomplishing these things during a shorter timeframe.

“Planning early on our end is very important—I’d recommend contacting Hemisphere 12 to 15 months prior to travel for overnight tours and nine to 12 months for a one-day tour,” said Brad Rosenbaum, General Manager, Hemisphere Educational Travel. “This allows our planners to book tour components at a much higher success rate. The earlier we are able to request those, the better our chances are of securing them for your tour.” 

Rosenbaum notes that during spring months, availability becomes an issue at many destinations, with buses, flights, hotels, sites, attractions, tour guides and other tour components tending to sell out over time. 

“Keep in mind that most airline schedules are available 11 months prior to departure—if we have your tour dates, we are able to lock in your flights and also have a great chance of securing your preferred flight schedule.”

An Ideal Timeline

  • Contact Hemisphere 12 to 15 months prior to departure—or nine to 12 months prior for a one-day tour.
  • Hemisphere will provide a proposal after discussing trip details with the group leader.
  • Once the proposal is accepted, Hemisphere will provide the contract and tour registration packet for the parents.
  • Payments will be accepted based on the payment schedule provided in the packet.

Note: Overnight tours typically have multiple payment dates.

  • Final payments are due 60 days prior to departure.

Welcome back to the school year. Let’s get planning!

Written by Hemisphere Educational Travel