Begin with the needs of your school
The first conversation should be about your students, grade level, subject, dates, school requirements, and what you want the trip to accomplish. You should not have to arrive with a finished itinerary or a fully formed budget.
Ask how the planner will help you turn those goals into a proposal that administrators and families can understand. The answer should be specific enough to show what happens next, who is responsible for each step, and which decisions still belong to the school.
1. How will the trip connect to what our students are learning?
Ask whether the company starts with a standard sightseeing package or shapes the itinerary around the students. A useful answer should name the destination experiences that support your learning goals without turning the trip into a classroom lecture.
- Who helps translate our curriculum and goals into the itinerary?
- Can the proposal show educational highlights without promising a rigid academic structure?
- Who leads the experience at the destination, and how are students kept engaged?
- Can the trip be adjusted for our grade level, dates, and school requirements?
2. What is included in the quoted price?
Do not compare prices until you know what each price includes. Transportation, lodging, meals, admissions, guide services, payment processing, and on-trip support can be handled very differently from one proposal to another.
- Transportation to and from the destination
- Transportation during the tour
- Hotel accommodations and room assumptions
- Meals and whether students need additional meal money
- Admissions, activities, guide services, and gratuities
- Travel insurance or trip-cancellation coverage, if offered
- Deposits, deadlines, cancellation terms, and possible surcharges
Ask for one written list of what is included, what is not included, and what may still change before enrollment opens.
3. How do families enroll and make payments?
Payment administration can become a large burden for a teacher or school. Ask whether families enroll themselves, where they make payments, who issues receipts, and who follows up when a payment is missed.
Great Falls Travel uses individual online enrollment and payment portals so teachers and schools do not collect money, issue receipts, or track who has paid. Other companies may use a different system, so ask to see the actual family experience before choosing.
- Does each family have its own account or portal?
- Who answers parent questions about balances and payments?
- Are monthly payment options available, and what approval or deadlines apply?
- Can the trip leader see an accurate traveler list without passing spreadsheets back and forth?
4. How are chaperones, rooming, and traveler information handled?
Rooming and supervision questions often appear late unless the process is discussed early. Ask how the company distinguishes student rooms, parent or adult rooms, single and double supplements, and school-specific placement requests. The school or district remains the authority for chaperone eligibility, student supervision, and conduct requirements.
- How are chaperone numbers determined for our group and school policies?
- Will chaperones receive written responsibilities and an escalation plan before departure?
- Who prepares the final rooming list?
- How are adults linked to the students traveling with them?
- How are adult and student sleeping arrangements explained before the trip?
- Who is responsible for nighttime monitoring and behavior concerns?
- How are medical, dietary, mobility, and emergency-contact details collected and protected?
- When does the school receive the final traveler and rooming information?
5. What safety planning and on-trip support are actually provided?
Be cautious with a blanket claim that a trip is simply safe. Ask for the procedures behind the claim: chaperone structure, emergency contacts, traveler identification, partner selection, communication, and what happens when plans change.
- Who is physically with the group each day?
- Who can the trip leader call outside normal business hours?
- How are emergency contacts and school escalation contacts documented?
- Which school employee is authorized to carry or administer medication under school policy?
- What medical, allergy, and emergency information travels with the group, and who may access it?
- Who contacts the school and families after an illness, injury, or major itinerary change?
- How are itinerary changes communicated to travelers and families?
- What insurance does the operator carry, and can the school receive documentation?
A tour company should help organize these procedures, but it cannot replace the school or district policies that govern students, chaperones, medications, and emergency decisions.
6. What will we receive before families are asked to enroll?
A school should be able to review the trip before enrollment begins. The proposal does not need every final reservation, but it should be clear enough to support an informed decision.
- A sample day-by-day itinerary and the trip length
- Transparent pricing and rooming assumptions
- A clear inclusions and exclusions list
- Deposit, payment, cancellation, and insurance information
- Chaperone requirements and complimentary-place assumptions
- The process and timeline from approval through departure
7. Who owns the next step when something changes?
Ask whether you will work with one consistent person or move between departments. Then ask what happens when a traveler changes, a family has a payment question, an attraction schedule moves, or the school needs updated information.
The strongest answer is not a promise that nothing will change. It is a clear explanation of who notices the change, who communicates it, and who helps the group leader resolve it.
Bring these questions to the planning call
You do not need to interrogate a tour company or know every travel term. A trustworthy planner should welcome practical questions and make the answers understandable. Keep notes, compare the written proposals, and choose the company whose process you can confidently explain to administrators and families.
Official planning sources
Policies, destination conditions, and operating information can change. These primary sources support the planning guidance above. Confirm current requirements with the responsible school, district, destination, or organization before travel.