How to organise an overseas trip for college students

Every teacher knows the importance of careful organisation and preparation when it comes to planning a college trip. It’s vital to have both when planning an overseas trip for your college students too.

Taking the time to properly plan your college trip abroad will ensure that the trip runs smoothly, costs are kept down and all of your students have an enjoyable experience.

International trips for college students can vary significantly, but the prepping principles are the same. This article will help to kickstart your planning process by covering the essential factors that all teachers should consider when planning an overseas trip for college students.

Why do you want to book a trip abroad for your college students?

Establishing what you want your college students to get out of the trip is the first step in planning an international trip. There are multiple reasons to take students on a trip overseas and outlining the goals of your trip will help you to meet them.

Will your students learn about a specific subject or a country’s history on an educational trip? Will they help with a charitable project on a volunteer trip? Will they practise their foreign conversation skills on a language trip? Or will they experience something new on a college adventure trip? Decide this before you start planning the rest of your visit.

Consider budgeting and costs

It’s important to decide on a realistic and ideal expectation of how much you want to trip to cost each student at this stage. These costs don’t need to be set in stone at this point, but it’s a good idea to have a range in mind as this will influence decisions moving forward.

Overseas college trips are typically more expensive, so we advise planning for them months in advance. This will allow you to take advantage of cheaper flights and accommodation and help college students and their parents begin budgeting for the trip.

The destination will also make a big difference to the budget. For example, a college trip to Japan will cost a lot more than a college trip to France.

Select a destination

There’s an abundance of fantastic international destinations that you can visit with college students, but which one is the right one?

When choosing a destination, you need to make sure it meets your trip’s educational goals and your budget. It’s also important to consider flight times, ease of access to the country, travel restrictions and any events in the country that may negatively impact your trip.

Dates and duration of the trip

Setting the dates for a college trip is an essential part of any travel plan. Knowing the dates will help you to plan your travel itinerary to perfection.

Once you’ve chosen a destination, there may be special events or exclusive exhibitions on specific dates that you want to plan your trip around. It’s important to consider scheduling the trip outside of crucial college exam periods and taking advantage of cheaper flights and accommodation during less busy holidaying periods.

Itinerary planning

Thorough trip preparation involves planning your accommodation, travel plans, activities, the locations you’re visiting, travel routes for each day (how you will get to each activity and location) and also where you and your students will be eating for each meal.

A detailed college trip itinerary and plan for each day will help to reduce stress and effectively manage your budget for the visit.

Fill your itinerary with a variety of exciting learning activities and tours, as well as some time for relaxation. We also advise having some contingency travel plans, activities or places to eat included in your itinerary just in case anything is closed or shut down for the day whilst you are there.

Risk assessment

To avoid any unfortunate incidents, it’s important to complete a risk assessment before travelling overseas with college students. This will help you to identify and minimise potential hazards and risks during your trip abroad. It will also ensure that you implement the necessary precautions to keep your college students safe.

Every college trip is different and needs its own risk assessment. Use your day-to-day itinerary plan to produce a thorough risk assessment for the college trip.

Inform students

You’ve planned everything out. You’ve formed a goal for the trip, decided the budget, planned a detailed itinerary and completed a risk assessment. The last thing to do is tell your students all about the exhilarating trip you’ve planned! Inform them about all the trip details, appropriate clothing for the trip, make sure their passport is up to date and, if the trip requires, notify them that they need to apply for a visa.

We provide educational overseas trips for college students

Taking your college students on an overseas trip can be a once in a lifetime experience for them. Here at Diversity Study Trips, we will help you and your college class get the most out of your trip.

Our expert team is always on hand, so whether you have any questions or want to start planning your next overseas trip, get in touch with them today!