Teacher Tuesday: Advice from a Veteran Group Organizer

The keys to a successful tour are planning and flexibility.

As a veteran teacher who has taken four tours to Italy with students (2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009), I thought I might give some practical advice for teachers traveling overseas with students.

DEALING WITH PASSPORTS OVERSEAS

Two weeks before we left, I had each of the students make three color copies of the first page of their passport (the one with their picture and information).  The first two copies went into a folder with me to take on tour.  The third copy stayed back in the US with my spouse.  When we arrived in Italy, I made sure I went through customs first. As each of the kids went through, I took their passport and handed them one of the copies (I kept one in reserve).  When I had all of the passports, I put them in a bag.  Each time we got to a hotel, I had the management put the passports in the hotel safe, and then I retrieved them when we left.  The kids were able to use the color copy for identification and I made sure they didn’t lose their passport.  When we arrived home, they got all the color copies back.

COLLECTING TIPS AND A RESERVE FUND

It’s customary to tip the bus drivers and couriers at the end of the tour.  In addition to collecting this amount from the kids before we left to go out on tour, I also collected an additional reserve fund. I then put the money into a special account I had set up at my bank.  The reserve fund was for student emergencies, and it was given back to the students on the last full day on tour (so they could buy their mom a t-shirt).  I then took care of all of the tips myself by drawing the rest of the money out of an ATM on the last day of the tour.

These are just a couple of ideas that worked for me.  If anyone out there has other suggestions, post them below!  

Look for more practical advice and personal stories in the coming weeks.