Hi All. I am taking 30 music students, along with 15 chaperones, to Germany, CzechRepublic, and Austria in June, 2010. I am serving as the tour coordinator. I haven't decided how to handle our finances, yet. I can pay for the coach, hostels and airfare in advance. Is anyone out there experienced with taking student groups independent from a tour organization? We plan to picnic one meal a day and sometimes eat at the same restaurant for evening meals. There will be entry fees and some public transportation fees. I cannot comingle school funds with my personal accounts and our booster organization's status does not allow them to have a debit/credit card. Any solutions besides carrying lots of cash? Thanks for any responses.
Posted by
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
430 posts
Check your private messages -- I sent you the name of a very experienced contact.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19273 posts
Will just comment on one expense I know you will have (from another post). That would be the nine Rheinland-Pfalz tickets for Cochem to St Goar. German Rail does sell these tickets online and mail all of them to you for a €3,50 fee. Of course, you would have to pay for them with a credit card. See here (I think this site is only in German. Hopefully someone in an organization going to Germany can read some German). Note that the date is in European format, day/month/year.
Posted by
Puyallup, WA, USA
881 posts
Hi, Sara.
In WA state (unless you district has a particular rule about it), you should be able to pay for things with your credit card, and get reimbursed via a P.O. I would ask. (My first job in travel was booking all the music groups at one of the WA colleges).
I can recommend a very inexpensive tour company,and some private guides (who are musicians, live there, speak multiple languages, and works as guide for choirs professionally on the side).
For the tours, entry fees, etc, I would pay as many of them in advance on your card so you don't have the nightmare of 1 kid blowing all their money,etc,and having to deal with them not being able to get in. **I would make sure I had all the money from the group to pay that off before you purchase.
Most place today allow online reservations for tickets/entry fees.
You could seek sponsorship from an existing group, which might help. You can also try to form your own non-profit - but that takes about 6 mos in WA.
Send me a private message if you'd like to chat. Chris