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Welcome to our web site.
We're looking forward to meeting you in Montr¸al, Qu¸bec City, Toronto and Ottawa. You're going to have lots of fun, and you'll learn a lot too.
Before you leave, we hope you'll take a few minutes to read the following suggestions. Every one of them can help make your trip more enjoyable in some way. We recommend that you read them now, so you can do some long-range planning, then read them again a few days before your trip departs so you don't forget any details.
We would appreciate it if you would share this letter with your parents who may be able to help you with some of its suggestions.
First and foremost, we want to keep you safe on this trip! Just as safe, in fact, or safer than you would have been if you had not left home.
We know you can take care of yourself in your hometown where people are courteous and careful, but to keep you out of harm's way in a big city, you'll need to be thinking about a few things.
So, start by thinking about this: there are lots of pedestrian accidents in big cities, where drivers tend to be careless and aggressive. As a result, there are probably more people hit by cars in big cities in a single month than in your hometown in a dozen years.
Pedestrian Safety.
High school and middle school kids like you, who are not used to city traffic, are especially vulnerable. So be careful!
- ALWAYS wait for a WALK light and/or a GREEN light;
- NEVER cross a street except in a crosswalk; and
- NEVER, EVER venture into or across a street if other pedestrians are staying behind at the curb.
Hotel Fire Safety.
We think about hotel fire safety for the same reason you have fire drills at school.
Once in a long, long while, somewhere around the world, there's a fire at a school, and every couple years, somewhere around the world, there is a fire in a hotel. Both are pretty rare, but much more dangerous for those who are completely unprepared.
You should get a fire safety briefing from your chaperones, but if you happen to miss it, here are the basic rules to prepare you:
- Learn where the fire stairs and exits are.
- Always use the stairs, not the elevators, in the event of a fire alarm at the hotel.
- If the hotel gets smoky, stay close to the floor.
- Take every fire alarm seriously.
If You Get Lost.
We don't want you to get lost on your trip. So, it is very important that you pay close attention to your guide, when you're getting off the bus, when your guide is telling you about exactly where and when you'll be getting back on.
Your teachers will give you a yellow card with our toll-free LOST-STUDENT-HOTLINE number (800/321-1313) printed on it. You should keep this card in your wallet or purse, and make sure you bring it with you every morning.
This telephone number will be answered by our home office staff during office hours, and by trained operators after business hours.
If you do get lost, the operator will ask you who you are and where you are, and then reunite you with your chaperones.
The entire procedure is printed on the card, but in short, if you get separated from your group, you should go to a hotel, a store, an office or information booth, ask to use a telephone and call 800/321-1313.
Then plan to wait, near the telephone, until your chaperone calls you back.
In summary, LISTEN TO YOUR GUIDE, DON'T GET LOST, but if you do get lost, DON'T PANIC. We'll do our best to get you reunited with your group as quickly as possible.
Revolving Doors.
Sorry, this probably sounds like kid stuff, but be very, very careful in revolving doors. Most hotels and public buildings in the cities you'll visit have them.
We've seen lots of kids trying to get them spinning at the speed of sound, and that's quite dangerous. Kids (sometimes innocent bystanders, and not the kids spinning them) get hurt. You don't want to be responsible for that.(Return to top.)
Shoes and clothing.
We want you to be safe AND comfortable on your trip.
A lot of that will depend on whether or not you have appropriate shoes and clothing.
Here are three basic recommendations:
- Bring two pairs of comfortable, water-resistant shoes, rain gear, and an umbrella;
- Bring clothes that are warm enough for unusually cold and windy weather in case you encounter it on your trip; and
- Don't be fooled (by unseasonably warm weather at home the day before your trip departs) into bringing only spring or summer clothing.
Three big mistakes.
The three biggest mistakes we see kids make are:
- not bringing two pairs of comfortable walking shoes, and
- not bringing rain gear (including an umbrella),
- not bringing clothing that's warm enough for unusually cold weather.
Please remember that it rains a lot in the spring, when most trips take place, so you stand a very good chance of getting rained on for at least one day during a three-day trip. A few groups have had steady rain for all three days.
Take our word for it, you don't want to be caught without an umbrella or a rain coat while standing in line for an hour waiting to board the ferry to the Statue of Liberty in New York, or when walking back to your hotel in Qu¸bec City, or while waiting for your bus to come back to pick you up at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, to cite just a few examples.
Remember, every trip includes some outdoor activities and some walking, so you really do need to bring comfortable shoes and a raincoat or an umbrella.
The Weather.
Keeping you comfortable is going to depend, to a large degree, on how well you're prepared for the weather; half of that, of course, is knowing what the weather is going to be.
For your convenience, we've provided links to the weather forecasts for the seven cities our groups visit, so you don't grossly misjudge what you're in for. You'll find that the various forecasts don't always agree, so our rule of thumb is that if three or four do happen to agree on any given day, you can plan accordingly.
Try it today, to see how it works, then try it again the day before you leave, so you're not grossly unprepared.
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Bus Etiquette.
You will be sharing the bus with as many as 40 or 50 of your classmates, as well as teachers and chaperones from your school (and a bus driver). The following rules of bus etiquette have been compiled to make the trip more enjoyable for everyone on the bus.
- Please clean up after yourself. Many bus drivers will place a trash bag near the handrail at the front of the bus and/or on the lavatory door at the rear. Please place any wrappers in these trash bags as you finish with them. This is a matter of common courtesy to your classmates, and some bus drivers, having taken the trouble to make trash bags available, get understandably grouchy when they have to pick up litter that's been left in the seats or thrown on the floor.
- Do not bring soft drinks in cans onto the bus. Any bus driver will tell you that soft drink cans tend to tip over and spill, making the floors sticky and uncomfortable for all passengers. This residue sticks to your shoes when you walk in it, then gets deposited on the seats when you and your classmates sit on your feet. Eventually, it ends up on your clothes. If a driver sees you boarding the bus with a soft drink can, without a screw-top, he or she will ask you to leave it behind.
- Do not throw refuse, such as wrappers or paper cups, into the toilets. These items will plug the toilets, and then they're unusable until the driver can get the bus to a specialized bus service area. Sometimes this is not possible until the bus returns to its own garage at the end of the trip.
- Don't leave wallets or pocketbooks on the bus, even when you know the bus will be locked. We do encourage you to leave your backpacks and other large items on the bus, especially when visiting places where security screening is in effect, but small items are easy to lose when 40 or 50 students are continuously coming and going.
- Don't bring "Boom Boxes". This is also a matter of courtesy to your fellow passengers and the bus driver. Your teachers and/or the bus driver will enforce this rule.
Hotel Etiquette.
One thing you'll appreciate about your trip is that we use only moderately expensive to deluxe hotels. However, many of these kinds of hotels now have 100% satisfaction guarantees under which any hotel guest who is dissatisfied in any way with any aspect of his or her stay is offered a full refund.
One very common reason for refund requests is noise made by members of tour groups; thus, as a condition of granting space to student groups, tour operators must agree in advance to reimburse the hotels for any refunds made as a result of noisy or otherwise inappropriate behavior by students.
Therefore, the following rules of hotel etiquette will be strictly enforced:
- No running;
- No shouting;
- No slamming doors; and
- No pajamas or bare feet in the public areas
(that is, hallways, lobby or restaurants).
The rule of thumb is as follows: don't make any noise outside the hotel's guest rooms that can be heard inside the guest rooms, and don't make any noise inside your room that can be heard outside (in the hallways or adjacent rooms).
We really do want you to have fun on your trip, but we think that you can have plenty of fun without disturbing other hotel guests. However, if we are required to make a refund as a result of your disruptive behavior, your parents will be called, and you will be responsible for reimbursing us.
Finally, destructive behavior, or use of drugs or alcohol are absolutely prohibited. If you damage someone's property, or use drugs or alcohol, we will call your parents immediately, and send you home at your parents' expense. Don't even think about it!
Room And Roommate Etiquette.
You will be sharing a room with two or three of your classmates. Most hotels will give you four fresh towels. Don't check in, take a shower and use three of them. If your three roommates have to share the last fresh towel, they'll be furious.
Speaking of showers, plan your shower schedule before you go to bed at night so you and your roommates aren't all expecting to take one at the same time (such as just before breakfast). Sometimes it helps if some of the roommates take their showers before they go to bed at night.
Keep your stuff together. Put all of your belongings in your suitcase and close (and lock) it before you leave the hotel every morning. Your roommates will appreciate it, your things won't get misplaced, and it will definitely help the housekeepers.
Finally, as a matter of common courtesy to the housekeeping staff, please put your trash, including food wrappers, in the waste baskets every time you leave your room.(Return to top.)
What To Bring.
First and foremost, bring shoes and clothing appropriate for the weather (see KEEPING YOU COMFORTABLE above).
Second, bring a wrist watch. You'll need it over and over again to make sure you're on time for your various pick-ups and departures.
Remember, if you're late for the bus, everyone else is late too.
Third, if you're going to Canada, you'll need your birth certificate or a passport. Your teacher knows all about this, but don't wait until the last minute to start looking for it.
What NOT To Bring
First, there is definitely no need to bring expensive jewelry or expensive personal belongings. It's very, very easy to misplace these things when you're in a strange environment, and/or not following your usual routine, and in any case, there just won't be any occasions where you'll need this stuff.
Second, for much the same reason, we recommend that you don't bring lots of cash (see SPENDING MONEY below).
Third, don't bring an expensive camera, unless you're a serious amateur photographer and you're prepared to think about the security of your camera equipment at all times during the trip. Many students receive a single-use camera as part of their trip. If you think one might not be enough, bring another, but you shouldn't need to bring your (or your parents') expensive camera that could get lost or damaged.
Spending Money
 Just about all you're going to need spending money for will be a few inexpensive lunches, an occasional soft drink and souvenirs. If you have $50, you'll have more than enough to stay alive. (If you have more than $50, count your blessings.) We would like to remind you, in either case, that you should think about budgeting your money so you have some left on your last day.
Usually, we will take you to lunch some place with a wide selection of inexpensive souvenirs on the last afternoon of your trip, so don't buy something you're not crazy about on the first day because you think you won't get another chance.
Please also remember that your bus will probably stop for lunch at a roadside McDonald's or Burger King on the way home, so plan to keep $5 to $10 in reserve for that. Don't spend your last dollar on souvenirs before you leave.
Street Vendors
 You're likely to see lots of street vendors in high tourist traffic areas throughout the world. Mostly, they'll be selling "Rolex" watches, "Oakley" sunglasses, and various other name-brand products and T-shirts.
We probably don't have to tell you that a $20 Rolex would be counterfeit, or stolen. So, here's a rule of thumb: Buy it if it looks good on you, but don't think of it as an investment. If it's still ticking on your first day back at school, you got a very good deal.
Cameras And Photography.
 Students on many Visit Canada trips receive a flash camera with which to make a photographic journal of their trips. (Some groups select the video option in lieu of the cameras.) To help you take great photos, whether with cameras provided by Visit Canada or you bring your own, please remember the following:
First and foremost, if you're using a disposable camera, mark your camera in some distinctive way! All the disposable cameras that the members of your group will receive look exactly the same, so don't forget to write your name on it so you can distinguish it from your roommate's.
When using virtually any camera, remember that the flash works best when you're 5 to 15 feet from the subject. Beyond 15 feet, you are probably wasting your film.
Don't bother taking flash photographs from inside the bus, especially at night. The flash will reflect back into the bus, wasting your film and greatly distracting the bus driver!
Finally, we recommend that you visit the web sites listed below.
Both of the Fodor's sites have very useful information about taking great travel photographs. The first (about the man-made world) will be especially helpful to you because you'll be seeing a number of national landmarks and world-class architectural icons on your trip, and this site will help you learn about how to take great photos of historic buildings, monuments, bridges and other man-made objects. The second is a good primer on composition.
The two Kodak sites have very basic, but memorable and interesting information on photographic composition in general.
Fodor's
Kodak
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