Terms & Conditions

Terms & Conditions

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I. Responsibility
Scholastic Expeditions is not responsible for the suppliers of services offered during the course of a trip, including, but not limited to: accommodations, transportation (air, land, or water), food service, local guides, etc. Any injury, illness, accident or death, property damage, distress, or inconveniences caused by these vendors are not the responsibility of Scholastic Expeditions, and Scholastic Expeditions will not assume any costs, or be held responsible for any damages subsequently incurred.

Likewise, Scholastic Expeditions is not responsible for any loss, injury, or damage caused by events beyond its control, such as acts of civil or military authorities, by reason of statute, rule, or local law, action of federal, state or local government or agency, acts of public enemy, acts of terrorism, criminal activity, war, riot, embargoes, civil commotion, insurrection, strike or labor unrest, acts of God, attacks by animals, severe weather and climatic conditions, storm, flood, fire, earthquake, power or communication line failure, mechanical or structural failures or difficulties, diseases, sickness, food poisoning, unsafe sanitary conditions, quarantine, accident or illness, travel participant negligence, or acts or omissions of carriers and service providers such as hotels, local ground handlers, entertainers or sightseeing services or restaurants, including but not limited to breach of contract, failure to comply with any laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), cancellation, delay or overbooking.

It is the participant’s responsibility to be aware of the security conditions of the destination and security requirements for travel. Please visit the following websites for more information:

It is the participant’s responsibility to obtain documents required for travel in the name they used to register for the trip. For international travel, participants must have a passport valid for 6 months after return date. If a participant can’t travel because of a lack of proper identification, the standard cancellation policy will apply. Check www.tsa.gov for more information.

The participant is responsible for extra costs due to extra or oversized baggage. Check the website of the airline you’ll be traveling with for more information on their baggage policies.

Participants are responsible for the costs of any goods or services not included in the trip package such as snacks, clothing, room service, telephone calls, purchased activities, tipping, souvenirs, etc.

Participants are responsible for their own medical care before and during the trip. Participants are required to obtain any necessary vaccinations, and to be, to the best of their knowledge, medically fit to travel before departure. Any medications the participant requires must be obtained in advance of the trip and brought to the destination. Any other medical preparations necessary must be made by the participant before the departure date. If a participant has an pre-existing medical condition, disability, or other limitation that would cause delays or hinder the group during travel in any way, Scholastic Expeditions must be notified no later than one week prior to the final payment deadline. A medical certificate may be required. If the condition can be reasonably accommodated, a request for such accommodations can be made to Scholastic Expeditions. However, Scholastic Expeditions has no control over the disabled accessibility of the vendors who provide services for the trip. Reasonable accommodations do not include providing personal care or assistance with the following: handling of monies (i.e. payment for various sundry items); cognizance of distance, location, and time; hygiene; feedings; administration of medication; and similar matters. If the participant requires a personal aid, the responsibility of contracting such an aid lies with the participant. If Scholastic Expeditions becomes aware of an undisclosed condition, or considers a disclosed condition to have been misrepresented and not within the scope of reasonable accommodations, the participant’s trip may be canceled. This cancellation will follow the standard cancellation policy. Scholastic Expeditions will not be responsible for any inconvenience or cost involved in sending the participant home.

You and your group coordinator are responsible for choosing roommates 75 days prior to departure. Males and females must be separated. Students who request a room with a lower occupancy rate than the standard triple occupancy (3 people to a room) can expect to pay a surcharge for lower room occupancy; double (2) or single (1) rooms are available. Adult travelers may similarly request a single occupancy room over the standard double occupancy room, and will likewise be charged the applicable occupancy cost. If no roommate is available, adult travelers will be assigned single occupancy and billed at the higher single occupancy rate. Students room with students and adults room with adults.

II. Scholastic Expeditions reserves the right to...

Change itinerary and other trip details, or cancel the trip as long as a suitable refund is provided.

Change the dates of travel by no more than one or two days due to heavy demand on peak travel dates. These changes are not grounds for cancellation without penalty as stipulated by the standard cancellation policy, or for refunds after the trip. To cancel your trip because of date changes, please send a letter of cancellation to Scholastic Expeditions which states the date change as your reason for canceling. If your letter is postmarked no more than 14 days after the date change is announced by the program leader, you will be refunded all monies besides merchandise fees and fees for returned checks.

Make audio/visual recordings of its trips and their participants and use them for commercial and promotional purposes without remuneration to the participants.

Retain or decline to accept any person as a member of the trip.

Share some of your personal information (name, address, phone, birth date, gender, school you attend or teach at, and/ or email) with vendors such as airlines, hotels and tour operators as needed.

Assign adults double occupancy roommates.

Combine groups of less than 10.

III. Price and Payment Info

The following may lead to an unexpected increase in your trip price: fuel & baggage surcharges, tax increases, not meeting minimum signup requirements, change of date of trip, and other unforeseeable fees. We will notify you in writing if these fees change and prices increase. Student prices are based on triple occupancy (3 in a room), unless otherwise specified. The price of the program is based on a minimum number of paid participants per motor coach. Minimums not being met could result in additional charges, changes to the itinerary or combining with another group at Scholastic Expeditions’ discretion.

The price for an adult’s travel as compared to a student’s may be as high as the student’s price plus 15%.

There are two options for payment. You may make one flat payment of the entire trip price within 30 days of the registration deadline, or you may make monthly installed payments. An invoice fee will be included with the invoice for each payment on the latter option.

All payments must be made by the final payment deadline, 100 days prior to the departure date.

Failure to adhere to the terms of your payment plan may cost you your space on the trip.

A $250 deposit is required before the first payment.

Accepted payment methods include check or credit card (American Express, Visa, or Mastercard).

Reservations are non-transferable.

Frequent flyer miles are not available.

There will be a fee of $25 for a missed payment on an installation payment plan. There will be a $75 fee for not paying off your balance in full by the final payment deadline. Each returned check or declined credit card will incur a fee of $25. If a participant needs to change their name within 75 days of departure date, there will be a fee of $75 plus any airline fees incurred for the name change.

Participants acknowledge that Program Leaders get certain monetary benefits for their work, including discounted travel with the group, discounts toward future travel, and/or a cash stipend.

Scholastic Expeditions provides a basic medical/accidental insurance package with the cost of the trip. Scholastic Expeditions strongly recommends that you consider purchasing trip cancellation insurance as well, to secure your investment in the trip.

California law requires certain sellers of travel to have a trust account or a bond. Scholastic Expeditions has a trust account. All of your payments toward services required for the trip such as airfare and other travel costs, accommodations, etc. will be stored in the trust account until they are spent on the services that are part of your trip package.

IV. Cancellations:
Cancellations must be made in writing to Scholastic Expeditions, 5610 Scotts Valley Drive Suite 313 Scotts Valley, CA 95066; be postmarked prior to group’s departure; and include the name and complete address of participant. Refunds will be issued to the person who originally made the payment in original payment form. The process can take up to four to six weeks. If you choose to go on the trip but opt out of certain services or program features, no refunds will be provided for those unused services or features.

Standard cancellation policy: All monies paid, including the deposit, are fully refunded should the trip not take place due to low enrollment. However, if you as the participant cancel, the deposit is non-refundable. If your letter of cancellation is received 90 days or more prior to the group’s departure, you will receive a full refund of all payments other than the deposit. If your letter is received 61-89 days before departure, you will forfeit the deposit and the cost of the airline ticket. If your letter is received less than 61 days prior to the group’s departure, you will forfeit 100% of all money paid. Travel insurance is available for those wishing to cover the full cost of cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances.

  • Exception: When Scholastic Expeditions deems it wise to make an advance purchase of of airline tickets to avoid program surcharges, all participants will be notified and given 24 hours to cancel before Scholastic Expeditions purchases tickets on their behalf. Should this scenario occur earlier than 90 days prior to travel, and a traveler does not cancel within the given 24 hours, any later cancellation will result in a forfeit of the deposit plus the cost of the airline ticket.

The standard cancellation policy is based on originally scheduled trip dates, and does not apply in the event of Scholastic Expeditions’ bankruptcy, insolvency, or cessation of business.

The following charges are nonrefundable: Deposit (unless trip is canceled due to low enrollment), handling charges, merchandise charges, fees for returned checks, fees for declined credit cards or electronic drafts, late payment fees, registration fees, additional airline, hotel, activity or motor coach fees, and fees for not meeting minimum number of paid participants.

(CA residents only) In the event of Scholastic Expeditions’ default, you may be eligible for a refund of up to $15,000 from the California Travel Consumer Restitution Fund. If you as a travel participant or as the person making payment on behalf of the travel participant (a “California customer”) are located in California at the time of your purchase, you have a right to make a claim against the Fund for a refund of any money paid to Scholastic Expeditions that is due because of the bankruptcy, insolvency, cessation of operations, or material failure to provide transportation or travel services sold. The claim must be filed within one year after you become aware of your loss. For a claim form and additional information, write to: Travel Consumer Restitution Corporation, P.O. Box 8474, Northridge, CA 91327. Non-California customers are not covered by California Travel Consumer Restitution Fund and are not eligible to file a claim against that Fund in the event of Scholastic Expeditions’ default.

You can expect to see the program info letter that includes the specific itinerary for your trip about 2-3 weeks prior to departure.

Arbitration: Any disputes over this contract, any other rules, regulations, or literature concerning the trip, or the trip itself, shall be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration in Santa Cruz, California pursuant to the rules of American Arbitration Association. In such arbitration, the substantive (but not procedural) law of the State of California shall apply. The arbitrator may award attorney’s fees to the prevailing party. Rev. 06/04/14

The terms of this agreement shall serve as a complete release and express assumption of risk for the undersigned trip participant, his or her parent(s)/legal guardians(s), heirs, assignees, administrators, executors and all members of his/her family. I/we have read and fully understand the provisions and legal consequences of this voluntary release/assumption of risk, and I/we hereby agree to all of its conditions.

California Seller of Travel Registration No:

2102374-40

Scholastic Expeditions

5610 Scotts Valley Drive, Suite 313

Scotts Valley, CA 95066

(831) 440-1041

www.scholasticexpeditions.org

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