In addition to industry-leading Travel Safety standards, all-inclusive pricing, the most highly-trained Leaders & Travel Managers available anywhere and an impressive minimum 6-to-1 Leader-to-student ratio, Quo’s founders are rooted in education as well as travel. We have a proven track record of building innovative travel programs that literally change students’ lives and enhance their Cultural Intelligence. We create Global Citizens who are better prepared to apply what they have learned to their education and who better understand their place in today’s world. Our approach to cultural immersion and experiential learning in the global classroom is uniquely Quo, and the curriculum we have spent decades perfecting is a key element in adding value to your educational travel investment. Our website goes into greater detail about Quo Student Travel’s points of differentiation. Check out www.quostudenttravel.com and if you have further questions, please give us a call at (360) 453-7639 or email us at [email protected]

Quo Student Travel has a highly trained team of seasoned safety experts in place to handle every need throughout the travel season, 24/7. In addition to having created the behind-the-scenes safety programs that literally define the standard for health and safety protocols in the student travel industry today, our team’s leadership boasts twenty-plus years’ experience in actually traveling students safely. Quo’s overall safety protocols innovate the design and implementation of health and safety standards, meeting or exceeding those observed throughout the rest of the student travel industry. If you have specific concerns or questions, please let us know. We are happy to help.

We’ve got you covered. Every enrolled student is automatically covered by our GroupAdvantage Basic Plan from Trip Mate and MH Ross. This provides basic travel, medical and emergency coverage – at no additional cost. We also offer an affordable “Plus Plan” that includes enhanced travel, medical and emergency coverage, plus CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason Insurance). This optimized coverage is the ideal way to protect your educational travel investment and help you worry less about your upcoming international travel adventure.

Unlike other student travel companies, Quo Student Travel programs are fully inclusive. Every program provides 3 meals per day once in country, all transportation, accommodations, guides & staff, all tips, porterage & taxes and all entrance fees for activities outlined in the program. It’s all in the program price, with no add-ons or surprises. To us, all-inclusive means travelers will only need to have a little cash in their pocket for souvenirs, “travel meals & snacks” prior to departure from their group airport, and whatever delightful splurges they choose along the way. No add-on options at extra cost. Meals on international flights are of course provided by the airlines. (Note: Because air carriers in the US no longer include meal service in the ticket price for domestic flights, students who must travel on a domestic connecting flight will need to provide their own meals/snacks for domestic flights and airport layovers, as these are not included in the cost of the program.) Basic travel and medical insurance is also provided for every student and Leader. Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) Insurance featuring enhanced medical, emergency, travel delay and trip interruption coverage is available at a very reasonable extra cost.

No, students will not share beds. The majority of accommodations will afford students the opportunity to share a room with another student from their group, sleeping in separate bedding. In cases where there are an odd number of students of same gender, we may find it necessary to book a triple. Very occasionally, experiencing a particularly unique aspect of the program may require use of “quad share” accommodations. For example, Tangalooma Island in Australia is one of the most extraordinary aspects of our South Pacific programs, but it is not possible to provide two-per-room accommodations here. Bottom line, we only use “quad-share” if there are no other options. (We think the opportunity to hand-feed wild dolphins in the ocean is worth a quad share for a couple of nights!)

Yes, on some programs. Some programs will offer home stays where it enhances program content and where program duration allows for the extra days required to conduct effective home stays. Some other programs will offer different opportunities for cultural immersion and interaction with locals. If your program will feature a home stay, this will be identified in your final day-by-day itinerary. When a home stay is not possible, we will feature home dinners, community visits, school visits and other cultural immersion activities designed to encourage interaction and relationship-building with locals.

We believe that making students identifiable and coordinated is valuable for safety reasons as well as team cohesiveness. For Leaders, this typically means matching Polo shirts, and for students this typically means comfortable, coordinated t-shirts. Everyone will wear Quo lanyards with name tags and emergency information. Stay tuned for specifics regarding what this attire will be.

At Quo, we are no strangers to special food requirements. Many of us have complicated food allergies and sensitivities. Our travels have taught us the reality of menus, food preparation, awareness and vigilance when exploring the world.

Typically, meals for groups are prepared en masse and all-at-once so that they can be served quickly and the group can be on their way to the next activity. Internationally, most restaurants that cater to groups are simply unable to prepare individual meals in a timely fashion, if at all. Sometimes it’s possible, but often it is not.

This means that it’s necessary for people with acute food sensitivities to be prepared and travel with food bars, supplements, meal replacements, etc. that will tide them over when restaurants cannot accommodate.

It will be 100% the individual’s responsibility to monitor and manage what they consume, with the full knowledge that kitchens are not trained or educated on this kind of accommodation like they are in the U.S.

In the past, we have had some success accommodating vegetarians, because this style of eating has become common enough that nearly every restaurant has at least one vegetarian option.

We have not had this same luck with gluten-free and allergen-free meals. This is a relatively new idea in most parts of the world. Europe is better than many other places simply because they host far more American tourists and are more familiar with our food sensitivities. However, not even Europe is reliably able to accommodate.

This is why gluten-free and food allergy “deviations” are not something we can guarantee. We are committed to making restaurants AWARE of the need on an individual basis, and we will notify our overseas partners as soon as we receive this information from our Leaders, but WE CAN NOT GUARANTEE that restaurants will be able to accommodate these requests. Many of the kitchens simply do not have the awareness or capability to keep sensitivity- and allergen-free ingredients ready for individual requests.

The most important thing you can do is to complete your Health Information Form as thoroughly and honestly as possible. When you submit this form to your Leader, notify her or him in explicit detail of the specific nature of your food issues.

Food and Cultural Intelligence go hand in hand. We want every student to have a positive and healthy experience with food as they travel abroad, and we will do everything possible to make this happen. Please understand, however, that we cannot guarantee restaurants’ ability to accommodate these requests.

We absolutely want to give every student the opportunity to travel, regardless of physical ability. If a student with physical challenges wishes to participate in a Quo Student Travel program, we will work with the leader to decide if it is necessary to include a medical aide on program. If deemed necessary, medical aides must be arranged by the family. We will provide special pricing for the family to help offset some of the cost for this additional traveler.

Yes, all traveling adults will undergo a background check once they register for the program. This includes all leaders and adult guests.

We travel students from Age 11 through college, as well as some parents. Students are considered a “student” until they are past college. Most Travel Groups are reserved for Jr. High only or High School only, but the mix of ages is 100% at Leader discretion. If a Leader is comfortable with a known college student or some parents joining their travel group, we allow these configurations. However, each student and guest must agree to the rules that Leaders establish for the program. Frequently, college students do not wish to conform to the rules set forth for High School students, so there must be binding agreements made prior to travel. If a group of college students wishes to travel together with a Leader, we would be enthusiastic about customizing an itinerary appealing to this group’s interests.

Yes. In addition to our maximum 6-to-1 ratio of highly qualified Leaders to students, our programs will have two kinds of guides. A minimum of one guide will be with the group throughout each day of the program. Your Travel Manager will be with you at all times from start to finish. Their responsibility will be managing the logistics of the program, leaving Leaders free to teach. Where it enhances the program and where speciality expertise adds unique value, highly trained City Guides (“Blue Badge” guides or their equivalent) will join your group temporarily.