A Landmark school trip is quoted as a single package: the private group tour, your custom itinerary, transportation, hotels, attractions, meals, a professional tour manager, and all tips and gratuities. The quote mirrors the itinerary it was built from, so it itemizes exactly what your group is getting before you commit to anything.
That last part matters. The difference between operators is rarely the headline number — it is what sits underneath it. Below is what each line means in practice, and what to ask anyone quoting you a student trip.
What each inclusion actually means
A private group tour
Your group travels alone. No other school is merged with yours, the itinerary is entirely your own, and your tour manager is assigned exclusively to you for the whole trip. This is worth checking carefully elsewhere, because "group tour" is sometimes used to describe a trip where several schools are combined to fill a coach.
A custom itinerary
The itinerary is built around your curriculum, grade level, dates and budget rather than selected from a fixed catalog. Our published programs are starting points — if none of them fits your calendar or your teaching, your Travel Consultant builds one that does.
Transportation
Getting there and getting around, in whatever combination the trip requires. Where public transportation is genuinely the most efficient way to move a group around a city, we will say so rather than default to a coach.
Hotels
By default students are placed in quads and adult chaperones in singles, though you can arrange it differently. You submit the rooming list and decide who rooms together. We do our best to keep a group on the same floor or wing, subject to the hotel's layout and availability. Overnight security at the hotel is available on request.
Attractions
Admissions and guided experiences named on your itinerary. This is the line to read most carefully on any quote, because it is where itineraries quietly differ. Anything not explicitly listed should not be assumed — the timing and logistics of a group itinerary are worked out precisely, so an unscheduled stop is not simply a matter of turning the coach around. If you want it, say so during planning and it goes on the itinerary.
Meals
Some meals are sit-down, some are provided as allowances or vouchers, and breakfast is often included with the hotel. Your itinerary specifies which is which, day by day. Travelers record dietary restrictions and allergies when they create their portal account; we collect these before departure and pass them to the restaurants on your itinerary, and Landmark Leaders confirm them again at sit-down meals. Where students use a voucher or cash allowance, they report their own restrictions at the counter.
A professional tour manager
Assigned exclusively to your group for the whole trip. They handle timing and logistics on the ground so teachers can be teachers rather than travel agents — and when something runs late, which happens in travel, they rework the day around it and keep the head chaperone informed.
All tips and gratuities
Built into the trip cost. This is a bigger deal than it looks on a quote: on trips where gratuities are not included, families are asked for cash at several points during the week, which is unpredictable and awkward to manage across a group of students. Anything beyond what is included is at a traveler's own discretion.
What is not automatically included
Being straightforward about this is more useful than a long inclusions list:
- Airfare on some itineraries is quoted separately — your written quote will make this explicit either way.
- Spending money for souvenirs and personal purchases.
- Travel protection. See our travel safety and support page for what is available.
- Anything not named on the itinerary. If it matters to you, raise it during planning so it can be built in and priced.
Questions worth asking any operator
Whether or not you travel with us, these separate a real comparison from a price comparison:
- Is my group traveling privately, or combined with other schools?
- Is the tour manager with us for the entire trip, or only for scheduled activities?
- Are gratuities included, or collected during the trip?
- Which meals are sit-down, and which are allowances?
- How are dietary restrictions and allergies collected and communicated?
- When is the hotel confirmed, and will we know the property before we commit?
- What happens if we run late — who reworks the day?
Two quotes with the same number can be very different trips. The answers to those seven questions are usually where the difference is.
Request a free quote and we will build an itemized itinerary for your group, at no cost until you decide to proceed.
