WorldStrides

Pros: Rode a bus 350 miles to miss the presidential inauguration.
Cons: WorldStrides didn't include inauguration tickets when that was the purpose of the $700+ trip!

My daughter went on the WorldStrides tour to Washington DC to see the 2005 presidential inauguration. The trip was offered through the high school. They got to Washington, DC fine, but when they tried to go to the inauguration (the entire reason for ...

Pros: several educational benefits, spending time with peers, learning about another part of our country
Cons: Improperly supervised Place in an unappropriate and dangerous situation

My 13 y/o daughter went on a trip with Worldstrides, and 35 other children from her school.
We learned from a phone call on the last day she was there that my daughter and her 2 roommates, were in an adjoining room with 3 boys.
Subsequently,...

Pros: none
Cons: Do not use this company! They have sold bogus trip insurance !

This company preys on unsuspecting parents and school groups! They have been selling 100% reimbursable insurance on their school trips for $89 a trip...what they dont tell you is that if you try to exercise this insurance and have them return your money...

Pros: Always get my $$$ worth.
Cons: Can be a bit pricey. But you get what you pay for!

For the past 16 years I've coordinated and brought a minimum of 50 8th. graders to D.C, NYC, Boston and Williamsburg. Not once in all those trips did I ever have an issue with WS. The worst thing I had was a motor coach that had saggy seats and the VCR ...

Pros: absolutely none
Cons: everything was horrible

I went along on the Worldstrides trip to Washington D.C. with my daughter's seventh grade group. The flights were terrible - layovers and gate changes that meant we spent a whole day flying. The hotels were run down and unsafe. One of them was under ...

Pros: Professional, safe and educational
Cons: nothing, zilch, nada!

I've been on several trips with WorldStrides so I can say without a doubt it is worth the investment. My son took a trip to DC in 8th grade and was absolutely AMAZED with his trip. This trip made him so excited that he is planning on working in ...

Pros: Seasoned top-notch professionals, on hand through every step of tour.
Cons: Requires much walking and willingness to go to lots of activities on itinerary.

Worldstrides is a company that maintains very high standards in the experience of their tour guides' knowledge. The company only hires licensed DC guides with customer service and historic knowledge of the area. The safety and comfort of their passengers is of top priority. In all the tours I've been on, they are top-notch professionals. Supporting the tour guides, tour directors and on-site coordinators are back office staff manning the phones 24 hours a day. Their rapid response system has been recently updated and is better than ever before. Barring any major events from the past, this is one of the most reliable companies to send your children on a tour.

Pros: easy city access, well planned, experienced guide
Cons: Students scattered on different floors, slightly expensive

I took a tour to NYC with 21 students in June 2001 and had a wonderful trip. The hotel was in the heart of Times Square, so we were in walking distance to everything. It was clean and beautiful and provided security by allowing only those with keycards to go up to the rooms. The company also provided security guards at night.
The tourguide was an actor who had done many shows (including tow with Nathan Lane) and lived in New York. he really knew the ins and outs of NY theater.
The workshops were both fun and educational.
I am planning another trip this year and will certainly use this company.
I used another company before and we spend most of our NYC trip on busses to and from NJ, where our MOTEL was located, next to relatively nothing else.

Pros: Student experiences, safety, convenience
Cons: price eliminates some students from going

I have taken my science classes to Florida with WorldStrides for the past five years. I have found the experience to be EXTREMELY rewarding!

Yes, the trips are pricey, but if you were to add up the costs involved you would find that you could not have the same travel experiences for less. This year my students will pay $1700 to go on the trip, but when I added up the total cost if they were to go alone the total was $2800. I know that group flight discounts and sharing hotel rooms comes into play here, but overall I feel that WorldStrides prices fairly.

One year our charter bus broke down and WorldStrides compensated our students $15 cash each for their wasted trip hour spend waiting for a new bus. We were all pleased with how determined they were to set things right with our group.

I will never use a different student travel agency.

Pros: The kids had a memorable experience.
Cons: Pricey, Red-eye Flights,Fastfood,Long Busrides.

My daughter's Northern California middle school has a tradition of sending their 8th grade class to Washington DC every spring. It is a great tradition, but seems pricey through WorldStrides. The flights that were booked--Red-eye flights with mid-flight stopovers, the rooms that they stayed in--4 to room, and Food that they eat--FastFood BurgerKing & Macdonalds, seem to me to indicate a either a hefty markup for WorldStrides or poor price negotiation for the flights and lodging. For student groups of 100 or more, I think there is an opportunity to do better.

Pros: There was nothing helpful about the customer service department at this company.  So buyer beware
Cons: Customer service is terrible, just hope that you do not have any issues!

My son has not taken the trip yet, but I am already having my dounts as to wheather or not I will send him!  I made a payment (early) on line, and they stated that I made a data entry error.

Then they stated that I was warned ahead of time that a $35 fee would be processed for data entry errors - ALL LIES!

The verbage on the payment process stated that:

 "Failure to input incorrect account information MAY result in failure to process "or" charges for insufficient funds."

  Well I missed a "0" in the data entry process, so they could not process my payment, but they treated it like insufficient funds.  They are two completely different issues.