Student Horizons are experts in educational school group travel, with many years’ experience in building and running tours. We are here to help make your child’s educational tour hassle-free for teachers, and exciting, inspiring and life changing for your child.
Managing Director Jamie Wansey has worked in educational travel for over 20 years in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. Student Horizons has delivered over 50 successful education, music and sports tours helping to inspire over 15,000 students.
Every person in the Student Horizons team has travelled extensively and are passionate about providing those experiences to young people. From our founding in 2012 through to today, we have cultivated strong relationships with international schools, institutions, and service providers, putting us in a unique position to offer the best possible experience on our tours
Our most popular destinations are Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, USA and UK and Europe
Student Horizons is headquartered in South East Queensland, Australia with team members based also in New South Wales and New Zealand.
Safety is our number one priority. Student Horizons has risk assessment procedures in place with all suppliers we work with. All of the services provided by our international ground handlers have undergone extensive risk assessment evaluations and these services are consistently monitored. In destinations we travel to often, we try to reuse the same suppliers whenever possible, so we can personally vouch for their reliability.
For every trip, Student Horizons ensures:
Our comprehensive safety management system, coupled with our incident management plan, ensure we are in the best position to mitigate risk and respond to incidents when they occur.
We advise against students carrying all their money on their person. We recommend keeping only whatever money is needed for the day in a money belt or wallet with a secure pocket, and storing the rest securely in luggage.
We also recommend taking a money travel card, credit or debit card that can be used at international ATMs. It is also a good idea to keep your card/s separate from your cash.
Check with your bank in advance if the card will work overseas. If students will be relying on their bank cards, they should inform their bank that they will be travelling so that their card doesn’t get blocked.
Students can often be issued with two travel cards, which can be monitored by parents. The advantage of this is that one card can essentially be a back up, kept safely with teacher in charge, or in a lock-up suitcase.
Student Horizons operates a simple four-step payment process that all schools, clubs, universities and parties must adhere to. This means that families will pay for the tour in four instalments, spread evenly throughout the tour planning process. The amount of time between payments will depend on the length of time between the initial tour booking and departure.
For more information please contact us!
After your booking has been made, you may wish to change your travel arrangements. For example, your chosen dates of travel, accommodation, etc. We will do our utmost to make these changes, but it may not always be possible.
Any requests for changes must be in writing from the person who made the booking. This will incur an administration fee per booking form change, and you may also be asked to cover any further costs incurred in making this alteration.
For further information please contact us!
If numbers change after the deposit is paid, your Tour Development Specialist will provide a new quote based on the new group size. From this point, families will have the choice whether they would like to proceed with their student travelling on the tour. If not, the deposit will be refunded.
Any late payments will incur a fee of $20 per paying passenger for every 5 working days over the invoice due date. Late payments of over 10 working days may result in the loss of the Student Horizons Price Guarantee.
For further information please contact us!
To be eligible for group airfares and other special group prices, we need a minimum of 15 passengers. Ideally group sizes would be 15 and above to make your tour cost effective.
The more the merrier! We have experience in dealing with very large groups. However, larger group sizes may need to be split at times throughout the tour; for example, across different accommodation.
We recommend booking your tour at least 12 – 18 months prior departure, depending on the financial situation.
Your Tour Development Specialist will organise an information evening for parents, students and teachers. We will provide the tour leader with material (videos, posters etc.) to advertise the tour and get everyone excited! Families will be able to ask the Student Horizons specialist any questions they may have and register their interest, to give us a more accurate idea of numbers.
When numbers are confirmed, all that remains is for the tour leader to fill out a booking form and names list (API), and obtain the first non-refundable deposit from each travelling student.
If the group consists of at least 10 students, the group tour organiser is offered a free place. Thereafter, we offer one complimentary place to teachers or other tour organisers for every 10 or more pupils in the group.
Student Horizons are here to make planning a tour easier than it’s ever been before, by organising just about everything! This includes international and domestic flights, land travel in your destination, accommodation, meals, billeting, educational excursions, sports fixtures, coaching clinics, concert performances, assistance with planning resources and risk assessment, tour guides, Student Horizons Logistic Directors (if requested), insurance, and more.
All students travelling outside of Australia or New Zealand must have a valid passport, expiring at least six months or more after the date the tour concludes.
Student Horizons are not visa specialists, and cannot be responsible for providing visas. It is therefore each person’s own responsibility to check their visa requirements and make arrangements accordingly. We can support this process by sending a Letter of Support if required.
Student Horizons’ insurance partner is NIB and CoverMore Travel Insurance in Australia and CoverMore in New Zealand. We offer comprehensive group travel insurance cover to schools, clubs and universities touring with us. You are not obliged to accept our cover, however, adequate and valid travel insurance is compulsory for all bookings made with Student Horizons.
The safety of students is our top priority, and we understand there may be students with allergies and intolerances. Tour leaders will receive a dietary requirement form to fill in and send back to the Tour Coordinator during the planning process. We will do our best to cater to each student’s specific needs, and if we are unable to accommodate your request for any reason, we will advise you as early as possible.
Tipping costs are included in the tour package for any activities, coaches, and meals booked through Student Horizons.
Tipping is a very strong culture in the USA, and might be expected in a handful of other countries too. If you’re travelling in the US, your group will be expected to tip coach drivers, tour guides, and wait staff at their discretion, if not included in tour costs. This will usually be between 15% and 20% of your total bill.
We are happy to add your number to bookings when possible, however not all group bookings are frequent flyer point accruable, so we cannot guarantee this. Often, due to the negotiations on the fare and the flexibility of group bookings (longer payment deadlines, name flexibility up to the point of ticketing etc), you will not be able to accrue points for your travel. A frequent flyer account must also be under the same name as per the ticket. For example, a parent cannot use their frequent flyer number to claim points for their child’s booking.
The tour handover is generally done around two weeks prior to the tour departing, depending on teacher availability.
The essentials are:
We recommend having at least enough additional funds to cover excluded meals, sightseeing and tipping, if necessary. Ultimately, this is up to the parent’s discretion.
Three hours prior to departure.
We highly recommend that teachers collect and hold onto students’ passports after check-in.
A Student Horizons Logistics Director is a member of the Student Horizons team, or one of our on-ground partners, who travels with the tour group to manage on-ground tour logistics. The Logistics Director’s main role is to make the touring experience as seamless as possible for the group. They will be entirely in charge of coordinating the logistics of the tour, including, but not limited to, getting the group from place to place and managing the itinerary and bookings. This leaves staff free to concentrate on the students.
Please contact your Tour Coordinator for a comprehensive outline.
If the group is travelling with a Student Horizons Logistic Director, he or she will post daily updates and photos from the tour on the Student Horizons Facebook Page.
Follow us on Facebook: @StudentHorizons
Follow us on Instagram: student_horizons
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/student-horizons/
Once the tour has returned, the Tour Coordinator will send tour leaders a simple feedback link for teachers and students to fill out. Once this has been done, they will organise a debrief meeting with the teachers, where you can discuss the tour in detail. This usually happens in the first few weeks after the tour has returned.
Student Horizons are experts in student travel, with many years’ experience in building and running tours. We are here to help make your educational tour easy, inspiring and life changing!
Safety is our number one priority. Student Horizons works hard behind the scenes to make sure that every service, accommodation and transport provider is trusted and reliable. In most cases, we use the same providers when we tour to destinations often, so we can personally vouch for their quality of service.
We also have systems in place to ensure the safety of all students on the tour, and our team at home are always there to help if anything goes wrong. You will be given important contact information for every destination you visit, in case you find yourself separated from the group. It is very important to follow all instructions given by your teachers and Tour Representative. They have all been briefed by Student Horizons on what to do in the case of an incident, and we are confident that touring with Student Horizons is one of the safest ways to travel.
It is also important to use your common sense, and be more alert than usual while on tour. Don’t leave your belongings unattended, and don’t go off on your own or into dangerous situations. Your safety is your responsibility too!
Never store all of your money in one place. We recommend taking only whatever money you’ll need for the day out with you (preferably kept on your person, in a money belt or wallet with a secure pocket), and storing the rest securely in your luggage.
We also recommend taking a money travel card, credit or debit card that can be used at international ATMs. It is also a good idea to keep your card/s separate from your cash.
Check with your bank in advance if the card will work overseas. You should also inform your bank that you’re going to be travelling, and where, so that your card doesn’t get blocked.
Just about everything! We will arrange your international and domestic flights, land travel in your destination, accommodation, meals, billeting, educational excursions, sports fixtures, coaching clinics, concert performances, and more.
Teachers will receive a dietary requirement form to fill in and send back to the Tour Coordinator during the planning process. We will do our best to cater to each student’s specific needs, and if we are unable to accommodate your request for any reason, we will advise you as early as possible.
We are happy to add your number to bookings when possible, however it is often the case that group bookings cannot accumulate points. A frequent flyer account must also be under the same name as per the ticket. For example, a parent cannot use their frequent flyer number to claim points for their child’s booking.
This is not a comprehensive packing list, but the essentials are:
We recommend having at least enough additional funds to cover any excluded meals, sightseeing and tipping, if necessary. Spending money for souvenirs or other shopping is up to the individual.
We highly recommend that all passports are handed in to your teacher/s for safekeeping after check-in.
A Student Horizons Logistics Director is a member of the Student Horizons team, or one of our on-ground partners, who travels with the tour group to manage on-ground tour logistics. The Logistics Director’s main role is to make the touring experience as smooth as possible for the group. They will help get the group from place to place, manage bookings, and let you know when you’re supposed to be at which activity. If you have any questions about where you’re going or what you’ll be doing next on your tour, the Logistics Director can answer them for you!
Once the tour has returned, the Tour Coordinator will send teachers a simple feedback link for teachers and students to fill out. This usually happens in the first few weeks after the tour has returned.
Student Horizons are experts in student travel, with many years’ experience in building and running tours. We are here to help make your child’s educational tour easy and hassle-free for teachers, and exciting, inspiring and life changing for students.
Student Horizons operates a simple four-step payment process that all schools, clubs, universities and parties must adhere to. This means that you will pay for the tour in four instalments, spread evenly throughout the tour planning process. The amount of time between payments will depend on the length of time between the initial tour booking and departure.
For more information please speak to the teacher in charge of the tour.
We can assist with organising suitable packages for groups of parents and supporters who wish to travel with the main tour party. Parents and supporters can be included in the group bookings with the rest of the tour, provided they will be travelling on those dates and times. Anyone wanting to travel on different dates will need to make their own individual arrangements.
We generally book parents and supporters into different accommodation to the main group.
We offer travel insurance through our partners, or schools can choose to use their own insurance. This will be covered in the tour costs. It is mandatory for adequate and valid travel insurance to be obtained for all bookings made with Student Horizons.
The safety of students is our top priority, and we understand there may be students with allergies and intolerances. The teacher in charge of the tour will receive a dietary requirement form to fill in and send back to the Tour Coordinator during the planning process. We will do our best to cater to each student’s specific needs, and if we are unable to accommodate your request for any reason, we will advise you as early as possible.
Tipping costs are included in the tour package for any activities, coaches, and meals booked through Student Horizons.
Tipping is a very strong culture in the USA, and might be expected in a handful of other countries too. If you’re travelling in the US, your group will be expected to tip coach drivers, tour guides, and wait staff at their discretion, if not included in tour costs. This will usually be between 15% and 20% of your total bill.
We do not provide an extensive packing list, but the essentials are:
