Your first step in planning your own tour is a toll-free call to CHA's staff of Tour Counselors at 1-800-323-4466. The travel professionals who make up our staff are a talented team of individuals who share a love for traveling and a thorough knowledge of all aspects of tour planning. They are eager to help you select the best tour for your group and to give you advice as you make your decision to travel.

Promoting Your Tour
Getting an early start on recruiting your travel group is the best way to assure the success of your efforts. In fact, CHA recommends that you introduce the idea of traveling to your students as early as the first or second week of the school year. (Some teachers even begin planning a year or two in advance!)

Once you've selected a tour from CHA's catalog, you may begin promoting it within your school community. Start by gathering interest among your students, parents and teaching colleagues by holding meetings where you can distribute enrollment materials and tour itineraries. (To order the items you'll need for your meeting including a copy of CHA's new travel video, call CHA or use our convenient on-line order form.

At your meeting, announce a specific deadline date for the submission of enrollments from interested students. Be sure to point out that applicants and their parents must read and understand CHA's Important Information Booking Terms & Conditions before enrolling.

Enrolling Your Group by Mail
Once you have decided to organize your own CHA tour, your next step is to complete your Group Counselor Application. We recommend that you review this form carefully with your CHA Tour Counselor before submitting it. We will not be able to process any applications from your students nor will your group be considered officially enrolled until we have received this application.

Following your enrollment meeting, students will begin submitting individual applications forms to you. It is important that you review each form to make sure all items are properly completed and signed before submitting them to CHA. (For faster processing of your group, we recommend that you collect all applications from your students at the same time and mail them to CHA in the same envelope.)

As we receive enrollments from your group, CHA will mail each traveler a detailed tour account statement listing payment deadline dates and an introductory newsletter with information about obtaining passports and travel insurance. As your departure draws closer, your CHA Tour Counselor will remain in contact with you to review your group's accounting, rooming and flight details.

Enrolling Your Group Online
To make it easier and to save time, you and your participants may enroll for a CHA tour on our website.

Once you are ready to enroll, click on CHA’s “Enroll Online” page. Once there, you will follow the first link entitled “Group Counselor Application.” Once you submit your application, you will receive an e-mail message from CHA acknowledging receipt of your application. Your CHA Tour Counselor will then contact you by telephone to review your application and provide you instructions on how to enroll individual travelers online using your unique Group Access Code. Using this code, individuals may join your group online and pay their non-refundable Registration Fee as well as their insurance premiums and tour deposits using a major credit card.

As we receive enrollments from your group via our website, CHA will confirm each enrollment via e-mail. Several weeks after an individual enrolls online, CHA will mail out to the participant ’s home address a detailed tour account statement itemizing all tour fees and payment deadline dates along with an introductory newsletter with information about obtaining passports and travel insurance.

Preparing For Departure
About one month before you leave, CHA will send you a supply of travel guides, flight bags, and luggage tags to give out to your students. Airline tickets and final travel documents will be mailed several days before you leave via overnight mail. Once your group arrives overseas, you'll be met by your assigned CHA Tour Director at the airport where your overseas adventure will begin!

Remember, if you have any questions during the planning stages of your trip, your CHA Tour Counselor is available to help.  Call CHA toll-free at 1-800-323-4466 during our regular business hours: 9am to 8:30pm Monday through Thursday, 9am to 7pm on Fridays (Eastern Standard Time). Our assistance and advice is always just a toll-free call away!