Frequently Asked Questions for Teachers & Group Leaders
If you're thinking about planning a CHA tour for your group, you probably have a few questions. Below, we've answered our group leaders' most frequently asked questions. Remember, a CHA Tour Counselor is always available to assist you. Just give us a call at 1-800-323-4466.
What is included on a CHA tour?
CHA’s comprehensive educational tour packages include the following services:
- Round-trip air transportation on regularly-scheduled flights on major U.S. and international airlines
- Hotel accommodations in well-located superior tourist-class and first-class hotels
- Breakfast and dinner daily
- Full-time services of a professional, multi-lingual CHA Tour Director
- All land transportation including motorcoaches, ferries, trains & intra-tour flights
- In-depth sightseeing conducted by expert local guides in major cities on your tour
- Orientation tours, walking tours and on-the-road commentary by your CHA Tour Director
- All sightseeing excursions, visits and entrances as described in the itinerary
- CHA’s Pre-Departure materials (newsletter, backpack, luggage tag and travel guide)
Does CHA provide liability insurance?
Yes. Teachers and travelers are covered by the best liability insurance available in the educational travel field—up to ten million dollars per individual and per occurrence. This coverage, along with our Ten-Million Dollar Umbrella Insurance Coverage, offers travelers total peace of mind.
Does CHA have a minimum group size?
No. Even if you plan on recruiting a small group, CHA will combine your group with travelers from other schools in order to reach the required minimum number of passengers needed to operate a tour. (CHA’s tour prices are based on achieving a minimum of 30 fully-paying passengers per tour.) Therefore, date and tour flexibility are needed from smaller groups. Teachers should explain this to interested students and parents from the start. You may also choose to guarantee your own private tour and touring motorcoach specifically for your group at an additional cost.
Who will accompany us on tour?
A CHA Tour Director will meet your group when you arrive at the airport and stay with you throughout your entire trip. He or she will stay in each hotel with you, accompany you on all scheduled activities, and assist your travelers whenever they need help or advice. Your Tour Director will be a knowledgeable professional, possessing many years of experience in leading travel groups, and will speak English as well as a variety of other foreign languages.
What will a typical touring day be like?
Each morning following breakfast, you'll meet your Tour Director in the lobby of the hotel for all sightseeing activities scheduled for that day. Normally, when staying in the same city for several days, sightseeing tours will take place in the morning with afternoons free. When traveling from city to city, you'll spend most of your day touring a variety of places stopping to visit cities and other attractions. Dinner will be scheduled in the late afternoon or early evening.
How much free time will we have?
Depending on the pace of the tour, CHA itineraries provide a good mixture of sightseeing and free time. Normally, there is free time in the afternoons and evenings after dinner. Groups of three or more students can explore on their own during the day but must first report to you or another adult chaperone to inform you of where they are going and when they are planning to return. At night, students will not be permitted to go out on their own, but the adult chaperones should arrange activities in which the entire group or smaller groups can participate.
What can we do during free time?
Optional excursions are activities which serve as a supplement to the sightseeing already included on our tour. Scheduled during free time, these excursions function as a valuable addition to your overall touring experience. Travelers may select from a list of optional excursions available on their tour. These are not included in the cost of the tour and must be purchased separately.
What I am responsible for as a CHA Group Counselor?
As a CHA Group Counselor, you will function as the leader of your group and the main liaison between CHA and your travelers. You are responsible for enrolling participants and distributing any important materials that CHA sends to you to your group including CHA backpacks, travel guides and final travel documents. During your tour, you are responsible for communicating and coordinating with the CHA Tour Director on behalf of your group and for chaperoning and supervising your group according to CHA’s Student Code of Behavior.
What about passports and visas?
Please stress with your group that it is the responsibility of each traveler to obtain a valid passport and any necessary visas no later than 65 days prior to departure. Due to updated regulations, for most countries visited on CHA tours, your passport must be valid for six months after your return date. Visit the U.S. State Department's website for complete details on obtaining passports.
Besides obtaining a valid passport, all non-U.S. citizens contact the embassy or consulate of their destination countries as soon as possible to determine their specific entry requirements. Be sure to consult your itinerary carefully to determine all the countries you will visit or pass through during your tour. Transit visas may be required since not all air itineraries use direct flights between the U.S. and your destination countries.
Are their specific travel requirements related to COVID-19?
CHA travelers will be required to follow the most current travel requirements related to COVID-19 based on both U.S. regulations and those of the countries you will visit. These requirements may include documented proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to departure and before your return to the U.S. and proof of COVID-19 vaccinations.
In addition to COVID-related travel exit and entry requirements, facial masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing may be required while traveling, especially while in airports, on board airplanes, on CHA buses and other forms of transportation during the tour as well as when visiting museums and other attractions. (CHA will provide more specific information on the requirements applicable to your tour before you travel, and your CHA Tour Director and other overseas personnel will reinforce these requirements when you arrive overseas.)
What if one of my travelers cancels?
Because the operation of international tours requires extensive long-term planning, costs are incurred long before the actual departures. Many of CHA’s suppliers require non-refundable deposits in advance of travel in order to secure CHA’s low rates. With this in mind, CHA has created a Tour Cancellation and Refund Policy which is described in CHA's Important Information Booking Terms & Conditions. Please make sure each of your travelers reads this carefully before enrolling as it details the penalties for cancellation prior to departure.
What if our CHA tour cannot take place due to travel restrictions?
Included as part of our Book with Confidence Plan, CHA's Travel Security Coverage provides your group with a variety of back-up plans if CHA determines that we cannot operate your tour as scheduled due to an official U.S. State Department Advisory prohibiting Americans from traveling to any country or countries included on your tour and/or govenmental travel restrictions as a result of political instability, a major terrorist incident or a serious public health crisis. Options include rescheduling your tour to a later date, changing your tour and/or destination, or cancelling your tour with travelers receiving either a full travel credit for future use or a refund less the Registration Fee and a reduced cancellation fee. Call CHA at 1-800-323-4466 for complete details.
Do you offer Optional Travel Insurance?
Yes, CHA strongly recommends that all travelers purchase an Optional Travel Insurance Plan to further protect their travel investments and to provide greater peace of mind before and during the tour.
Generali Global Assistance offers CHA travelers three plans to choose from featuring a wide range of coverages and services that will provide assistance in the event of an emergency, sickness or other unexpected situation. Coverages include Trip Cancellation/Interruption, Trip/Travel Delay, Medical/Accident Expenses, Baggage Delay/Protection and 24-hour Emergency Assistance Services. To compare the available plans, get a personalized plan quote, and purchase a plan online, visit CHA's Generali Travel Insurance page at https://www.generalitravelinsurance.com/?partner=CHAE0400.