Booking with confidence

We will refund your trip if the FCDO advise against all but essential travel up to 14 days before departure.

If World Challenge has to cancel your trip for any other reason you will receive a guaranteed refund of any money you have paid us.

If the FCDO is advising against travel specifically to your destination, we will aim to provide an alternative trip to a different location (please note that given the volatile situation with COVID-19, government travel advice relating to specific destinations is likely to change more frequently, and as such a diversion is unlikely to be considered more than 60 days prior to departure)

We will refund your trip if 60 to 0 days before departure date your UK Governing Education Department instructs your school to cease international travel and you do not travel

Refund payments will be made 60 days after the intended date of departure, allowing for the recovery of funds from suppliers

• Safe destinations

  We will only continue to travel to a destination where the following criteria has been met:

  • Your government’s travel advice is positive
  • COVID infection rates are under control
  • Entry requirements are reasonable and local restrictions do not significantly impair the itinerary
  • We have access to a list of approved emergency medical services
  • Our ground partners are able to meet our COVID safety requirements

  Enhanced hygiene measures

  World Challenge trips have always required a higher level of hygiene due to other health risks posed by the destinations we travel to.  We are working with our ground partners and trip leaders to enhance these measures and introduce COVID specific protocols

  • Cleanliness and hygiene measures for local guides, equipment, vehicles and venues
  • Prevention of Spread of Infection (POSI) measures and procedures for trip leaders
  • Use of face masks for anyone involved in the preparation and serving of food
  • Options to effectively distance from people outside of the team
  • Measures laid out by local government or authorities

  Team safety

  We have analysed COVID-19 risk to our teams for all aspects of our trips including accommodation, transport and adventurous activities.  We have carefully considered the use of indoor settings and interactions that will occur with people outside of the team.  Our mitigation measures include:

  • A team travelling as a ‘bubble’ for the duration of the trip
  • Depending on the situation at the time of departure team members may be required to complete an additional health screening declaration prior to travel
  • Trip leaders dynamically assessing COVID-19 risk throughout the trip and following Prevention of Spread of Infection (POSI) measures and procedures
  • All trip leaders are trained in food safety and hygiene
  • Use of face masks in all indoor settings and in some outdoor environments
  • Trip leaders will minimise time spent in crowded public settings
  • Enhanced personal hygiene measures for all team members monitored by adult leaders
  • Accommodation ‘buddies’ to ensure where sharing of a tent or dormitory room is absolutely necessary, it is done so by the same subgroups each time
  • Our Operations Centre is available to support teams 24/7 and has access to doctors via telephone and a network of medical facilities through our medical assistance partner

  Accommodation

  All the local providers of accommodation we use are required to comply with both our own minimum standards and those enforced by local governments.  These include:

  • Enhanced cleaning measures, with a focus on ‘high-touch’ areas to be routinely carried out
  • Processes implemented to allow for physical distancing in public areas, for example during the check-in process, in lifts and in public seating areas
  • Enhanced standards for food preparation which may include training, use of face masks if required, superior cleaning for areas that are involved in meal preparation
  • Live auditing of premises by trip leaders for every stay. The information is received in real-time by our Operations Centre who can review to ensure there that COVID-19 standards are being complied with and take action where necessary

  Transport

  The majority of journeys will be in private vehicles restricted to team members only. We have reviewed our itineraries to avoid where possible the use of public transport and with our ground partner implement the following measures:

  • Trip Leaders will ensure that team members use the same seat for all journeys in the same day
  • Vehicles are thoroughly cleaned before use and hand sanitisers are readily available onboard where regular handwashing may not be possible​
  • Vehicles and drivers are audited by trip leaders for every journey, using a smartphone app. The information is received in real-time by our Operations Centre who can review to ensure there that COVID-19 standards are being complied with and take action where necessary

In the UK, any money you have paid to us is fully protected through our ATOL bonding. For more information visit https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/About-ATOL/