Who plans or develops the itinerary – SAGE or us? We work together to create an itinerary to match your interests. While you can plan your trip or let us plan it for you, we prefer to combine our expertise with your vision for your trip.
Does SAGE handle all the travel arrangements? SAGE is able to handle everything from group airline reservations to hotel bookings to guide services to arranging for speakers, presentations and service projects. But if you prefer to use your own connections, that is fine with us.
Will our group be combined with another group? No, absolutely not. Your trip is exclusively for your group. SAGE will accommodate any size group, no matter how small. However, you may combine groups with another partner school if you wish.
What safety precautions does SAGE take? We take student safety extremely seriously. While there are inherent risks in travel, whether domestic or overseas, SAGE goes to great lengths to minimize risk. We maintain local offices abroad to assist you; we provide lists of recommended hospitals and security contacts along your itinerary; we provide local cell phones to your trip leaders in order to facilitate close communication. Should a destination be deemed unsafe to travel, we will offer your group an alternative destination.
What type of insurance do you provide? SAGE provides comprehensive global emergency medical and evacuation insurance to all our trip participants. In addition, we offer travel or trip insurance policies at low cost to cover trip cancellation.
What happens if a student gets sick or is injured? SAGE provides Trip Leaders with a list of recommended hospitals in the cities they will be visiting. Our global emergency medical insurance provides immediate access to high quality care and will cover medical evacuations if necessary. In addition, SAGE’s in-country contacts are available to support you 24/7.
How do students communicate with home while on the trip? The SAGE website has several BLOGS where students can post updates of their experiences for family and friends. In addition, students have regular access to email and phone communication home.
What type of accommodations does SAGE use? SAGE supports local communities by using comfortable smaller hotels and locally owned guesthouses (equivalent to a 2-3 star hotel or motel in the US). We do not use luxury hotels, nor do we use backpacker/youth hostels. Accommodations must be clean, comfortable and safe to meet our approval, but not luxurious.
Do chaperones/trip leaders have to pay for their trip? No. We appreciate and recognize all the hard work that trip leaders put into planning and organizing a trip. SAGE can work the price of the leaders’ trip into the student price, or calculate it separately if your school prefers. We do not deceptively hide the costs of the trip leaders by offering a standardized “1 free escort for every 10 paying students.”
Can you provide a list of references? Yes. SAGE would be happy to provide names of other schools or trip leaders who have traveled with us. Click here to see a list of schools who have used SAGE's services
