Here at STC Expeditions, we understand that you have a choice when it comes to choosing an operator for your school adventure. There are lots of travel companies out there, vying for your business, and making the right decision is important. You might trust some because you’ve worked with them before and others because they have a high profile.
We can’t speak for the experience you’ll have with any of our school travel competitors. But we can say we’ve got a lot of tricks up our sleeve and there are many reasons you should take your next trip with STC Expeditions. So please excuse us while we blow our own trumpet…
We’re small and specialist. That means you get personal attention from a team member with expertise in arranging travel for school groups. They’ll be full of ideas and suggestions to help you make decisions. You won’t be passed from pillar to post whenever you get in touch. As your contact knows their stuff, understands your needs and is familiar with your group’s details, you can trust nothing will fall between the cracks.
We promisevalue for money. Fair pricing is important to us – we want travel to be as widely accessible as possible, so we don’t pile on the premiums. We’ll seek out the best destination, activities and travel time to make sure your money goes as far as possible.
We prioritise sustainability. Our commitment to running a sustainable travel business is baked into everything we do, in the office and on expedition. The things we include in our sustainability basket run to a very long list and our Travelife certification proves our commitment. Over 200 areas of our business were audited as part of the certification process. As everything from waste management to cultural impact and customer protection was scrutinised, you can be sure we’re not just paying lip service. We understand that sustainability matters to our student travellers, so we aim to lead by example.
We travel ethically. We’re conscious that when we travel, we’re visitors in someone else’s land. That means treading lightly, behaving with humility and always being respectful. We expect our groups to do the same. We don’t support superficial ‘volunteer’ schemes that are meaningless or detrimental to local people. We never participate in activities that exploit children, local communities or animals.
We keep things local. Because there’s no one better qualified to show you around than a local, our in-country leaders all come from the area. Their knowledge, insights and contacts are second to none. As we work with local businesses when sourcing transport, catering and activities, we support economies in the places we visit. Due diligence checks ensure our clients are safe, while training upskills our suppliers.
We’re with you from beginning to end. It’s a tough job being the teacher in charge of organising a school expedition. That’s why we support you throughout and shoulder the burden of some of the more tedious admin tasks.
We’re flexible. You might love the look of one of our off-the-peg itineraries – they are pretty spectacular after all. Or maybe you have specific requirements to support a particular course of study. We’re happy to put together bespoke itineraries that meet your goals.
We don’t sugar-coat the world. There’s a difference between taking a holiday and going travelling. While the former may be about escapism, we believe the latter is about discovery. We don’t shy away from introducing students to social, economic and environmental issues.
We’re safe. Thanks to comprehensive vetting of local teams, British Standard 8848:2014 conformation, 24 hour emergency back-up and critical incident support, we’ve got all angles covered. We’re ATOL protected, carry out risk assessments prior to departure and ensure necessary insurance is always in place. To stay in touch, our groups are equipped with satellite, radio and/or mobile communications.
We’re challenging. On expedition, we ask our student travellers to get out of their comfort zones and learn something about themselves. We empower young people and build character by arming them with experience and knowledge, giving them confidence that they can make a difference if they put in the work.
Our expeditions are remarkable. They induce culture shock (in a good way), get adrenaline pumping and taste buds tingling. Forget about trailing along the same routes followed by hundreds of other school groups – these are once-in-a-lifetime experiences.