GET IN EARLY 

Many 'school group motels' have either been bulldozed to make way for apartments, or have chosen to no longer service the school-group market - preferring to take on government accommodation contracts. This has increased the pressure on availability of beds particularly for the busier times of year - eg Term 3.  Because many schools traditionally visit Canberra in Term 3, the available beds and programs book out extremely quickly.

Don't get caught with booking difficulties by leaving it too late to book. We are currently booking school groups for  2010 and 2011. Some motels and attractions already have bookings in place for 2012 & 2013 & 2014!

DON'T DO TOO MUCH

Avoid the temptation of cramming too much into your itinerary. Aim to find a balance between keeping students busy so that they have little opportunity to be at a loose end (and then get into mischief) and making sure that the itinerary is not so fast paced that it is exhausting. Theres a limit to how much your students will take in during their excursion. Just because you add more places to the itinerary, doesn't mean students will bring home any more knowledge or understanding than if you kept things at a more relaxed pace.

DEPARTURE & RETURN TIMES

We plan overnight excursion itineraries to the following guidelines wherever possible:

8 am (or later) departure from school on first day. This allows everyone to have a reasonable nights sleep before day 1, and for most Hunter Region & Sydney schools it avoids the congestion on Pennant Hills Road.

6 pm (or earlier) return to school on last day. This allows students to go home with their families for dinner and an early night. If you plan to arrive back at school later than this, then usually you will need to allow for a dinner stop on the way back to school that night as well. This requires more time, and of course, students need to bring money to allow for this extra meal.

Due to driving hours regulations for coach drivers, most tours to Canberra are not able to go out on the first night. Of course this is subject to your school's distance from Canberra etc and we are happy to discuss your particular itinerary arrangements to meet your requirements.

RE-BOOKING

Should your school be doing the same excursion the following year, it is generally a good idea to book the accommodation before you depart from the motel. This will give you maximum choice of available dates for the following year. This is particularly relevant for school specialist motels in Canberra and also some of the popular centres in Sydney.

You want to make the most of the opportunity to show your students all there is to see and experience throughout their excursion. However, you can not always take the necessary amount of time away from school and your own family to allow such a luxury. To help you decide which places to visit list them all "within the enquiry form" then number them in order of priority, this list will greatly help us with your itinerary planning.

IF YOU'RE NOT SURE ASK!

If you're not sure what is available for your students to see and do or to suit a unit of work, please ask us. We're happy to listen to your excursion requirements and offer suggestions, relevant information and options. You can find out more of what's on offer by clicking on our excursions button followed by the area that interests you. In each area you will find links too many relevant websites, these contain detailed information about what's on offer.

PRE-EXCURSION INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS & PARENTS

Packing for your excursion

It's a good idea to bring a day pack and a luggage bag. Everything that might be needed before we get to the motel at night needs to be in your day pack, because the bags stay locked in the luggage bins of the coach until then. So make sure that your recess, lunch, camera, money, workbook and pencil are in your day pack.

Food and drink

Should you need to bring a drink on to the bus we ask that you bring bottled water. Should it spill it is not sticky and will not soil seat fabric and clothes. We stop for morning tea and lunch so there's no need to eat on board the coach. An occasional lolly to eat is OK but chewing gum is definitely not OK!

Travel sickness

Travel sickness is most commonly experienced by

1. Those who have over indulged on lollies and junk food!
2. Some children who are more prone to it than others.

So.... go easy on the lollies and should you do start to feel sick tell an adult straight away, so that we can help you before there's a mess!

Seat belts

Seat belts on coaches are by law required to be worn and must be kept done up at all times.

Toilet

Most coaches have a toilet on board for emergency use only as they do not have the capacity that a regular toilet has. We ask that you use public toilets each time we stop for morning tea, lunch etc.

Cameras

Your allowed to take cameras into most places in Canberra. The Planetarium will not allow them and flash photography is not allowed in the chambers of Parliament House whilst Parliament is sitting.

Backpacks

Backpacks are not allowed into many of the places we will visit, particularly the War Memorial, the reason is due to the accidental damage they can cause to paintings and displays. They may be left on the coach which will be locked.