Gwynedd Mercy Academy: Costa Rica Service and Adventure 2023

Tuition for the trip is $3,695, which INCLUDES all meals in Costa Rica, airfare, all accommodations, ground transportation, taxes and tips, all activities unless listed as optional on the Map & Itinerary page.

Tuition does NOT INCLUDE (not meant to be an exhaustive list): meals not listed in the itinerary, beverages other than filtered water at meals, COVID testing and PPE equipment (as applicable), phone calls home, deviations from the itinerary, laundry, souvenirs, shopping, visas and visa application fees, personal and medical expenses, activities and admissions that are not program-related or referenced in the itinerary, excess baggage fees, damage to hotels, or additional expenses related to unforeseen circumstances (e.g. transportation delays/strikes or natural disasters), mandatory Travel Protection Plan

Travel For Teens will reserve a group contract for all participants traveling roundtrip from Philadelphia, PA to San Jose, Costa Rica

The official group flight route will be announced in December 2022.

The trip is open to all Gywnedd Mercy Academy students in grades 9-12. Space is limited and is awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Deadline to register: December 1, 2022

$750 trip deposit due within three business days of registration

Balance due in four installments: December 15, 2022, January 15, February 15, and March 15, 2023

Once your deposit of $750 is paid, you will receive an email that confirms receipt of your deposit and registration.

In November 2022, you will receive an email that contains your USERNAME and PASSWORD to MyTFT. All forms to be completed by parents and physician as well as packing lists, travel tips, travel insurance information, and other important information can be found on the MyTFT portal (hard copies of the essential legal/medical forms can be mailed to participants upon request). Our contract and release must be signed by all custodial parents (or guardians) and the participant. We will host a second meeting, via webinar, in May 2023 in advance of your departure to go over all last minute questions and details.

We will be staying in three-star hotels throughout the program. The names of the accommodations are available to all families once they have signed up.

Single rooms can be requested and will cost $300 additional per person per single.

Note: singles must be requested at the time of registration to be guaranteed.

PHOTOGRAPHS

We will take dozens, if not hundreds, of photos each day. The best photos will be posted as regularly as possible (ideally every day) to a private photo-sharing platform (Waldo Photos) where you can follow along with the trip. We will send you an email to alert you when we post new photos. Low-resolution photos can be viewed for free during and after the trip. All of your High-Resolution matched photos can be purchased and downloaded in real-time during the trip or after the trip for $50.

EMAILS

The Trip Director will be in regular email contact every 24-48 hours, internet willing, with our families. Emails will include fun detailed updates about the day’s activities and are a great way for families to follow along with the journey. Email will be the best way to communicate messages to the Trip Director.

SAFETY AND SICKNESS

The safety of our participants is our #1 concern, which is why we have only experienced trip leaders running the show. We offer 24/7 communication throughout our programs and have detailed risk management and safety policies in place. Please review our policies here.

For information regarding our specific policies with Covid-19 please review our Covid-19 protocols page here.

Our staff members undergo a rigorous hiring process. They receive the same background check as school educators, an extensive training process to go over all safety precautions and protocols, and are required to be certified in CPR and First Aid.  We exclusively hire responsible, multi-talented individuals who are safety-minded and are as passionate about teen travel as we are.

In a word – delicious! At TFT, we believe food should be an integral part of the travel experience and always make an effort to eat at authentic establishments when we can. What better way to immerse yourself in the culture of a place than by sampling the local delicacies, and we encourage students to do so whenever possible! Just as we stay away from Americanized hotel chains, we try to avoid restaurants with menus that cater only to tourists because every good traveler knows the best food is found wherever the locals are eating!

We also love to have picnics al fresco and do this whenever possible, which is a great way to taste some local food while sitting out in the fresh air taking in the sights and sounds of our surroundings.

As always, we are willing and able to accommodate vegetarians, vegans, gluten allergies, and other dietary restrictions.

No, our skilled staff members will help you get around and even teach you a few fun phrases!

We do allow participants to bring their phones, but we ask that they use it solely as a camera when we are out and about during the day. We want everyone to focus on living in the moment and fully experience each new destination we are visiting without being absorbed in their phones. We ask that participants look at their journey with us as a way to disconnect. When we have downtime at our hotels in the evenings it is okay for participants to use their devices to connect with friends and family back home.

This is an active trip. The goal of the trip will be to maximize each day. We aim to achieve a good balance of activity and downtime. You will need to be comfortable walking about 5 miles a day in total.