FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Costs

  • Our fees include: expert tour leader supervision, accommodation, local transport and entrance to all attractions, sites and activities. Breakfast and dinner is included on every day of all our tours, and lunch is provided on most days.

  • Our tour fees exclude the following: the costs of international flights, travel insurance, and souvenirs.  There are some days where lunch is not provided so that students can have independent choice of their food options.

  • If you require a visa to travel to one of our destinations, you will be responsible for visa costs and applications. These costs usually range between $25 USD to $150 USD depending on the destination and your nationality. As application times vary, we encourage students to submit their visa applications as soon as possible to be sure the necessary visa is received before applying for a tour.

2. Admissions

  • Step 1: Download and complete the Student Application Form.

    Step 2: Reserve Your Space

    To ensure that your place is reserved on one of our tours, you must complete:

    1. The Online Application Form

    2. Provide deposit payment of $800 USD, which includes $700 USD fee payment and $100 USD non-refundable application fee. If your application is accepted, the $800 USD will be applied to your total fee payment.

    3. Sign an online E-Agreement Form.

      We must receive the remainder of the payment 90 days prior to the departure date. For tours booked less than 90 days before departure, we must receive full payment within seven days of your initial $800 USD deposit to continue to hold the space in the program.

    Step 3: Submit Your References

    Before a final admission decision is reached by our Admissions Team, you must ensure that 2 teacher references forms are submitted. These documents are part of the Online Application Form. Admissions decisions are typically reached within 5 working days of receipt of all required information. You will be notified by email. If for whatever reason your application is not accepted, the deposit fee will be refunded less the $100 non-refundable fee.

  • Our tour fees exclude the following: the costs of international flights, travel insurance, and souvenirs.  There are some days where lunch is not provided so that students can have independent choice of their food options.

  • If you require a visa to travel to one of our destinations, you will be responsible for visa costs and applications. These costs usually range between $25 USD to $150 USD depending on the destination and your nationality. As application times vary, we encourage students to submit their visa applications as soon as possible to be sure the necessary visa is received before applying for a tour.

  • We accept applications for our programmes throughout the year. Early applications are encouraged so we can ensure you will be accepted on your first choice of programme. We usually receive more applications than we are able to accommodate on any given programme.

  • Our tours are run for 14-19 year old secondary and high school students. All students must be aged 14 before the departure date of our tours. In the British school system, students should be currently in Year 9 minimum to apply. In the American school system, students should be in Grade 10 minimum to apply.

  • We accept Visa and MasterCard payments, PayPal, Wise transfer, and bank transfers.

  • If you apply for a programme and it is full, you can apply for our waiting list. To reserve your spot on the waiting list. you must provide a payment of $800 USD to hold a place on the waiting list. If a spot does not become available, the $800 USD payment will be fully refunded.

  • Students are responsible for following up on their teacher references and ensuring that the Admissions Team receives these in a timely manner so that an admissions decision can be made.

  • The $800 USD fee payment that you have made will be returned to you in full.

  • We encourage applications to be submitted 90 days or more prior to the trip’s departure date. However, we do accept applications within 90 days of departure, but the remainder of the fee will be due 7 days after an application has been accepted.

  • To withdraw from a tour, the Admissions Team must receive written email confirmation. Applications withdrawn over 7 days before the departure date will incur a $200 USD withdrawal fee + $100 non-refundable fee, with any remaining fee(s) refunded. Applications withdrawn less than 7 days prior to the departure date will incur a fee of 50% of the trip fee.

  • We do offer Trip Cancellation Insurance through one of our partners at an additional cost. If students may need to need to cancel due to medical reasons, we encourage purchasing Trip Cancellation Insurance. This insurance is only available for UAE residents.

    We also recommend comprehensive travel medical insurance policies for students travelling. Travel insurance is a requirement to participate in a tour, and is an additional cost.

3. Travel Logistics

  • Group flights to our destinations usually take place from Dubai or Sharjah and are supervised by our tour leaders. There is an additional cost for these group flights and they are normally added as a separate item on your final invoice. Students are responsible for all travel costs to and from the departing airport. In some cases, we receive tour requests from large numbers of students from other locations or we have a customized  school tour and if that number exceeds 9 students we will work with our airline partners and may be able to offer group flights from other locations, but this cannot be guaranteed and is on a case-by-case basis.

  • Some students opt not to travel on the programme’s group flights as they are flying to our tour destinations from different locations. Therefore, students may prefer to book independent flights. Depending on the student's age and the airline, the airline may charge a fee for this service (please check with the airline directly). If a student opts out of the group flight, it is encouraged to contact Robertson Student Travel so that we can assist you and also coordinate the departure and arrival times to ensure they fit with the programme’s itinerary.

  • Minors travelling from UAE will need a Parental Consent Form, which must be notarized before travel. Robertson Student Travel will provide advice on this process. Students also need to have a valid passport that is valid for at least 6 months after your scheduled return. They will also need to have a visa unless their passport allows for visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to the destination.

4. Health & Safety

  • We recommend consulting the CDC Travellers Health Resources and consulting with a local medical professional to make the best choice for you and your child. Robertson Student Travel does provide a CDC-recommended vaccination list to families for all the destination countries, cities and regions that our tours visit. Please contact us for more information.

  • Please contact our office directly before applying. We strive to accommodate dietary requirements.

  • Please contact our office directly before applying. We strive to accommodate many medical needs.

  • It is important for students to drink plenty of water during our tours, eat well, get plenty of sleep, and ensure that they take care of their personal hygiene during our tours. Advice and guidance on these matters are given consistently by our tour leaders during our tours.

  • COVID-19 vaccination is not currently required by Robertson Student Travel. However, it is important to note that government regulations can and do change, and this may be required for entry to a destination. We will do our best to advise families on the requirements for specific destinations.

  • We only work with reputable tour partners that offer safe, quality tourism services.

  • For the majority of our destinations, Robertson Student Travel conducts reconnaissance trips to carefully evaluate the safety and quality standards of all transportation, accommodations, attractions and tour providers. Building personal relationships with our tour partners helps us to provide a high standard of service for students.

  • We are members of International SOS, which provide emergency English-language assistance for medical evacuation in all the destinations that we visit.

    Please note that you must purchase travel medical insurance for students that participate in our tours either through our partners or individually. This is an additional cost.

  • All our tour leaders are First Response and CPR-trained (we have a First Response/CPR instructor on staff), and we have coverage with International SOS, which provide English-language medical evaluation and evacuation advice. We only work with the highest quality tourism partners and conduct reconnaissance trips for most of our tours and make adjustments to our itineraries if and when necessary.

5. Communication

  • Yes of course, students are allowed to bring their mobile phone on our tours.

  • You can contact our Office Headquarters in UAE 24 hours a day if you need to urgently get in touch with your children during a scheduled tour. Headquarters have the tour leaders mobile contact details so they can be reached whilst tours are in progress.

  • Once a week, the tour leaders will send an email update to parents and photos of the group's travels will be uploaded for parents to view.

  • Students are welcome to take pictures on their mobile phones during their travels. Of course, students should only use their phones to take pictures when it is appropriate to do so. Students should also ask permission if they want to take photos of individuals of the public as this is the polite thing to do. We will advise students of any restrictions that may be mandated by local governments. Students should not use their phones to take selfies that compromise their safety at any time.

6. Expectations

  • We expect all students to participate in the full itinerary of our tour programmes. There are some rare exceptions, such as when a choice might be given to students. (For example, in our Thailand trip, if we have enough students interested in scuba diving, we may provide an activity option of either snorkelling or scuba diving.) We expect students to have a positive attitude and disposition when participating in our tours and activities, and students should also be positively encouraging to all members of the tour group.

  • We expect all our students to be respectful of all local cultures and traditions, which will provide a more enjoyable experience for all.

  • We expect all our students to be respectful of the local environments. (For example, students should not litter, stand on coral reefs or in any way harm the natural environment.)

  • We expect all students to be respectful of all student participants, tour leaders, external tour partners, members of the local communities and members of the general public. This includes saying ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you.’ Bullying and harassment will not be tolerated in any capacity on any of our trips. Any student found to be bullying another will be expelled from the tour with no refund on fees, and return flight arrangement made at additional expense.

  • If any student is found to be using alcohol or recreational drugs in any capacity on any of our trips, they will be expelled from the tour with no refund on fees, and return flight arrangement made at additional expense. There are strictly no exceptions to this policy.

7. Leaders

  • Experience in Education 

    All our leaders are experienced in working with young people in national and international schools or other educational settings and are fully qualified as teachers, coaches and/or counsellors, ensuring they provide the highest level of support and guidance for our students.


    Blended Travel & Education 

    Our leaders are excited to share information with our students concerning diverse cultures, customs, environment, history, outdoor activities and wildlife by combining real-life experiences with adventure travel to enable students to gain a more enhanced perspective to understand others and the world that they live in.


    Travel Safety 

    Our leaders undergo thorough background checks to work with young people, receive annual First Response and CPR training, and we partner only with reputable tourism providers. We maintain personal relationships with them and conduct preliminary visits for most of our trips to ensure smooth operations. Student to Leader ratio is 9:1 maximum.


    Travel Experience

    All our leaders have extensive education travel experience, having lived or travelled independently in the regions where we conduct our tours. All have previously led and managed international trips for students, ensuring knowledgeable and engaging experiences.

8. Students

  • The majority of our tours depart from the UAE, and students usually attend one of the many international schools located in the UAE and within the wider Middle East community. We have a huge mix of nationalities participating on our tours representing countries from all over the world, similar to the international schooling community in the UAE and across the world. All our students are respectful of the differences of others.

9. Diversity

  • Robert Student Travel is committed to providing equal opportunities for students on our tours of different gender, race, religion, ethnicity, socio-economic background, or language.

10. Scholarships

  • Starting in 2026, Robertson Student Travel will offer an annual scholarship to a deserving student who does not have the financial means to pay the fees for one of our trips.

11. Custom School Tours

    1. Schools may take over an entire scheduled destination itinerary through a group booking. 

    2. Schools may also take over an entire scheduled destination itinerary through a group booking and have some elements of the itinerary customised.

    3. Schools may also request a tailored customised trip for a school booking to a different destination and dates of their choice. 

    4. Individuals can make a booking on any scheduled destination booking.

12. Types of Tours

  • Any independent student can join our scheduled tours.

  • A school reserves an entire scheduled tour for their students.

  • A school reserves an entire scheduled tour for their students with some customization options: including dates.

13. Supervision Ratios

  • Our trips run with a minimum capacity of 6 students. Our trips have a maximum capacity of 18 students. There will always be a maximum adult supervision ratio of 9:1. All tours will have an accompanying male and female supervision.

14. Webinars

  • You are welcome to view any of our past webinars that feature:

    • Kenya

    • Thailand

    • Iberia: Spain & Portugal

    • Italy

    • London

    These webinars give parents and prospective students a chance to learn a bit more about the specific destination tours that we offer.