FAQS

Please submit a form online by clicking “BOOK” at the top of the Schools Go Surfing website. We use this form to gather further information about you and your surf trip preferences. Alternatively, please contact our team on 020 8050 4541 or by emailing info@schoolsgosurfing.com.

Upon receiving your initial enquiry, our team will get back to you via email or telephone. To get the ball rolling, you will be offered both an informative meeting at your school with one of our School Managers or a convenient telephone meeting. During the meeting, we’ll introduce Schools Go Surfing and discuss your thoughts further, before finalising the key details of your school surf and wellbeing trip with us.

Not at all. There’s no cost to the school to initiate the launch and investigate how much interest there is amongst the students. There will be no payments due until we know how many students have signed up and committed to paying a deposit for the trip.

Yes, we offer bespoke and inclusive trips for International Schools, regardless of your location in the world. Our team will contact you by telephone or zoom call to go through everything and get the ball rolling. Our International School trip packages are very similar to what we offer to schools in the United Kingdom. A Schools Go Surfing Group Leader will meet you on arrival in-country.

We provide everything you need to gain permission from your Headteacher, Senior Leadership Team or Governors to proceed with launching your school surf and wellbeing trip. This includes but is not limited to your bespoke surf trip quote and destination risk assessment pack; our industry accreditations, insurance policies and testimonials from local schools.

Of course! A successful launch process is crucial to guaranteeing a viable group for your surf and wellbeing trip. We recommend initially advertising to the students through a school assembly with student flyers and posters, followed by distributing parent information letters and our surf trip information guide. Upon confirming your deposit deadline date, our team will provide high-quality promotion materials.

Our group size requirements vary by your destination and accommodation choice. We typically require a minimum of 20 students for all destinations, with several locations and surf camps requiring a minimum of 40 students to form a viable group.

As soon as we’ve received your first deposit payments for all students, we’ll confirm your surf trip is live.

This varies depending on your destination, flights and total surf tour price. A typical deposit for Cornwall is £150, whereas our overseas trips require a £250 – £500 deposit to book your flights.

No, first deposits are non-refundable. This is because we must use your deposit payments to secure your flight booking, travel insurance, financial protection and surf camp reservations. We cannot reclaim these costs and therefore, cannot refund your first deposit.

We request that all payments are made from the parents to the school via your usual in-school parent pay system. Upon the school collecting all parent payments on the agreed dates, Schools Go Surfing will then invoice your School Finance Department for the collective amount due.

We understand that one size doesn’t always fit all, so please talk to your School Manager if you wish to organise a bespoke payment plan to suit both parties.

We typically request four payments in total, consisting of your first deposit, two further payments and final balance payment 12 weeks before departure. It would be best if you met our payment deadlines; however, you do have the flexibility to invoice the parents as you wish, e.g. monthly.

You will be offered a three-day departure window, and we’ll always do our best to ensure you can travel on your preferred departure date. However, this may not always be possible due to flight availability and surf camp arrival schedules. The lead link teacher will be notified before your flights are booked and confirmed.

Definitely! This is a great opportunity to get the group together and build excitement amongst the students one or two months before departure. We’ll deliver a trip presentation to both students and parents one evening after school. The presentation includes information about the destination, what to expect, what to pack, itinerary specifics and an opportunity for questions. We also aim to ensure your Group Leader will be present at your information evening to meet the students and parents before departure.

We’ll always do what we can to offer a tailormade surf trip that best meets the needs of our schools. If we don’t encounter any further costs, we can make changes to the itinerary after confirming your booking. Your final itinerary schedule will be confirmed up to 48 hours before departure, as we’ll plan your surf lessons around the upcoming forecast.

You will be required to submit an initial passenger list including names and date of births at the time of booking. Full passport and medical information for all travelling students and staff must be submitted no later than three months before departure.

Unlike many other school travel providers, we will not increase your price if the group numbers decrease due to student withdrawals. If your group numbers fall below the free staff place ratios, we may be required to charge an additional staff fee. Cancellation charges for the withdrawn student will apply unless a replacement can be found.

If we’re unable to meet the minimum requirements to secure surf camp exclusivity due to a decrease in group numbers, we may be required to combine school groups or potentially lose our exclusivity of the accommodation.

We will try our best to ensure extra students can be accommodated for, joining the school trip at a later stage. We will need to check with our accommodation provider and the airline before adding any extra students to the booking. If the flight price has increased since the original booking date, the late joiner will be required to cover this additional cost.

Based on your destination and accommodation choice, we’ll provide a comprehensive packing list 12 weeks before your departure date.

The lead link teacher will receive a comprehensive pre-travel pack four weeks before departure. This includes vital information such as boarding passes, travel insurance policies, rooming arrangements, important contacts and risk assessments.

Yes. If anyone in your group has a specific dietary requirement or food allergy, please ensure this information has been included in your group medical information form.

Surfboard hire is included in the price; however, we understand experienced surfers may prefer to bring their own surfboard, which is certainly possible. Please note, we must charge an additional surfboard carriage fee where applicable, which will be calculated based on the airline charge.

If your group wishes to bring two or three surfboards, it may be possible to share the costs through one surfboard bag. If you will be travelling to a long-haul destination, surfboard carriage is usually free of charge if your overall weight does not exceed the total allowance.

Yes! Surf lessons take priority, and we’ll be in close discussion with the surf school to ensure your group can surf on the days with the best conditions. The other activities and excursions will be planned around the surf lessons. We’ll confirm your final itinerary on arrival during the group welcome talk in-country.

The types of surfboards available vary depending on the surf camp that you will be staying with or surf school. Should you wish to know the types of surfboards available during your surf trip, please speak to your School Manager.

Beginner foam boards will always be available, which are used for teaching worldwide. Further surfboards such funboards, longboards and shortboards are sometimes available at the surf school for advanced surfers only.

No, it’s not necessary to bring your own wetsuit. Wetsuit hire is included in the price. However, we do recommend bringing your own wetsuit if you already have one!

Surf lessons target beginner and intermediate surfers through a comprehensive learn-to-surf course. Your school group will be split into groups of 5 to 8 students per certified instructor and based on experience. Surf lessons will take place on sandy beach breaks and sometimes intermediate reef breaks. Surf lessons include both theory and practical lessons on a soft-top surfboard, reducing the risk of injuries and cuts.

Surf guiding is for advanced surfers only, who are competent and experienced in the line-up. Professional surf guides will take advanced surfers to surf spots that match their ability, providing detailed spot introductions and feedback in the water on how to improve your surfing skills.

The duration of a surf lesson can vary slightly from surf school to surf school. On average, one surf lesson will last two hours on arrival at the beach; however, we’ll often organise two surf lessons a day. This may be back to back with a lunch break in-between or one surf lesson in the morning and another late afternoon.

If we feel the students are exhausted or if they’re itching for more time in the water, we can usually work with the surf school to be adaptable based on your group requirements.

Yes, it’s one of our conditions of booking that all participants must be able to swim a minimum of 50 meters (Olympic-size swimming pool) to join the surf lessons.

Yes, we know that being in the ocean and sun can be a tiring combination. We’ll always motivate the students to join in; however, we will not force anyone to join a surf lesson should they wish to sit one out or finish early, relaxing on the beach instead.

This varies on a surf camp by surf camp basis, so please speak to your School Manager to confirm beforehand. We’ve carefully organised every itinerary to include a suitable amount of surf lessons and yoga classes throughout the duration of your trip, so it’s unlikely that you will feel the need for additional surf lessons.

We typically include two yoga classes per surf trip. At the expense of the individual and availability of the surf camp, it is usually possible to book additional yoga classes in-country if they do not clash with the itinerary.

Yes, we work with surf schools which guarantee English speaking surf instructors.

To be qualified, surf instructors must hold valid beach lifeguard and surf instructor certificates. We request DBS checks and internationally recognised instructor qualifications, such as the International Surfing Association (ISA) and the Academy of Surf Instructors (ASI).

Our first action will be to try a different surf spot that will offer more favourable conditions. We then aim to rearrange the surf lesson to another day, moving the schedule around if necessary. Should we decide to cancel the surf lesson, your Group Leader and overseas surf camp team will organise another activity. This may include additional yoga classes, beach games or day trips.

Fortunately, our itineraries are varied and inclusive of many other activities and excursions. This means we can be adaptable by changing the itinerary schedule to ensure the surf lessons take place.

Yes. We include air travel as standard to all overseas destinations.

If you are travelling to France or Spain with over 40 passengers in your group and prefer to travel by coach, please contact your School Manager to discuss your options and prices.

Yes. All flight bookings include one hold bag per passenger. Your hold luggage weight allowance will be confirmed upon confirming your flight reservation.

Yes. Our school packages always include overseas airport transfers.

Yes. Although not included in our prices, we can organise airport transfers from the school to your departure airport on request. School airport transfers in the UK must be agreed before confirming your booking. Please note, school airport transfers can be a considerable cost for groups consisting of under 30 passengers.

Free places vary by destination and group size requirements. Groups with under 50 students typically receive one free staff place for every 8 students. Whereas large groups of 50 – 100 students typically receive one free staff place for every 10 students.

Yes. Extra adults will be charged at cost price.

Due to encountering costs from the moment we confirm your booking and to ensure we do not have to increase your overall price; we must apply cancellation charges for any withdrawals. If we’re unable to find a replacement for the withdrawn student, the following cancellation fees apply per person cancelling.

Our prices are fully inclusive of all overseas costs for your surf trip. You may want to bring extra spending money for additional snacks and souvenirs.

If we believe bringing family members on the trip won’t negatively impact the health and safety or social structure of the group, then it is possible. The final decision must be made by both the lead link teacher and the school.

Yes, all destinations must be risk assessed before the arrival of a group. You will receive a comprehensive risk assessment pack before departure. We review feedback from every surf trip and continuously update our risk assessments to ensure they’re accurate and up-to-date.

We carefully analyse the school group suitability of every surf camp and accommodation provider that we work with. As part of our continuous efforts to closely match the requirements of school groups, we require a detailed health and safety audit form to be completed by the accommodation provider before we confirm any bookings. We also perform a recce and visual risk assessment at every surf camp and accommodation provider before the arrival of a group.

Before completing accommodation safety audits and risk assessments, our planning team have carefully selected specific surf camps and accommodation providers that we feel best suit the requirements of school groups. For example, in addition to health and safety measures, we consider location, rooming arrangements, capacity, security and likeliness of mixing with other guests.

Yes, comprehensive travel insurance is included for all passengers, including students and staff. Your travel insurance policy will commence upon receiving your first deposits. We’ve partnered with Endsleigh Insurance to provide industry-leading school group cover. Our bespoke travel insurance policy provides essential cover and several school-specific benefits. Learn more about our travel insurance here.

Please refer to our Safety Management System (SMS) Policy. This working document and our School Safety webpage highlight the safety considerations and measures that we’ve implemented.

Yes. Schools Go Surfing are ATOL Protected (ATOL No. 11393). Should Schools Go Surfing cease trading, the ATOL scheme protects our passengers, ensuring they do not get stranded abroad or lose money.

We’re also members of the Protected Trust Services, ensuring your payments are securely held in a trust account until your departure. All bookings also include financial failure insurance and scheduled airline failure insurance.

Schools Go Surfing are ATOL Protected (ATOL No. 11393).

Schools Go Surfing are Members of The Protected Trust Services (5642).

Our minimum adult to student ratio on a trip is one adult for every ten students (1:10).

Yes. A Schools Go Surfing Trip Representative will join your school group throughout the duration of your trip with us. We’ll do our best to ensure you meet your Group Leader before departure. Your Group Leader will either meet you at your departure airport or on arrival in-country.

British Citizens do not require a visa to visit any EU country. British Citizens only need to show their UK Passport to be able to enter any EU country.

If you are not a European Citizen and fall under the “third-country nationals” list, you will need a visa to enter any EU country. However, the lead teacher can apply for a Visa Waiver Form in the UK through the British Council website; also knows as the “List of Travellers” visa scheme. This allows for pupils who are not from the UK or EU to go on a school trip within the EU without the need to get a visa. Please note, the form cannot completely guarantee entry into a country. It is used instead of a visa, but even a visa does not completely guarantee entry into a country.

Please click here for further information about the List of Travellers visa scheme for school trips to countries in the European Union (EU).

British Nationals and EU passport holders do not need a visa to enter Morocco as a visitor for up to three months.

If you are not travelling on a British Citizen or EU passport, please contact your School Manager to confirm whether a visa is required for any other passengers.

British Nationals and EU passport holders do not need a visa to enter Bali as a visitor for up to 30 days.

If you are not travelling on a British Citizen or other EU passport, please contact your School Manager to confirm whether a visa is required for any other passengers.

Yes, British Citizens and other EU passport holder must apply for a tourist visa to enter Sri Lanka. The most convenient option is to apply online through the Electronic Travel Authorisation System (ETA) (www.eta.gov.lk) and pay the mandatory application fee. Although you can apply on arrival, we recommend ensuring all students and staff have applied before departure. The application fee is typically 35 US Dollars and takes at least two working days to come through.

British Nationals and EU passport holders do not need a visa to enter Costa Rica as a visitor for up to 90 days.

If you are not travelling on a British Citizen or other EU passport, please contact your School Manager to confirm whether a visa is required for any other passengers.

All passengers will need travel vaccinations when travelling to Bali, Sri Lanka or Costa Rica.

It would be best if you spoke to a travel health professional about receiving travel vaccines. The easiest way is to speak to your GP, as they can check your medical records and provide a list of past vaccinations. They will also carry out a risk assessment for your trip and provide professional advice on which vaccinations are required and recommended. We suggest visiting a health professional at least three months before your departure.