Upon returning from my third trip organized by WorldStrides, I continue to have nothing but positive feedback! I was nervous planning this trip as a first-time lead chaperone, and the entire way, Kayla Dubiel and Andrea Hernandez were there to answer any and all questions. They were kind, patient, and even provided due date reminders for all necessary documentation. Our trip was seamless, from flights to dinners and museum visits. We were lucky enough to be matched with Claire Geslin, who was the most amazing tour guide we could have asked for. She was full of personality, and I couldn't believe how kind and patient she was with each of our students. She made a point of getting to know them, and truly valued the group's feedback at each destination. We all had a hard time saying goodbye at the end of our trip, and will cherish this opportunity forever! read more

If I could give 0 stars, I would. When Lufthansa went on strike, instead of being proactive and securing alternate arrangements, WorldStrides waited until the day of departure to inform us that the flights were canceled. After several hours, we were told the kids had been rebooked--but split into three separate groups with only one chaperone per group. When they arrived at the airport around noon, two of the three groups were told they weren't actually on any flights. Apparently, the rebooking was never properly completed in the system. The students have now been stuck at the airport for nine hours, waiting for either a flight or a hotel, with no clear communication or plan from WorldStrides. This level of disorganization and lack of accountability is completely unacceptable read more

World Stride gave as a dive hotel in Istanbul for our graduate school trip. The bus couldn't fit in the driveway and dropped us off at midnight on the next block where we had to carry our bags 150 feet up two flights of steps which wreaked of urine. When we finally dragged our bags up to the hotel, the rooms hadn't been updated since the 1969s or 70s. What a bust! read more

This was, without exaggeration, one of the most poorly run trips I've ever experienced. WorldStrides took something that should've been exciting and managed to make it frustrating, exhausting, and honestly a huge disappointment. From the start, it felt completely disorganized. The schedule was constantly changing, plans got shuffled around with little to no explanation, and we were left standing around way too often with no idea what was happening. It didn't feel like anyone was actually in control. Communication was terrible. Questions either went unanswered or got vague responses that didn't help at all. It felt like we were expected to just deal with whatever was happening, even when things clearly weren't going right. The accommodations were a major letdown--crowded, not very clean, and nowhere close to what was promised. Meals were rushed and low quality, and there wasn't nearly enough time to relax or even enjoy anything. It felt like everything was done as cheaply and quickly as possible. What made it worse was the constant stress. Instead of having fun or learning anything meaningful, it felt like we were just dealing with problem after problem. For something that costs this much, the lack of organization and care is honestly shocking. Overall, it felt like a complete waste of time and money. I wouldn't recommend WorldStrides to anyone unless they're okay with a disorganized and frustrating experience. read more

WorldStrides - The motel they chose to bring us to - Travel Services Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Worst trip I have ever been on. You pay 5k for a trip with food included only to find out the pre paid debit cards don't work the food vouchers for the food places run out of food and you end up door dashing food when you get back to the hotel. When you did get food it was raw read more

WorldStrides - Travel Services Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

they failed to inform my middle school there were no drivers for our busses that were stuck in Illinois causing our trip to be cancelled after we were supposed to have left. don't use this company!! read more

I participated in the "Greek Gods and Myths" tour in Greece with WorldStrides and would rate the overall experience a 3 out of 5. The biggest issue started with the travel arrangements--our flights from San Antonio to Athens required three connections. I believe I could have found more efficient options on my own. The tour itself had some highs and lows. One major downside was the behavior of the teenagers on the trip. Many were loud, disrespectful, and consistently late, which caused frequent delays for the rest of the group. It was frustrating and negatively impacted the overall experience. The group included participants from Mississippi, Kentucky, and Texas, which made us quite large--around 45 people--making excursions more chaotic than enjoyable. One highlight was the cruise to visit the Greek islands, which turned out to be a great experience. However, the lack of communication beforehand was disappointing. Our tour account online included no details about the cruise, and when I reached out to customer service, they vaguely said it could be a cruise or a ferry--two very different experiences. Clearer communication about this would have been appreciated, especially at least a few weeks prior to departure. Lastly, the tour turned out to be very educational, which is great for some, but the itinerary didn't make that clear ahead of time. I would have appreciated more accurate expectations in the tour description. read more

DO NOT JOIN A TRIP IF THIS COMPANY IS INVOLVED. Check WorldStrides on Better Business Bureau before using their services. The complaints and negative reviews are real and plentiful. My child participated in an 8th Grade School trip from CA to NY. The trip cost was VERY expensive. WorldStrides cut cost by booking connecting flights for our 13-yrs old kids and kids seats were scattered around the plane, sitting next to srtangers, our kids had to gate check their carry-on luggage that went directly to NY, while our kids missed their connecting flight and had to spend a night in Charlotte airport. Their Luggages were lost, our kids went for 3-days without their personal items and clothes. Airline found and delivered their luggages in the evening on the 3rd day of their trip. WorldStrides didn't contact the parents, we found out from our kids. Lead-Chaperon informed us that WorldStrides will reimburse cost for purchasing toiletries and change of clothing for our kids, while they were without their personal items. But when each of the parents tried to contact WorldStrides for reimbursement, we got the run around, avoiding our inquiries, and (if lucky) partial reimbursement. This trip was the 1st time, for many of the families, to send their 8th grader on an across the country trip without a parent. WorldStrides never issued an apology or accountability for the incident. read more

This company is an absolute joke. $5000 for a 4 day trip to Washington DC and NYC is absurd. My family of 4 could go to Hawaii for that. But my son really wanted to go. I did my best to get the funds together and rally family and friends to donate (since there is no fundraising option) to get him to go. In the end we just couldn't get it together financially for him to go. I called to get the money I had put in returned as well as the money my friends and family members money back since I added that extra "layer of protection" on to the booking. They are saying that none of us are getting our money back and that's just their "terms and conditions." I should have known not to book with a company that charges so much for such a short and uneventful trip. read more

My son just went on the Washington DC +NY tour march 28- April 1st. We paid our balance in full mid January and I have an e-mail confirmation that we made the final payment! Today April 24 I receive a call from Worldstrides that the price was higher and now I need to pay $438 more! The representative also asked me if the teacher told us that the price for the trip went up after the fact! I told them this is not what we agreed to and I should not be obligated to pay! The rep insisted I pay now!!! After the phone call I called them again thinking it may be a scam. The rep told me that it is true and I have a balance and I must pay or they will send me to collection! I told her I have an e-mail with the confirmation that my account has been paid in full! She sent me an invoice that had an original price that is about $400 higher than I originally agreed to! his is outrageous! I can't believe they actually altered the invoice! I told them I need to speak to the supervisor and they need to find the original recording where I agreed to make $429 payment every month and it states the amount financed! I will not pay even if I have to go to court! read more

Our trip was cancelled. Worldstrides rebooked us without our request or authorization and are refusing to cancel our trip and provide a refund. The dates conflict with another obligation. I have been through numerous calls and emails and have been left with no resolution. We purchased the trip insurance and have made every payment and met every requirement up until the trip was cancelled. This is a horrible, valueless, money hungry company that will take thousands of dollars without thought. STAY FAR AWAY! read more

This company nickel and dimes you unlike any other travel service. My kids travel a lot and we have dealt with many companies. This one is the worst. We have had three trips with them and 2/3 were disastrous experiences. Please encourage your school to choose another company. You do not want to deal with them or pay the absolutely insane amount of fees. It's actually unethical. You get charged a fee for everything you do. Heck, you get charged two fees just to make a payment! STAY AWAY! They need to be shut down. read more

One of the worst trips ever. We missed our flight to D.C. because of bad weather and had to look for another flight on our own. There was absolutely no help from World Strides, except for going back and forth. We still have not gotten another flight to D.C. yet, and also have not gotten hotel accommodations yet at the Atlanta airport. This is the worst company; do not book with them. Did I mention we have 15 teenagers, and 3 with no luggage because their luggage is in Baltimore? I will never book with this company again. read more

about as bad as trips get, very poor schedulin, the tour guide was rude and sexist, and their busses stalled. Absolutely horrid for 1000$ a person read more

Not what was sold to us...DO NOT SPEND MONEY WITH THIS COMPANY!!! Our guide, Noemi, was PHENOMENAL! She kept us safe and was so patient and kind. My frustration, when we booked the trip, we were told all meals would be paid, this was NOT true. We contacted our rep and they said we would be reimbursed. We have been back for over a week and still have had no contact about being reimbursed. The food that was served was not good. Our trip was geared toward high school students, and the food being served was not. I watched most kids and several chaperones send mostly full plates back as most did not like the food offered. I would encourage a choice of 2 items so there is a better chance people will eat. Also, the people serving you offered choices of drinks but if you agreed, then they charged you for what they offered because you are only "allowed" water. The places we slept had beds hard as rock and they were VERY small, so be prepared if you are tall. The countries we visited are gorgeous. We were taken to top tourist areas and trying to herd 30 people through hundreds of other tourists is tricky at best (Thank goodness for Noemi). Moving this amount of people through anything means a ton of "hurry up and wait." Be prepared to walk A LOT! There were absolutely NO extras any where. The large amount paid gets you the bare minimum and not a single iota over that. I did not have super high expectations, but this company really worked to be much lower than even my lowest expectations. Overall, I can say both myself and my child regret spending the exorbitant amount of money on this trip for what we experienced read more

Parents and School Administrators: Stay Away from Explorica/WorldStrides! They rescheduled our school trip by 11 months, from 2025 to 2026, without any prior notice or consultation with families, well beyond any reasonable timeframe. They REFUSED TO RETURN MONEY to those without their pricey insurance. This is unacceptable for a company trusted with children. read more

I was part of the disastrous NYC / Carnegie Hall trip for Westview High School, San Diego, for over 100 high school kids and chaperones that WorldStrides woefully mishandled. Summary: WorldStrides failed in many ways. Every day had an issue, if not several, showing lack of preparation, communication and coordination. Assistance was not provided, tickets were not properly purchased, guides left students behind, poor scheduling resulted in long waits, repetitive food menus, no video recording of a once-in-a-lifetime performance, unnecessarily rushed post-performance exit, breakfast dining mix-up. A couple of activities went OK, but the many failures produced added stress and no faith in WorldStrides by the end of the trip. Things that went wrong: 1. Airport Check-in: WorldStrides did not assist with check-in in San Diego. As far as I know, our school band director had to handle the arrangements. Someone from WorldStrides could have attempted check-in the day before, or discussed the procedure with the airline. Fortunately, things went smoothly at the airport. 2. NYC 1st dinner: Time for dinner was rushed for some chaperone groups. Being our first night, some were not prepared for the crowds. WorldStrides could have organized a group meal for the first night 3. Walking through city: Guide did not wait to re-group while walking through NYC at night. Students were separated at stop lights from their group and from their chaperones. Some students had to make their way on their own. I had to request re-grouping stops on subsequent walks. 4. Top of the Rock: Ticket purchase was never confirmed, so no tickets were reserved for our time slot. WorldStrides needs to confirm tickets prior to arrival. After waking up pre-dawn to catch the flight, not getting back to the hotel until after midnight made for a very exhausting day. 5. Statue of Liberty: Poor planning resulted in a nearly 3 hour wait to board the ferry, many of us were left with no time to view the Statue and none of us were able to visit Ellis Island as scheduled. WorldStrides should have scheduled the Statue visit earlier when crowds were less; the 9/11 Memorial is open later than the Statue of Liberty ferries. Aside from the time of day, WorldStrides could have worked with the ferry company to set up an entry time so not all 100+ had to stand in the line, could have set up a segregated waiting area (others outside our group were interspersed among us, causing our group to be split between two ferries). Scheduling an early breakfast and a late (non-existent for some) lunch was also poor planning. 6. Group dinner at Da Nico: Restaurant was not informed of dinner options. Chicken Marsala and the adult option for Veal Parmesan was not conveyed or ignored by the restaurant and was not available. 7. Carnegie Hall Performance: Personal videos were not permitted, and WorldStrides did not make arrangements to video record the once in a lifetime performance. Not having a video option is inexcusable. 8. Post performance: Students were sequestered until busses arrived, then rushed on to the bus with no time at Carnegie Hall for parents, family or friends to congratulate or take photos. There was absolutely no reason why this had to be the case, as all chaperones were available to watch the students outside the Hall. 9. Second group dinner: Another Italian restaurant with an almost identical menu as the first group dinner. With all of the restaurant choices available in the area, why the same food twice? 10. Final group breakfast: The USA Brooklyn Deli was double booked with another WorldStrides group. We ended up going to another breakfast buffet similar to the first breakfast. 11. Trip to Airport: At this point, we had no faith in WorldStrides any more. We requested the trip back to the airport depart earlier, which cut into our final day in NYC. The extra time was justified as it took hours to get everyone checked in for the return flight. What went (relatively) well: 1. The bus transfers were on time. 2. The Hamilton show on Broadway - although we were told that we had "great" seats, with over 100 people in our group, some seats were good while others were average. Based on the theater size and our group size, this was acceptable. Conclusion: I was very disappointed that WorldStrides took our money many months in advance, and yet it felt like our trip was planned the day of the event, if at all. We will be requesting a refund for those events that we missed completely, and for those where they inconvenienced us or where they provided no benefit at all. This may be edited later once the refund amount has been established. read more

More concerned about making a profit than taking care of their employees. You are pressured to work long hours to meet their demands.

To start off this review I would like to say that this company has a very bad cancellation policy. I registered myself and also paid in full at the time of registration for a group trip with my daughter's school. The trip got canceled for external reasons that I don't know about and I still got charged 599.00 cancellation fee. I called the company to reason with them about the cancellation fee and they said flat out that it is out of their hands to help me. It is ridiculous that one is penalized for paying in full ahead of time, when the registration fee was only 99.00 and I decided to paid in full. read more

Absolutely Terrible website seems like it has not been updated in decades. Not student friendly at all

We haven't begun the trip and are already having issues with WorldStrides. They've made mistakes with our trip for several families, quoted us prices and after we've paid sending us an invoice for more money than they've quoted or what we've agreed to. Communication and information from the customer service isn't accurate. I've worked with other travel companies before and this by far is one of the most dishonest once. read more

an absolute nightmare from start to finish. do not take a trip through here. they hung up on my organizer multiple times when we were stranded in the airport for hours. i miss my mom . :( shoutout to our guides nina and alex from central europe though! only good parts of touring with worldstrides! read more

Signing up at all will cost you $399 which is never refundable. We signed up for the extra travel insurance to cancel for any reason for a refund and they keep $399. So just don't use them. Check BBB website. When they agree to partial refunds they never send the checks or they literally bounce-- they don't refund your card either they will make you wait for weeks, months, years to send you a paper check that may or may not be bogus. I'm thinking WorldStrides might need to see some class action. Any lawyer willing to take it on will make bank-- Just read through the one star reviews, which is the majority of reviews! read more

This company will try to fleece you for as much money as possible. I paid for a trip to D.C. that was cancelled and rescheduled by Worldstrides. They did not notify me at any point the trip was rescheduled. It wasn't until I got a letter requesting more money and I called that I was made aware of this change. My son will have graduated by the time the trip has been rescheduled. He couldn't attend. So I request a refund. With the full refund package I paid extra for I had confidence I would get a full refund. That turned out not to be true. In fact they are keeping 1/3rd of the cost, equalling 500 dollars. The full refund program is fictitious. They even admitted that it's just called that and is not a full refund program Please see the included screenshot of Worldstrides admitting the program is Fictitious and just called that. I will be seeking any recompense I can from my elected officials, the FTC and my state department of consumer services. I'm also advising my school board to no longer do business with Worldstrides read more

WorldStrides - Travel Services Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I've never written such a poor review, but you should be aware if you cancel your trip (whether you buy insurance or not) - getting a refund is a NIGHTMARE. Constant calls, emails and no matter what, excuses and delays. I still have not received a refund and it's been over 60 days since requested. They keep pushing dates due to poor excuses and reasons. Update: was told a refund was processed. That does not mean any money has been refunded. heres an email I just received, this is over 60 days ago I requested already and now another 2 weeks. constant lies and delays. "Our team is working on a delay that is affecting all refunds, we do apologize for any inconvenience as your refund will be reflected within the next 2 weeks. We appreciate your understanding and patience on this matter." read more

Very nice tour guide. Could be a little rushing at times but overall had a very good experience. We had lots of fun and we thank worldstrides for giving us this opportunity! read more

WorldStrides - Statue of Liberty - Travel Services Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I just went on a World Stride trip. For the most part it was good, however, the last part trying to get home was a NIGHTMARE. If World Strike didn't want the group split up in the first place, why wouldn't you put the whole group on a charity plane? Why wouldn't you do direct flights to make it easier on the kids and the coordinator? Instead, you had everyone worked up trying to get people to 4 gates, then the potential rush to the next gate (that you might miss anyway), and then have to do head counts in a big group or even in a split-up group. If you did a charity non-stop you wouldn't have those concerns of missing kids, flights, and luggage. Also - why is it so important to do carry on when both airlines made us check are bags anyway? I know you're supposed to check each airline, since they have their own rules, but they're the same as TSA. Ultimately, I paid for my daughter and I to fly both ways, which should have taken maybe 6 hours, but instead we were put on a bus for 18 hours after sleeping on the airport floor for a night. I would like to know what kind of reimbursement I am going to see. read more

After registering my daughter for her school trip through WorldStrides, we were later informed that she was not selected to attend due to the number of students who signed up. Despite this, I had already paid the full amount of $3,759, including the $359 trip insurance, which was supposed to ensure a full refund if the trip was canceled or not attended. We received an email from the organizing staff stating that those who opted in to the insurance would be refunded the additional $359, and that the financial manager would be manually processing each account. That was months ago. To this day, I am still waiting for my refund -- with repeated contact to WorldStrides' customer service only resulting in vague timelines and no resolution. I've been told it would take 4-6 weeks to receive the refund, but now I'm being told that the deposit and insurance ($500 total) are non-refundable, even though my daughter never even went on the trip. So not only is WorldStrides holding thousands of my dollars without providing a service, they're profiting off "trip insurance" that ultimately protects them, not the families. It is disgraceful that a company working with school-aged children operates this way. Holding on to thousands of dollars from families for a trip their child didn't attend is not only unethical -- it feels like fraud. This process is anything but transparent or convenient. I can only assume they're earning interest on the money they hold from hundreds of families waiting endlessly for refunds. read more

The trip was solid and the tour guides were amazing, but the quality of the dinners provided by world strides was not edible. Food is one of my number 1 prioritys on a trip and it's a shame it was so bad. read more

This is the worst student travel company I have experienced. Traveler beware. They offer awful customer service, with a 2-day response time if you want to speak with a manager. They use every opportunity to upcharge parents for already overpriced trips. I highly recommend selecting another travel agency and will share this with my daughter's school. read more

We were supposed to go on a school trip and our tickets got canceled. We are being given the run around by the supervisor. Don't know who gave the authorization for the cancelation or why but they will not give us a refund because of their terms and conditions. They are a shady business that like to gaslight you when you call them, you know after they tell you they will call you but they don't. I have asked to speak to someone up the chain now three times and still haven't been able to, she was on lunch today. read more

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. My kids were on the same trip as June's daughter (review below) to DC, 50 kids stuck in the Detroit airport for over 12 hours, no communication to families, arriving in their hotel after 24 hours of travel, terrible planning by WorldStrides cost our kids a whole day on their (VERY expensive) trip. All we've heard from their "customer service" team are boilerplate responses i.e. what Isabel has copied/pasted on every negative review here on Yelp. Unacceptable lack of accountability for THEIR mishandling of our kids. BTW, Isabel, I don't care about the internal steps you're taking to make sure this doesn't happen again. Your problems are not my problems. The only resolution is an adequate refund and apology to our kids, chaperones, and families. read more

They refuse to give my money back even though their website says you will receive every penny back. I spoke with an employee before I registered and she said I would receive all of my money if I cancelled. I had to cancel and they will only refund $2 out of the hundreds I paid! I spoke with multiple people over the phone and sent many emails. No one cares and they won't refund my money. This was for a school field trip, don't waste your money! read more

Terrible. We paid over priced for tickets for our daughter to go on this school trip. Then they got the absolute worst flights. We need to pay for a UK visa due to a terrible layover. Plus over night stay in a hotel far away from the airport. And now our kids arrives on Mothers day in the middle of the day. Do not use this company. read more

I would consider this trip from Los Angeles (and other schools from Southern California) to Washington DC to be mostly successful. I would call it a Cliff's Notes version of a tour as there was so much packed into our 4 days that many sites were not given enough time or attention. As a museum buff, there was not enough time to peruse all sights and exhibits, it felt rushed. The days were so full and the sights that we saw after dusk were not given proper attention (FDR, MLK memorials, Vietnam wall) as it was nighttime when we arrived. The tour guides did their best to be culturally sensitive but, perhaps representation of various ethnicities would be more culturally responsive to various student groups. One of your well-meaning tour guides (Larry) told us that in Vietnam battles, African-American soldiers were sent out first because they were notoriously deathly terrified of snakes so they were sent out first to alert the others of snakes in the area! Yeah, okay! And to say that to a bunch of Black boys (and some parents who know better) just did not sit well with me. The food was edible, but the dinner selections were mediocre. Our driver, Mr. York, was superb!!! Our airport and flight experience was seamless. Our tour guide, Jennifer, was adorable and accommodating. Overall, I am glad that I was able to accompany my son's class and I know that he and his classmates created memories that they'll treasure. One final critique is the price. I am not aware of the cost of each item, but I compared the cost of an HBCU college tour and it was nearly $1000 less. But all-in-all, it was an incredible experience that makes me want to return to DC for a more thorough experience. THANKS! read more

Our DC trip was awesome. Our tour guide Monica was the BEST. Also our bus driver was outstanding. Thank you World strides.

My son had a great trip to Costa Rica. The activities were well planned and they had loads of fun .. white water rafting, zip lines, hot springs, nature activities, hiking etc. They learned a lot too. What could have been better: Accomodations - they were 4 in a room. Hotels could have been better and food choices were limited. For the money we paid, the kids deserved some more luxury. read more

Worldstrides was awesome I wanna give a special shout out to THE BEST tour guide ever...... ADAM L.... Adam L was absolutely incredible he made this trip soo fun. His favorite slogan was "the Adam's family over here" he would say this everytime he wannted us to follow him read more

wish I could give zero stars. This WorldStrides trip was an absolute disaster from start to finish. The itinerary was a chaotic mess, with constant delays and last-minute changes that left us missing out on key attractions we were promised. Absolutely terrible experience. WorldStrides completely dropped the ball on the Westview trip. From start to finish, it was a mess. The itinerary was disorganized, communication was practically non-existent, and their coordination was laughable. Important events were missed, students were left confused and stressed, and the staff seemed clueless or overwhelmed the entire time. This was supposed to be a memorable trip, but thanks to WorldStrides' poor planning and execution, it turned into a frustrating ordeal. We expected professionalism and competence--what we got was chaos. I wouldn't trust them with another school trip, ever. read more

My daughter's school was planning a field trip to Washington DC in June of 2025 and she wanted to go. So my wife signed her up and we made our first payment. However, when we got our receipt, we discovered that the travel dates were not what we had been told. Our daughter had told us that she would be flying out on June 22 but the actual date was June 6th. Now that might not be that big of a deal except that what she didn't know was that I had already booked a surprise trip to Greece as a family Christmas present and we were taking off on June 5th! As soon as we realized it, I called the agency to cancel the trip. Now, mind you, that I had only made one payment of $600 and was calling to cancel the trip 10 days after making the payment. However, I was told that because we didn't pay for the overpriced insurance, there would be an $820 penalty!! However, they were going to be nice and waive the other $220 but they were keeping the $600!! I was floored!! That seemed excessively unreasonable!! Apparently, after you sign up, if you don't have the insurance, if you cancel (even before the first payment is made) you are obligated to pay this ENORMOUS fee!! Now, please don't misunderstand me. Had we completely paid off the trip after the ticket had been purchased and had cancelled at the last minute, of coarse I would expect a penalty and I might not be typing this. (But, even then, $820 seems rather excessive). I don't even think that the airlines would penalize that harshly!! Had the penalty for an early cancellation been something reasonable ($50 or $100, maybe $200) I probably would not be typing this. But we cancelled 10 days after our first payment and that $600 is about 20% of the entire trip!! A round trip to Washington DC itself is only around $300!! Therefore, I basically paid for two people's tickets or some executives vacation!! To any consumers or school districts considering this company, please DONT! They are rigidly unjust, unfair, and unconscionably unscrupulous!! read more