My daughter was supposed to go on a trip on May 31st. I purchased the cancellation insurance for an additional $249. I called to cancel her trip on March 26th. Still no refund, even after having my states attorney general contact them several times with world strides saying they would process my refund at that time. I will never use or recommend worldstrides to anyone, ever. Stay far away. read more

People was rude and getting smart and wasn't helpful the website was a lie I only got half my money back I'm glad I didn't put 4,119 down on it cause I prolly would of been pissed and not even worth it all they do is scam people out they money read more

To be a school trip they charge way to much. The had to travel overnight. not been able to shower in the morning. They had to stay 4 in a room with to beds the mind ether one on the floor o share beds. and it was only 3 day for all the money. read more

Don't recommend this company. Payment structures are inflexible and nonstandard; payment mechanisms out of date (c'mom everyone takes credit cards); odd fees; basic services should be included in costs but are tacked on as extras; nonstandard practices across the board. Customer service can't answer basic questions by email; interminable waits to call center try to address issue that should have been addressed in email (why have they not invested in chat or call back solutions). Schools, please, please, please find other solutions. Dealing with this company is a nightmare. Do you do any customer surveys? Given the experiences to date, I can only assume this company has no interest in service. read more

Cancelled Washington D/C trip on April 2 due to Covid. Was told 4-6 weeks , at the 8 week point now and getting the run around-- "2 weeks from now." The trip was way over priced to begin with, so all you people out there DO NOT use World Strides unless you want to be robbed. read more

I absolutely loved everything about Washington DC and the trip my daughter and I took with her 8th grade class. Our tour guide, Elizabeth Sinclair, was not only very well-educated on the history of our country and our nation's capital, but she was an incredible scholar of the Bible and a blessing to all of us each day. The trip was organized exceptionally well, and we were on time for every portion of our various tours. Our bus driver, David with James River bus company was also exceptional. He was a good driver, got us to all of our tours on time, was very friendly, and kept us all very safe. The only reason why I have given World Strides 4 stars instead of 5 was due to the lack of planning for our food allergies. We were told that meals would be available for our gluten and dairy allergies, but the accommodations were severely lacking. I ended up having to spend an additional $100 on food just to be able to eat on this trip. There were some gluten free items at the hotel breakfast buffet, but we also suffer from severe dairy allergies (and the gluten free items contained dairy), so we had to order separate meals from the hotel restaurant. Secondly, all of the lunches were in various shopping malls, which are not allergy-friendly at all. We had to pay for 2 out of 3 lunch meals because the meal tickets we were given did not include restaurants that offered gluten/dairy free meals. Lastly, dinner at 2 of the 4 restaurants we dined at were not gluten/dairy free, so we had to order separate from the buffet that was offered. This made for a very anxious mom, a very hungry child, and a lot fewer souvenirs because our money was spent on food. After paying nearly $3,000 to go on this trip, having to purchase additional food was not something I was too happy about. It was a little difficult arranging our drop off and pickup for flights because they had us flying out of Midway and then flying back home to O'Hare. Because of this, we had to take a bus instead of driving to the airport and leaving our car for a few days...which meant getting up at 2:00 AM to arrive to the bus at 3:00 AM to get to the airport by 4:00 AM for a 6:00 AM flight...after which we hit the ground RUNNING with 12 stops/tours until hotel check in at 9:30 PM...and getting to bed by 10:30 PM, so our whole group was running on fumes after being up for nearly 24 hours. I feel like the second day was better as far as time management, so perhaps they could have switched the activities of the 1st and 2nd day to accommodate our lack of sleep a little better. Aside from the food issues and a tough first day, our trip was memorable, education, and at times very inspiring and thought-provoking. I highly recommend a trip to Washington DC with World Strides (as long as you don't have food allergies!) read more

Definitely not what we expected. Lots of uncertainty and no comp for a missed experience. Wont use World Strides again

Amazing experiences for both of my children. One more to go. Couldn't have done it without World Strides and all of the amazing teachers at NSA. Thank you for always putting my children first. read more

Great company that provides life changing experiences. I am impressed with how they bring a trip together with great execution and communication. read more

I would rate them a negative two stars. Do not book a trip with them for your organization. We had them book a trip to Scotland for our marching band and left over 25 kids plus 20 parents stranded at the airport due to a fight cancellation. They would not talk to us or give us any updates on how they would resolve this. The airline attempted to help us but in the end didn't do much. Stay far away from them. They are horrible. read more

My son's trip for April 4, 2020 was canceled due to covid. I did not purchase trip protection but I did call WorldStrides on March 12, 2020 to express my covid concerns and request a refund. A few other concerned moms and myself was told we would receive a refund (minus $69 service fee). I called WorldStrides again in May 2020 asking for my refund. They advised me it would take 4-6 weeks. Waited again...nothing. I called WorldStrides again in December 2020 asking where my refund was. They told me I WILL NOT get a refund since I did not buy trip insurance and since I canceled before the trip was "officially" canceled. I told them I was not advised of this back in March, otherwise I would just wait to see what happens. I told them they took my son's money for a trip that never happened, an airline ticket that was never used, educational activities that never took place. So unbelievable the way this company treats parents and their kids. We are all going thru these difficult times together and for them to take my son's money...so despicable !! read more

My son took the Washington DC trip this week and the airlines lost his luggage and it was not found the entire trip. World Strides did nothing to help him and has not even once reached out to me to let me know what was going on. It was cold and rainy and he wore the same clothes for the first 2 days and had no coat. I called multiple times and was told there was nothing they could do. I filed a formal complaint and still no one has called me back. Their customer service sucks. The planning of the trip sucked too. They flew into DC through Charlottesville, spent only 3 hours in DC, took a bus ride back to Charlottesville and the next morning bused back to DC. What a waste of time! They packed in activities with little time to even sleep and gave $10 allotments for meals. I would definitely not recommend this company. read more

Absolutely garbage. Awful stay for hotel had no room. Do not do this trip with world strides go on your own

I have paid in full for a DC travel experience for my child in April. Did not purchase travel insurance. Due to the NATIONAL EMERGENCY, my trip is cancelled. That should be enough to justify a refund, but not for this company. Time for this CEO to step up and refund people affected by this crisis. Families are in dire need. In my case, my child will no longer be enrolled in this school for the company proposed June postponement, how can we say we are having a school trip????They need to act now, stop giving us the run around. Nobody has a crystal ball to say when this Covid 19 epidemic will end. And they are proposing to risk everyone's health to run out and travel ASAP after the " all clear". This company is showing a total disregard to our health and safety, they need to refund us NOW, and we will consider traveling with them in the future. As is stands now, their reputation ruined. Do not expect our business if you act like anything written in your contract applies during this crisis. So disappointed in the whole experience. read more

Most students were terribly disappointed that the highlight of their trip - the Air and Space Museum visit - would be cancelled because of rain. WorldStrides could load the children on the bus to take them home early, but they couldn't take the same bus at the same time a short distance to the museum. The significant cost of the trip should guarantee transportation to the sites if it rains. Very disappointing. read more

If I could give them a lower star rating I would. First they raise their prices in a two year time span by $100. Then they made it a standard in the program that they automatically charge you an additional fee of $89 (it was $49 two years ago) for refund insurance if you don't figure out how to opt out of it. Made the mistake of not opting out and the only way I can get my money is to wait 6 weeks after the school trip which is in February. We've asked for a breakdown of the $500 one day trip to Sacramento and they said for security purposed they cannot. I hope a competitor can step up and take their business from our school. read more

Wish I had read the reviews before signing my daughter up for a trip with the high school. My experience with high school has been very favorable, and therefore failed to do personal research. Similar to the other comments, I paid for the trip in full (lump sum). The trip was cancelled because the minim number of students didn't sign up and we couldn't be connected with another group. I was told I'd receive about 60% of my finds back in cash and a $500 voucher (that I could try to sell). The rest isn't being refunded for various reasons. read more

Absolutely AWFUL company, and should be investigated by the government. WorldStrides canceled our school trip two months prior to the departure date. Even though all of the students/families had paid for their trips. We were told we had to wait two months after the scheduled departure to get a refund (four months total from when WS canceled trip). Refund still not received! We were then notified they were keeping all of their processing fees, even thought they canceled the trip, which was over $300 in additional fees on top of the over $1600 we had already paid, for a total of over $1900 still not received several months later! When I contacted their customer service about the above, they had no confirmation on when we would get a refund. My concern is they are going bankrupt and surviving off thousand of families school trip money; and there will be a ton of people not getting their money back. If they can't make it though the current downturn, and are already scamming families. There is no way they will survive another one! Buyers and schools beware! read more

We were very happy with the trip and the communication through the process for my daughter's middle school trip. She had a great time and the guides were great! She really liked (shawn in NYC). This itinerary is not for the kid that gets tired easily- they have them moving! She loved it! read more

A very mismanaged trip for middle school kids. Took them at 3:30 am too catch a flight from California to O'Hare in FEBRUARY!!! Flights were cancelled and delayed due to weather. Kids sat around in the airport for 11 HOURS waiting for a connecting flight to DC. Worldstrides refused to get them a hotel and instead put them on a 1:40am flight and by the time the children landed (4:30am), they had been awake for 24 hours. They were brought to a hotel without their luggage allowed to sleep for 3 hours and then began a to try to catch up on their itinerary. In doing so, they missed lunch, were given no snacks and had to wait until 7:30 for dinner. World Strides mismanaged their luggage and several members of the trip went without luggage for days. The itinerary changed very often and the children did not get to see some of what was proposed, instead doing things like a 2 hour walking tour of a colonial neighborhood in freezing weather. Our kids came home sick and exhausted. WorldStrides not only mismanageged the trip and didn't keep in mind the welfare of the students, they also did not communicate with the parents at all about our children not meeting their destination or where they were when they landed at 4:30am. We had to rely on our children and their dying cellphones for information. WorldStrides did not send a single communication to us until the 4th day of the trip! Thankfully we had amazing chaperones from our school who fought for our children's best interests, kept their spirits up and in the end helped make the trip a fun and bonding experience for our students. read more

This 8th grade trip two Washington DC and New York was a total waste of money the experience was nothing that you want to remember the chaperones we're not equipped to deal with the children where unorganized and allow the children to do as they pleased there was no security to keep the boys and girls from going into each other's rooms the food was lousy advertised wonderful restaurants and they got Popeye's Chicken fast food the rooms where one start if we are lucky very slummy and not what they advertised all the sites that were supposed to have been seen we're altered and they didn't see half of what they advertised and what sites they did see they saw it extremely rushed and didn't get to enjoy the trip was $3,200 and honestly not even worth 1000 I am extremely disappointed in this company in the false advertising they oughta be ashamed of themselves for ripping off families and making the trip sound 10 times better than what it really is just to get your money not only would I NOT waste my money on a trip like this ever again I would hope that you wouldn't either horrible horrible company waste of money and do not trust your children with them there is no security not sure about the doctor's they advertise but a complete waste of money read more

My son was scheduled to go on a school trip to Florida through World Strides. My wife and I paid for the cancelation insurance because we know life if full of uncertainties. With the Covid-19 pandemic, World Strides canceled ALL their scheduled trips, including the one my son was booked to go on. World Strides is refusing to refund the cancellation insurance even though THEY were ultimately responsible for the cancelation of the trip since they were obligated to follow state and federal laws. It is bad enough that they are refusing to refund the insurance payment but they have not returned the remaining payments either. The trip was canceled in March, and was scheduled to depart at the beginning of April. World Strides says they will not refund the payments (minus the insurance premium) until mid June. Completely unacceptable to withhold money owed to me for over 3 months. If you have a choice, choose another company. World Strides is only concerned about their profits and not customer satisfaction. read more

i'm currently sitting next to them at a resort while they're on their company trip. i've never met a more DISRESPECTFUL and ENTITLED group of individuals in my life. berating staff, causing issues for other guests, and just being generally insufferable to be around. 0/10 would not recommend these idiots to plan a trip. read more

Completely disappointed with WorldStrides and the customer service regarding the cancellation of my sons schedule group travel soccer trip to Spain due to COVID-19 and government sanctions stopping all travel to the destination. We were scheduled to depart to Spain on April 11th and return April 19th and I have been contacting the program lead since March 15th when we were made aware of the cancellation of travel to Spain. We also live in a state that requires residents to self-quarantine. I have barely received responses and no clear and consistent communication. I have asked for a full refund minus my deposit for each of my family members. I keep getting the run around that they can't give me any cancellation or refund information until the group lead for my sons soccer team picks a date to reschedule the trip. I have explained in multiple emails I would like a refund and we will not be able to reschedule this trip despite the date the soccer team decides to reschedule and to no avail still no response and no refund. I am extremely disappointed in this company, the customer service, and the lack of regard for all the families impacted by this tragedy. With so many companies including travel agencies, hotels and airlines giving customers full refunds with no penalties. I am in disbelief that this company is operating in this way during this time when so many companies are doing all that they can to assist customers in their time of need. Many families including my own are impacted by COVID-19 and without income, we were really relying on getting our refund promptly to help cover our basic necessities during this stressful time. Shameful company!!! read more

Not Food Allergy Friendly. Prior to my daughter's trip, I tried for about three months to speak with someone at World Strides about what the dining options would be and if my daughter could go on the trip with her allergies which restrict her food options. I was NEVER able to speak to anyone, it was all through the school, which tried to be helpful. Then, when I finally got an agenda of where the students would be eating, I spent considerable time phoning restaurants and researching safe fast food options for my daughter so we came up with a safe eating plan. Well, the agenda changed at the last minute with no warning, sending her to a buffet restaurant with no listed ingredients. She had brought her own food but was instructed to leave all items on the bus, then the bus disappeared with her food on it. The group stayed at a hotel (Holiday Inn) which II had been told had plenty of safe breakfast options but in fact was limited and refused to let her see packaging and/or ingredients at the breakfast buffet. Then, at the food court, they were given only vouchers for one restaurant so she did not have a time or choice to seek out where to eat safely - this was not explained to me either beforehand. On top of that, we requested the menu and allergens for the cruise, only to find that we boarded the food was different - again no ingredients or anyone who could answer questions. IF World Strides is not prepared to handle kids with food allergies, they should TELL PARENTS, instead of providing misinformation and assuring the school that they can handle it. My daughter survived on granola bars but the situation was very poorly managed and I would NOT recommend a child with food allergies attend one of these trips. World Stride needs to do a better job finding restaurants and suppliers who list allergens, ensuring that children who need to bring food with them are allowed to keep it with them, and finding hotels that are also transparent about ingredients. read more

My son and his roommates had to take turns sleeping on the floor. The tour guides and bus drivers were great but for that much money everyone should have a bed. read more

My daughter travelled to Key Largo, FL for an educational science trip with World Strides. The cost was $2000 for 4 nights and 5 days. She had a fabulous time. The activities were really fun and educational. She was not able to snorkel since it was windy. This was a big let down. I only had two issues with the trip. First, I have not idea why they needed to change hotels for the last night. It seems like a complete waste of time to pack all the students up and make the move. Secondly, the students flew into Miami and out of Palm Springs. The Palm Springs airport was farther away and they ended up sitting at the airport for 4-5 hours. That was extreme poor planning on the part of World Strides, especially since they ended up dropping another group off at the Miami airport. Their flight left at 8pm and they wasted the entire day. read more

My son's 8th grade class went to Washington DC. While he says that he would go again and he had a good time, I regret spending the money. It was very expensive and so I expected a direct flight. The hotel was not very good - the heater was broken in his room. The food was not very good and my son did not eat well since he is gluten free. I was told to pack him snacks since they could not guarantee GF food. This is really lame because these days many restaurants offer GF food if you put a little effort into planning. He saw a lot of monuments but it doesn't sound like the museums were that great. I feel like a sucker for accepting such a high price for this trip! read more

My fool-ass ex wife signed our son up for one of these trips, with the insurance. They don't advertise that they charge a $6 fee for every check you write. (Personally, I wouldn't trust the with my bank info, but if you are willing to, have at it!) The people I've talked to so far all have accents, not sure if they are US based? Personally, I think this company is a ripoff. They are preying upon kids'/parents' desire to have educational trips. I get that they are a company that has to make money, but c'mon... I would recommend schools try to find another vendor for these kinds of trips. read more

I would NOT recommend sending your MINOR with this company . My daughter is 14 and was booked on a 6 hour flight across the US sat between to strangers that where men. I would never send my daughter alone on a flight unless she was sat next to the flight attendants. She wasn't buddied up with another student , in fact all the students where scattered through out the plane and where told they could not move seats. They sell you this trip by talking safety first, but once you pay in full their support is gone. I wrote the company with my concerns that a minor was sat nowhere near a chaperone nor another child. The safety in this concern to me. The response from the company was condescending and an informed. They told me that because my daughter signed up late she was randomly put on the flight. I signed my daughter up early in fact got a small discount for signing up early so this is not true this was a mistake they made and tried to blame it on me. Their lack of empathy or understanding in this situation concerns me considering a female minor sitting between to strange men could have been a potential danger. The fact they tried to blame it on me the parent is very disconcerting. I would not recommend world strides. read more

This company is a rort and a disgrace. The prices for their experiences are outrageous and demonstrate a company taking full advantage of the education industry and profiting massively as a result. For the price of my daughter to travel to the outskirts of DC in a four to a room, two to a bed, 3 star hotel with non-direct flights and no lunch was 2700 USD. For the same money at to the public fares you can take 3 people from the West coast return direct and stay at a five star hotel in the heart of DC with private transportation and Hotel dining room meals, insured, including entrance fees for the adults to the attractions the kids access for free. Either they don't know the first thing about volume travel, or based upon the actual experience delivered they know all about it and dupe schools, parents and families into peer pressure to want their children involved. Of course the latter is the truth. If you have any experience with travel at all you will see this organization for what they are. read more

If I can give a 0 star I would. But obviously I can't and I have to at least put one star. This is a horrible service! Do not go with this company. They are a rip off, too overly priced. I just ended up cancelling because they are requiring for me to make a full payment on the trip or if you are doing payments they charge a $6 fee on top of that. It's so ridiculous and I was so upset I just cancelled the whole trip. You are not going to get a full refund. I only made a payment of $300 and nothing back even though I was in the protection program. So, be aware and also the supervisor Jesse who I spoke with the first time and told me the least thing he could do for me is give me the $99 back which was suppose to be the non-refundable deposit. I get a mail a few weeks later stating I'm not getting anything at all. So, please if I were you I would seek a personal travel agent instead of taking your risk with this company. read more

Now I know why people recommended not to join their trips. By paying such a premium, they put 4 kids together in a room, each 2 have to share a full size bed and kids have to wait for an hour every morning and evening to use the bathroom cause 4 people have to take turn!! read more

One of the worst companies I ever dealt with. Paid big $ to be able to cancel a trip and get a full refund, and they give you the complete run around. DO NOT do business with this organization! read more

Unfortunately, we had a disaster of a trip to D.C. due to a horrible hotel accommodation the first night. There was a restaurant transformed into a dance club and obvious prostitution and drug ring occurring throughout the lobby/bar/parking lot area. One elevator was broken and the second was grinding and lurching up and down with our children on it. The rooms and hallways were filthy, shower parts falling off in a student's hands and toilets running water out from the base, flooding the bathrooms. There was hair all over "clean" rooms, some rooms were just being cleaned at 9pm, and there was what appeared to be blood stains on hand towels in one bathroom. We were told prior to exiting the bus from the World Strides representative to "make sure and wear socks in the hallways as there is debris." A horrendous hotel is one thing, but World Strides did not have a contingency plan to move kids from an unsafe environment. Parents called and found a hotel 1 mile away and offered to pay out of pocket for 32 rooms and we were told that we would break our contract if we left and that the bus drivers were not allowed to drive us. It was the absolute worst travel experience I have ever had and would never sign up for something like this again. Scheduled stops throughout the week were very rushed and hurried. We had 18 minutes to see the Giant Pandas at the National Zoo and 12 minutes at the Jefferson Memorial even though we circled past this memorial at least 10 times prior to our scheduled stop. You often times had to decide whether you wanted to use your time to stand in a bathroom line or view a memorial. We were not allowed to use the bathroom on the charter bus and our bus driver was very hot and cold. Nice on day 1 and very grumpy the rest of the time. The driver even took the mirror off of a parked vehicle while we were rolling down the street in the charter bus and never flinched that he hit it. We reported it to him and he didn't respond or stop. Hard NO for me! read more

wish I can give zero star, worldstrides company is suck, I paid full amount of my son trip to DC, then they canceled trip due to covid19 ,after took them 3 months to refund, then they didn't refund the full amount, they keep $115 , i ask why ? they said to cover their lost, why do I have to pay for your lost ? you not share with me when your company make money, its not fair at all, never using this company again. read more

my daughter was going to dc last spring via world strides make sure they aren't ripping you off! i made 4 payments s(two different creditcards) and got back all (minus the bogus "insurance") which left 122.40 still on my credit cards....then they send me a check for that amount but the funny thing is....that's the amount my daughters fundraising is.......so where's the fund raising money???am i wrong? confused? i'm livid and i will never use them ever again. i'm so pissed. so hopefully someone can explain to me why 122.40 is still on my credit cards and it's the same as the fundraising amount. i'd appreciate a clarification (p.s i called previously about the insurance amt but they refuse to refund it, i called today as well but it's saturday and they are closed. thanks in advance read more

We just took our trip in April this year, 2019, and although we did see a lot, there were parts in the trip that could have been better organized. One day we traveled 4 hours to travel 4 hours back at the end of the day. And then the following day we had to go back 4 hours. Hotels could have been arranged better or the locations could have been better planned so that we could fly out of the farthest point instead of having an 8 hour drive in one day with 30 plus jr hg kids. Also the planning of meals was poor. Sometimes we didn't eat lunch until 2pm only to turn right around and have dinner at 5pm and not be able to have anything else for the rest of the day. The schedule was so tight that there wasn't any time to stop at a store and buy the kids a snack. Only one time were we able to miss out on one of the museums to sneak away and get the kids some snacks so that they weren't starving again. We also didn't like that the chaperone tried to tell us what we could do at the hotel as far as when we could let our kids get in the pool and when we couldn't as the other school in our group had kids who were misbehaving and their teachers weren't having it so they punished them and didn't allow them to get in the pool. On another day they didn't allow them to drink soda, which I didn't agree with as their parents paid for whatever was provided on the trip, but that part isn't on World Strides. Also, I've heard with other trips that were taken by students at our school, that they had a similar experience as far as a super tight schedule. We arrived at the airport around 5pm and went straight to sightseeing, not stopping at our hotel and chillin as it had been a long day of travel. We didn't get to the hotel until 10pm only to get up at 5:30 to be ready by 6:30am. The students who traveled to Europe experienced the same thing. A full day of travel and they didn't get back to their hotel until late that evening after traveling for over 12 hours and not having much sleep. Also the bus we had had issues and they were supposed to change it out and didn't until the 3rd day. So for the first three days I had to hear this awful rattling sound in the window. And then the new bus had technical issues and the 8 hour drive left us unable to watch a full movie as it stopped part way through and to get it starting took forever. read more

I cancelled my son's trip due to COVID19. His trip was in June and I cancelled in the for mentioned time frame to get my full refund. When I spoke to a customer service rep in April they said I would get the refund back in 6 weeks from the departure date which was June 13. I thought that would be ok since I could use the money for my son who is going to a University this fall. Then I called yesterday and they said 9 weeks from the departure date. I was so frustrated I emailed the "Educational Travel Specialist" and she forwarded my emails to the Vice-President. Both of them kept saying that other companies are not giving full refunds and some are only giving credits. I called bull shit because Worldstrides has a cancellation deadline for refunds and even offer refund insurance in the event you have to cancel close to the departure date... Why are they acting like they are doing me a favor by even considering giving me refund of $3000!! They are using COVID19 as an excuse for not processing the refunds in a timely manner. I have the emails as proof of there tactics and if I could give ZERO stars I would. read more

I don't know what these people are trying to pull, but they're not going to get over on anyone at my school, especially the students. I'm about to take it one step higher and let the school District address them. They gained access to a list of teachers (which is public information) at the school and harass the crap out of them. Calling the school repeatedly, refusing to remove our info from their call list, aggressively and persistently trying to "sell" their business to us by leaving subliminal, conniving information just to "hook the latch"!! "Please let 'Ms. Teacher' know I'm calling to review the educational programs she's using in her classroom... BULLSHIT!!!! I don't know what games these people have behind their backs, but they've just pissed off the wrong office manager. Disrupting a student's instructional time, interfering with the production of support staff with your games... not on my watch!!! Grrrrr!! Hopefully they'll be out of business soon.... The Scamming Business, that is!! read more