Plan for your trip
The following sections are designed to give you access to some valuable resources which will help you get ready for your summer trip. If you have questions, you are always welcome to give us a call or send us an email.
GEAR
Pack lists can be found on your trips specific trip page. You can find Wild Traveler gear recommendations and explanations on our Gear Recommendations page. Below you’ll find some great resources to help you find the right gear for your summer adventure.
How to choose a:
Backpack
Sleeping Bag
Sleeping Pad
Rain Gear
Mask and Snorkel
You can purchase or rent all gear from just about any outdoor store. If you don’t have a favorite, check out a few of The Wild Traveler’s favorite places to buy gear:
Recreation Equipment Inc (REI)
REI’s Outlet Store
Eastern Mountain Sports
Real Cheap Sports
Patagonia
FLIGHTS
Families are responsible for travel between home and our trip specific arrival and departure airports. All international trips begin and end at Los Angeles International Airport. Our Hawaii & Kauai trips begin and end at Honolulu International Airport. We are happy to help find you the best flights.
Participants under the age of 15 may have the option to fly as an “unaccompanied minor”. Rules differ from airline to airline – ask the airline directly or give us a call.
READY TO BOOK YOUR FLIGHT?
You can book flights with your favorite travel agent or website. Don’t have a favorite website for purchasing flights? We use google flights at www.google.com/flights; we love it.
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Passports:
American Citizens under the age of 18 are not required to carry picture identification for flying within the USA, however, The Wild Traveler recommends traveling with some sort of picture identification.
A passport is required for our international trips. You can find more information about obtaining a passport at: www.travel.state.gov/passport. Foreign citizens will also need to obtain their country’s passport prior to traveling on a trip with The Wild Traveler.
Visas:
For our international Wild Traveler destinations, US citizens are required to have a passport valid for at least six months and 2 blank passport pages. US citizens do not need to obtain a visa for international Wild Traveler destinations.
TRAVEL RESOURCES
There are a lot of travel resources out there on the internet and in your local libraries. We encourage our participants to read about their trip destination before their trip. The following websites are a good place to start.
The World Factbook – The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.
Google Earth – Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D representation of Earth based on satellite imagery.
Wikipedia – Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
The Wild Traveler recommends purchasing travel insurance for all summer teen trips. Travel insurance policies will help recoup some of the expenses lost from canceling due to injury or illness prior to your departure date. Most policies will cover the cost of emergency medical bills, pre existing medical conditions, lost or stolen luggage, and so much more. If you don’t already have a travel insurance provider, The Wild Traveler recommends checking out World Nomads.