Arriving to Summer Camp
Whether your camper is coming from down the road or flying across the world to camp, we have some advice for making sure your child is prepared for the journey and travels safely to camp.
Flying Alone
Most airlines provide an unaccompanied minor service. Each will have different rules, but generally this is compulsory for children travelling alone aged between 5 and 12, or sometimes 5 -14. Although children over 12 can travel alone with some airlines, you can often add on the accompanied minor service for younger teens up to the age of 18 if you think your child will need extra support, or perhaps if taking a long journey.
Many of our campers choose to arrive this way and a trip to camp can be the start of a very exciting journey for campers!
Airlines offer advice but here are some of our tips for unaccompanied minors:
- Read the airline’s requirements for unaccompanied minors and make sure you understand what the process is and all paperwork involved.
- Make sure you have sent your child’s flight details to camp in plenty of time for us to arrange their collection, transfer, and send you the details of who will be meeting them.
- Ensure you have sent the name of the camp chaperone to the airline – our staff always take ID as required by airlines.
- Remember you, or whoever is dropping your child off will need to go through security and wait at the airport until the flight has taken off (in case of any delays etc).
- Review rules with your child before they set off; to ask the flight attendant any questions, stay seated when the seat belt sign is on and until the flight attendant takes them off the flight, be polite to whoever is looking after them etc.
- Pack snacks for your child for their journey.
- Make sure you charge any books, games or devices they are bringing for entertainment, and pack headphones for them to use with these.
- If there’s any special requests for your child, pass this information to the gate agent or a note for the attendant on the flight to be passed along if this is not covered in the airline’s documentation.
Taking a transfer alone
Once your child arrives at the airport, whether as an accompanied minor or if someone has brought them to the airport but chosen an optional Altitude transfer, our staff member will meet them at arrivals with a sign. The journey by car to Verbier is just under two hours, so it’s a good idea to make sure your child has some water with them to drink on the way. They will usually be busy chatting to staff or other campers, and so entertainment isn’t needed for this journey.
Day Campers
We do require all campers to be dropped off and collected by their parents or guardian. If you are confident in your child travelling home from camp alone we will need written permission from you in order for them to do this, otherwise they will need to wait. Please also advise us who will be collecting your child if it is not a parent, or the person who dropped them off. It is also possible to arrange for them to be dropped off back at your accommodation, however again there will need to be a responsible adult here that is over the age of 18 and we have been advised that they will be responsible for the child if not the parents.
If you have any questions about travelling and arriving to summer camp please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
