Adventure Travel
Preparing for Plan B Or in other words, what do you do when Murphy’s Law flourishes on your expedition? In a perfect world, plans go as outlined. In developing countries, even the best-laid plans go awry. To prepare for the eventuality of “challenges”, it is wise to over prepare before you leave, be overly cautious and double check everything while you’re in the field. Doing everything possible to prevent problems before they happen is a much better option than dealing with them afterward. Please consider the following: A. Before you depart, work with the Ascend Travel staff to prepare copies of the following information: 1) A list of ticket numbers for airline tickets of the participants traveling with you. 2) The standard flight itinerary for the group as well as copies of itineraries for participants with deviations. 3) Emergency phone numbers and addresses exchanged between you, the EXL and participants not traveling with you, or anyone who misses a flight. Exchange the In-Country Staff’s phone number, the rendezvous hotel name, address & phone for the group, as well as any other numbers that may be helpful i.e. where the participant can be contacted if he/she is preceding the group in country. 4) Copies of critical identification forms for each participant: passport or b.c./i.d. copies for everyone and notarized immigration forms where applicable for youth. 5) A list of every participant’s overseas health insurance provider including emergency phone numbers. 6) Take 10 copies of your participant list with name, address, phone, occupation and passport # or photo i.d. # of each person on the expedition. This can be a huge timesaver when it comes to checking in at hotels, border crossings, airports, etc. 7) Work with Ascend Travel staff to prepare a letter from the President of Operations that outlines the humanitarian mission of the group and asks for assistance to avoid possible fees or challenges with airlines, customs, etc. 8) Take copies of confirmation letters/contracts and receipts from providers verifying amounts that Ascend Travel has already paid toward those contracts for every reservation made: hotel, bus or other transit, cultural tours, etc. Make sure the company name, address, phone, fax and contact person’s name are on each letter/contract. If these arrangements are being made by in-country personnel, please make sure that they have this information handy in case it is needed for verification. 43