Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why should we travel with Kosher Expeditions?
A: There are a number of kosher travel companies out there; what make Kosher Expeditions different is our variety of tour options, our travel expertise and our ability to prepare good fresh kosher food at each of our destinations. The Company was founded by professional tour operators, educators and chefs & catering operators with the core philosophy and understanding that travel is one of the best tools available to help individuals and students flourish and better understand the world and their own vital role and responsibilities. We still believe that there is no better way to understand our past, present, and future than experiencing it through travel and truly seeing and feeling this world of ours. We take our role and the trust you give us for you and your family’s safety, enjoyment, and education seriously and are proud that we offer such an extensive and high quality tour option committed to integrity and value.
Q: Tell me about your company?
A: Kosher Expeditions has been a leader in kosher international educational touring for over 10 years. We are incorporated in Georgia as a division of Expeditions Travel Group Inc. with subsidiaries in New York and California. Kosher Expeditions is a private company and is fully licensed and insured.
Q: What type of tours do you offer?
A: As an international tour operator, we offer an extensive selection of customized & educational tours around the globe. Our tours range in duration from 3 to 30 days for all types of groups and organizations wishing to travel safely and with an interest in truly appreciating the sites they plan on visiting. While most of our trips are planned for organizational groups and school students, we offer numerous destination departures per year for individuals and families to join. In many cases a pre-formed group is willing to open their custom departure date to outside individuals to increase the number of participants on their tour. This will usually lead to a lower per person price since most of our tour pricing is based on a tier type structure. The common factors in all of our tours are the sincerity in our approach to safety, learning, and the quality of our amenities.
Our tour categories include:
Luxury Expeditions: Travel in ultimate comfort and ease. Tours are at a moderate pace with stays in first class hotels and resorts.
Adventure Expeditions: For those looking for a more active vacation, these programs usually include more outdoor activity focusing on wildlife observation in natural habitats. Most programs are not strenuous and are suitable for every age group. Lodging ranges from first class accommodations to local inns, lodges and outdoor camping.
Cruises: This includes large ocean liners as well as smaller riverboats. Here, Kosher Expeditions lets you experience a region through its waterways. Most programs include a combination of cruising and land extensions.
Passover: An activity-filled week of family, adventure and relaxation with both Ashkenazic and Sefardic dietary requirements at one location. KE is able to develop custom Passover programs for groups to almost any destination.
Educational Expeditions: The mission of kosher Expeditions academic tours is to enhance the lives of students of any age by extending educational and Jewish identity programming into the worldwide classroom and providing the best opportunity for learning through seeing, experiencing, and interacting. (See our student and educational expeditions section for more details).
Senior Expeditions: Kosher Expeditions has developed a number of unique travel programs specifically oriented to the mature traveler. Destinations and programs have been developed where our client can travel in comfort and at an appropriate pace. Programs are educationally oriented with guided tour programs and nightly lecture series unique to their destinations. Kosher food menus are kept flexible and can be modified to accommodate clients special dietary needs.
Q: What level of service and quality can I expect from your tours?
A: The best available, always. Our meals and accommodations are all premium quality and reflect the region we travel. Lodging depends on the tour you decide to take. On our luxury expeditions, accommodations range from 4-5 star hotels to first class resorts and cruise ships. On our more adventurous expeditions accommodations are chosen to get the most out of your natural surroundings: country inns and lodges, tented bush camps, cabins, and camping out under a sky of a million stars. All accommodations are in safe, clean and comfortable places. Special consideration has been taken for those places we stay during Shabbat. Most are within walking distance of a local synagogue or special space has been allocated at the lodging for Shabbat services. Guides are all proven and experienced educators and are the best that we can find who can bring the information and your trip to life.
Q. What kind of food is served? How do you get kosher food to your destination?
A. Food, we believe, is an important part of any vacation! Unique to our company is the policy of using fresh kosher food. Experiencing local food is also part of experiencing a new destination. Let’s face it: if you travel to France you want to experience French cuisine. Our staff includes chefs and mashgichim to insure the quality and standards of kashrut at our destinations. If local kosher food is not available our staff is able to prepare meals using fresh local ingredients and/or supplement meals with ingredients shipped to our destination, all prepared fresh on site.
Q: Are your trips more expensive because of everything you offer?
A: Actually not. We try to keep our tour pricing as close as possible to traditional non-kosher tour operators. Of course there is usually a cost increase associated with kosher food and the ability to cook and prepare it on-site due to shipping, meeting and preparation space plus staff costs including a chef, certified mashgiach and tour leader on most of our tours. We never have, nor ever will skimp on quality or service and will strive to keep our prices affordable.
Q: How are individual tour destination dates handled? Are departures guaranteed?
A: Kosher Expeditions lists a number of pre-set departure dates for individuals to join. Like most travel companies a minimum number of participants must sign-up in order for the tour to run. Numbers vary per tour (for example our Safari & Israel adventures are available for 2 or more participants where our Alaska adventure requires a minimum of 16) so please call for details. If this minimum is not met and the scheduled departure date is cancelled clients have the option of switching to another date of departure, different tour or receive a full refund.
With each application we require a deposit. This deposit is kept on file until the tour is a definite and the minimum number of participants has been reached. Only at this time is your credit card run or check deposited. You will then receive an invoice for the remainder of your balance. We suggest if clients are purchasing air, they either wait until the tour departure is confirmed or purchase fully refundable air tickets. If clients are using miles, points are usually returnable (please contact your airline for specifics). Please note Kosher Expeditions will not refund any air or the cost of any other travel arrangements made by the client outside of the original tour cost.
Groups that open their travel dates to outside participants are usually guaranteed since the minimum number of participants has been reached. Group and individual departures are listed together under the drop-down list for scheduled departures. Departures are guaranteed 45 to 60 days prior to departure, after you sign-up for a program a Kosher Expeditions representative will continuously keep you up to date as to the status of your departure.
Q: How does the tier pricing structure work?
A: In order to guarantee departures with a minimum number of participants Kosher Expeditions has set up a tier pricing structure. If the number of total participants changes prior to the tour departure, participants will be billed or refunded accordingly.
Example: 16-19 participants $2,000pp
20-24 participants $1,800pp
25-30 participants $1,500pp
Q: Why is the price of the trip sometimes quoted as “land only” rather than a total price with airfare included?
A: For group travel we are able to command significant discounts for group airfare (10 or more passengers departing and returning to the same city at the same time).We are not always able to receive an accurate group rate quote from the airlines more than 6-8 months prior to a trip, so we quote the land only price and add the actual airfare on when we receive a price from the airlines. This protects the group since this avoids an overestimation and subsequent overcharging of air costs. Clients can also save on flight costs by booking as early as possible when advance ticket prices are generally lower. For the individual traveler we do not include airfare on our tours. With individual travel today we find that cheaper prices for individual tickets can usually be found over the internet. Since Expeditions travel group is a full service tour operator with airline booking capabilities clients have the option of purchasing airline tickets through our office for a small service charge.
Q: What does the price include? Are there any hidden fees?
A: The tour price is truly all inclusive. All meals, transportation, accommodations, entrance fees, security, taxes, transfers, airfares, and insurance are included. We like to say that the only thing you need to pay for are tacky souvenirs.
Q. Do families travel with Kosher Expeditions?
A. Yes. Most destinations are well suited and prepared to serve the needs of families with children. In some cases, such as Passover and the dude ranch programs we have specially supervised activities for children. Obviously, some of our programs are not recommended for families with small children. Contact us for further details about specific trips.
Q: Is the comprehensive travel protection insurance really that important? Can I view the policy?
A: Our belief is that comprehensive travel protection is so essential. On many of our group tours we automatically include it. This policy includes medical and accident coverage, pre-trip cancellation, trip interruption, evacuation, and baggage loss and delay. It truly is a comprehensive package offered by Travelex Insurance, a leader in the tour insurance industry. We provide an insurance pamphlet to every participant. The same policy is available for viewing through a link on our website; under Guest Protection Plan.
Q: Is education really that important on your trips?
A: That is why we do this. Travel and education are blended into a model that truly opens our client’s eyes to new ideas. Wherever we go, we use local educators, guides, naturalists, park rangers, professors and others who really know the area and can present information in a way that people enjoy and learn. Our own Kosher Expeditions leaders are always present as well for your added safety, education, enjoyment and we believe overall satisfaction and continuity of the tour.
Q: What do you mean by a “custom trip”? Is this different than other trips?
A: Rather than offer the same trips to everyone, we recognize that different groups have different needs and desires. We work with you to provide your own custom trip that feels right for your group. Suggestions and options are always made, but the final choices of how a trip is arranged are up to our clients. Many tour operators simply offer dates for pre-arranged departures and trips with little or no say in how a trip is organized. Kosher Expeditions creates each trip from the ground up and customizes as much as the client wishes. We feel this is the way travel should be.
Simply choose a destination listed in our catalogue, or if you have another destination or type of trip in mind we will work with you to develop your program. With our ability to prepare fresh kosher food at most worldwide destinations, your choices are limitless. Our travel staff will work closely with you, taking care of all logistical needs from transportation and lodging to curriculum and itinerary.
Q. Are your adventure expeditions strenuous?
A. For the most part, no. Apart from a few of our extreme adventures, our expeditions focus on wildlife observation, which is best accomplished by traversing slowly and quietly via foot, boat or land vehicle through natural habitats. Of course, these excursions must take place on natural or man-made pathways and present minimal impact on the environment. No trekking, hiking or camping is necessary to find abundant wildlife on most of our expeditions, partly due to the excellent location of the lodge facilities we utilize. Most lodges are immersed within rich natural habitats and are designed to exist in harmony with their surroundings. If you're seeking a more physically challenging experience, our staff is prepared to discuss the more adventurous options included in each of our destinations.
For our Senior Expeditions special programs have been developed in order to accommodate our mature travelers traveling to these exotic destinations. Here we are able to explore some of the world most remote and exciting destinations in comfort and ease.
Q: How do you provide security and safety on your trips?
A: Safety is our highest priority. We will not run a trip if we feel the safety of our clients and guides is compromised. All of our guides carry mobile phones and are in contact with our office several times daily. All clients are also provided with a 24 hour toll free number that can be used for any emergency. Student groups are required to wear a name badge with this number printed on it. This line is always staffed by someone who can respond to any situation. We also use top quality hotels and equipment staffed only by people that we know and have worked with in the past. Our accommodations are always in better areas and we employ private security on our floors throughout the night time hours.
Q: How do sign-up and pay for my trip?
A: For groups, payment is arranged by our company and your own tour organizer (usually a teacher, principal, or program director that has taken on a leadership role in arranging the trip). After deciding your destination, time of year and itinerary, we will send you a general contract with tour itinerary, payment and cancellation stipulations. Generally, the organizer will collect funds based on a payment schedule and send the funds to us with a company check. Most schedules are based on 3 payments; an initial deposit of $400 upon registration, 50% of the remaining balance due 120 days prior to departure date, and the remaining balance due 90 days prior to departure date. For organizations who do not want to deal with collecting payment Kosher Expeditions can also bill and collect funds directly from participants, although this entails an additional $79 administration fee per person that can be avoided if the funds are collected together and sent directly to us. Many groups also have the option of using our office and staff to answer all perspective client questions, freeing the organization up to concentrate on marketing to its members.
For individual clients call us at 1-800-923-2645 to discuss our travel opportunities in depth with one of our staff travel professionals. Or, fill out our on-line information request form. We will mail you brochures via 1st-class mail, including a Reservation Certificate or down load a sign-up for under the Reserve a Trip link on our web page. Once you decide where and when you wish to travel, send in your Reservation Certificate and deposit and pack your bags for the adventure of a lifetime!
Q: What if I have more questions? How do I contact you?
A: Please view our website, call (800) 923-2645, or email us at info@kosherexpeditions.com. We are always happy to help with any needs and consider this a vital link to our continued success.
We truly appreciate your interest in traveling with us. Thank you!
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