General FAQs

The minimum age to participate in an Explorica tour is 6 years old at the time of departure. There is no maximum age, but because our prices are based on student rates, participants 23 years of age and older are responsible for paying an adult supplement and a double/twin or single room supplement.

Official cancellation requests must be emailed to cancellations@explorica.ca. The parent or guardian of a participant may contact Explorica to inquire about cancellations.

Will my reservations be cancelled by Explorica if I do not make my payments?

If you do not meet the conditions of your payment plan, your reservations will be cancelled and standard cancellation fees will apply.

Explorica's Travel Protection Plan Plus: Cancel For Any Reason Benefit

The Travel Protection Plan Plus includes our exclusive Cancel for Any Reason benefit. For more information please see the Travel Protection section of our website.

All participants 23 years of age or older will be automatically assigned a twin room unless a single room upgrade is chosen at enrolment. The twin rooming supplement fee is $60 per night ($70 per night on cruise ships) or $115 per night with a single room upgrade. Single rooms are not available on night trains, cruises, or ferries, and upgrades must be requested by 110 days prior to departure.

Rooming assignments are selected at the discretion of your Group Leader and all rooming requests should be submitted at least 110 days before your trip departs. For more information on accommodations, visit the get ready section of our website.

Students 23 years of age or younger will share a room with 3-4 students of the same gender, as assigned by your Group Leader. Each room features either single (1 person) or double (shared) beds, though you may upgrade to a twin room for a fee of $60 per night ($70 per night on cruise ships). Upgrades must be requested by 110 days prior to departure. For more information on accommodations, visit the get ready section of our website.

If your account has an overpayment Explorica will process your refund once all funds have cleared the bank. This usually takes about 12 weeks from the time the refund is posted. If you purchased the Travel Protection Plan Plus, you may submit a claim to the insurance company.

Explorica issues refunds in the same method payments were made, unless paid directly from a chequing account in which case a cheque will be issued. Please note that Explorica cannot refund credit cards that were not originally used for payments, or that exceed the total amount charged to that card. Please contact Explorica at 1-888-378-8845 with questions concerning your refund.

Students or adults with special needs or physical disabilities are welcome to travel on an Explorica tour. Please let us know in advance of your departure and we will do everything we can to accommodate your needs. Please note: some bus companies and hotels overseas are not wheelchair accessible. We ask that you contact your Program Consultant or a Customer Care Representative with your specific needs. For more information about Ontario's accessibility policy, visit the resource section of our website. 

If you would like to depart or return from a different airport than your group, please indicate this request at the time of your enrolment. Select your desired departure airport from the Alternate Gateway menu on the “Change Selections” page, or include your selections on your paper application. Travellers must depart from and return to the same Canadian gateway. See the Explorica Terms and Conditions for more information.

If you would like to allocate cheque funds amongst group members, please fill out Group Cheque Form. If your cheque is larger than your participants’ total balance, please assign the extra amount to the Program Leader. If you have more than one group cheque to submit, please make a copy of the form and submit a separate one for each.

Please mail this form(s) with your cheque(s), payable to WorldStrides Canada Inc, to:

WorldStrides Canada, Inc.
3280 Bloor Street West, Suite 901
Toronto, ON M8X 2X3

Explorica offers a 10% Family and Faculty Discount on the Tour Fee (all other fees apply). This discount applies only to the Program Leader's immediate family members and faculty members working at the school through which the Program Leader is organizing the tour. Those extended this discount are not considered full-paying participants and therefore do not count toward the Program Leader's stipend, free chaperone places, or travel points.

The governments of certain countries require parental consent for a minor to enter. This document needs to be completed prior to departure and taken with the traveller on tour. The forms below must be signed and notarized in order for each student to enter the country. Each traveller must present the form, along with a valid passport, to the airline attendant upon checking in.

Download the Parental Consent Form.

Note: The above applies to passengers holding Canadian passports. Those passengers that are not Canadian citizens should contact their local consulate for information regarding travelling out of country as a minor.

Specific details and requirements vary by cruise line so please be sure to research your cruise line's guidelines prior to your departure. The following is a list of helpful information:

The ability to obtain frequent flyer miles will vary depending on the airline; some airlines will credit your account and others cannot do so because you are flying on a group ticket. You will need to contact the airline directly, as Explorica is unable to negotiate frequent flyer miles on your behalf. It may be helpful to retain your boarding passes.

Travel can be unpredictable and arrival times are not guaranteed.

For many of our tours, you may opt to arrange your own airline tickets and join the group at the hotel at their first overseas destination. We will discount your Tour Fee by up to 35%. Some tours that include an internal flight do not permit the Land Only option. Please contact a Customer Care Representative for more information.

You may sign up as a Land Only Participant online, by selecting the Land Only box on the “Change Selections” page. Should you wish to mail us a paper application, please mark your application accordingly to reflect this option. This should be requested upon enrolment and up to 130 days before departure. Additional fees may apply if requested between 129–90 days before departure. This option is not available less than 90 days before departure.

Please note that all Land Only participants are responsible for their own airline tickets AND airport transfers. You will not be met at the airport by an Explorica representative. Please keep in mind that you should not make any flight arrangements until you receive your final tour itinerary and departure date from your Program Leader.

Minors may NOT travel Land Only unless one of the following conditions is met:

1. The traveller is accompanied by an adult. If the accompanying adult is not the parent or guardian of the traveller, written consent must be provided by the legal parent or guardian.
2. The parent or guardian of the traveller has signed a consent form acknowledging that the traveller will not be met at the airport and Explorica will NOT supply chaperone or transport service to or from the airport. Forms must be completed at the time of Land Only enrolment and sent to Explorica.

You may wish to spend time at your destinations before or after the scheduled tour. The fee for this service is $145 if requested upon enrolment. If requested after enrolment and up to 130 days before departure, the fee is $195. Additional fees may apply if requested between 129–90 days before departure. This option is not available less than 90 days before departure. We will change your airline ticket, and you are responsible for all accommodations, meals, and transfers before and after the scheduled tour. Because we will arrange your airline tickets separately from your group’s, we cannot guarantee that you will share any of the same flights, and additional fees may apply.

You may sign up with an individual stay ahead and/or stay behind online, by selecting the selecting these options on the “Change Selections” page. Should you wish to mail us a paper application, please mark your application accordingly to reflect this option.

All enrolments and reinstatements received less than 109 days prior to departure are subject to a $145 late signup fee and must immediately be paid in full, including the service fee. After late applications have been received, additional charges (for last-minute flight reservations, increased Tour Fees, etc) may apply. You will be notified of these additional fees before any charges are made.

Late applicants will be placed on a waiting list and be marked "pending" while we look into securing hotel and other tour reservations, as well as flight reservations. Over 90% of our wait-listed participants are accepted.

Explorica requires a unique username and password for each individual traveller enroling on a tour, whether or not the individuals are related. The same email address can be used. After completing the first family member's application, navigate to My Account > Log Out (in the top right corner). Then, return to the tour website to start your next application.

Monthly Automated Plan:
Pay your $99 deposit and travel protection plan costs with your chequing account upon enrolment, and the balance of your Tour Fee will be automatically debited from your account in equal monthly instalments until 35 days prior to your departure date. If two consecutive payments are returned NSF or declined by your bank, we will change your account to the 4-Step Manual Plan. 

Full Payment Plan:

Pay in full at time of enrolment.

4-Step Manual Plan:

Pay your $249 initial payment and travel protection plan costs upon enrolment, $500 toward your Tour Fee 30 days later, and 75% of your remaining balance at 110 days prior to departure. The final remaining balance is due 65 days prior to departure and can be paid by cheque, credit or debit card, or chequing account.

If you enrol 150 days prior to departure or later, you will make only three payments - $249 initial payment and travel protection plan costs at enrolment, 75% of your remaining balance at 110 days prior to departure, and the final balance at 65 days prior to departure.

Please note that we do not automatically deduct payments on this plan; you must make each payment manually.

Explorica offers optional excursions on most of our tours to provide flexibility to your itinerary. Any excursion labeled “optional” on the tour description is not included in your tour fee and may be added, for an additional cost, to your itinerary. To find out more about Optional Excursion costs, see the Optional Excursion section of our Terms and Conditions.

While most optional excursions can be booked during your tour, Explorica recommends that you book them prior to departure to ensure availability. Some excursions, such as the optional Versailles excursion or theatre shows, are pre-book only and must be booked before departure. A minimum of 20 participants is required in order to run most optional activities.

If a participant does not check in for any portion of their air reservation, the airline may cancel the return flight and remaining segments, and no refund will apply. You must travel on all legs of your itinerary. If the airline cancels a segment due to a no-show, the participant will be responsible for any service fees charged by the airlines, which may include the purchase of a new ticket. Similarly, any Explorica traveller who chooses not to participate in any activity or tour inclusion will not be provided a refund.