Every Question Gets an Answer! If your question isn't addressed here...please contact us. We want to exceed your expectations in every way.
What's Included in an Ecopassports tour package?
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​There's nothing worse than being "nickel and dimed" on a study abroad trip! For this reason, our student travel packages are all-inclusive. Your only out of pocket expenses are for optional trip or medical insurance, souvenirs/personal purchases, and extra snacks/bottled water. We price our study abroad trips to be inclusive of airfare, accommodations, transportation, at least 3 meals per day (plus tips), snacks, admission to all sights and activities, guides, and taxes.
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Where does my trip originate?
Gateway departure cities vary. To help keep costs (and our prices) low, Ecopassports tries to find the closest, major accessible airport for your departure and return.
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Do I need any type of insurance?
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All Ecopassport trips are fully insured either by the University or Ecopassports. Our insurance provides protection against trip cancellation due to medical/family emergencies, lost baggage situations and full medical coverage abroad. Ecopassports is a fully insured company with a $1M umbrella liability policy.
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Why should I travel with Ecopassports?
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We care about the world we live in, global citizenship, and helping bridge people and borders through travel. We've designed our study abroad trips to give you a well-organized, authentic experience that incorporates both cultural and socially responsible opportunities. We're proud of the passion that fuels our commitment to providing unmatched, unparalleled student travel experiences for you and like minded global citizens! Ecopassports wants to help students experience the magic of travel and study abroad.
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How about the "other" things:
spending money? cell phone & internet access?
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A fair question. The amount of spending money that you bring is purely up to you. We suggest anywhere between $25-$100 per day. We all know that cell phone and internet technology have come a long way, however, please keep in mind that in some instances, we will be traveling in mountainous and remote conditions. Study abroad trips have been planned with some type of wi-fi or internet capability in mind. Cell phone capability is now more ubiquitous, but please keep rates in mind!
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Do I need a passport? Do I need a visa?
Yes to a passport...and...it depends... on a visa.
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Students from the United States need a valid passport to visit our trip countries.
Students from the United States will be automatically issued a 90 day tourist visa upon entry into the host country. For students traveling on Passports issued in countries other than the United States please check with the Study Abroad office.
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What sort of electrical outlet adapters do I need to bring?
Good news! Outlets in our South and Central America destinations are, (like ours) 110 volt, with standard US two prong plugs (or three prong if grounded). European travel will require adapters.
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What is the weather like?
For our warm weather destinations...Tropical! Please be prepared for hot, humid weather in the 80’s and 90’s during the day with a daily afternoon rain shower. For other excursions, the weather varies from warm to cold. For this reason, pack lightweight clothing that can be layered.
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What will the accommodations be like on the trip?
In keeping with the true nature of travel, accommodations will vary during the course of the trip. For example, the Costa Rica experience includes a dormitory-style stay at Earth University before moving on to a few lodge/hotel nights at La Selva Biological Station. Our Icelandic visit includes warm, cozy home stays, hotels, and penthouse views from luxury Reykavik condominiums.
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What kind of food will we be eating?
Part of any travel and cultural exchange is embracing the food and drinks of the local culture. During the Costa Rican excursion, meals will consist of traditional Costa Rican food prepared by the hotels, schools, and research stations that we visit. As a special treat, a few meals will be in community restaurants and the local ubiquitos roadside restaurants known as Sodas. As for Iceland, because of the history of settlement in a harsh climate, animal products dominate Icelandic cuisine. The basic diet hasn't changed too much since the Viking Age! The mainstays of our diet will include: lamb, chicken, skyr yogurt, potatoes, fish, and other seafood. Oh, and how could we possibly visit Iceland without having that iconic Icelandic food: the hot dog, or "pylsur." We'll visit the world-renowned shop of Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, which translates to "the best hot dogs in town." Bon Apetit!
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Is the water safe to drink?
In a word...yes. Our host countries maintain pipe system all over the country. They do an excellent job continuously checking the quality of the water. In quite a few areas - mostly rural - there is a local water committee that handles the drinking water and they must adhere to the same national standards of treatment and testing. IF you are still concerned, or have a sensitive stomach, please consider the following options: 1) Buy bottled water. You should plan on spending about $1.60 for an average size bottle of water, 2) Water purfication tablets ($15 for 100 tabs) are cost-effective, easy to carry, and handy.
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How much will be traveling?
Quite a bit. The agendas cover large portions of the host country and are are packed with structured learning activities, cultural exchanges, guided field hikes, and even a bit of fun with the chocolate tour, glacier walk, coffee tour, whale watching, and ziplining!
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What safety concerns should I have?
There's safety in numbers and we will always travel as a group and with a native bilingual guide. In addition, the areas where we travel are modern with ready access to emergency police and medical assistance. As for emergency medical care, all of our host countries have excellent national health services.
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What shots and immunizations should I get?
Please consult with a travel doctor/nurse, campus health clinic, or your family physician for immunization and other medical recommendations, based on travel to the host country and on your personal medical history. In addition to your personal consultation, please also visit the Centers for Disease Control website for localized, up-to-date information around immunizations and traveler’s health.
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The Zika Virus?
The Zika virus is an infectious disease that is transmitted to people through mosquito bites, blood transfusion, and sexual contact with an infected male. The mosquitos that transmit Zika are active during the daytime as well as at night.
Zika can infect any traveler to tropical areas of Central and South America and the Caribbean but symptoms are mild for most people. Pregnant women, however, are at the center of concern since the virus can be spread to their unborn baby. Any traveler that is currently pregnant should not travel to affected areas.
The most up-to-date information about the virus, symptoms, treatment, and protection measures can be found on the websites for the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization, and other trusted resources for reliable and updated information.
Ecopassports suggests proactive measures to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses such as protective clothing (long pants/shirts), liberal use of bug spray, use of mosquito netting, and staying away from standing water wherever possible since this is where mosquitos lay their eggs. As part of the pre-departure information session, we will also provide a short tutorial on Zika.
At the current time, Ecopassports is not making any immediate changes to the Costa Rica program. All travel warnings are directed to pregnant women. Remember, there is no travel warning directed towards non-pregnant travelers.
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Will I be able to do laundry?
Yes. Laundry facilties will be available at several location/stops during the stay.
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Will there be a language barrier?
No. For the Costa Rica excursion, we participate in activities where English and Spanish are both spoken, HOWEVER, you are highly encouraged to converse in the language of the host! Our academic activities and lecture hikes will be in English. Finally, all drivers/guides are bilingual.
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Time zones?
Costa Rica does not observe daylight savings time, so it operates at GMT-6 year-round. During daylight savings time here in the United States (mid-March through early November), Costa Rica is in the Mountain Standard (MST) time zone. The rest of the year, Costa Rica is in the U.S. Central Standard (CST) time zone.
Iceland is 4 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone.
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