Why Choose Encounters Europe?

1: No one knows Europe better than us.

2: Personal service:

Our highly-trained, multilingual tour organisers are dedicated to providing the highest possible standard of personal service and are always on hand to guide you every step of the way. Your tour organiser will be assigned to you from your very fist phone call, and will assist you with everything, right to the very last detail of your arrangements. Your needs and requirements are always the first priority of your tour operator.

3: Party Leader support:

We appreciate that the thought of organising a school trip can be a daunting one. That is why we are here to help. Your tour organiser is always on hand to offer any assistance you may require and our comprehensive party leader pack contains all of the necessary information to organise your trip, and reassure any other interested parties.

4: Excellent value:

Our pricing is totally transparent, and we are committed to reducing supplements and small price add-ons whenever we can. If you are in the process of comparing prices, bear in mind that Encounters Europe has absolutely no hidden supplements.

5: Teacher Inspection visits:

We encourage teachers to take advantage of our inspection trips and DoE guidelines strongly recommend that they do just that. Inspection visits help party leaders to properly risk-assess the supervision aspects of the trip by familiarising themselves with location, accommodation, etc. However, we can normally provide you with all the necessary information if you find the preliminary visit non-essential.

6: Our safety management – Your peace of mind:

Safe trips will always be our absolute priority. Our effective safety management system was developed in conjunction with RoSPA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) and covers all of the key aspects of organising a school trip. We also monitor our suppliers’ standards and expect them to share the same safety conscious ethos as us.

We are justifiably proud of our safety record and satisfaction ratings. Our safety management system covers the key aspects of organising a school trip, including:

• Safety audits of accommodation

• Safety audits of coaches and regulation of drivers’ hours

• 24-hour emergency assistance available during your trip

• Comprehensive travel insurance (if required)

• Financial security through ABTA and ATOL

• Adherence to HASPEV guidelines

• Subsidised teacher inspection visits

You can download our safety management system here, or call us and we’ll send you a copy.

7: Where you stay:

We only use accommodation specially suited to schools and groups, providing a perfect base for enjoying your tour. We select accommodation that we can rely on to provide you with excellent service, and to always make you especially welcome. We have used much of the accommodation mentioned on this site for many years, and all out hotels are regularly inspected by a senior member of staff to ensure to ensure that they adhere to the requirements of School Travel Forum (STF) as a minimum.

8: School Travel Forum:

Founded in 2003, the School Travel Forum (STF) is a democratic, not-for-profit organisation of leading school tour operators which is dedicated to promoting best practice and safety in school travel. As a founding assured member of the STF, we adhere to a rigorous code of practice and safety management standards that are externally verified each year by leading health and safety consultants. The STF Code of Practice provides assurances on safety provisions made by tour operators in connection with third-party accommodation, transport and visits.

During the course of developing the STF code of practice, and in addition to liaising with the DfES (as was), advice was sought from all leading educational unions and associations.

The STF initiative has the support of the SHA, NAHT, ATL, PAT and NUT. It is welcomed by the Outdoor Education Advisors Panel (OEAP) and the DoE, and NASUWT advises members wishing to organise school trips to use companies that have this type of scheme.

Details of the STF Code of Practice are available from the Forum’s website: www.schooltravelforum.com

9: DoE Safety Guidelines:

We comply fully with the government guidelines including HASPEV (Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits) 1998 and the upcoming HASLOC (Health and Safety of Learning Outside the Classroom). We are also, of course, LOtC certified.

10: Your complete financial security:

Encounters Europe is a fully licensed and bonded tour operator. You can book with us in compete confidence that the money you pay is protected. For coaching holidays we comply with the bonding requirements of the Association of British Travel Agents. The air holidays and flights were offer are protected by Civil Aviation Authority regulations.

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Please call us now on: 0121 504 2030