Welcome to igap 2016

itravel Wahroonga are again organising The Gap Programmeto the United Kingdom and Ireland as we have done for the past 12 years.

The group will be escorted by 2 representatives from itravel Wahroonga. The representatives will meet the group at Sydney Airport. They will assist with check in and be there to assist with arrival in London. They will ensure that everyone makes any connections that have been organised and one of the escorts will wait with the students that are meeting their schools at the airport and ensure that they are not left alone.

For 2016 we have secured flights with Singapore Airlines. The ticket is valid for 12 months.

Details of the departure flight is......

SQ222 Sunday 03Jan departing Sydney 4.10pm arriving Singapore 9.20pm

Connecting with

SQ322 Sunday 03Jan departing Singapore 11.45pm arriving London 5.55am(04Jan)

Singapore Airlines will need the date of the return flight to be confirmed by 15th February 2016. December is a very busy month for the return to Sydney and it is important for that date to be advised as soon as possible.

The airfare for 2016 will be $1995 plus taxes of approximately $1130.The airfare is guaranteed not to change prior to tickets being issued in October 2015. The taxes may vary depending on the exchange rate at the time tickets are issued.

To secure your seat on our group a deposit of $100 is required. This deposit will be deducted from your final payment in October.

Please complete the igap registration form attached and returnit with your deposit.

For those not going straight to their schools, but spending a few nights in London first, we have organised a coach to collect us from the airport for a guided sightseeing tour of London. The tour will end at the hostel in central London at approximately 2pm. This tour will be complimentary. Accommodation will be approximately $60 per person per night.

Visa requirements will need to be met. Unless you have a British Passportmost students will be applying for a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa. This is applicable if you are 18years of age at time of travel. If you are under 18years old a Charity Workers visa applies. Applying for the visa is not difficult, all be it a little fiddly. We will be here to guide you through the process.

We will be sending you the latest requirements for this in September. You cannot apply for these visas until 3 months prior to arrival.

Travel Insurance is mandatory for all students to have if they intend to travel to Europe on a specialised Gap Year Top Deck tour, or a Contiki tour. It is also recommended you be covered for the entire time you are away and the cost for this is $970. This is a comprehensive cover that has cover for valuable equipment such as laptops, ipads, phones, cameras etc.

Please however be aware that all insurances do not cover for some of the optional excursions available on your TopDeck or Contiki Tour such as skydiving/paragliding/bungy jumping. If you decide to do any of the ‘high risk’ optional tours you may be asked to sign a disclaimer at the time.

During the long summer break in July/August/September, most of the English Schools close down and majority of students take advantage to travel to Europe with either Top Deck or Contiki. This is the most cost effective and safest way of seeing Europe.

Top Deck run a programme which is exclusively for gap students. This is an ideal group as all the passengers are around 18 years old. The brochure for this is enclosed.

If you wish to join one of these tours we will require non refundable deposit of $200 per person, with the balance due in mid March 2016. The costs are based on the early bird payment, and if payment is received after mid March the tour operators reserve the right to increase the cost to the normal fare which is approximately an additional $150 per person.

If anyone is not going on a gap year but would like to travel on one of the Gap Tours with their friends, this is acceptable by the operators and we can also help the individuals with these arrangements.

All correspondence will be sent via email so please ensure the email on the registration form is for the parent/guardian. If this changes during the year please advise us as soon as possible.

We accept all forms of payment cash, cheque, credit cards or direct debit.

WestpacAccount Name: itravel Wahroonga BSB: 032189 Account Number:165402. If paying by credit card unfortunately a merchant fee applies of 1% for Mastercard and Visa and 3.3% for Amex.

The deposit for the airfare and tours are non refundable. Unfortunately final balances also attract cancellation fees and can be up to 100% depending on when received – this is totally at the discretion of operators and airline.

itravel Wahroonga act in good faith as your agent to make all necessary travel arrangements and our obligation is to make bookings on behalf of our customers and to arrange relevant contracts between customer and travel operators. itravel Wahroonga is not liable in any way for any supplier/airline failing to provide a service, or any damage or injury caused either by a supplier/airline, nor for any delays/cancellations or misadventures arising from bad weather, strikes or any other causes.

We look forward to helping you organise your gap year and making the experience a memorable one.

The team at itravel Wahroonga are here to help you organise your Gap year and we look forward to helping you make it a memorable experience.

Please feel free to call the team Jenny Brushe, Linda Drummond or Lynne Wright at any time on 9487 6633 or drop into our office at 31 Redleaf Ave Wahroonga.