Alpengirl Girls Teen Wilderness Adventure Camp
Scandinavia Adventure Travel Information
The official arrival and departure site for Alpengirl Norway Camp Session is the Gardemoen International Airport outside of Oslo, Norway.
ARRIVAL
Arrival Basics: Upon arrival (by land or air), all campers must be wearing the Alpengirl t-shirt (sent to campers in the mail). This allows us to identify each other on arrival, as both campers and camp staff wear them. All campers proceed directly to the designated airport arrival location (see text below for specific location) and stay there until camp staff is there to greet them. Upon arrival we will go through the gear list with campers, talk with campers about their health history form and medications, store camper medication, gather waivers, food, magazines, personal music players and cell phones, and assure that no alcohol, drugs, or tobacco products are brought. Campers that arrive by air will call home shortly after arrival to let parents know campers are with us, however, this call may be delayed up to 2-hours if camp staff has many campers to pick-up at the same time. Once the entire group has arrived, we will about basic camp rules, check into the guesthouse, tour the town, and have dinner at a local restaurant.
Flight Arrival at Gardemoen International Airport: Book a flight that arrives between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm on Monday August 2, 2010. Note: From the U.S.A., your flight will depart on Sunday August 1, 2010 and it will arrive into Oslo on Monday August 2, 2010. You are welcome to arrange a flight before 10:00 am; however, we may not be able to guarantee that camp staff will be there to assist you until 10:00 am. Call Alpengirl or Crossing Latitudes if you need to make special arrangements. Camp staff will meet campers at the International Exit (unless campers have "Unaccompanied Minor Tickets"- see text below). Coming off the flight campers will need to go through customs. This is where you will show your passport and your visa. Your visa is a piece of paper the flight attendants will give you. Flight attendants can also help you fill out this form correctly. You are entering Norway as a tourist. After the customs you will proceed to the luggage carousel. Once you have your luggage you will go through luggage customs control. Just walk through the Green / "Nothing to Declare" doors and at the other side of the doors, the camp staff will be waiting for you.
If driving to Gardemoen International Airport: Arrival time and location to be determined as camper flight itineraries are made available to Alpengirl or Crossing Latitudes. Crossing Latitudes will confirm exact time and location with you just before camp starts; usually campers will arrive by car at the airport at around noon.
DEPARTURES
Departure Basics: Campers will be checked-in for flight departures at least 2-hour in advance of departure times. After check-in, camp staff will accompany campers to the security gate. Camp staff will instruct campers to go directly through security to their departure gate and make contact with the departure gate airline staff to confirm that they are at the correct location. Campers are further instructed to call home once they are at their correct departure gate and to stay at their departure gate until they board the plane. Camp staff will observe campers as they proceed through the security gate safely and enter the secured area that is restricted to non-ticketed persons. Once past the security gate, campers without Unaccompanied Minor Tickets are no longer under Alpengirl or Crossing Latitudes guardianship. A camp staff will remain in the airport until all girls have either been checked into their flight and are observed passing through security gates or have been signed over to the airline if campers have an "Unaccompanied Minor Ticket." See text below if you have an "Unaccompanied Minor Ticket."
Flight Departure from Gardemoen International Airport: Book a flight that departs before noon on Sunday August 15, 2010. Note: Your flight will depart from Oslo on Sunday August 15, 2010 and it will arrive into the USA on the same day. You are welcome to arrange departure after noon; however, we may not be able to guarantee that an Alpenguide will be there to assist you after 12:00 noon. Call Alpengirl or Crossing Latitudes if you need to make special arrangements.
If driving from Gardemoen International Airport: Departure time and location to be determined as camper flight itineraries are made available. We'll will confirm exact time and location with you just before camp starts; usually campers can depart by car from the airport at around noon. A parent/legal guardian or other authorized person, as noted on the Alpengirl Travel Form, will pick up the camper on the last day of camp. Please be prepared to show ID on the day of departure. If you would like to add authorized persons with whom your daughter may depart with on the Alpengirl Travel Form, you must send a written letter stating name and relationship to your daughter of additional authorized persons. The letter must be received and approved by Camp Director, Alissa Farley prior to the day of camper departure; making last minute changes will be difficult to approve.
Baggage Fees: Parents, please attempt to pay for the airline baggage fees round-trip in advance and ask for a receipt of your payment and add it to camper Ziploc #1 for Alpenguides to collect from camper upon arrival. If no receipt is provided, add a parent note to camper Ziploc #1 indicating that baggage fees were paid in full round-trip. This will reduce the possibility of being charged again upon return flight. If you are unable to pay round-trip for baggage fees in advance, add a parent note to camper Ziploc #1 indicating this and supply cash for these fees for your campers return flight home.
Unaccompanied Minor Ticket Fees: Parents, if you choose to -or- if your airline requires you to purchase an unaccompanied minor ticket for your camper, please attempt to pay for the fees round-trip in advance and ask for a receipt of your payment and add it to camper Ziploc #1 for Alpenguides to collect from camper upon arrival. If no receipt is provided, add a parent note to camper Ziploc #1 indicating that unaccompanied minor fees were paid in full round-trip. This will reduce the possibility of being charged again upon return flight. If you are unable to pay round-trip for unaccompanied minor fees in advance, add a parent note to camper Ziploc #1 indicating this and supply cash for these fees for your campers return flight home.
Unaccompanied Minor Tickets: Many airlines now require that you purchase Unaccompanied Minor Tickets for pre-teens and teens. We strongly advise you to ask specific questions upon booking your flight about your airlines policies regarding kids traveling alone. If you elect to purchase the Unaccompanied Minor Ticket because your child is traveling alone -or- if your daughter's age requires her to have assistance from the airline personnel based on the airlines policy, you should pay for the round-trip Unaccompanied Minor Tickets in advance. If your airline does not allow pre-payment for the return flight, you MUST supply cash to your daughter for the return flight, we will hold the cash for her until her return flight. If you have this ticket, you will be asked to provide names and sometimes more information of those people picking up your daughter on both legs of her flight. Always use Alpengirl contact information with Alpenguide names unless the airline requires drivers' license information, which may be provided to you upon request. Alpengirl will email you a listing of Alpenguide names for pick up and drop off just prior to the camp season when Alpenguide schedules are confirmed. DO NOT USE the Camp Directors name (Alissa Farley); it will be an Alpenguides name that you will use. Campers with Unaccompanied Minor Tickets are required to wait for Alpenguides to pick them up upon arrival at the arrival gate if Alpenguides and your flight are on time -or- at the airline supervised "holding tank" if Alpenguides are running late with other arrivals that day or your flight is early or delayed. Campers with this ticket may wait for an Alpenguide as long as 1 hour, but usually an Alpenguide will arrive within 20 minutes of the camper flight arrival. It is an Alpengirl policy to pick up campers arriving without Unaccompanied Minor Tickets first, as they will be without supervision in unsecured areas of the airport. Unaccompanied Minor Tickets are great if worried about your camper making flight connections alone or if they have little experience in air travel.
Backup plans: Call Lena Conlan at Crossing Latitudes during camp for any reason. This is the most efficient way to communicate with the group during the trip. Alpengirl operates this international camp session through U.S./Swedish based Crossing Latitudes. Crossing Latitudes in Sweden: 070-670 11 53 (within Sweden) or 46-70-670 11 53 (from outside Sweden). Please leave your name, a message and a number where Crossing Latitudes can reach you. If there are delays or changes in your arrival or departure schedule, call Crossing Latitudes. Crossing Latitudes voice mail will be checked regularly on arrival and departure days and at other times during this session. There may also be an opportunity for Crossing Latitudes staff to check email during camp: info@crossinglatitudes.com
If arriving with parents, parents/legal guardians must stay with the camper until the Alpengirl or Crossing Latitude staff is there to take them on arrival day. We’ll will wait up to 1 hour for campers to arrive or depart after scheduled times. We will attempt to make contact several times before departing without a camper.
If departing with parent, and a parent/legal guardian is not there to pick up a camper within 1 hour of the scheduled departure time, we will not leave the camper; we will plan a different pick-up arrangement depending on what the situation demands.
If camper arrival or departure is greater than 1 hour after scheduled times and in effect causes a disruption to the scheduled camp and/or staff itinerary; we may charge fees to cover extra costs associated with the extended delay. This fee could cover additional transportation costs (car rental and fuel or new shuttle reservations), food, hotel, cab fare, and an additional employee wage payment if an overnight is warranted.
If we have unforeseen delays or changes to our schedule that prevent us from meeting parent/legal guardians or flights at the scheduled arrival or departure time and location, we will be calling parent/legal guardians on the numbers you have provided to us on your camp forms.
If a delay prevents your daughters scheduled departure from camp, we will be making new reservations for her to be on the next possible flight and calling to advise you of the new reservation and departure plan.
If campers arrive early, be patient, stay at the designated meeting place until Alpengirl or Crossing Latitudes is there to greet you at the arrival time that is listed on the Alpengirl Travel Form.
If campers arrive on time but don't see an Alpenguide at their designated meeting place, campers should be instructed to listen for their name to be announced on the airport intercom and find the courtesy phone nearest them and follow the verbal instructions from us.
Campers should be instructed to not leave the designated meeting place unless she hears her name announced and she is using the courtesy phone.
If the Alpenguide has not found the camper with in 30 minutes of planned arrival time (the time indicated on the Alpengirl Travel Form), campers should be instructed to call Crossing Latitudes voice mail at +46-70-670 1153 and leave a detailed message about where they are in the airport. Then, they should be instructed to page us on the intercom in the airport to tell us where they are.
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