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Parents & Guardians

Information for Parents & Guardians.

The picture on this page is Skye ( Co-Founder/Team Leader of Go Across Travel ) and her family on a cross country trip in 2017.

Your child wants to embark on a journey to see the world.

We are parents that CARE about ALL children and their perspective on the world. We have worked REALLY hard to use the knowledge we have gained ( see more about us in the OUR TEAM section ) and introduce our participants to other cultures, people, and perspectives. Our goal at Go Across Travel ( G.A.T )  is to achieve in giving your child an experience that is super fun but also VERY authentic. Our mission is always about introducing them to becoming more of a global citizen with a broader perspective.


Many North American parents and school administrators have had discussions with our team about children being "coddled"  and say they may even have a touch of overindulgence and a privileged attitude. We UNDERSTAND this problem. We all want our children to be safe and that line of overprotecting them and letting them fly from the nest is a hard one! Remember, we are parents too and we are a close-knit company that stays with the entire group AND the approved chaperones ( maybe that is YOU?! ) a 100% of the time. There are so many learning opportunities for your child on a trip like this. It is a privilege for us to be securing their safety while also watching them discover another culture that is so very different from their own. As you know, in order to gain confidence and grow young people often need to step outside the comfort zone of their home. The interactions they will  experience during the small village homestay component, the dug-out canoe trip to the Emberá indigenous village, the english teaching day, and our walking tour with Victor @LOCALPTY, of Casco Antiguo, will be a highlight that they will not soon forget. 


We promise that it will be much more than a visit to a few beaches and the Panama Canal. It will be a one-of-a-kind, life-changing experience!  

ALL DOCUMENTS TO GET YOUR CHILD READY FOR THEIR TRIP ARE FOUND IN THEIR OWN GO ACROSS TRAVEL ACCOUNT. ONCE REGISTERED ( THIS HAPPENS BY CLICKING THE BOOK NOW BUTTON )  YOU WILL HAVE YOUR OWN, BEHIND THE SCENES PAGE. IT IS ON THIS PAGE WHERE YOU CAN FILL IN ALL DOCUMENTS ONLINE OR DOWNLOAD ALL THE PRE-PACKING LIST, DOCUMENTS NEEDED, INSURANCE FORMS, AND WAIVER FORMS. 


Contact us today to set up a face to face meeting via Skype or in person! [email protected]

We LOVE THIS ARTICLE FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST.

By Beth Markley. April 2017.

8 REASONS WHY CHILDREN SHOULD TRAVEL WITHOUT YOU.

Whether it’s camps, church missions, school trips, or short or long-term foreign exchanges, if you’ve ever sent your kid packing without you, you likely did him or her a huge favour.

For the record, I’m not talking about sending your minor backpacking solo across Europe. There are structured opportunities for almost every age that are developmentally appropriate and safe. And there as many reasons parents might want to encourage their kids to travel, as there are opportunities for them to do so:

They’ll develop self-confidence – There is nothing like immersing yourself in a situation where the surroundings, people, smells, and language are all unfamiliar, to build character. Exposing ourselves to unfamiliar surroundings puts every sense on alert, inspires vulnerability, even when the overall experience is ultimately satisfying and fun. Moving through these situations builds resilience, patience, and confidence at any age.

They’ll learn to be organized – How often do you wonder if your kid would lose her head if it weren’t screwed on? The responsibility for keeping track of boarding passes and luggage, remembering to scan hotel rooms before check out, keeping track of personal property when disembarking a train, all generally fall on a parent’s shoulders during family trips, but about when she’s with a group? She may be in the care of chaperones, but when she’s one of a crew, even under the watchful eye of adults, she’ll need to take on more responsibility. Letting her test her mettle in this area, maybe making mistakes, can show her the benefits of staying organized

They’ll learn to pay attention – Our oldest has lived in the same house since three years old, but never learned any more than the name of our street until he began driving and navigating on his own. If you’re dragging your kid along on your adventures, he’ll likely rely on your leading him. While traveling without you, he’ll learn to read maps and arrival/departure displays, to take stock of his surroundings and orient himself. These are valuable skills, learned by necessity.

They’ll become stronger – Travel can be stressful. Will you make your connection? Sleep through your alarm? Where’s your luggage? When our kids travel with us, they don’t sweat details. But anyone who wants to live independently eventually has to learn to deal with anxiety. Exposure to normal stress helps build resilience. Talking to your child before a trip about strategies to deal with stress (remaining calm, breathing, finding a helpful adult to answer questions), can help her build an arsenal of coping mechanisms she’ll be able to draw on for life.

They’ll build a resume – Whether it’s employment or college admissions, in today’s competitive world, global experience (or even that provided by intrastate travel) is always a plus. Cross-cultural experiences or service travel indicate a level of maturity that employers and admissions offices find attractive and make an applicant stand out.

Focusing on long-term goals can encourage good decision-making - Okay, many students mature enough to travel aren’t going to be ones who have to strive to stay away from the party scene, but for some, the carrot of a pending trip can be a good long-term motivator to choose the straight and narrow path. The teen years are rife with opportunities to take risks, and sometimes it’s good to encourage good decision-making with a little incentive.

Finally, you’ll get the hang of having them away from you – I am astonished at the parents who engage in the pointless gnashing of teeth when their kids are away. Eventually, if we do our job right, we will all send our little birds from the nest. It is surely helpful for us as parents to have confidence in our children’s ability to be on their own, as well as in our ability to sleep at night without them under our roof.

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