Last month I joined my son for his 8th Grade Washington, D.C. trip with Worldstrides. When we first decided to do this trip, I paid in full without asking any questions. It was presented to us with a big red bow and I could not wait to experience this memorable trip with my son. Then I made the mistake of reading the reviews. And of course, I started with the negative reviews. Now having returned from our trip, I wanted to share our experience. I’m happy to report, that we had a great time.

I have to preface this with the fact that I am not a traveler. So to not have an itinerary, hotel info or flight information until two and a half weeks before the trip…was very unnerving. And my phone interactions with WorldStrides left me feeling even more frustrated. I wanted information/details and WorldStrides would not give me any. I was told that all communications had to be with our team leader.

Upon receiving the itinerary, I was relieved to see that we at least had direct flights. The only problem is that the first leg was a red-eye. So coming from CA, would have us arriving at 2:30 in the morning (our time). And then it was a two hour bus ride to our first stop. Needless to say, we were all zombies for the first whole day. And that first day was PACKED full of activities. But it ended up being a great day nonetheless.

The Good:

All of our tour guides were fabulous. Shout outs to Ashleigh and Gail. And an even bigger THANK YOU to Larry Clark. He is a history buff, super knowledgeable and a MD native so really knew his stuff. He kept the kids engaged with fun trivia on the long bus rides and does an awesome Trump and Clinton impression. Sounds JUST like them! Even though none of the kids recognized Clinton…the adults all chuckled. He also made sure that I found my way to a Minute Clinic when I fell ill during our trip. He even checked up on me the following day via text when I was stuck at the hotel sick all day. It was greatly appreciated. Our bus driver (Ali) was also awesome. He got us everywhere safely and provided waters for us the entire trip. The on deck WorldStrides employees at the hotels were also helpful and kept us on track and organized when shuffling through the hotels for breakfast, etc. Super impressed with everyone on the WorldStrides teams while we were on the actual trip. All of the stops/museums, etc. were super informative & educational and fun was had by all! Rappin’ MC who taught us all about the early American “practice” of medicine is a true gem of a human. She had us all in “stitches”…no pun intended. I may have a special place in my heart for her because she reminded me of my grandma! Oh, and many of the reviews said that their groups were split up and sat amongst strangers on the flights. They kept their promise that I was seated with my son on both legs of the flight. We are both nervous flyers so I was very relieved that we were in fact seated together. Phew!

The Not So Good:

Red-eye flights with a group of 8th graders is never a good idea. I would have gladly paid more to have arrived at a decent hour and had a good nights sleep prior to 5 days of activities. The itinerary is over booked. Yes, you get to see a million destinations…but 8am-10pm every single day is too much. The kids desperately wanted some down time to relax and hang with their friends after a long day. Our hotels were both an hour away (if not more) from the daily activities. It would have been nice to have actually STAYED in DC so that at least one of the days we could have walked to our destinations. The WorldStrides website and customer service employees said that we would be put up in 4 star hotels. We were at a Sheraton one night and a Holiday Inn for the remaining 3 nights. Neither of them are 4 star hotels. Especially the Holiday Inn. It is a 2.5 star rated hotel at best. The kids are 4 to a room and adults/chaperones are 2 to a room unless you pay for a single room which I did. Nobody wants to share a room with a complete stranger! And the price they charged me was for a 4 star hotel NOT a Holiday Inn.

I would be remiss if I didn’t share where WorldStrides really shined for me personally. I became ill halfway through the trip and had to use their 24/7 dedicated in case of emergency number. I spoke to their on call doctor but had already located a Minute Clinic near one of our tours so I was able to slip out and walk a few blocks to get tested for strep throat. I wanted to get antibiotics had that been the case. WorldStrides offered me a voucher to pay for an uber ride to the clinic as well as a ride back to the hotel should I need it. They called and checked on me on several occasions. I ended up having to miss out on all activities all day/night on Friday and we were scheduled to leave on Sat after another full day of activities. I was so sick that I had to stay at the hotel again on Saturday. Worldstrides arranged for a late checkout for me (at no extra cost) and sent me a voucher to uber directly to the airport to meet up with our group. I GREATLY appreciated this!

Final Verdict:

My son had an amazing time and it was a trip he will never forget. I would have also (and even overlooked the red-eye) had I not gotten sicker than a dog. Seriously…I hadn’t been sick in almost five years and of course it happens the ONE TIME I fly! I am so grateful that I was able to experience this trip with my son. Even though he acted like he didn’t know me..since what 8th grader wants their mom tagging along. 😉