2017 Travel Infomation - Farm & Wilderness

This summer we are offering bus service to camp from New York City. If your camper would like to travel to camp by bus, you will need to log into your online account and select the appropriate routes. Please do this today to ensure that we hold a space for your child. The charter buses do fill up! Once the buses are full, we will not be taking additional reservations. Please get your reservations in as soon as possible!

Things to know:

• Please pack a bag lunch, a snack & a beverage for your child to take on the bus. Drinks must be in plastic or aluminum containers. No glass, please! For the return trip, lunches and snacks will be provided by Farm & Wilderness.
• Your child can take a duffel bag (and/or any other soft-sided luggage) on the bus, no matter how large. No trunks are allowed on the bus.
• Our goal is for the bus to leave on time, so please don’t be late! Leave yourself plenty of time to get to the bus, and consider possible morning rush hour traffic!
• In the event of a delay in the bus departure, if you need to be somewhere else and can’t wait, it is absolutely fine to say your goodbyes and leave your child(ren) with our experienced chaperone.
• The bus will travel directly to Farm & Wilderness. The chaperone will be in contact with the F&W office by cell phone at various times during the bus trip. Upon arrival at camp, the campers will be met by F&W’s Executive Director, Rebecca Geary, and by their counselors, who will escort them to their respective camps.
• Your child will not be able to call you upon arrival at camp. As soon as possible, the F&W staff will send text/email to parents to confirm camper arrivals (please be patient as we are busy welcoming campers). Parents seeking confirmation of their child’s arrival may feel free to call the office anytime after the bus’s scheduled arrival.

Cost for charter bus service

NYC is $135 each way ($270 roundtrip).

New York City Charter Bus – Wednesday, June 28th
Location:  New York City Public Library – 5th Ave between 40th St. & 42nd St.
Time: 8:30 a.m. camper and luggage loading – NO TRUNKS 9:00 am bus departs for F&W
Campers returning to NYC on July 21st are expected arrive in NYC between 3-4 p.m.

New York City Charter Bus – Sunday, July 23rd
Location: New York City Public Library – 5th Ave. between 40th St. & 42nd St.
Time: 8:30 a.m. camper and luggage loading – NO TRUNKS 9:00 a.m. bus departs for F&W
Campers returning to NYC on August 13th are expected arrive in NYC between 5-6 p.m.

A Farm & Wilderness chaperone will accompany each charter trip. A travel coordinator will be on hand in NYC to assist the chaperone in camper loading and unloading. The travel coordinator (typically a camper parent) is something of a shepherd who helps to keep campers together at the bus stop and to reunite campers with parents on the return trip. If you are interested in being a travel coordinator, please contact Erik at 802.422.3761 or by email at erik@farmandwilderness.org.

This summer we are offering bus service to camp from Boston. If your camper would like to travel to camp by bus, you will need to log into your online account and select the appropriate routes. Please do this today to ensure that we hold a space for your child. The charter buses do fill up! Once the buses are full, we will not be taking additional reservations. Please get your reservations in as soon as possible!

Things to know:

• Please pack a bag lunch, a snack & a beverage for your child to take on the bus.  Drinks must be in plastic or aluminum containers.  No glass, please! For the return trip, lunches and snacks will be provided by Farm & Wilderness.
• Your child can take a duffel bag (and/or any other soft-sided luggage) on the bus, no matter how large. No trunks are allowed on the bus.
• Our goal is for the bus to leave on time, so please don’t be late! Leave yourself plenty of time to get to the bus and consider possible morning rush hour traffic!
• In the event of a delay in the bus departure, if you need to be somewhere else and can’t wait, it is absolutely fine to say your goodbyes and leave your child(ren) with our experienced chaperone.
• The bus will travel directly to Farm & Wilderness.  The chaperone will be in contact with the F&W office by cell phone at various times during the bus trip.  Upon arrival at camp, the campers will be met by F&W’s Executive Director, Rebecca Geary, and by their counselors, who will escort them to their respective camps.
• Your child will not be able to call you upon arrival at camp.  As soon as possible, the F&W staff will send text/email to parents to confirm camper arrivals (please be patient as we are busy welcoming campers). Parents seeking confirmation of their child’s arrival may feel free to call the office anytime after the bus’s scheduled arrival.

Cost for charter bus service

Boston is $85 each way ($170 roundtrip).
Boston Charter Bus – Wednesday, June 28th
Location: Cambridge Friends School – 5 Cadbury Road, Cambridge,MA 02140
Time: 9:30 a.m. camper and luggage loading – NO TRUNKS 10:00 am bus departs for F&W
Campers returning to Boston on July 21st are expected arrive in Boston between 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Boston Charter Bus – Sunday, July 23rd
Location: Cambridge Friends School– 5 Cadbury Road, Cambridge, MA 02140
Time: 9:30 a.m. camper and luggage loading – NO TRUNKS 10:00 a.m. bus departs for F&W
Campers returning to Boston on August 13th are expected arrive in Boston between 3:30-4:30 p.m.

A Farm & Wilderness chaperone will accompany each charter trip. A travel coordinator will be on hand in Boston to assist the chaperone in camper loading and unloading. The travel coordinator (typically a camper parent) is something of a shepherd who helps to keep campers together at the bus stop and to reunite campers with parents on the return trip. If you are interested in being a travel coordinator, please contact Erik at 802.422.3761 or by email at erik@farmandwilderness.org.

For those campers who cannot make our charter bus schedule, commercial bus travel is available from many locations to Vermont or New Hampshire. We recommend Dartmouth Coach which offers service to Lebanon, NH or Greyhound which offers bus service to White River Junction, Vermont. Train Service via Amtrak is also an option.

Farm & Wilderness van service is limited to the following airports, bus terminals, and train stations:

Vermont: White River Junction and Rutland

New Hampshire: Lebanon and Manchester

• The cost is $35 per camper each way ($70 roundtrip) to/from White River Junction, Rutland or Lebanon
• $65 per camper each way ($130 roundtrip) to/from Manchester.

For all airport, bus and train arrivals, please schedule your camper’s arrival at the station/airport between 11 am and 4 pm. Upon leaving camp, please schedule your camper’s departure from the station/airport between 9 am and 2 pm. Please do not schedule earlier or later departure times as those times disrupt sleep for cabin mates as well as travelers and involve greater safety risk in pre-dawn van rides.

TRAVEL BY UNACCOMPANIED MINORS
It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that minor-age camper(s) can travel legitimately, safely, and without undue hardship when using commercial transportation. Commercial travel restrictions for unaccompanied minors have become increasingly tight and vary by commercial carrier. Many commercial carriers now require photo ID for all passengers. We recommend that you obtain a photo ID for any camper, of whatever age, who will be using commercial transportation to get to and from F&W. We will hold passports, return tickets, and other valuables. Please have your child give to camp staff for safe keeping during the camp session.

A WORD ABOUT CAMPER LUGGAGE
We encourage campers using public transportation to use duffel bags instead of trunks. Duffels are more flexible for travel (for instance, they can be taken on our NYC charter bus, while trunks cannot), and trunks are expensive to ship. Trunks must be shipped separately for all campers using the charter bus, with the expense, which can be considerable, charged to parents. Also, Dartmouth Coach has a 50 lb. weight restriction for any one piece of luggage, which would also exclude most trunks.  Airlines may also have luggage weight restrictions.

SHIPPING

• Any shipped luggage will take 5-10 days to reach us, so if you do opt to ship, send early so the luggage will be here when your camper arrives.
• Please be sure that all shipped items are appropriately labeled with the camper’s name, address, and camp he/she is attending.
• Ship luggage with United Parcel Service (UPS) or Fed Ex. Please check with the respective carrier to find out its limitations and requirements (weight, condition of the container, etc.).
• Luggage labels should be attached flat and with adhesive.
• Remove any previous packing tags or markings, especially bar codes, to avoid shipping confusion.

At parent request, we will also ship any camper luggage home via UPS. We will send you an invoice for the shipping charge shortly thereafter. Please do not ship anything that your child will need for the immediate period after camp. It may take a week to 10 days for shipped items to reach your home after camp, so please do not rely on them for your immediate post-camp family vacation plans.

LOST AND FOUND
Our staff will do all we can to help campers and their luggage stay together. However, we do depend upon campers to exercise responsibility to make sure luggage scheduled to go home with them actually does. Farm & Wilderness will no longer accept financial responsibility for luggage and other belongings that should have accompanied the camper home but, for whatever reason, got left behind at camp. Please impress upon your child the need to keep track of his or her own belongings. Parents may arrange with us to have found, left-behind luggage, or other belongings shipped home at the parent’s expense.

*** IMPORTANT FOR ALL***
If you anticipate having to make changes to your camper’s travel plans, please give us as much advance notice as possible. The coordination of travel for so many campers is challenging, without advanced notice we may be unable to accommodate last minute changes.

If you have additional questions about camper transportation, please contact Erik via email at erik@farmandwilderness.org or call 802.422.3761.

  This summer we are offering shuttle service to/from Barn Day Camp with pickup locations in Rutland, Mendon and Woodstock. If your camper would like to travel to/from camp by shuttle, you will need to log into your online account and select the appropriate routes. Please do this today to ensure that we hold a space for your child.

Daily transportation to and from the Barn Day Camp is available for all sessions of Barn Day Camp at the following pickup locations:

* Rutland – Court Square (Gazebo Park)
8:10am Pick-up    4:55pm Drop-off

* Mendon – Sugar & Spice Restaurant
8:20am Pick-up     4:45pm Drop-off

* Woodstock – Woodstock Elementary School
8:15am Pick-up     4:55pm Drop-off
***All campers age 7 and under are required by Vermont law to use a booster seat. We may need you to provide this for your child; please check with one of the Barn Day Camp staff on the first day of camp.***

There is a charge of $80 per camper per week for Barn Day Camp transportation.

Please note: campers must use the service for all weeks of the session for which they are registered.  All campers are expected to arrive and depart on their scheduled transport every day of the session for which they are registered.

* Session 1         6/26-7/7      2 weeks           $160
* Session 2         7/10-7/21    2 weeks          $160
* Session 3A      7/24-8/13     3 weeks           $240
* Session 3B       7/24-8/4      2 weeks           $160
* Session 3C       8/7-8/11      1 week             $80

IMPORTANT FOR ALL
If you anticipate having to make changes to your camper’s travel plans or if your camper will not be riding the shuttle, please contact the Barn Day Camp office at 802.422.3565

If you have any questions or concerns about Barn Day Camp travel, Farm & Wilderness or the program your child(ren) are registered to attend, please contact:

Sam Arfer, Director of Admissions
Kelly Beerman, Assistant Director of Admissions

We are always happy to speak with you.  Please do not hesitate to call (802-422-3761) with any questions you may have.