Day of Travel Procedures- Middle School Projects | Amigos de las Americas Help Center

We manage travel so you don’t have to! Learn more about the support AMIGOS provides, what to expect, and how the process works below.

Let the adventure begin - your flight to your project site is the start of your AMIGOS experience!

For our Costa Rica: Biodiversity Conservation Project, AMIGOS will offer chaperoned flights to and from Costa Rica from three gateway airports in the United States. It will be the responsibility of the volunteer's family to travel with their volunteer and drop them off at their gateway airport on their travel day. Similarly, on the return, the family will be responsible for picking their volunteer up at their gateway airport on the last day of their project. Our gateway airports are EWR (Newark, NJ), IAH (Houston, TX), and SFO (San Francisco, CA).

AMIGOS will handle booking flights from gateway cities for all volunteers and chaperones, while we will ask families to arrange travel (if it is necessary) for themselves, and their volunteer from their home city to their gateway city.

Since the flight to and from Costa Rica will be chaperoned, volunteers will not need to pay the Unaccompanied Minor Fees ($300 for round trip) charged by United Airlines. Rather, AMIGOS will charge families an Administrative Travel Fee of $500 which will cover the chaperoning service, as well as the standard flight booking service, 24/7 Travel Hotline service, and rebooking service provided by the AMIGOS Travel Team.

For additional information on our day-of travel procedures, protocols, and reminders, please see the Travel Memos linked below. The AMIGOS Travel Team will also email this travel memo and your flight itinerary.

Summer Programs Travel Memo

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Which airports can my volunteer fly from to the project?

AMIGOS offers chaperoned flights to and from Costa Rica from three designated gateway airports:

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) – Newark, NJ
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) – Houston, TX
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) – San Francisco, CA

Families are responsible for arranging travel to and from their nearest gateway airport.

2. Who is responsible for booking the flights?

AMIGOS will handle booking flights from the three designated gateway cities (EWR, IAH, SFO) for all volunteers. Families must arrange their own travel to, and from these gateway airports if necessary.

3. Is there an additional cost to check luggage?

Yes, according to United Airlines policies, the flight will only include a carry-on bag. Any checked luggage must be purchased separately by the family, preferably in advance of the flight.

We recommend that, due to the length of the trip and for easier travel, volunteers bring only a carry-on, in addition to their personal item.

4. Can we pay baggage fees with cash rather than with a credit/debit card?

No - all baggage fees paid at the airport must be paid with a credit or debit card. The airline will not accept cash as a payment method. Families may be able to add a checked bag to the reservation online ahead of time rather than paying at the airport.

5. Can my volunteer travel alone?

No, volunteers must always be accompanied by an adult until they meet the chaperone at the designated gateway airport.

6. What can I do if I cannot travel with my child?

If you, as a parent, are unable to travel with your volunteer, any trusted adult can accompany them on the flight until they meet the chaperone at the designated gateway airport.

7. Will my seat be located next to another volunteer on the flight?

While we strive to seat volunteers near each other, seat assignments are determined by the airline and availability. We will do our best to ensure that volunteers are seated together, but this is not always guaranteed.

8. What kind of airport support will the volunteers have while traveling?

Volunteers and families will be able to call AMIGOS staff via our Travel Hotline if they encounter any delays, canceled flights, or if they are trying to find the AMIGOS group at the airport. The AMIGOS team will handle any flights that need to be rebooked due to cancellation, delay, between others, at our gateway airports

Does an AMIGOS staff member fly with the volunteers?

Yes! The volunteers will always be accompanied by an AMIGOS representative from the moment they arrive at one of the gateway airports until they meet the project staff in Costa Rica.

When will AMIGOS send out the flight itinerary and the travel memo?

The AMIGOS Travel Memo and volunteer flight itinerary will be emailed no later than two weeks before the project start date, so long as all payments, volunteer paperwork, and pre-departure training have been completed. Please plan to print the Travel Memo and flight itinerary and bring these items with you to the airport for your travel day along with other important travel documents (printout list included on the Travel Memo).

We understand that this project involves a bit more travel logistics for the families since they need to reach the meeting points. Therefore, we are sharing the flight information below:

Biodiversity Conservation Session A

- Gateway airport 1
  - Houston - San Jose: June 26th, 4:58pm (departure)
  - San Jose - Houston: July 7th, 12:43pm (arrival)
- Gateway airport 2
  - San Francisco - San Jose: June 25th, 11:34pm
  - San Jose - San Francisco: July 7th, 2:34pm
- Gateway airport 3
  - New Jersey - San Jose: June 26th, 5:04pm
  - San Jose - New Jersey: July 7th, 2:33pm

2. Biodiversity Conservation Session B

- Gateway airport 1
  - Houston - San Jose: July 11th, 4:58pm
  - San Jose - Houston: July 22nd, 12:43pm
- Gateway airport 2
  - San Francisco - San Jose: July 10th, 11:34pm
  - San Jose - San Francisco: July 22nd, 2:34pm
- Gateway airport 3
  - New Jersey - San Jose: July 11th, 5:04pm
  - San Jose - New Jersey: July 22nd, 2:33pm

3. Biodiversity Conservation Session C

- Gateway airport 1
  - Houston - San Jose: July 28th, 4:58pm
  - San Jose - Houston: August 8th, 12:43pm
- Gateway airport 2
  - San Francisco - San Jose: July 27th, 11:34pm
  - San Jose - San Francisco: August 8th, 2:34pm
- Gateway airport 3
  - New Jersey - San Jose: July 28th, 5:04pm
  - San Jose - New Jersey: August 8th, 2:33pm

Note: These are the departure, and arrival times of the flights.

Will AMIGOS volunteers receive their phones back the day before departure so that they can be charged for use on their Travel Day?

AMIGOS Project Staff will ensure that all volunteers have access to their cell phones with ample time to charge them before traveling back home.