Camp America all advice welcome

[NotBabiesForLong]

DD is heading to Camp America this summer. Anybody with any experience of this please pass on your tips and suggestions.

Particularly, did you need to get a doctor to complete a medical form? Our GP says it is £67 to fill out a form to say she is healthy. Seems a lot if it is not needed.

Also, what to take that we probably haven't thought of?

My DD did Camp Leaders a few years ago.

She was at a very traditional camp in Michigan and she loved it. She was quite picky about where she went and turned down three places that seemed too controlling.

I left her to all her arrangements, but don't recall a problem with medicals. I think she just filled in the form herself saying that she had all her vaccinations.

I think she ended up with about $1000 (in cash) which she used to pay for a few days in NYC (staying with family) and her flight home.

She packed a normal suitcase, which was fine, as when she arrived in camp, she didn't need anything particularly portable. She wasn't hitchhiking.

@NotBabiesForLong electrical appliances won’t work there due to
voltage differences - or if they do, they’ll be half speed (hairdryers) deffo check your mobile contract - US roaming rates are insane on foreign phones unless you have a reciprocal usage contract. We have an unlimited Vodafone contract here which covers us there for ‘fair usage’

Does she know about storage at camp? My friend was at a fancy private camp where she had a chest of drawers in her cabin and her suitcase was stored elsewhere. I was at a Girl Scout camp where I lived out of my duffle bag which stayed shoved under a bed in a tent during the day.

Buy stuff there definitely. You don’t have to take as many clothes as you need - Walmart is your friend!

I mailed a box of stuff home then went travelling after (souvenirs and stuff) it might have arrived a month or so after I got back but I didn’t have to lug it around when travelling and I had enough stuff to live with whilst there. I

I also recommend learning to identify poison ivy. I promise this is not an experience she’ll want!

You don't need electricals at camp - no one cares about perfectly groomed hair - you are working with 7 year olds.

If you are in a rural camp, mobile phone coverage will be sketchy. You might get to use the camp phone in emergencies. Saying that, roaming costs can use your UK contract for a daily supplement (£6 for Vodafone World Traveller on the days you use it).

Honestly, camp is not about being pathologically attached to your phone. It's about enjoying the great outdoors and connecting with people from all over the world.

At my DD's camp, the manager would drive them into town (20 miles away) once a week to go to Meijer (a big supermarket) to pick up supplies and then they would go out to eat something other than camp food. You don't need to take any consumables from the UK.

What about her visa?

She sorted her visa, that was no quick process. Included an early morning 3 hour interview at the embassy, which meant an over night stay in London in order to have any hope of arriving on time.

Mobile phone I'm mostly thinking about after camp when she is travelling. But we have plenty of time to sort that out.

Good point about how much room is there to actually store a suitcase etc. And maybe ditching most of her clothes or posting home what is still in good condition, making it easier to travel.

I’m American and went to summer camps where the counselors where from abroad via camp America. One thing about hat/bug spray - it was always drilled in to us by the counselors “slip slap slop” slip on a T shirt, slap on sunscreen slop on bug spray.

the programme information should address medical/travel insurance. Very important if she’s going to go travelling in USA after her time at the camp.

paying GP to complete medical form is fairly standard and each GP surgery can charge reasonable sum for this.

good luck to your daughter. She’ll have a great time.

paying GP to complete medical form is fairly standard and each GP surgery can charge reasonable sum for this.

It may not be that simple now - we GPs are more aware of the medicolegal risk of signing these forms. If the form is the same one that I've seen and says 'I certify that the applicant is fit to do (long list of physical activities)' then any sensible GP will decline to sign and signpost you to a private travel doctor. So allow plenty of time to get it sorted - it's not 'just a signature'.

Just looking at a recent post on this on a GP FB group - 13 replies of which 10 were along the lines of 'we have a practice policy not to sign these forms'

Really interested in this thread. My DS is going with Camp Leaders in 2 weeks time. He is 22 and quite an experienced traveller so not getting too involved with his planning. But he hasn't mentioned a medical form. He is doing videography/filming so not a camp counselor so not sure if that makes a difference. He isn't home at the moment but will check with him later.
Interesting to hear PP GP saying they wouldn't sign. Surely a private doctor shouldn't sign without knowledge of their medical history?

Smashed avocado DD is with CampLeaders too.

She has now received an email back to say that her camp don't require the GP form.

I hope your son is looking forward to it. DD is.

NotBabiesForLong that is good for your DD. My son is going to phone them tomorrow morning. He has checked on line on his profile & can't see anything. He is very excited - he is going onto Costa Rica after the 30 days USA travel so this is the beginning of quite an adventure.

The problem is that many camp america forns don't just ask for the medical history, they ask the gp to say that the person is fit to go and fit to do various activities and we're not insured to say that

I travelled round the world for a year with a 60l backpack. You only need a few changes of clothes really. Light trousers / leggings / skirts made from synthetic materials that dry quickly. Thin cotton T shirts and fleece tops / hoodies for the cool evenings. Microfibre underwear etc. You can easily handwash these sorts of clothes in a sink with a squirt of shampoo. Also use the shampoo as shower gel etc.
There's a golden rule for travelling - take half the stuff and twice the money that you think you'll need

Half the stuff and twice the money seems like the perfect moto.

Lots of tshirts and shorts
Crocs!!! 😅

I found when I got there that American fashion is very different at camp and they see nothing wrong with wearing unbranded stuff and just being comfy! I loved it, went and bought loads of cheap tshirts from wallmart that I wouldn't be caught dead in at home 😅 it's a different life style.
Crocs are a godsend for going in and out of the lake each day.
Your daughter is going to have the best summer. 11 years on and I still say it was the best summer of my life ❤️

If anyone is still looking at this thread, just wondering what you've done re insurance?

The insurance provided by Camp America doesn't look much at all given the high cost of medical attention over there (unless I'm missing something!) so thinking we should maybe take out another policy for ds

We have taken out an additional policy. I used a broker to source one.

Good news that they no longer need the lateral flow test to enter the country. Just the vaccinations.

Thanks, I think we need to do the same.

Would you mind pm me the broker details please? Have found a couple of companies but think I need to actually call them-tomorrow's last minute job!

Ds said insurance is included but I didn't bother to look until going through all the last minute details earlier

Re the LFT, ds camp are still asking for one to actually get in the camp. He's having it tomorrow am

DS flew to New York on Saturday. He added a gadget insurance as has laptop, camera, lenses etc for video editing work (post camp./USA) but didnt add any other medical insurance. Anyone looked at the Camp Leaders one and felt it was lacking.

DD did Camp Leaders and it seemed that insurance was the main thing they offered (she is an American citizen so did not need their visa support).

We have an annual family insurance policy, but I doubt it would have covered her for much in her circumstance.

You do need to be clear about insurance, however. Don't go to America with inadequate or unclear insurance.

DD is with camp leaders. The website implied insurance covers the time working plus 30 days. The insurance card they sent her had an end date of theof camp ncamp (so NOT plus the 30 days). She emailed for confirmation and they said her insurance expires when she finishes working so she needs her own insurance while travelling around.

I contacted our regular insurance broker (cars, house etc) and they sourced a policy. They said it was really important to have it in place before she left the UK. The dates DD is travelling mean she needs about 91days continuous cover. So she has ended up with an annual policy. I think Virgin Money was one of the options for cover. It cost approx £100

Re the LFT DD is still booked for hers the day before she flies, but it feels less onerous knowing she can definitely get into the country and the trust is just for the Camp.

Are your dd/ds travelling around after camp? Where are they hoping to visit?

He's no idea yet where he'll go afterwards-hoping to make friends to travel with. We also have friends over there so can always stay with them.

Extra insurance all sorted and ds dispatched safely ready for the flight!