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By Alaina Canova | Newsreporter
A group of third-year study abroad student at JCU travelled with the recommended tour operator Smart Trip for its fall weekend trip to Barcelona in September.
The three students from Rutgers University in New Jersey and one student from The State University of New York at Oneonta (SUNY Oneonta), said they chose the Florence-based tour agency, Smart Trip, as a resource to plan their weekend after hearing recommendations from other study abroad students.
“My best friend had used Smart Trip when she studied abroad, so I knew that this company was something I wanted to experience the company for myself,” said Grace Dorhety, Marketing student from Rutgers University.
This fall, JCU had 795 visiting students from 30 different countries and 50 states across the United States. About 93% of the visiting students are from the United States.
Smart Trip is an Italian travel agency based in Florence and founded in 2014. It’s part of the bigger company Ciao Florence Tours, one of the largest tour operators in Italy.
John Cabot students travelled to Barcelona with the “Meet Us There” Smart Trip option, which gives students the choice of taking their own transportation to the destination. The alternative option was to depart from Florence, so they chose to fly to Barcelona from Rome instead.
The weekend consisted of a professional walking tour of Barcelona, guided by a third party hired by Smart Trip. Students were able to ask specific questions about the city and look at the architecture made by Antoni Gaudí.
On the tour, the students visited Casa Milà (La Pedrera), Casa Batlló both created by Gaudí; Casa Amatller built by Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Casa Lleó Morera by Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
Julianna Shaltis, a third-year student from Rutgers University studying marketing said, “on the tour the guide walked us through the history of the building and the family tension that arose between Lluís Domènech i Montaner and Antoni Gaudí.”
The professional guide taught the students the word trencadís which is the technique of mosaic that Gaudí popularized.
Shaltis said that she doesn’t think she will ever forget that word because of that tour.
The guide also took the students to La Sagrada Família and told the story about each section of Jesus’ life shown on the outside of the Basilica.
The rest of the day was free for the students to explore on their own. For the trip, the Smart Trip guides have a group chat on WhatsApp to stay in touch during the weekend when students are on their own. In this group chat anyone can ask the guides questions and guides send messages of where students should be at a certain time, and other things students can see around the area.
“When walking around new, big cities a guide is always in the front, the middle and the back so nobody wanders off and gets lost,” said Michelle Perullo, a JCU alumna and 2021 graduate who has been working for Smart Trips since January.
Alexa Johnson, is another JCU alumna who works at Smart Trip as a guide. She said that she always wants to create an environment where students can meet one another. She never wants students to feel alone.
“I am there to help and be there for the students, I am reachable at all times,” said Johnson. “My phone ringer is always on at nighttime for students to reach out to them no matter the time.”
The guides always tell students to keep their belongings close when traveling in high volume places.
“They’re really good at giving us a heads up, like when we were on the metro one of the guides told us to keep our purses close by,” said Lindsey Fischer, a business analytics and information technology from Rutgers University. “Another guide sent a text in the group chat in case somebody didn’t hear.”
On the last day, JCU students joined a pub crawl that visited three bars and one club. The pub crawl is hosted by a third-party prover who shows the students the nightlife around the city by going to popular places.
The guides went as well to ensure safety and security for the students. The pub crawl participation is at the student’s discretion. Once students get to the last place on the pub tour, the students are on their own.
Smart Trip provides travel agency guides and assistance but not chaperones.
“Smart Trip has never had a problem with roofying or sexual assault on any of their tours,” said Michelle Kaufman, the Marketing and Hiring Manager of Smart Trip, who has worked with the travel agency for 7 years.
Smart Trip website states it is not responsible for the personal belongings of the customer. It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure the security of his or her own belongings. Smart Trip is not responsible for the loss, theft, or damage to any of the personal belongings of the customer, regardless of the circumstances.
All of the terms and conditions are posted on the website, and students are expected to read them before signing up for the weekend trips, according to Kaufman.
Before checking out, students are required to “check” a box that states that they understand and accept the terms and conditions with a link to various statements. Kaufman said that if they do not read the terms and conditions then that is “their own mistake.”
For more information, go to Smart Trip’s Instagram. This article is not sponsored by Smart Trip.
Study Abroad Suggested Readings
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