2025 Trips


NOTE: 

March 2025 Trips

Ramadan notice: Please note that in 2025 Ramadan extends through the dates of our March trips (2/28-3/30).  If you have questions about travel accommodations for your son during a March trip, please contact individual trip leaders directly. 

click HERE to sign up for a March DOMESTIC TRIP

Service, Song, & Sustenance
(New Orleans, LA)

Forms I-VI

March 15-21

$1,600-1,900

Known worldwide for its music, culture, and food, New Orleans is a modern American city with vibrant Native American, African-American, and European roots. This year’s service trip partners with the B Flats and all Belmont Hill foodies to explore and all foodies to explore and sample the Garden City's cultural gumbo. Working with Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, a non-profit founded by local teenagers to “to reduce blight by rebuilding distressed and foreclosed homes”, we will stay at YRNO's Seventh Ward community house. Service projects will range from light carpentry, to painting, landscaping, and stormwater management. In addition to the B Flats' repertoire, we will enjoy a wide range of music from gospel to creole, at a variety of venues.  And all the while, we'll sample some of the city's famous foods -- from beignets, to gumbo to jambalaya.  As they say in the Big Easy, laissez les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll)!

click HERE to sign up for March INTERNATIONAL TRIPS

Chinese Language

Taiwan

Forms II-VI

March 15-23

$4,300-4500

Beautiful Taiwan is the destination for Belmont Hill’s first Chinese-language trip since the pandemic.  Our journey launches in the capital city of Taipei, where the itinerary includes visits to a Confucian temple and the National Palace Museum, and a school visit. 


Students will have many opportunities to speak Chinese while bartering with vendors at a Shilin Night Market and at the Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf.  The second half of the trip features Taiwan’s natural wonders, including a day’s trek through the Taroko National Park and its famous Gorge.  


From the stunning, small coastal city Hualien, we travel to the mountainous northern town of Yilan, where students will be introduced to the artisanal and hunting practices of some of Taiwan’s indigenous communities.  

我们希望您能参加这次终生难忘的旅行！


NOTE: this trip is reserved for Chinese-language students up to October 25.  If after that date, spots remain open, Form II-VI students who do not study Chinese are welcome to sign up.


Sustainability Trip: Iceland

Forms III-VI

March 15-22

$4,100-4,400

Explore the incredible natural beauty of Iceland and learn how its unique geographical features have helped it become one of the first countries to generate almost 100% of its electricity from renewable sources! 

This trip will be open to students in Forms III-VI and offers the opportunity for students to immerse themselves in a culture of Sjálfbærni, or sustainability, by taking in the natural splendor of Iceland’s mountains, glaciers, and hot springs, and understanding the steps Icelanders have taken to steward these pristine geological wonders. Much of the focus of the trip will be on energy systems, including hydroelectric and geothermal power, with an explicit goal of students bringing back what they’ve learned to their home communities. 

If you want to walk inside a glacier, eat in a greenhouse full of tomatoes, learn more about Iceland’s history and culture, or gain the skills to be a more powerful advocate for sustainability, this trip is for you!

For a taste of the adventure ahead, scroll through this SLIDE DECK.

Classical History & Culture:  Rome, Pompeii, Paestum

Forms IV-VI

March 14-22

$4,300-4,700

The Classics Department returns to Rome this March with a packed itinerary that includes major attractions (Colosseum, Pantheon, Forum, Circus Maximus, and Catacombs) as well as off-the-beaten-path gems (the underground Mithraic Shrine at San Clemente, the “Church of the Bones,” and Santa Maria Della Vittoria).  

This year, we plan to visit Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Paestum too.  The trip focuses on Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance art and archaeology within the context of modern Italy.  

The trip is open to Latin or Greek students in Forms IV-VI. 


June 2025 Trips 

click HERE to sign up for June DOMESTIC TRIP

Outdoor Adventure: Yellowstone & Grand Tetons

Rising Forms II-VI

June 8-15

$3,200-3,700

Get ready for the awe-inspiring mountains, geothermal features, and wildlife-filled valleys of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks!  We’ll start in Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, where adventurers will encounter the world’s highest concentration of geysers, hike to Yellowstone’s dramatic and colorful Grand Canyon, and witness unparalleled wildlife in this intact ecosystem. 

From our base in the foothills of the 13,779-foot Grand Teton, adventurers will trek to the serene alpine Lake Solitude, raft the Snake River’s white waters, and explore the colorful history of Jackson Hole Valley, now a popular ski resort destination. Adventurers will have the opportunity to explore downtown Jackson for an evening before the trip closes with a night at the Jackson Hole Rodeo. Sign up now for this adventure of a lifetime!

For a taste of the adventure ahead, scroll through this SLIDE DECK.

Selective Trips 

African-American History & Culture Trip and the Kenney Legacy Trip

Participation on these trips is through a competitive application process.  The Civil Rights & Leadership Trip is open to students in Form II.  The Kenney Legacy Trip is open to students in Forms IV and V.  At the opening of the application process, students and parents from the eligible Forms will receive emails with more information and relevant deadlines.

There is no cost to families for students to participate in these trips, as the expenses have been funded entirely by donors. The Civil Rights & Leadership trip is funded by the Diversity Initiative Fund.  The Kenney Legacy Trip is supported by a fund established in 2017 by Anne Detmer, Charles Kenney, and Elizabeth Kenney to honor the memory of Charles F. Kenney ’06.

Open to Form II Students

There is no cost to students for this trip. 

Belmont Hill School offers students in Form II the opportunity to study African-American history and culture firsthand on a week-long tour of the American South.

This opportunity is free to families and will run from Saturday, March 8 through Saturday March 15, 2025.  Funded through the Diversity Initiative Fund, this trip provides selected students the chance to visit sites of cultural and historical importance in and around Atlanta, GA, Birmingham, AL, Montgomery, AL and New Orleans, LA. 

Students visit museums, eat incredible food, explore the campuses of the University of Alabama and Moorehouse College, and learn about history firsthand from tour guides in each destination. It is a fantastic trip. 

Interested students should write a three-paragraph application essay explaining their reasoning for wanting to go on the trip.  The application deadline is Monday, November 4, 2024.

The selection committee will choose the four students in early November. If you have any questions, please email Mr. Zellner (zellner@belmonthill.org).

Open to Form IV & V Students

There is no cost to students for this trip. 

The Kenney Legacy Trip, named and funded by the family of Charlie Kenney '06, honors their son's memory and strives to impart his love of country and reverence for Americans' military service and sacrifice. 

According to the Kenneys, "The notion that students can learn profound lessons about history by visiting sites such as the Normandy beaches" serves as the program's 'foundational idea'".  

Three to four participants will be selected early winter through a nomination and application process; these young men will comprise the fourth "generation" of Kenney Trip travelers who are privileged to take part in this all-expenses-paid trip to Paris, London, and battle sites and cemeteries in Belgium and France. 

Form IV and Form V boys interested in being considered for this trip should speak with a current history teacher and ask to be considered for nomination. If a boy is currently not enrolled in a history course, then he may speak with a previous history teacher.  

Prior to speaking with his teacher, each prospective applicant should consider the following:

Monday, November 12 is the deadline to submit application essays for the 2025 Kenney Legacy Trip

Click here to watch the Kenney Legacy Project video.

Trip Sign-Ups now take place through Veracross.  

Links are posted above.

Reservation, Release, Student Acknowledgement Forms

Forms posted below for your information.
To sign up for trips, please complete forms via the Veracross links above. 


IMPORTANT:  Parents and guardians, please take time to review the Student Acknowledgement Form together with your student.  


DOMESTIC TRIP FORMS  Trip Permission & Release Forms  |  Student Acknowledgement Form

INTERNATIONAL TRIP FORMS  Trip Permission & Release Forms  |  Student Acknowledgement Form  NOTE:  if current passport expiration date is within 6 months of the travel dates, please renew the passport (renewal process can take up to 10 weeks).

Approval of Participation

A student's participation on any trip is subject to the approval of the Directors of the Middle and Upper Schools respectively.

Payment & Cancellation

Families may cancel at any point until the sign-up deadline. Submission of a signed Permission form represents a family's agreement to pay the full cost of the trip.  The final cost of the trip will be billed to the student's account in December.  


In the event of cancellation after the sign-up deadline, a family is responsible for any trip costs the School has incurred on their son's behalf, up to the full cost of the trip.  If the cancellation occurs between 91 and 62 days before trip departure, families will be charged no less than 50% of the trip cost. If cancellation occurs within 61 days of departure, families will be charged 100% of the trip cost. 


Students who withdraw from a trip after the sign-up deadline may also forfeit the opportunity to travel on future School trips. 

Medical & Trip Insurance

Medical Costs and Health Insurance

The cost of all international trips includes emergency medical evacuation and repatriation coverage, beginning on the first day of the trip and ending on the last day of the trip. Travelers' families are personally liable for the cost of any other medical care or health-related expenses a traveler incurs during the course of a trip. Families should consult their medical and dental insurance providers about whether their policies cover travel to the location and under the circumstances of any particular trip. Families may also want to explore purchasing supplemental travel medical insurance; many vendors offer these policies.

Trip Cancellation or Interruption Insurance

In the case of an unexpected event, such as a family crisis, families sometimes choose to cancel the traveler's participation in a trip before departure or choose to have the traveler return home during a trip. There are many types of trip cancellation insurance available and many companies that offer coverage. It is recommended that families consider purchasing trip cancellation or interruption insurance to aid them in the event of any unforeseen circumstances.

Immunizations and Medications

Certain immunizations and preventive medications may be recommended, particularly for travel to a foreign country. For guidance, please consult the Centers for Disease Control (http://www.cdc.gov/travel) as well as your family doctor and/or a travel clinic. Additional information on health and safety is available from the State Department (http://www.travel.state.gov) and the State Department Consular Information Sheets (https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html).


Before students depart on any trip, we ask that parents/guardians update all medical information (including new medications) on Magnus.  Please contact Mrs. Emi White, Director of Health Services, with any questions (ewhite@belmonthill.org). 

Financial Assistance

Students who are on financial aid are eligible for trip funding for up to one of each trip type per division at Belmont Hill, with support limited to one trip per year.  In other words, financial aid students can receive funding for up to one A trip (global), one B trip (domestic), and one C trip (service) in Middle School, and up to one of each type in Upper School, as well.  

NOTE:  Exceptions may be made to permit students to receive funding for multiple lower-cost trips.


The Civil Rights Movement & Leadership (Form II) and Kenney Legacy Trips (Form IV and V only) are fully funded for all selected students, regardless of financial aid status.


No separate aid application is necessary. The School will automatically grant trip aid at the same percentage of tuition assistance a family currently receives as long as the student is eligible and funds are sufficient.


In the event that funds are insufficient and trip aid falls below the percentage of tuition assistance received, the Director of Financial Aid will contact affected families who have signed up for trips as quickly as possible, and communicate the amount of aid that is available. Families on financial aid will then have one week to opt out of that trip.


To secure a place on a trip, a student receiving financial aid must apply for the trip by the specified deadline. 


The School reserves the right to alter trip assistance policies as circumstances require at any time, but will strive to adhere to the guidelines indicated above.

 

Please consult the Director of Financial Aid, Mrs. Aylin Flanagan, with any questions: flanagan@belmonthill.org.