You are on the waitlist if you submitted an enrollment request for the 2023 summer and we were unable to find a space for you. You would have been contacted by the admissions team. If you have any questions about your status please contact the office at admissions@moondanceadventures.com or at 800.832.5229. There are no financial obligations to be on our waitlist and you can be on as many waitlists as you would like.
Click on the child’s profile in the circle above their name. From there you will be able to upload a jpg of your child. This is required to submit an enrollment request. If the photo of your child is outdated and you are an alumni, please email an up-to-date photo to admissions@moondanceadventures.com. We suggest completing this step before the morning of enrollment.
You will have to refresh your browser after 9:00 AM EST for the page to load the “enrollment” button.
Moondance only allows 1 mutual friend request which can be entered on the enrollment request form. This friend request must be mutual. It is your responsibility to ensure this request is mutual from both parties.
We love when students desire to experience new friendships and independence on their trip. If you prefer to go alone, please indicate this on your enrollment request. While we will work diligently to create the best group dynamics possible, we can not guarantee that you will be the only student from your hometown or school.
If you are an alumni, you will not need to fill out the teacher reference questions on the application. You may place a N/A or a dash(-) in the textbox as a placeholder.
We understand that enrollment coincides with the start of many school years and students may not have relationships with their new teachers. If you do not have teacher references upon enrollment, you may place an N/A or dash (-) in the textbox as a placeholder. You will have 30 days to send admissions@moondanceadventures.com the teacher names and contact information.
If a trip says “Available for Boys” or “Available for Girls” it does mean that we are full for the other gender. If we do not have a spot for you, we will automatically place you on the waitlist for your top 4 choices and give you a call. On that call we suggest considering other trip options or a single-gender trips to maximize the potential to travel with us. You can be added to as many waitlists as you like at no cost.
At the time of enrollment you will only be required to fill out the enrollment request and sign the terms and conditions. We highly encourage you to begin filling out the additional forms including the passport form, medical form, health insurance form, and COVID vaccine card upload. These forms are not required to submit an enrollment request, but are required to travel with us.
A great resource to check out to help you gain a better understanding of our trips is to visit our Youtube Page to watch the incredible experiences from previous summers. You can also spend some time reading our Trip Guides which are located at the bottom of every trip page, as well as reading previous summer’s Trip Updates! Our team at Moondance HQ is always happy to help you decide on what trip may be the best fit for you as well!
Full payment is due on February 1st, 2023.
We enroll students based on the current grade they are in for the Fall 2022 – Spring 2023 school year. For example, if you are in 8th grade for the 2022-2023 school year, you should look at trips listed for 8th graders.
Creating a community is perhaps the highlight for many on their Moondance trip. One of the greatest elements of a Moondance trip is meeting new people and being yourself in an entirely new group. We encourage you to partake in that valuable experience, and we love what happens when a group of strangers come together to form a team. That being said, sometimes participants come with a friend. In order to keep our focus on group dynamics, our policy is that no more than two friends can be in the same group together. We also limit our groups to allow no more than two students from the same school and three from the same hometown to travel in a group.
If you see limited on our website this will mean a trip is full for a gender, hometown, or school. If the trip you apply for is full for any of those three reasons we will discuss other options with you.
We will work our best with you and your family to find the correct trip for you based on your restrictions. Not all trips can accommodate all food allergy/ dietary restrictions so please call us if you have any questions!
Though Moondance has students come from around the world, we have a strong US following! We’ve had people hailing from 34 states and 6 foreign countries last summer alone. We love to connect people from such vast distances in search of experience and adventure.
You don’t necessarily need prior experience to go on a Moondance trip as we will teach you everything you need to know and be comfortable in a new setting. The challenge level of different trips varies, and we’re here to help you choose the trip that’s right for you. The only requirements for a successful Moondance adventure are positive attitudes, good physical condition, and the willingness to collaborate as a member of a small group.
On our domestic trips you will set up single gender, three-person Mountain Hardwear tents every night on most trips; however, we will encourage you to take the opportunity to sleep beneath the stars. On our international trips, you will stay in local hostels, lodges, inns, mountain chalets/ refugios, and sometimes in tents outside.
Moondance groups typically consist of 10 to 13 participants, with two to three leaders.
Our trips fill on a rolling basis. If your first choice is full, we will enroll you in your second or third choice options listed in your application. Once a trip is full we will generate a waitlist. Our Admissions team will call as we process your application to discuss secondary trip options, should your first choice be unavailable. If you would like to be placed on a waitlist please fill out the online application and we will give you a call to discuss wait list options.
One of the greatest parts of a Moondance trip is unplugging from the doldrums of your device. We encourage you to leave them behind if you can, but cell phones are permitted in transit in case of travel complications. Once you arrive on your trip, you will turn your cell phones into your leaders, who will hold them until the final day of your trip when they are returned to you in the airport. Phones detract from the experience we cultivate on a Moondance trip, and we strongly believe in the positive effects of digital detox. Moondance will not be responsible for lost, damaged or stolen electronic devices.
The trip deposit is $1000 which is due at the time of application. This deposit will be applied to the total program cost (Balance due February 1st) and can be paid by Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. We only charge the deposit if we are enrolling you in the trip of your choice.
On a case by case basis Moondance offers Financial Assistance to families. If you are interested in learning more about our Financial Assistance options, contact our admissions department, admissions@moondanceadventures.com.
Airfare to and from your Moondance program is not included in the cost of your trip due to the diversity of locations our students travel from. However, internal flights on Belize + Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador + Galapagos, Hawaiian Islands, Kenya + Zanzibar, Sardinia, South Africa, Spain + Morocco, and Thailand are covered in your tuition.
TSA does not require minors traveling domestically to fly with identification, however, if you are on an international program you will need to fly with a passport valid through SIX months after you return home. Certain programs will require further documentation such as, Visas or entry documents. You will be notified if your trip needs a Visa or other documentation after enrollment. If you have any questions about TSA requirements you can visit their website, here. If you have questions about obtaining a passport, please contact our office, admissions@moondanceadventures.com or 800.832.5229 and we can assist you!
This depends on the airline you are flying. Each airline has its own policies on flying as an unaccompanied minor, and depending on which airline your child is flying, policies will differ. We suggest contacting your airline directly for up to date policies before you fly. Moondance will provide you with the leader’s contact information to function as the Unaccompanied Minor contact for the airline. Keep in mind, that almost all airlines do not allow unaccompanied minors to travel on the last flight of the day.
We are happy to share flight details of other families on your trip from your hometown so you can book the same flight!
We believe that the excitement and value in arriving with an open mind and a blank slate about your group members adds an irreplaceable component to our programs. Therefore, we don’t disclose student information in advance. We ask that you don’t call the office asking for this information.
Yes, we always have a handful of families that live outside of the US on our trips. We recommend that you understand your country’s travel recommendations as well as the areas we travel before finalizing your trip enrollment.
Moondance suggests families follow guidelines set by the CDC for vaccinations and immunizations. Depending on your trip, it is possible that you will need special immunizations. This can change from year to year, and we operate under the guidelines of the Center for Disease Control. For specific trips, we ask that you discuss immunizations and any pre-existing conditions with your family doctor or local travel clinic. Moondance will provide a detailed map of where the group will be traveling for you to take with you to the travel clinic. Please visit www.cdc.org for more information.
Moondance leadership positions are coveted as amazing leadership opportunities for dynamic, young college graduates. We receive a large number of applicants every year, with many returning leaders. After a rigorous selection process, we select only the top 25% of the potential leaders who apply. Those who are accepted through our written application and interview process are then required to attain a medical certification (either Wilderness First Aid or Wilderness First Responder) and attend an 11 day staff training . During this training our leaders immerse themselves in their trips, their students, and the policies and procedures of Moondance. Staff training is a chance for us to get to know each and every leader deeply, and make sure they are the best fit for their trips, and our mission.
