FAQs

No, trips are open to alumni, family, and friends of Virginia Tech.

The Traveling Hokies program offers a variety of tours throughout the year, both international and in North America. Tours range in length and there are both land and ship based trips. These programs offer the opportunity to interact with other Hokies while exploring the world. On some tours, a Virginia Tech representative will accompany the group and serve as a host for a private Traveling Hokies reception. Our carefully selected trips offer something for everyone!

No, there will be other alumni from different universities traveling in the tours.

FIT, flexible independent travel, is usually alone, in couples, or in small intimate groups of friends or family. You can book a trip on any of the tours offered by our tour providers, even if we have not selected the specific trip. You may identify yourself as Virginia Tech alumni.

Travel insurance can be obtained through membership programs (i.e. AAA and USAA) or through your auto and mortgage insurance providers, to name a few. Each travel insurance program provides different coverage at different pricing, so shop around.

You may want to purchase optional travel health insurance as well. Check with your own health insurer to determine if and in what way you are covered when outside the U.S.

Our travel partners ensure that guests on our Traveling Hokies tours have an onsite contact and the opportunity to gather with fellow Hokies. On select trips, a Virginia Tech representative has the opportunity to attend and serve as host.

Most tour operators charge a nominal cancellation fee from the time of deposit to cover expenses incurred in processing a new reservation and mailing out preliminary trip information. As the departure date gets closer and the travel company has made more financial commitments to their suppliers (airlines, hotel, ground transportation, etc.), cancellation fees become more substantial. Cancellation penalties are structured to coincide with advance payments that our tour operators must make to their suppliers and the penalties are strictly enforced due to these contractual commitments.

Because our tour operators have different policies regarding cancellations, we suggest that you discuss cancellation fees with the specific tour operator prior to making your trip deposit. We also strongly encourage purchasing trip cancellation insurance immediately following your deposit to minimize financial risks.

Representatives from the Virginia Tech Traveling Hokies program partner with tour operators who have a strong history of alumni travel experience to select a robust list of tours to offer our alumni and friends each year.

If you have not received your travel documents, please contact the tour provider from which you purchased your trip. Their customer service staff should be able to help you.

If this does not work, please email us at alumnitravel@vt.edu.

We suggest making reservations as early as possible after the trip information is available. Most trips have a maximum number of travelers and sell out quickly. It is impossible to predict how quickly a trip will sell out so the longer you wait, the greater the chances are that the trip will be filled by the time you send in your registration.

We can be reached at 540-231-5027 or by email at alumnitravel@vt.edu.