Flying to Camp? How to Avoid Additional Luggage Costs . . . .

One cannot seem to fly without additional
luggage costs anymore. With rising luggage
fees making extra suitcases and carry-ons
an added expense to the already high cost
of air transportation, it’s prudent
to consider ways to curb this growing cost
inconvenience for your campers and staff. 

• Carpool or pack the van and drive—A
  growing number of families are driving
  to camp to avoid the airport hassles,
  luggage costs, price inflation, and incredible
  unpredictability. A family of three,
  four, or five can pack up the van and
  get the kids to camp at a fraction of
  the cost of flying and avoid the additional
  luggage costs, unaccompanied minor costs,
  etc. Suggest carpooling to your camper
  families that live near each other as
  a means to save on transportation costs.

• Limit the amount of luggage brought
  to camp—Some camps set limitations
  for luggage. For example at Blue Star
  Camps in North Carolina, campers are
  limited to bringing two 50-pound duffels,
  regardless of what form of transportation
  they take to get to camp. And in pre-camp
  materials for parents, the camp strongly
  recommends a specific quantity of clothes,
  shoes, equipment, etc.

• Create a "Live Lightly" Theme
  at camp—Blue Star’s theme
  for this summer is "Live Lightly," and
  part of living lightly is encouraging
  campers to bring only what they need
  to camp and learn to be comfortable without
  all the comforts of home. Providing laundry
  service on site can help as well. Offering
  a linen service is an excellent way to
  deter campers from packing bulky domestic
  items.

• Encourage  camp families to take
  the scenic route—Provide families
  with ideas for enjoying your camp community
  and surrounding sites either before or
  after camp drop-off to help parents enjoy
  the  trip to camp at its fullest.

Any specific ideas to help keep luggage
costs down? Send them to magazine@ACAcamps.org,
and we will add them to this list.

*Ideas contributed by Tom Rosenberg,
director of Blue Star Camps in North  Carolina.