Transportation Assistance

Review the dates and information above and book your travel within the specified dates/times for your camper’s session. Then, complete the “Early Arrival, Late Departure, & Transportation” reservation in your account. Contact Blue Lake Transportation at 800-221-8796 x206 or transportation@bluelake.org if you have questions.

Contact the International Office at 800-221-3796 x201 or international@bluelake.org before booking your travel. Then, complete the “Early Arrival, Transportation, and Late Departure” reservation in your registration account online. We will contact you to confirm your travel plans and other details.

The sooner, the better! Blue Lake cannot accommodate last-minute requests; all transportation requests should be made at least 30 days prior to the camper’s arrival. In very special circumstances, we can take reservations up to 2 weeks prior to a camper’s session; however, you should plan transportation as soon as possible to give Blue Lake the time to prepare in terms of logistics and supervision.

Students traveling by air are strongly encouraged to fly through Grand Rapids International Airport to allow for the greatest flexibility in rebooking if airline schedule adjustments arise. Those who are traveling as unaccompanied minors must fly through Grand Rapids exclusively, as smaller regional airports cannot accommodate a student with unaccompanied minor status in the event of flight delays, cancellations, or other complications.

An unaccompanied minor is a child who is traveling alone and is not accompanied by a parent or guardian. Each airline has a unique policy for unaccompanied minors. Some airlines require that children under a certain age must travel with the status of “unaccompanied minor,” and other airlines offer this simply as an option to parents. Typically, there is an additional fee associated with these tickets, as well as restrictions regarding flight options, supervision, connecting flights, and transfers to other airlines.

If your child is flying as an unaccompanied minor, associated airline fees must be paid prior to each flight. Some airlines only allow payment of this fee one way, and a second payment may be required prior to departure. It is the responsibility of the parents/guardians to assess fees and payment requirements, and either make appropriate arrangements with the airline, or make sure the student is prepared to pay. Blue Lake is not responsible for additional airline fees associated with unaccompanied minor travel.

Airlines often require a specific name for the responsible adult meeting your child at the airport. Contact Blue Lake Transportation at transportation@bluelake.org or 800-221-3796 x206 to determine the Blue Lake representative who will be meeting your child at the airport.

Please view the links below to learn more about unaccompanied minors traveling with commonly used airlines:

• American Airlines
• Delta Airlines
• Southwest Airlines
• United
• Air France
• Lufthansa
• Note: Frontier Airlines does not allow any child 14 and under to travel alone

Blue Lake asks that you book all arrivals and departures within working hours – nothing earlier than 8am, or later than 10pm. Flight delays, cancellations, or other travel problems day-of will be handled as they come, of course. If your student is traveling as an unaccompanied minor, you may not choose the last flight of the day, and most airlines will not allow you to do so, in case of flight cancellations.

Complete the “Early Arrival, Late Departure, & Transportation” reservation in your account. In addition, we need the full flight itinerary of your camper to make sure we are looking for the correct flight, any connecting flights, etc. Please email your full itinerary (arrival and/or departure) to transportation@bluelake.org or call 800-221-3796 x206 to discuss your options.

We’d love to hear from you! You can call us at 231-894-1966 and ask to speak to someone about transportation, or email us at transportation@bluelake.org for more information.