Cardigan Mountain School A boarding and day school for boys in grades 6 through 9

Student Travel

It is very important that we know how our students are traveling to and from campus. A travel form is required for every student, including those who live relatively close to campus and will be traveling by car.

Travel forms will be available on this page beginning five weeks prior to a long weekend or vacation. If you have any questions about your student’s travel or prefer to share travel information when the form is available, please contact Student Travel Coordinator Erzi Willems at ewillems@cardigan.org or travel@cardigan.org. 

If you are interested in CMS-arranged transportation for your child, please be sure to scroll down this page to the CMS transportation information section. 

Important 2024-25 Dates with Travel Information

Wednesday, September 4: Campus Arrival & Registration for all students in grade 9.
Friday, September 6: Campus Arrival & Registration for all students in grades 6-8.

All families must submit a travel form for Campus Arrival & Registration. The CMS Boston Bus is available for students arriving between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on both Wednesday, September 4 and Friday September 6. Private car service also can be arranged, if needed.

Saturday, October 19: Fall Family Weekend Ends & Fall Long Weekend Begins

A full schedule for Fall Family Weekend will be released in September. Students may depart for Fall Long Weekend after their last athletic commitment on Saturday, October 19. The CMS Boston bus is NOT available for departure from campus for Fall Long Weekend but IS available for returning to campus on Wednesday, October 23.

Wednesday, October 23: Fall Long Weekend ends for Grades 6-8: All sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students arriving by car are expected back on campus between 5:00 and 9:00 p.m. The CMS Boston Bus is available for students arriving at Logan airport on flights scheduled to land between 12 and 4 p.m., or for students who will be dropped off at Logan airport by a parent or guardian at 4 p.m. Reservations and copies of e-tickets are required.

Friday, October 25: Grade 9 students are due back on campus: This extended long weekend is intended to facilitate secondary school visits. All ninth graders are expected back on campus before their athletic commitment. The CMS Boston Bus is NOT available on October 24 or 25.

Fall and Winter Long Weekend Homestay Option for International Students 

If your son is an international student and you are not able to attend fall or winter family weekend, and thus not able to pick him up from campus for the corresponding long weekend, and your family does not have family or friends in the area, our international relations department will help you arrange a homestay with a local Cardigan family. If you will need help arranging a homestay, please inform the school as soon as possible by completing the appropriate travel form and emailing your request to ewillems@cardigan.org or travel@cardigan.org.

*To volunteer as a host for an international student, please indicate your interest during the online registration process in August, 2024.

Saturday, November 23: Students are free to depart campus for Thanksgiving Recess after their last commitment. Please check your son’s athletics schedule to determine when he is free to leave.

Sunday, November 24: Thanksgiving Recess begins. All students must depart campus before 8:00 a.m. The CMS Boston Bus is available for students on flights scheduled to depart out of Logan airport between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Students may also be picked up at Logan airport by a family member or adult designated by the family and known to the student. 

Please note: If the only suitable flight for your son departs AFTER 3 p.m., you must either book a flight the day prior, or appoint a guardian to pick up your son from campus before 8 a.m. on Sunday.

Monday, December 2: All students traveling by car are expected to arrive on campus between 5:00 and 9:00 p.m. (not earlier please, as dorms and faculty will not be available). The CMS Boston Bus is available for students arriving at Logan airport on flights scheduled to land between 12 and 4 p.m., or for students who will be dropped off at Logan airport by parent or guardian at 4 p.m. Reservations and copies of e-tickets are required.

International Student Trip Option for Thanksgiving Recess

If your son is an international student and is unable to travel home during the Thanksgiving recess, a Cardigan-organized trip may be a good alternative. To sign up, please complete the Thanksgiving Travel Form or email ewillems@cardigan.org or travel@cardigan.org.

*Reservations are due by October 19. This trip fills up quickly, so don’t delay!
**Homestays are NOT available during Thanksgiving Recess.

Thursday, December 19: Students may depart campus for Winter Vacation after their last commitment. Please check your son’s athletic commitments to determine what time he may depart.

Friday, December 20: Winter Vacation Begins. All students must depart campus before 8:00 a.m. Homestays are NOT available during Winter Vacation. The CMS Boston Bus is available for students on flights scheduled to depart out of Logan airport between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Students may also be picked up at Logan airport by a family member or adult designated by the family and known to the student. 

Please note: If the only suitable flight for your son departs AFTER 3 p.m., you must either book a flight the day prior, or appoint a guardian to pick up your son from campus before 8 a.m. on Friday.

Monday, January 6, 2025: All students traveling by car are expected to arrive on campus between 5:00 and 9:00 p.m. (not earlier please, as dorms and faculty will not be available). The CMS Boston Bus is available for students arriving at Logan airport on flights scheduled to land between 12 and 4 p.m., or for students who will be dropped off at Logan airport by parent or guardian at 4 p.m. Reservations and copies of e-tickets are required.

Saturday, February 1, 2025: Winter Family Weekend ends & Winter Long Weekend begins

A full schedule for Winter Family Weekend will be released in January 2025. Students may depart for the long weekend after their last athletic commitment on Saturday, February 1. The Cardigan Boston bus is NOT available for departure from campus for the long weekend but IS available for returning to campus on Wednesday, February 5.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025: Winter Long Weekend Ends. All students traveling by car are expected to arrive on campus between 5:00 and 9:00 p.m. (not earlier please, as dorms and faculty will not be available). The CMS Boston Bus is available for students arriving at Logan airport on flights scheduled to land between 12 and 4 p.m., or for students who will be dropped off at Logan airport by parent or guardian at 4 p.m. Reservations and copies of e-tickets are required.

Saturday, March 1, 2025: Students may depart for Spring Vacation after their last commitment.

Sunday, March 2, 2025: Cardigan's Spring Vacation officially begins at 8:00 a.m. and campus will close to all students. Please be sure to plan accordingly.  The CMS Boston Bus is available for students on flights scheduled to depart out of Logan airport between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Students may also be picked up at Logan airport by a family member or adult designated by the family and known to the student. 

Please note: If the only suitable flight for your son departs AFTER 3 p.m., you must either book a flight the day prior, or appoint a guardian to pick up your son from campus before 8 a.m. on Sunday.

Monday, March 24, 2025: All students traveling by car are expected to arrive on campus between 5:00 and 9:00 p.m. (not earlier please, as dorms and faculty will not be available). The CMS Boston Bus is available for students arriving at Logan airport on flights scheduled to land between 12 and 4 p.m., or for students who will be dropped off at Logan airport by parent or guardian at 4 p.m. Reservations and copies of e-tickets are required.

May Date TBD, 2025: Underclassmen Recognition Ceremony. All students in grades 6-9 are are free to depart after the ceremony. The CMS Boston Bus is available for next day flights departing between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Sunday, May 25, 2025. Commencement. Graduates are free to depart after the ceremony, which will be approximately 1:00 p.m. All students must depart campus by 5 p.m. and campus will be closed.

Travel Forms

Convenient forms are used for parents to provide important information about their student’s travel to and from Cardigan Mountain School. These forms will be available on the Parents page beginning approximately 5 weeks prior to each travel date. 

We ask that all families, including local families, complete these forms. Forms should be submitted to our Student Travel Coordinator well before the travel date, particularly if your son needs transportation arranged by the travel coordinator.

If you reserve a seat for your son on the CMS Boston Bus (more details below) you must always complete a travel form for your son and send an email to Student Travel Coordinator Erzi Willems at ewillems@cardigan.org with details of your son’s travel plan, including a copy of his e-ticket if he is flying.

If ground transportation to and from Cardigan is not arranged by our travel coordinator, please include a name and phone number for the person responsible for driving your son on the travel form if that person is not a parent or legal guardian.

The CMS Boston Bus

Transportation chaperoned by Cardigan faculty is available to and from Logan Airport on the morning of the first official day of a major break and in the afternoon of the official return date of all breaks. The cost is $110 per student, per trip. Dates and hours of availability are listed further below.

IMPORTANT: You may reserve a seat on the bus for your student on the dates shown above, provided that your student’s flight is scheduled to either depart Logan airport between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., or (for return to campus), is scheduled to land between 12 and 4 p.m. only.

If your son's flight departs Logan airport after 3 p.m., make sure to schedule his departing flight for the day before the departure of the CMS Bus and before the official start of the break, unless you have assigned an adult to take over care for your son in the airport on the day of the bus.

Drop off or pick up at the airport can also be arranged with CMS chaperones, as long as an adult will be present for your student. That person's name and phone number will need to be shared with the travel coordinator.

The CMS Boston Bus to or from Logan Airport costs $110 per student and is billed to that student's CMS account.

Arriving at Cardigan

  • Wednesday, September 4, 2024 (Registration for 9th graders)
  • Friday, September 6, 2024 (Registration for students in grades 6-8)
  • Wednesday, October 23, 2024 (no bus available for 9th graders returning on Friday, October 28, but private cars can be arranged)
  • Monday, December 2, 2024
  • Monday, January 6, 2025
  • Wednesday, February 5, 2025
  • Monday, March 24, 2025

Departing from Cardigan

Students who will ride the Cardigan chaperoned Boston Bus from campus to Logan Airport at the beginning of a major break, should depart on flights scheduled to leave between 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. on the following dates only:

  • Sunday, November 24, 2024
  • Friday, December 20, 2024
  • Sunday, March 2, 2025
  • Friday, May 23, 2025

Please note the following:

  • If your student does not ride the CMS bus to Logan Airport, he is free to depart campus by car the afternoon prior to the official start of the break. 

  • Reservations and flight details are required in order to reserve a seat for our student on the CMS bus. Please complete a corresponding travel form and/or email Student Travel Coordinator Erzi Willems.

  • A one-way trip on the CMS bus to Logan Airport is $110. This will be charged to your student’s account after the trip.

  • Students not flying in to return to campus should arrive at campus between 5:00-9:00 p.m. after a break.

Any flights outside of these windows will require additional attention, most likely in the form of hiring a private car service. Please email the Student Travel Coordinator Erzi Willems at ewillems@cardigan.org with any questions. 

If your son is not flying out of or back into Logan Airport, but you would like him to ride the bus to Logan Airport (where you will meet him) or back to CMS (for return after break) please complete the travel form. This way you can reserve a seat on the bus for your son. Drop-off time and location at Logan Airport will be determined a few days before travel, and the name and phone number of a pick-up/drop off person will be required. A reservation is needed to hold a seat for your son, so please complete the travel form as soon as possible.

Private Car Service

Our Student Travel coordinator can help reserve a car and driver if needed.If you request private car service to be arranged for your student, you will be charged by the car service company, and this cost will be billed directly to your student's CMS account. 

Estimates are available upon request. We use two car services, Axis Coach and Door to Door Car Services.

Door to Door Car Service (van transportation) from and to New York City

Families in the New York City area are welcome to sign up their son for a shared reservation traveling to and from CMS/NYC for breaks (drop off / pick up from Jacob Javits Convention Center 429 11th Ave, New York) with a chauffeur from Door to Door Car Services. The cost each way depends on the number of students signing up and tends to fluctuate between $150 and $350. Please email Student Travel Coordinator Erzi Willems ewillems@cardigan.org to make a reservation or for more information. Please keep in mind that reservations must be made ahead of time.

Unaccompanied Minor Service (UMS)

What is it? Who needs it? It depends on your child’s airline! This service needs to be requested by a parent or guardian upon booking the ticket. Call the airline to confirm their unaccompanied minor policy prior to making a reservation. The policies are often not clear or entirely up-to-date online and there may be exceptions or differences in the policy depending on the arrival and departure location. Additionally, some airlines require you to make reservations for unaccompanied minors over the phone.

You will need to pay for, complete, and sign a UMS booking form, naming the responsible adult who will deliver the child to the airline staff on departure and also naming the adult who will collect the child at their arrival destination. It is essential that this information is accurate and the adults have official ID to show the airline staff. The airline staff may refuse to allow the child on the flight or release the child into the care of the adult on arrival at their destination if they do not have an acceptable ID. Typically Cardigan chaperone information is available two days before flying. Always check with the airline that your son is flying with for their unaccompanied minor age rules. Airline rules vary. 

Please don’t forget to inform the travel coordinator of your son’s UM status (yes or no choice on the travel form). If he is an unaccompanied minor, it is extremely important that information about the person receiving your son upon landing or dropping him off is shared with CMS.

Travel Money

If your son will be flying back and forth on his own during our breaks, please consider sending him with a prepaid VISA card. This will provide him with the ability to pay for any airline luggage charges, Unaccompanied Minor charges, and will provide him with the ability to pay for food or drinks in the airport. Please instruct your son to hand in this card with his travel documents and/or phone, so you can be sure it is safe and the balance on the card remains until it is time for him to travel.

Travel Dress

All students using ground transportation to and from school arranged by Cardigan must be in travel dress, which is Buffet Dress (appropriate for the season and weather.)

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