Getting to Camp and Camper Luggage
Getting Your Campers to and from Camp
Campers and staff arrive at Camp Barney Medintz from all over the United States and the world. Campers have three options for arrival to camp and departure from camp. All families will get email reminders several days before their travel date with details on how we are expecting your camper(s) to travel and the time and place for your drop off or pick up. Be sure to read that email carefully and let us know if your plans have changed.
TRAVEL OPTIONS
This is the only option for Atlanta-area families and how the majority of our campers travel to and from Camp. Out of town campers are also welcome to use this option. Campers will ride air-conditioned buses to and from a location on the North side of Atlanta. Out-of-town campers are welcome to use this option. Please login to your Camp Account to see time and location details.
Campers flying to camp will be met outside of security at baggage claim. For flights with 8 or more campers, we will arrange a chaperone to supervise and escort them, and any chaperone expenses will be reimbursed.
- Chaperoned Flights: On arrival, chaperones will escort campers from the gate to our buses. On departure, chaperones will escort campers from the buses to the gate.
- Non-Chaperoned Flights: On arrival, we will meet your camper at baggage claim and guide them to our buses. On departure, you will pick up your camper at the buses. Parents are responsible for helping their camper navigate the airport if the flight is not chaperoned. This can include escorting them personally or giving instructions if the camper is old enough to fly alone.
To view preferred flights and additional information, please log in to your Camp Account. If booking other flights, campers should arrive no later than 11:00 am on Opening Days and depart after 12:30 pm on Closing Days. On Opening Days, campers may board buses starting at 12:00 pm, as the bus will depart at 1:00 pm. On Closing Days, please plan to pick up your camper between 9:00 am and 9:45 am.
If you’re unsure whether a flight will work or are interested in being a chaperone, please email Don Blate.
BUS SERVICE IN SELECTED CITIES
Camp Barney will be chartering air-conditioned coach buses directly to camp from select cities based on camper density. These buses will only be offered during the opening and closing days of our 4-week sessions but are available to any session that shares the same opening or closing day as the 4-week sessions. For first session in Summer 2026, we will be offering a chaperoned bus service to and from Birmingham, Nashville, and Savannah. For second session, we are offering chaperoned bus service to and from Charlotte, Memphis, and Birmingham. Please note: City bus locations are determined by how many campers sign up for each route.
All families within driving distance of these cities are welcome to use the bus, rather than flying. The cost of this service is $150, each direction.
For more information on bus service in selected cities, please log in to your Camp Account.
Getting Your Stuff to Camp Barney
Campers must pack belongings into duffel bags or other types of soft-sided luggage.
We highly recommend shipping your luggage. Shipping your luggage will make opening day a less stressful experience for you and your camper. It also helps our staff get your campers bags to their cabin as quickly as possible on opening day. Shipping your luggage home allows the return trip to be less stressful as well. In particular for our campers flying home, shipping your luggage will prevent you from having to check your bags and it also helps our staff with bus loading for the airport. We strongly encourage you to use bags that measure no more than 40 x 20 x 20 inches when fully packed to avoid paying some really high extra fees. Staying within the 40 x 20 x 20 size should ensure that you don’t exceed the various size limits that result in extra fees that can get up to $125 per bag per trip. It is important that you measure the bags after they are fully packed and ensure that they are not oversized. This applies to shipping and to checking baggage on a flight.
LUGGAGE SHIPPING OPTIONS:
- We are offering a shipping company option for you to use. Please note that this is a 3rd party and while we do suggest you use them, they are not on our staff and we are not an affiliate of their business. We are again offering IFL who has serviced our families since 2011. They provide door to door service in South Florida and also set up shipping for families anywhere in the country. You can access their website here or via a form on your dashboard.
- You can ship directly with FedEx or UPS.
➢ Luggage being shipped to camp should be set up to arrive on the Wednesday before your camper’s opening day.
➢ Luggage pickup at the end of your session should be scheduled on your last day of camp at 3pm or later.
All families will be provided with color-coded luggage tags to assist our staff with getting the right bags to the right campers!
If you would prefer not to ship your luggage, Campers riding on our buses can bring their luggage with them at no extra charge. For campers flying: on opening days, we will have staff available to help get your luggage from baggage claim to our buses between 12 pm and 1 pm. On closing days, we will have staff available to help remove luggage from the buses between 9:00 am and 9:45 am. We will also have carts available so you can get the luggage from the buses to check-in. Please be aware of the airlines’ ever-changing luggage size and weight policies! You are welcome and encouraged to ship your luggage to Camp in order to avoid the airport hassle and extra fees.