Radboud University
Before taking a trip abroad, always consult this infographic.
VCK Travel is the mandatory central place for booking your foreign business trip (train tickets, possible plane or boat tickets, hotel and car rental). Booking a trip abroad requires you to submit a travel request, even if you already have permission from your manager. You can book the trip yourself (self service) or have this trip arranged by VCK Travel (full service). You will find the price indication form here.
There are two booking options for your business trip. It is also possible to book a group travel for 10 people or more with VCK Travel. Please note: You can only make your final booking after your travel request has been approved and you have received a travel request number. This number always starts with a "T", followed by six digits. Train journeys can be booked up to 6 months in advance, and flights up to 11 months before departure.
More information and frequently asked questions
Before booking a trip, it is important to adjust your travel profile in the booking tool yourself and keep this information up to date, in accordance with official documents such as a passport or identity card. In your travel profile, you can also indicate dietary requirements, add your personal OV-chipkaart or other travel discount cards, disabilities and/or other important things.
Are you experiencing problems logging into the booking tool? If so, you are not yet authorised. Request your access.
In self-service, you can book your trip yourself in VCK Travel's online booking tool.
Need help while booking via self-service in the online booking tool or experiencing problems with the online booking tool? Please contact the AirGo helpdesk via airgo.helpdesk [at] vcktravel.nl (airgo[dot]helpdesk[at]vcktravel[dot]nl.)
When you request information via full service, VCK will handle your booking as a full service.
With full service, you can have your trip arranged by VCK Travel. With full service, you will receive various travel options and a cost overview.
Group travel of 2 or more people can be requested via full service. Request the quote via VCK travel and submit an order request via BASS.
Need help booking a full service during office hours? Then please contact the travel consultants at amsterdam [at] vcktravel.nl (amsterdam[at]vcktravel[dot]nl) or on + 088 120 1902.
Do you have your own accommodation such as a an apartment where you would like to stay, but it is not offered in VCK Travel's booking tool? You can pass on your preferred accommodation via full service.
If you would like to stay at a specific research location, please contact reiszaken [at] cif.ru.nl (reiszaken[at]cif[dot]ru[dot]nl.)
Please note: it is advised to pass on preferred accommodations via full service that are also offered on Expedia and/or Booking.com. It is strongly discouraged to book accommodation through Airbnb due to cancellation policy.
You also need to have an approved travel request for an urgent travel request. You arrange this by submitting a travel application as soon as possible and having it approved by your manager. BASS shows the current status of your travel request and who still needs to approve it. Is your manager absent? Then make a report to Helpdesk Finlog.
If you are going abroad for a conference, you book the transportation such as train, flight, taxi and public transport with VCK Travel. Please note: you are responsible for paying registration fees for conferences and can immediately claim reimbursement after payment through BASS (expense declaration).
Booking conferences abroad with open registration is done through VCK Travel (full service), provided that you can share the link with VCK Travel. The way of transport, such as train, flight and taxi should be booked with VCK Travel. You are responsible for paying for other expenses such as consumptions, which you can then claim for reimbursement afterwards.
If you are invited to a conference with a personalised invitation in which the hotel, dinners and so on are provided by the conference organiser, you book and pay for it yourself.
| Who makes the booking for conferences? | VCK Travel | Yourself |
| Transportation (plane, train, public transport) | ✔ | |
| Registration fee for the conference | ✔ | |
| Package deal* with open registration | ✔ | |
| Package deal* with personal invitation | ✔ |
*Package deal: accomodation/stay + excursion + meals organised by the conference.
An important measure from Radboud University's sustainability policy for foreign travel is the 7-hour travel rule from Nijmegen. This means: no more flying to cities that can be reached within seven hours with sustainable alternatives. Often, the train is a good alternative, with less waiting time than at the airport, and you can use the journey, for example, to work or sleep if you take the night train.
When adopting the business air travel policy in 2020, it was decided to centrally organise the booking of international business travel through a travel agent to achieve Radboud University's sustainability goals. With VCK Travel, the CO2 emissions caused by travel will be clarified and how this will be compensated. Additionally, administrative burdens for colleagues from various departments are reduced, and the duty of care is centrally organized.
When booking a business flight, points are automatically collected in a centralised savings programme of the airline concerned. By booking flight tickets through VCK Travel, the business points are collected in a centralised account of Radboud University. This savings programme is called Bluebiz. These points are intended for Radboud University and are not the same as a private savings system. Besides Bluebiz, it is also possible to save privately with Flying Blue. You indicate this in your traveller profile in the booking system.
BlueBiz business savings points are used in a positive way to help regular international master students with limited financial resources in obtaining a one-way trip to begin their studies at Radboud University. The use of business loyalty points for these students is an initiative of Student Life and International Mobility (SLIM) and the Radboud Fund. Students who apply for the Radboud Encouragement Scholarship (RES) are eligible. The selection of these students is done through a lottery, conducted by SLIM of the Radboud Encouragement Scholarship (RES). These students have demonstrated insufficient financial means to study in the Netherlands.
Because travel, accommodation and any registration fees for conferences will now be invoiced directly to Radboud University, it is no longer possible/necessary to request an advance payment. Other costs during the trip that have not been booked with VCK Travel can be claimed directly, or if you wish, after your return via BASS (expense claim with proof of payment). This could include other pre-paid registration fees and all costs incurred during your trip such as food, drinks and tourist tax. A travel application number for these costs is then no longer applicable.
