Feature photo and photo above courtesy of Where There Be Dragons.
Educational travel programs for high-school students are not all created equal. Know what you’re getting before making a commitment.
Each summer, thousands of North American high-school students travel abroad with organizations that specialize in educational travel programs.
Many of these lucky students return home with increased self-confidence, a heightened understanding of global issues, fabulous photos for Facebook, and a college essay topic that will impress even the most ruthless Ivy League admissions officer.
Parents and students who decide to invest in an educational travel program should be applauded, but choosing the right program is a daunting and complicated task. Dozens of organizations specialize in youth travel, and among these organizations there are tremendous variations in travel style, educational philosophy, and overall quality.
When it comes to youth travel programs, making the right choice requires extensive research and careful consideration. The following questions will help you make sense of your options.
1. What Risk-Management Policies Are in Place?
Every student travel company will tell you participant safety is their number one priority, but you should ask about their specific risk-management policies. At a minimum, trip instructors should be certified Wilderness First Responders, have extensive in-country experience, and be backed up by a qualified emergency services provider.
Student behavior is a greater risk than riots, floods, or bacteria. Does the program tacitly allow students to drink alcohol? Are students allowed to ride motor-bikes or hook-up with each other?
The travel company will probably insist that students are not allowed to engage in risky behavior, but ask former participants how strict their leaders were and you might get a more honest response.
Finally, it’s important to recognize that travel in developed countries like France or Argentina is not necessarily any less dangerous than travel in poor countries like Cambodia or Bolivia.
A qualified and experienced instructor team operating under carefully prepared risk management policies is the best line of defense against accident, injury, and illness.
Photo courtesy of Where There Be Dragons.
2. How Many Students Are in a Group?
Small is beautiful. A travel group of 10-12 students is an ideal size, but 16 is too many and anything above 20 will guarantee a lack of instructor supervision and a cookie-cutter experience.
Ask if student groups will ever be combined. Some youth travel companies operate in-country base camps where several groups of students live at the same time. This is not an ideal scenario because it resembles summer camp – students will spend their time frantically forming cliques and be less likely to immerse themselves in the local culture or learn something new.
3. What Is The Instructor / Student Ratio?
Just as important as small group size is a low instructor to student ratio. One instructor for every four students is solid, one for every six is risky and one for every 10 is dangerous and irresponsible.
A low student-instructor ratio helps instructors keep close tabs on student health and behavior while giving students lots of individual attention. If only two instructors are trying to keep track of 20 students, they will not be able to do anything more than take attendance and make sure students are on the tour bus every morning.
Likewise, if an instructor gets sick, or needs to leave the group in order to escort a student to a hospital, it’s important to have at least two instructors who can stay behind and keep the group safe.
4. What Are the Instructors’ Qualifications?
Beyond basic qualifications like first aid training, ask if instructors are professional educators or just glorified baby-sitters.
How old is the average instructor? Many organizations hire recent college graduates or even current college students, which is asking for trouble.
How much in-country experience do the instructors have? Some organizations hire instructors who have never been to the country where the group will travel.
Finally, are the instructors even called instructors, or are they ‘guides’ or ‘counselors’? A guide leads a tour group and a counselor works at summer camp. If you’re looking for a genuinely educational travel experience, examine the credentials of the instructors with great care.
Photo courtesy of Where There Be Dragons.
5. What Is the Organization’s Philosophy of Travel?
Philosophy of travel is a difficult concept to quantify, but it can make all the difference between a fun but forgettable vacation and a profoundly memorable learning experience.
How touristy is the program? Will the group be traveling on tour buses, visiting famous attractions and consuming pre-packaged experiences, or will they get off the beaten path, interact with local people and enjoy a uniquely memorable learning adventure?
A good traveler should be humble, appreciative, curious, and respectful of local customs. If the organization is promoting a whirlwind tour or spring break style party trip, stay well away.
6. What Is the Main Focus of the Program?
Some programs are focused on service projects, some on language studies, and others on niche activities like sailing or wildlife conservation.
This works out well when students’ interests and goals match the specific focus of the program, but other students might want a more comprehensive experience.
7. Will Students Interact With Local People?
When a dozen teenagers are thrown into a situation together, they sometimes find it difficult to pay attention to anything but the social dynamics of the group.
Since genuine interaction with local people is such a valuable element of travel, find out how students are encouraged to meet the locals.
Will there be home-stays? Are students given solo time? Does the program emphasize culturally appropriate behavior and give students the practical skills they need to communicate?
8. What Costs Are NOT Included in the Tuition?
Youth travel programs aren’t cheap, and it’s important to know exactly what you get for your money. Most companies list a tuition price that does not include international airfare.
Other costs that might not be covered include student visas, travel insurance, airport taxes, and money for personal items and souvenirs.
Photo by -Gep-.
9. How Many Swimsuit Photos Are in the Catalog?
Finally, allow me to introduce The Swimsuit Test – my favorite metric for determining the quality of a youth travel program.
The Swimsuit Test is simple. Look through the program catalog and count the photos of attractive students who are either shirtless or wearing swimsuits. The more swimsuit photos, the less respectable the company.
Why is The Swimsuit Test a good barometer of quality?
Youth travel companies know that photos of cute boys and girls having fun in swimsuits will attract teenage interest. Beyond the moral issue of using scantily clad teenagers for marketing purposes lie questions of cultural respect and educational priorities.
In many countries, showing so much skin is culturally inappropriate behavior. The very scenes that companies use to market their trips will alienate the local people and separate the students from the genuine culture they are ostensibly there to experience.
Moreover, while hanging out on the beach might look like fun, it’s not an activity students need to travel across the world to enjoy.
Find a program that focuses on challenging students to do more than just have fun at the beach. Travel is too valuable an opportunity to waste.
Support Youth Travel Programs
The Matador Network is proud to sponsor a student on a youth travel program with Where There Be Dragons, a highly regarded youth travel company. To help, please make a donation to The Matador Fund.
Wondering if youth travel programs are worth the investment? Read Tim Patterson’s recent essay “Youth Travel Programs Are Vital To Our Security.”
Compare Youth Travel Programs
Here is a list of companies that specialize in youth travel programs. If you notice an omission, feel free to add a link in the comment section.
Center for Cross-Cultural Study
Experiment in International Living
For more information and resources, check out this high school study abroad page at Transitions Abroad, which is loaded with quality articles and advice.
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11 Comments... join the discussion!
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I'm hanging out with Jessie from Triskallian at the moment – he says they run surfing trips, so there are lots of swimsuit photos in their catalog…he requests an exception to the swimsuit rule, which is fine by me.
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Hi Tim! This piece is really helpful for our students and parents as we all work to set realistic expecations about study abroad and to help EF ensure our clients' safety. Since there are many travel and language programs offered on our general website, could you please update the EF link to specifically show our language immerison programs? EF International Language Schools ” target=”_blank”>http://www.ef.com/ils Thanks! Katie
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thanks for the comment, Katie – I switched the link.
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I didn’t know you wrote for Matador… I might’ve bought you a coffee to get on your good side
Thanks for including us (Visions) on your list! We had a mom sign her daughter up yesterday after finding us here! Perhaps I may be biased because Visions takes 20-25 kids with 5-6 staffers, but I feel that it’s not so much that there is one right size for a program. The right size for group depends on the nature and logistics of the program and the staff-student ratio, especially if creating open, honest, direct, and dynamic communication is intentionally incorporated into the program. I’ve been on Visions programs with 14 participants and with 25, and both sizes have had their benefits and challenges. I agree completely, though, when it comes to encouraging parents to be in touch with former participants and their parents. Make sure the advertising materials accurately re-create the experience, ask tough questions about safety, supervision and communication, not to mention daily activities… the more research parents and participants do before signing up for a program, the more likely they are to find just the right fit. Perhaps I will see you on the road again next year? And punch Jessie in the arm for me?
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Tim!
Great to hear from you. I hear you about group size being an issue for debate, but I really think a dozen students is the ideal size – if the group is much bigger, students spend too much time forming cliques.
I really admire Visions though, and trust your judgment.
See you next year -
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Tim,
This article is nothing short of disgusting. I hope that you are not a parent because I have a hard time imagining what kind of a child you would be capable of bringing into this world.
When you wrote:“Are students allowed to ride motor-bikes or hook-up with each other?”
I actually threw up a little. The very idea that hooking up with someone is “risky behavior” is a joke, just like you are.
Your swimsuit test proves that you are infinitely bone-headed and closed minded. Yes, there are some cultures out there that consider showing skin to be culturally inappropriate. However, America is one of the least open countries in the world when it comes to showing skin. Most countries in Europe and around the world embrace the human body much more than we Americans do. Thus, when you said that bathing suits “will alienate the local people and separate the students from the genuine culture they are ostensibly there to experience,” You are doing nothing more than directly lying to your readers.
And if you want to write an article that is even remotely believable, try not to get ALL of your pictures from a group with a name like ‘Where There Be Dragons.’ Just because you work for them and want to promote your own company to curious parents doesn’t mean that they’re not one of the worst travel groups out there.
Finally, just because your drinking from a coconut in your profile picture doesn’t mean you’re a worldly person. Your not good.
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Wow. Chill out, Dan.
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Nice article. I suggest you add AFS-USA to the list of program providers.
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Interesting article. I especially concur with the interaction with locals. I work for Edu-Culture International, a high school study abroad company based in Berkeley, CA, and we offer homestay programs, a total immersion week with a host family, language classes with the option to earn university credit, and interactions with local language partners for students to learn about their town and practice conversation.
We’re proud of the balance we strike between education, cultural experiences, and a variety of engaging activities while abroad. We’d appreciate being listed among your links, and feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have.
As Mark Twain wrote in 1869 after a trip through Europe, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness… Broad, wholesome, charitable views cannot be acquired by vegetating in one’s little corner of the earth.”
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Hey Dan,
Thanks for this solid piece of writing that cuts through the fluff around “teen adventure and community service summer camps”. Actual travel style, chosen locations, staff, group size/ratio, intercultural interaction, the history of the organization – and especially the way they create relationships with service hosts – are often missed by parents, or intentionally obscured by flashy websites, breathless copy, or bikini/boardshort-clad teens. But these details inevitably represent the overall PHILOSOPHY of the organization and the CARE that they choose to take of their participants, and their ultimate INVESTMENT in the experience they provide.
Ask these 9 questions of me at my chosen place of work: http://www.deerhillexpeditions.com
ps. RE: Nasty Commenter Dan above, we’d love to hear what organization you work for and what history you have with WTBD.
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