Basics

Over the years, we have received many questions from parents and participants about what it is like to be on a Travel For Teens trip. Here we present the answers to many of your questions. We offer a co-ed experience for ages 13-18. While this is a broad range, our groups are usually quite large and everyone finds a group with whom to be friends. A remarkable amount of spontaneous interaction and acceptance across all ages does occur. Boys and girls are in separate quarters. Safety is of paramount importance. Our groups stay with a counselor pretty much all the time. The exception to this is in situations where we deem it to be safe, smaller groups can go to the corner to a store, or shop within a prescribed area with a counselor nearby. In certain areas, primarily small towns or in regions like the south of France, they may go unsupervised in small groups, however they primarily remain with a counselor in training.

Counselors

The counselors are seasoned, responsible and hip, so our participants enjoy sharing experiences with them. It is the job of the counselors to keep the fun clean and happening, the learning and the laughter in good balance, and to oversee the safety of the participants. Minimum ratios are one staff member to every seven participants. Trip leaders and senior counselors account for most staff, and all are seasoned TFT staff. Trips may also include one or two junior counselors, who are college students with a history of TFT travel, and one or more Counselors in Training (CIT’s) with limited responsibility. CIT’s are not counted in staff-participant rations.

Hotels

Hotels are only in safe areas plus they are clean and set up for supervising groups of kids. This means we do not use large, impersonal hotels on the outskirts of cities. Not only do they not provide the authenticity we seek but when kids are not grouped into a manageable space and there are many other people in the hotel, supervision is more difficult. We do not use hotel chains, instead we primarily stay in small hotels, but do use hostels on some of our trips.

Rules

Our trips are not loaded with tons of confining rules, however we do have four unbending and unbreakable rules, which can result in a participant being sent home at their parent’s expense: No leaving the group intentionally, no drugs, no alcohol not dispensed by TFT staff, and no sexual activity. Parents should make sure their teens know that the serious rule infractions or disrespect of the rules or other people could result in being sent home at parent expense. In the event that a participant becomes separated from the group we have a clear set of procedures we follow. Our trips are not appropriate for those travelers who have trouble functioning within group guidelines or who expect or require complete lack of structure. Sadly, every year we send kids home for rule infractions.

Flights

We offer group travel on all of our trips but it is possible to meet us abroad. Also, we have a flight coordinator who works with you to make sure the best plan is made for having your child join the group. All group flights and flights between sessions for combination trips are accompanied by TFT staff.

Group Dynamics

We conduct our trips in an atmosphere of acceptance and respect. Most participants do not travel with a friend. A few do. We do not permit the formation of cliques or the exclusion of anyone. We are alert to all the forms of exclusion and it is not acceptable ever. Neither is bullying. Consideration for others, personal responsibility, teamwork and kindness are virtues we embrace at all levels every day and at all times.

The Travel For Teens Way of Traveling

We consider the intangible aspects of travel important. Bonding, friendships, respect and feeling cared for and valued are fundamental to our philosophy. We travel in large groups which then break apart into smaller groups with a counselor to accommodate different choices of activities. We tend to keep a late schedule, departing mid morning and often returning to the hotel around midnight. Our participants are treated like adults and are expected to behave in an adult-like manner. We do not conduct teen tours and we do not do homestays. We feel that people learn best when they are having a great time so our trips feature activities designed to meet the teens’ desire to have a great time and the parents’ desire for more than a superficial trip. We facilitate the ability to live within another culture in its entirety, as opposed to being a tourist. We do not herd our participants around, over schedule them or, conversely, permit sitting around doing nothing. There is, however, down time and time for reflection, plus time for laundry and stocking up on personal necessities. We do have itineraries but our structure permits plenty of opportunity for spontaneous, off-the-beaten-path fun. Days are divided into units with choices of activities for each unit. Our model provides structure without rigidity. Teens have told us time and again they do not like being forced to conform to inflexible schedules. Participants do not have to be athletic but there are sports opportunities for those who like them on every trip. Our Ireland and Italy Community Service trips do require more physical fitness, and all of our trips involve walking up to 5 miles a day.

Communication with Home

The internet is the preferred method of communication between parents and participants. Time will be given to the group to be able to use the internet. All counselors carry cell phones. You can contact us any day if you need to do so. Participants have a list of counselor phone numbers and a phone card, which they are taught to use. While we like the participants to have a US cell phone with them for ease in US airport coordination, we discourage cell phones abroad. We do not forbid them, however they are not permitted to be turned on outside the hotel room for anything other than emergencies. We expect participants to be willing and able to avoid non-emergency cell phone call to or from home, as we cannot accomplish an immersion experience with distractions.

Food

The mail meal of the day is taken in a restaurant, café or the like. Lunch is a sandwich, breakfast is consistent with the culture being visited. Meals range from very high end and expensive to charming and ethnic. Often there is a choice. We do not provide soda. We do not provide bottled water on trips where the local water is good. We discourage bottled water and encourage use of refillable water bottles. Parents have the choice to permit tasting of local beer and wine under our supervision for participants 15 years of age or older. No other alcohol consumption is permitted. We can accommodate special diets with advance notice and communication. We have vegetarians on virtually every trip.

TFT Cultural “coaching” and how we avoid anti-Americanism

Our participants are carefully coached in the habits and cultural signals of the host countries so are treated very well. We require appropriate attire and respect for the countries we are in and the vendors that we use. Therefore we do not typically experience anti-Americanism on our trips, in fact, the opposite is true.

Odds and Ends

All participants must have foreign medical insurance, we can help you with this. We strongly suggest trip cancellation insurance and provide you with recommended companies. Deposits are nonrefundable. Medical care in the countries where we travel is excellent. We have access to English-speaking doctors most of the time. Programs include housing, three meals a day, admissions, tips, guides, and transportation once at the destination. They do not include airfare to the destination, within the destination, or between trips.