Program Overview
**Use your trip’s unique identifier code BFK27 when registering**
Experience the rugged beauty of the Florida Keys! On this trip, organized by Travel For Teens and Basis Independent Silicon Valley, you’ll discover the wonders of the vast and diverse ecosystem of the Florida Keys and connect your classroom instruction with hands-on learning.
This is the perfect trip for 8th graders: real science in the outdoors.
The Florida Keys are a 120-mile chain of islands sitting beside the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States, and there is no better outdoor classroom for marine science. Students base at a marine science station in Key Largo, where labs, dorms, and the ocean are steps apart. Days move between real fieldwork (reef snorkels, mangrove kayaks, water sampling) and the labs that make sense of it all.
The week builds from reef ecology to hands-on coral restoration, then travels down the island chain: dolphins at Grassy Key, rescued sea turtles in Marathon, and a finale in Key West where students present their research before the sun goes down at Mallory Square. On the way home, an Everglades airboat tour puts the whole watershed in perspective. Students come back certified nature nerds, in the best way.
Prepare to fall in love with the Florida Keys!
Trip Itinerary
DAY 1: TRAVEL + ARRIVAL
- Meet our staff upon arrival in Miami
- Check into our hotel
- Ice breakers and first day meeting
- Dinner
DAY 2: THE EVERGLADES
- Breakfast
- A classic airboat ride through a park holding nine disctinct ecosystems looking for American alligators and American crocodiles
- Lunch
- Drive down to Key West
- Arrive and check into the hotel
- Have a swim
- Dinner
- Evening debrief
DAY 3: THE REEF
- Breakfast
- Learn about reef fish and habitat identification
- Lunch
- Snorkel at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
- Dinner
- Debrief
- After dark, the plankton and bioluminescence night lab
DAY 4: CORAL RESTORATION
- Breakfast
- Spend the day at the Exploration Centre and then head out onto the reef for a full day on the water
- Students will hang finger-sized coral fragments on coral trees
- Survey active outplanting sites
- Snorkel over the reef
- Dinner
- Debrief
DAY 5: MANGROVES + SEA TURTLES
- Breakfast
- Kayak the mangrove tunnels watching for manatees, nurse sharks, and wading birds
- Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital in Marathon where groups sometimes see a live procedure
- Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key: behavior science up close
- Dinner
- Debrief
DAY 6: KEY WEST
- Breakfast
- Drive down to Key West
- Students present their findings to each other and the teachers
- Arrive in Key West and visit the southernmost point marker within the United States
- Explore the old town as a group
- Fairwell Dinner
DAY 7: MIAMI + FLY HOME
- Breakfast
- Back to Miami
- Enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour/access to the aquarium at the Frost Museum of Science.
- Head to the airport with a debrief packet for the classroom
- Fly home to the Bay Area.
- Parents pick up their children who are happily exhausted
Registration Instructions
- Begin by clicking the ‘Register Now’ button on your school’s webpage
- You will be taken to the MyTFT portal. Choose the option to ‘Create an Account’ and enter your email address and a password.
- Once your account is created, you will be directed to a screen where you will be asked to fill out information about you as the guardian. Then, click the blue ‘Update’ button at the bottom of the screen.
- Next, put in your trip’s unique identifier code (BFK27).
- Search the code in the box with the magnifying glass icon and select your school’s trip.
- After selecting your trip, you’ll be prompted to begin the registration process! Please follow the instructions to complete your registration.
Travel with us and discover why we are consistently winning awards for Top Youth Travel Organization.
Photo Gallery
Trip Specific FAQs
Who is Travel For Teens?
Travel For Teens started in 2003 as a small, family-run business providing teens with an authentic experience in Paris.
Today, the TFT family has flourished and operates over 100 different programs in over 40 countries! Our values and mission remain the same no matter our growth – inspiring youth to ignite a passion for travel and discovering new cultures beyond the traditional tourist path.
How much is tuition & what does tuition include?
Tuition for the trip is $4,295, which INCLUDES round-trip airfare, all breakfasts and dinners, ground transportation, accommodations, activities, taxes, and tips.
Tuition does NOT INCLUDE meals not listed in the itinerary, beverages other than filtered water at meals, laundry, souvenirs, shopping, personal and medical expenses, activities and admissions that are not program-related or referenced in the itinerary, checked baggage fees, damage to hotels, expenses related to unforeseen circumstances (e.g. transportation delays or natural disasters).
Tuition for the trip is $4,295, which INCLUDES round-trip airfare, all breakfasts and dinners, ground transportation, accommodations, activities, taxes, and tips.
Tuition does NOT INCLUDE meals not listed in the itinerary, beverages other than filtered water at meals, laundry, souvenirs, shopping, personal and medical expenses, activities and admissions that are not program-related or referenced in the itinerary, checked baggage fees, damage to hotels, expenses related to unforeseen circumstances (e.g. transportation delays or natural disasters).
If I cannot afford the payment schedule listed above, does Travel For Teens provide flexible payment plans?
Yes, Travel For Teens is willing to customize a payment plan for any participant who needs a little flexibility in the payment schedule. Please email help@travelforteens.com for details on payment plans.
How much is trip cancellation insurance?
A standard trip protection plan $305, and a standard plan with cancel for any reason and interrupt for any reason coverage is $454. There is a premium coverage that also includes interruption for any reason for $488.
Most families opt for the standard or premium for a program like this. You can add insurance at the time of registration until final payment is due. Note: insurance is not active until TFT receives payment for the policy.
For more information on insurance, please see this page.
Trip Insurance is mandatory for all participants, but you do not need to purchase it via TFT. Families who purchase it independently will be asked to upload proof of purchase of an independently purchased trip insurance policy in your parent portal.
A standard trip protection plan $305, and a standard plan with cancel for any reason and interrupt for any reason coverage is $454. There is a premium coverage that also includes interruption for any reason for $488.
Most families opt for the standard or premium for a program like this. You can add insurance at the time of registration until final payment is due. Note: insurance is not active until TFT receives payment for the policy.
For more information on insurance, please see this page.
Trip Insurance is mandatory for all participants, but you do not need to purchase it via TFT. Families who purchase it independently will be asked to upload proof of purchase of an independently purchased trip insurance policy in your parent portal.
Who can go on this trip?
The trip is open to students in 8th grade from BISV is limited and space is awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The trip is open to students in 8th grade from BISV is limited and space is awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Where do we stay?
We will be staying at hotels on Key Largo and Key West. We do not publish the names of the accommodations on any public website. Names of the accommodations will be provided to the families closer to departure.
A single room can be reserved for $1200. Singles must be requested at the time of registration and are subject to hotel availability.
We will be staying at hotels on Key Largo and Key West. We do not publish the names of the accommodations on any public website. Names of the accommodations will be provided to the families closer to departure.
A single room can be reserved for $1200. Singles must be requested at the time of registration and are subject to hotel availability.
Trip Emails & Photographs
PHOTOGRAPHS
We will take dozens, if not hundreds, of photos each day. The best photos will be posted as regularly as possible (ideally every day) to a private photo-sharing platform (Waldo Photos) where you can follow along with the trip. We will send you an email to alert you when we post new photos. Low-resolution photos can be viewed for free during and after the trip. All of your High-Resolution matched photos can be purchased and downloaded in real-time during the trip or after the trip for $50.
EMAILS
The Trip Director will be in regular email contact every 24-48 hours, internet willing, with our families. Emails will include fun detailed updates about the day’s activities and are a great way for families to follow along with the journey. Email will be the best way to communicate messages to the Trip Director.
What is the payment timeline?
Deposit of $850 at the time of registration. The balance is due in six equal installments the first Monday of the month from October 2026-March 2027.
Deposit of $850 at the time of registration. The balance is due in six equal installments the first Monday of the month from October 2026-March 2027.
Safety, Sickness & Communication
SAFETY AND SICKNESS
The safety of our participants is our #1 concern, which is why we have only experienced trip leaders running the show. We offer 24/7 communication throughout our programs and have detailed risk management and safety policies in place. Please review our policies here.
For information regarding our specific policies with Covid-19 please review our Covid-19 protocols page here.
What are the safety qualifications for our staff?
Our staff members undergo a rigorous hiring process. They receive the same background check as school educators, an extensive training process to go over all safety precautions and protocols, and are required to be certified in CPR and First Aid. We exclusively hire responsible, multi-talented individuals who are safety-minded and are as passionate about teen travel as we are.
What is the food like on a TFT program? Can you accommodate dietary restrictions?
In a word – delicious! At TFT, we believe food should be an integral part of the travel experience and always make an effort to eat at authentic establishments when we can. What better way to immerse yourself in the culture of a place than by sampling the local delicacies, and we encourage students to do so whenever possible! Just as we stay away from Americanized hotel chains, we try to avoid restaurants with menus that cater only to tourists because every good traveler knows the best food is found wherever the locals are eating!
We also love to have picnics al fresco and do this whenever possible, which is a great way to taste some local food while sitting out in the fresh air taking in the sights and sounds of our surroundings.
As always, we are willing and able to accommodate vegetarians, vegans, gluten allergies, and other dietary restrictions.
Are participants allowed to have their cell phones on the program?
We do allow participants to bring their phones, but we ask that they use it solely as a camera when we are out and about during the day. We want everyone to focus on living in the moment and fully experience each new destination we are visiting without being absorbed in their phones. We ask that participants look at their journey with us as a way to disconnect. When we have downtime at our hotels in the evenings it is okay for participants to use their devices to connect with friends and family back home.