Who is Travel For Teens?
We are in our 21st year in the teen travel business and have emerged as the industry leader for teen travel in the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. We operate over 100 programs in 47 countries on 6 continents.
Our philosophy: We offer genuine and authentic trips for travelers, not tourists.
Our goal is to engender a passion for learning about other cultures and places through living like a local in that place.
Who leads the program?
Our staff is a cut above the rest! We seek out two main characteristics in our counselors – extensive knowledge of and experience in our destinations, and a passion for working with teens. Our staff’s backgrounds include living abroad and working in summer camps or other educational settings. Team members are proven leaders and role models, who connect easily with others and form genuine friendships with each student – all while bringing each destination to life.
We celebrate diversity! Our staff represents 49 different nationalities, speak a combined total of 21 languages, and visited 142 countries. Additionally, 80% of our staff lived or worked abroad in their lives. With so many unique experiences to share, you are sure to gain a global perspective.
Our average minimum ratios are one staff member to every seven participants. Each program has one Trip Director with several support staff, depending on the group size. Directors must be at least 25 years old within the calendar year and have prior experience working with TFT.
As a teacher, what will be my planning responsibilities?
As the teacher, we take care of almost everything! We will only ask you to contribute whatever you like or have time for in the planning process. However, we do need your help reaching out to students and their parents to help recruit enough kids for your trip. We will provide you with promotional materials and whatever other tools you need to make the trip a success.
How much control do I have over the planning of the trip?
It’s very simple – you have as much or as little control as you want to have over the planning of your trip! Our task is to listen to what you would like us to do, use our knowledge and expertise to provide an excellent itinerary that matches your group of students. For example, if you only know that you want a great vacation in Italy, we’ll create your entire itinerary including hotels, restaurants, sights, ticket reservations, and country-specific tips and suggestions.
On the other hand, if you know that you want to focus on STEM, community service, photography, or another curriculum based element in a certain destination, we will help you fill in the blanks to execute an amazing educational adventure!
Reach out to emily@travelforteens.com to get started planning your educational tour.
Do teachers pay to travel?
The teacher organizing the trip will always travel for free. Depending on group size we may permit other chaperones to join free of charge. Please contact us to discuss.
Do teachers need to collect money from parents?
Teachers never have to handle any funds. Travel For Teens handles all payments directly so that teachers do not need to be responsible at all for any financial payments. Payments schedules are custom designed for each trip by the teachers and Travel for Teens.
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.
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. High-Resolution 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.
How much do your school trips typically cost?
All of our school trips are designed to be all inclusive. Our school trip packages range from $2800 to $6000 depending on the destination, chaperone to student ratio, length of the trip and choices of activities. Contact us at 888-457-4534 or emily@travelforteens.com to discuss costs.