About Our Programs

Pacific Discovery offers inspiring summer, semester and gap year, experiential and educational travel programs to the most amazing places on earth.

Our programs are based on the concept of experiential education, and blend cultural immersion, personal and leadership development, volunteer and community service projects, ecotourism and sustainability focus, and transferable academic credit options.

Each program is designed around six program components: educational focus; service learning; cultural immersion; sustainable travel; outdoors and wilderness exploration; personal and leadership development.

All of the components provide great opportunity for participants to learn about themselves, to push their boundaries, question their assumptions, to stimulate problem solving and inquiry skills.

By giving participants responsibilities and freedom within the framework and safety of a well-designed and carefully managed program, participants are empowered, helping them become more capable and self-reliant. These programs are pivotal experiences in our participants’ lives.

The option to combine one of our programs with tranferable academic credit gives you an unbeatable study abroad or gap year travel experience.

Since 2001, Pacific Discovery has taken hundreds of students and graduates on extraordinary learning adventures, utilizing a staff of experienced and qualified program leaders and faculty.

If you have a thirst for adventure, to explore places you've only dreamt of, learning through hands-on experience and making friends for life, then join us...

Being with this group of people in these amazing countries has opened my eyes to the world. My perspective has broadened, my heart has opened, and my limits have been tested. I will never forget this experience! Laura Gipson

I can never thank you enough for the New Zealand Australia and Southeast Asia programs. They are two experiences that have profoundly affected me in so many ways and I will never forget them. So many moments of laughter, beauty, amazement and intense emotion that run straight to the core of one's being. Travis Allen

What is a Pacific Discovery program?

Our programs are more than simply a travel or study abroad experience. We deliberately use an overseas adventure-travel environment to maximize the educational and life-skills potential for our participants. Each of our programs is designed to combine six interdependent components. 

These components provide immense opportunity for participants to learn about themselves, to push their boundaries, question their assumptions, to stimulate problem solving and inquiry skills.

By giving participants responsibilities and freedom within the framework and safety of a well-designed and carefully managed program, participants are empowered, helping them become more capable and self-reliant. These programs are pivotal experiences in our participants’ lives.

1. Educational focus

Our programs are experiential education programs, meaning that learning is hands-on and tangible. For example, students will learn about a country’s history and culture by immersing themselves in it - meeting local people and hearing life stories, first hand.

Experience on its own does not translate into learning. But learning from your experiences is important. To encourage ‘learning from experience’ our program leaders facilitate opportunities for participants to regularly reflect upon their experiences, and provide historical, cultural, geographical and environmental background so that personal experience can be connected with a broader understanding of place.

The educational component of our programs is multi-disciplinary and covers:

• Host country: history, politics, culture, geography, environment, environmental and social issues.
• Broader themes: globalization, development, environmentalism, religion, ethics and sustainability.
• How to travel:  how to plan and keep safe, the realities of life on the road, ethical and sustainable travel.
• Outdoor education: learning the soft and hard skills of a number of outdoor activities, such as camping, trekking, cycling, canoeing (varies by program).
• Group skills: how to work with a group, communication and trust.
• Development of personal leadership skills.

2. Service learning – volunteer and community service projects

Volunteer and community service elements built into our programs allow participants to really immerse themselves in a place and share an experience with local people - bridging the gap that often exists between visitor and host. The rewards are tangible and often unexpected. Volunteer work helps build self confidence and self belief through participants having to learn new skills and take on new roles. Volunteer components vary by program. Examples of volunteer work undertaken by participants are: building simple homes for marginalized poor; habitat restoration and species monitoring; assisting local students with English-language development; improving school environments in poor rural communities.

3. Cultural immersion

Small groups mean that our participants are not travelling in a ‘bubble’ separated from local people. Instead we immerse participants in the local culture, through home-stays, volunteer projects, language study etc. Participants learn empathy for other cultures and build bridges of cultural understanding.

4. Travel component

Travel and the reality of ‘life on the road’ teaches a lot of valuable lessons - how to communicate and relate to people from different cultures, how to be happy with few possessions and a simple life, how to overcome temporary discomfort. Travel ultimately exposes participants to the myriad possibilities in the world and their lives, and allows for personal growth free from the expectations of family, friends and peers.

Our goal is that participants will learn the ‘art of travel’ - how to plan; how to keep safe; what to take; how to find what you need in an unfamiliar place; respecting local customs; cross-cultural communication; minimum-impact grassroots travel that supports local communities and benefits both host and visitor. By the end of a program, we expect most participants will have learned the skills necessary to travel safely anywhere on earth.

5. Outdoors and wilderness exploration

Our programs are one long adventure. Aside from the fact that adventure can be a whole lot of fun, our programs are adventurous because personal growth occurs through challenge. We challenge participants at their own level to get outside their comfort zone, so that they can gain confidence through overcoming obstacles and challenges during the program. The program is as much a journey of personal development as it is a geographical journey, and participants are regularly encouraged to reflect and think about their values, goals and what they want to get out of life. Throughout the program, ideas, tools and strategies are discussed that can be useful to help participants achieve their goals both on the program and for the rest of their lives.

A variety of outdoor or adventure activities are included in our programs, such as back packing, rafting, canoeing, rock climbing, snorkelling, mountain biking etc. These activities require physical effort, mastery of technique, teamwork and trust between members of the group, and immersion in the outdoor environment.

Pacific Discovery takes a 'challenge by choice' approach to the adventure components of our programs. Adventure activities and instruction are aimed at the novice/beginner level,  and no prior experience in any of the activities is required. However we are able to facilitate more challenge for anyone who is experienced in a particular discipline. Generally participants do need to have fitness at a level that they are able to comfortably hike for 3-4 hours with a small back pack.

6. Personal and leadership development

By taking participants out of their comfort zone and challenging them physically, culturally and mentally, we encourage students to gain confidence in their abilities and provide a supportive group environment where they can grow. Throughout the program, participants are given leadership opportunities. Facilitation and feedback allows participants to further develop these skills.

Registering for a program is simple

You are welcome to give us a call before applying, with any questions you may have about a program - we can also put you in touch with recent program alumni, or you can read what they have to say about their experience.

We believe in making our programs accessible to anyone, therefore we have no minimum academic requirements, and we allocate places on our programs on a first-to-register basis.

To apply for a program, simply check availability, then submit your online application form and pay your program deposit, USD$400, by credit card.

We will contact you, to confirm your place on the program and send you comprehensive pre-travel information on flights, visas, travel insurance, climate, health, responsible travel, and a gear/packing list.

Up until departure we liaise closely with you to ensure you are on-track with your preparation. Your final program payment is due 90-days before program start (unless late registration), and we send you an invoice for this, prior to the due date. Read our booking conditions and liability release.

Our educational travel programs are suitable for high school graduates, gap year students, college students and graduates, ideally 18-24 years. The majority of participants on our programs are from the US, Canada, UK and Australia. We have also had English-speaking participants join us from the Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you have about our programs but please check out our FAQ section first.