Educational travel programs for high school and university groups

While traveling abroad students learn a great deal about themselves, their own cultural perspective, and the society, history and environment of their host country. Experiencing a culture different to your own and adapting to alternative methods of living greatly contribute to personal development and global awareness. Students learn how to overcome challenges, how to be flexible and sensitive to various perspectives, and often return home inspired about their future direction.

In addition to our scheduled student programs, we offer customised educational travel programs for high school and university groups. These are often faculty-led programs, but we always have an experienced and dynamic Pacific Discovery program leader onhand to support faculty and take care of all program details.  We have more than 10 years experience developing and running international travel-based education and volunteer/service programs for high school, university (under-graduate and post-graduate) and special interest groups. We can offer your group one of our existing itineraries or we can work with you to develop an inventive and insightful adventure tailored to your group’s unique focus and interests. Custom itineraries can go anywhere, for any length of time, any number of people, and are always developed with the same care and led by our experienced program leaders.

Our programs are experiential - 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 stories and perspectives, first hand – and if you choose, by being involved in a community initiated service project. 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 can incorporate:

• Host country: history, politics, culture, geography, environment, relevant social issues
• Broader themes: globalization, development, conservation, religion, ethics and sustainability.
• How to travel: what to take, how to plan, how to keep safe, the realities of life on the road, socially responsible travel
• Experiential education: hands-on experience is facilitated to maximise its educational potential.
• Outdoor education: Where relevant (eg. if a chosen element of a program), this may include learning the soft and hard skills of a number of outdoor activities, such as backpacking, mountain biking, canoeing
• Group skills: how to work with a group, communication and trust.
• Development of personal leadership skills

The Process

We can develop an educational travel program for your students based on one of our existing itineraries, or we can work with you to develop an itinerary specifically tailored to your focus and requirements.

Once we have agreed upon the program content (itinerary and focus), dates and trip cost, we produce an informative registration and pre-travel booklet for you to circulate to your students and their families, and to assist with recruitment.

Your school will have a program approval procedure which we are happy to follow.

We take care of all tour logistics, including international flights if you choose, and we work closely with you to ensure students and their families are comfortable with all aspects of the tour and that any questions or concerns are addressed.

What we offer you

• An itinerary and experience tailored to your groups interest and needs.
• Exceptional value and transparency with regard to the program cost. You accompany the group (if you wish) and your travel costs can be built into the program fee.
• Comprehensive pre-travel information for your group to prepare them for their program, that covers health and safety considerations, cultural and environmental awareness, gear to take, spending money and recommended reading.
• We provide each participant with a program handbook which has a detailed itinerary, background information to every destination, maps, excerpts from literature relating to the itinerary, cultural and responsible travel guidelines.
• We handle all logistical arrangements including: visas; international and in-country flights; land travel; meals, accommodation; activities, entrance fees, excursions and special visits with community organizations; local guides and in-country support.
• One of our experienced program leaders accompanies your group to facilitate their experience, provide insight, handle logistics, deal with local operators and manage group safety.
• We are always on hand to address any questions or concerns from participants and their families.
• For faculty/staff who choose to offer their own classes/credit on our programs, we can support you with itinerary suggestions and site visits to complement your course content.

Peace of Mind

• You are working with an organization that emphasises social and environmental responsibility and has a proven record of giving participants an outstanding and rewarding international experience
• We maintain a robust risk management system and emergency contingency planning.
• We hold comprehensive public liability insurance and require all participants to hold a travel or international medical insurance policy for the duration of the program.

Advantages

• Personalized programming – we will develop a program to highlight your focus and goals.
• Local knowledge – up to date, on the ground information. We know what is new, what is possible and what is overrated.
• Full-time support 24/7 – one of our program leaders will be with your group at all times in the host country/s.
• We pride ourselves on being professional. We are easily contacted and we are always available for assistance and help.
• Affordable programs - our local connections and business ethics enable us to provide programs that are exceptional value.
• Travel with a purpose - give your students the opportunity to not only have an educational and insightful adventure, but to also feel they have made a contribution to their host communities.

We Require

• An enthusiastic contact person who will liaise with us and your group throughout program development.
• Sufficient time, preferably 6-12 months prior to anticipated departure, to enable us to work with you to develop an itinerary, recruit participants and implement logistics.
• All participants (students and teachers/chaperones) to complete a registration/medical form, a liability waiver form, and to be covered by an international travel/medical assistance insurance policy for the duration of the itinerary (we generally arrange a group travel insurance policy as part of the program service).

If you are interested in a customised educational travel program, please contact us. We can provide you with sample itineraries and references. A few staff and student comments follow and you are also welcome to read feedback from people who have recently travelled with us.

Recent comments from teachers, faculty and students

"I have known Scott and Rachel for several years, and I can recommend them in the strongest positive terms. In my opinion, they run the most impressive student-oriented programs available anywhere. I have led numerous study abroad programs and worked with many other companies over the years, so I am most confident in this assessment.

I worked with Pacific Discovery extensively in the planning, development, and implementation of a Texas State School of Social Work study abroad program to Cambodia and Thailand in winter 2007-2008. This was a three-week in-country program involving fifteen students. I was immediately impressed with Pacific Discovery by their excellent, extensive website, and their quick and professional response to my initial inquiries. They were very attentive to the details of the trip as well as responding to my needs. They gained my full confidence very quickly. Our planning time was shorter than desirable, but they were able to make it all happen very efficiently and effectively. They handled every aspect of the program from start to finish without any problems of any kind, and I truly enjoyed their pleasant, friendly attitude.

Scott was our tour leader, and the students really loved him. I appreciated that he not only managed the logistics of the program so well, but also greatly enhanced the academic quality with his extensive knowledge of Southeast Asia, particularly the history and contemporary culture of Cambodia and Thailand. In addition, Pacific Discovery arranged for several very unique learning opportunities, such as staying with a wonderful family in a village, visiting local schools to interact with students and donate books, volunteering at non-governmental social service agencies, and touring an ecologically-based nature preserve.

I can say that Scott and Rachel changed our lives through this amazing adventure."

Dr Catherine Hawkins
Professor of Social Work
Honorary Professor of International Studies
Texas State University - San Marcos


"I was fortunate to take 15 senior students on a 13-day tour of Cambodia with Pacific Discovery. This was not just a tourist trip but a chance to see firsthand how the people live and what agencies are working to help with the development of the country. The students actually got several opportunities to do some voluntary work. It was a wonderful chance to introduce youth to the realities of the developing world and the potential for future adventures. Pacific Discovery planned, organized and led the entire trip. I cannot fault their professionalism. It was a wonderful trip and I highly recommend it to other schools."

Mary Greenland,
Head of Department Social Sciences
Nayland College


"Every one of the students felt it had been a life-changing experience. I was so impressed with how well planned the whole trip was, with such a good balance of challenging experiences such as the orphanage and hospital visits, of important educational experiences such as the bird sanctuary and museums, and of just chill time and bonding time, like swimming and eating! When I look back on how much you packed into the two weeks, I am just astonished."

Dr Kathie Carpenter
Director of Southeast Asian Studies Program
Associate Professor of International Studies
University of Oregon


"I am so thankful that my first big trip was with Pacific Discovery, it taught me to be responsible about travelling and the impact we all leave everywhere we go, I really think it will shape the way I travel my whole life. I not only saw, felt, tasted and heard things I could never imagine, I learned about the places we visited, along with how my visit affected those parts of the world. I gained a broader world view and was forced to challenge myself in ways I would not have done by myself. I have come back changed and excited to use what I have learned and experienced in the rest of my life."
Sasha Jalowsky
Southeast Asia Program