After taking several trips with organizations offering “educational” or “reality” tours, I’ve learned that getting the most out of a trip to a complicated corner of our world is easier with a guide and in the care of an organization that’s well-connected locally. I traveled through Central America with, and have long recommended, Augsburg College’s Center for Global Education and Experience — but it is now limited to college students.
The new edition of my Travel as a Political Act book will contain a list of organizations offering educational tour experiences to the broader traveling public. Please check out my list and let me know if you have any experience with these groups, or if there are others you’d recommend. Thank you!
Global Exchange, an international human rights organization, believes that “meaningful, socially responsible travel can, and does, change the world.” Its five- to 16-day experiential education Reality Tours focus on person-to-person exchanges and give travelers a firsthand look at the effects of intractable global problems, as well as the possibilities for positive changes. Whether meeting with health organizations in Haiti, observing Cuban teachers and musicians at work, or visiting a farming co-op in North Korea, participants go beyond stereotypes to build real understanding.
A small organization determined “to change the world by changing the way we relate to the planet and its people,” New Community Project structures its one- to two-week Learning Tours as deep intercultural education voyages. The organization works with local partners to introduce tour members to people from all walks of life, from human trafficking survivors to indigenous shamans to farmers. Travelers confront questions of social justice, environmental sustainability, and how people remain hopeful in difficult situations.
Xperitas Community Partnership Programs
A nonprofit educational organization focused on promoting “global citizenship,” Xperitas offers one- to two-week immersive programs based on longstanding partnerships with local grassroots organizations in indigenous and marginalized communities. Travelers live in the partner communities, either in a homestay or communal lodging such as an ecolodge or guesthouse. They eat what the locals eat, help with community-led development projects, and get to know the community in ways a tourist cannot.
Friendship Force International, a nonprofit organization, focuses on person-to-person exchanges, with locals welcoming travelers into their homes and introducing their visitors to their cultures. In each destination, a “Friendship Force” club led by volunteers offers homestays and social activities, giving visitors the chance to get intimately acquainted with their hosts. Each one- to three-week program includes cultural experiences, such as learning to make traditional lavash bread in Armenia, visiting historic Brazilian fishing villages, or tobogganing on sand hills in Australia’s Hunter Valley.
A part of AFS-USA, the well-known study abroad organization, AFSNext offers international volunteer and professional internship programs for travelers ages 18 and up. These programs, which range from one to 24 weeks, are geared for close engagement with local communities through volunteer work, and professional development through internship opportunities on global issues like wildlife conservation. AFS-USA offers a certification course to help participants more deeply explore and gain a credential in intercultural and experiential learning.
We’ve been on a Global Exchange educational tour of Cuba and can strongly recommend their tours. You visit educational sites, watch their work in action, donate needed items, and meet many interesting people!
I forgot to add that you will have the opportunity to help with local projects!
For our honeymoon, my husband and I volunteered in a small village in Ghana through Globe Aware. It was quite the immersive experience, as we stayed in the village and assisted with teaching and building the new village school. Service aside, they provided us with opportunities to immerse ourselves with the villagers and their culture: prepare dinner with a host family, fetch water from the well, play with the children (amazing how creative one can get without gadgets and toys), and even attend a church service outside in the main field. We loved working with Globe Aware and can’t wait to take the kids with us next time.
I may recommend Artisans of Taste educational tours.
We provide programs in Sardinia, Puglia, Piedmont, and other regions in Italy, France and Spain.
You have lunch with a shepherd and make cheese with him; cook an ancient type of bread with local ladies; prepare dinner with a host family; visit a very beautiful Blue Zone area, with lots of centenarians.
All experiences are quite immersive a way to learn about ancient local cultures through food.
Through our educational tours people engage with very small and select local artisans who work hard to produce high quality foods (respecting animals and nature) even if sometimes they do not make any money.
All programs are led by food experts and are also a way to learn about healthy eating and living.
I recommend Global Volunteers based in St. Paul Mn. My daughter and I went to Ecuador in the late 90’s and worked in a day care center for children with disabilities. It was wonderful and life changing for her. Sh is now a pediatric cardiology surgical PA in part due to her a xperiences there.
I also volunteered with Vinaka Fiji and loved the program.
I recommend Cross Cultural Solutions.org. They structure trips that can last from 1 week up to 12 weeks and the volunteer works solely in the local community at places where the community has specifically asked for help – typically in schools, homes for aged, and local clinics. The volunteer stays at a home base in the community, staffed by locals, and at least part of the time is spent exploring local customs, food, shopping, and even sightseeing.
We have traveled abroad in Europe, north Africa, Turkey, Chile, and Costa Rica on our own, using your guides for many of these. If you can learn a few words of the local language and are willing to be very flexible, we have found these to be fascinating experiences. We enjoy reading all about the countries we will be visiting and coming up with a tentative itinerary. We usually book at least a place to stay first and last nights. Then after we land, we enjoy finding what is a MUST see according to the locals. How do we do that? Eat in the pubs or small family run restaurants (try local favorites), attend one of their churches (even if you don’t know the language), stay in a youth hostel, talk or use pantomime with the locals. and then enjoy the lovely world. We have made some truly wonderful friends. And we are ready to take off again!!.
That being said, we know that as we get older, it will feel safer to be in a group or have things more structured, but for the past 15 years this is how we travel. The organization we looked at as being the closest fit was either with your groups, Rick, or with Global Volunteers. Right now we are volunteering with a mission camp in Costa Rica and LOVE it. The week of working at camp includes some time for fun, so ziplining for folks in their 60s-why not?
As a retired teacher I traveled abroad with my students on over 20 trips to various countries on different continents. Almost all of my trips were with ACIS. I can’t believe that there are any companies that provide a better experience for students & teachers. The hotels are in the heart of town, the Tour Managers are fantastic and most importantly they care about you. Maybe you pay a little bit more but it’s money well spent.
ACIS provides a life-changing experience for the students teachers take abroad! The educational experience includes centrally-located hotels for a true exploration of the city, authentic local food, interactive cultural experiences, superb tour managers who take care of all the logistical details, and exceptional company support for the teachers who are so devoted to the global education of their students.
I was a French teacher for 43 years and have been leading students as well as adults to Europe for almost as long. The vast majority of my trips I have done with ACIS. I unequivocally recommend this company which stands for “American Council for International Studies.” Its very name stresses the importance of learning. I particularly love the experiential aspect.: Rather than look at the Pont du Gard, we kayak beneath it;rather than eat a crêpe, a chef teaches us how to make it;rather than stroll through the Gardens of Versailles, we go to the open air market and purchase goodies for a picnic. The tour managers are some of the best teachers I have ever encountered. They are full of knowledge, fun facts and the passion to share them. 10/10 for ACIS
I am a retired Latin teacher and I took my students to Italy for many years. My BEST experience, by far, was with the American Council for International Studies (ACIS)! I really struggled with the price my students and their parents paid for these trips, as I wanted them to get the best value for their money. Other companies are cheaper but after speaking with other teachers and comparing several factors, I found ACIS gave my students the very best “bang for their buck!” The hotels are in the middle of the cities we visited, limiting “wasted” time on a bus or train just trying to get to the sites. On every trip, I was amazed at the quality of the local tour guides. I believe ACIS must have incredible connections with the local tour guides as we always seemed to get the best of the best. Both the tour manager that accompanied us from the time we arrived until the time we departed and the local guides were totally attentive to us and were so good with the students…fun and engaging with lots of hints for things for them to do to get the most “local flavor”. On a few occasions, an itinerary change was necessary, but the company replaced the change with an equally or even better site for the students. Any educator evaluating tours for educational travel would do well to at least give this company a call!
Semester at Sea has a Lifelong Learners program offers semester-long travel experiences in an intergenerational ship-board setting. I’ve not been myself (someday!), but I work at a university that was recently the academic partner for the program. There are learning experiences shipboard, but the in-country experiences are designed to teach as well. More info on the Semester at Sea website: http://www.semesteratsea.org/lifelong-learner/
Friendship Force, a cultural exchange organization which promotes understanding across barriers that separate people, has provided us with wonderful opportunities to make lasting friendships with people all over the world. Members travel to other Friendship Force clubs and enjoy a week of cultural and social activities while staying in the homes of local members – a great way to really get to the heart of a country and it’s culture. With over 350 clubs in more than 60 countries Friendship Force celebrates it’s 40 th anniversary this year.
As someone who has traveled with Friendship Force for 15 years (Tanzania, Brazil, Peru, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada (Alberta and NWT), Costa Rica and others) I can say I have close friends in all these place. This organization is about friendship and the way we do this is by putting our feet under the table of our hosts and let the conversation flow. Stays are generally 5-7 days. We frequently say we enter a home as strangers, with in a couple of hours we’re friends and by the time we leave we are family. You don’t have to be a club member to travel on journeys with Friendship Force International. Our tag line: Experience different views. Discover common ground.
Hi Rick,
My husband and I are big fans of your guidebooks. We even have an autographed copy as a result of meeting you once on Rue Cler! As a high school French teacher, I have traveled for many years with ACIS (American Council for International Studies) and I have always been very happy with the tours. The itineraries are comprehensive, the hotels are centrally located to make the most of our time, and the tour guides are knowledgeable and well organized, adding value to every trip. These managed trips allow me to do and see more than I could on my own, even with a very good guidebook!
I am a AP history teacher and my wife is an AP art teacher. We have been taking students to Europe since 1998 and have found a company called ACIS to be superior in all aspects of educational travel. They provide knowledgeable full time tour managers that are with you 24/7 and routinely go above and beyond. They company also provides additional expert local guides. The company provides outstanding centrally located hotels to maximize time so that students may get the most out of their time. The company also provides numerous chances for cultural experiences, In addition to student travel, ACIS also offers adult trips, sport teams and music groups specialized travel. The really impressive thing about ACIS is when I survey my students/parents about our trip they repeatedly make comments like “best money I ever spent” or “this was so worth it”. ACIS is with you every step of the way from pre-planning to return. The educational opportunity they have provided has impacted me as a teacher, parent and citizen. I give ACIS my highest recommendation.
Having been a member of Friendship Force, Intl for over 30 years, I would highly recommend it. For all ages! Homestays with the local Club members in the other countries gives you a real understanding of the culture..day to day living! Not only their food, but their values and their work. Years ago, I even took my 3 teens to Japan…and I know the experience for my 13 yr old son was impactful. A Japanese school principal asked if he would like to visit the grade school; he did & was invited to speak at an assembly there. Thank goodness he was the one of us who had really been successful at picking up the language (got a few language bks ahead of our departure!) The amazing variety of Friendship Force opportunities, now both international and domestic, continues to bring people together, to realize our commonalities and understanding each other.
A totally different experience that most tour group trips where you see things, but have limited real daily life!
Dear Rick,
My school saw the importance of educational travel back in the 1970s. I am not sure why, but our English Department Chair at Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio, Suzy Ranson, chose the American Council for International Studies (ACIS) for her many trips with students. I took over the school trips in the 1980s and conducted 18 ACIS tours with students until I retired in 2010. Counting this summer (2017), my replacement, Cathy Klumpp is continuing the ACIS tradition at Alamo Heights. The number of students from this highly rated high school who have traveled with ACIS over the years has to be well over a thousand! When you have something good, you don’t change it!
In the car business “service after the sale” is a term that is used quite often. This should be ACIS’s motto! Many companies, especially the budget ones, get you on board but then leave you adrift to fend for yourself when things don’t happen the way they were planned. And Rick, you often speak of making adjustments and being flexible while traveling. Well, flexibility is not too difficult when you are traveling alone, but when you have a group of students who are relying on you to provide them with the best experience possible, you need an experienced company to make sure that all the details are covered and that the trip you promised your students, is the best possible.
All the trips I took with ACIS had a quality educational core and provided fun activities for my students, as well. And, most importantly, safety was always a hallmark of the ACIS way! I could not imagine traveling with anyone else!
I would recommend that anyone considering an educational tour should do some research. Find out how particular companies treat small groups, not just the large ones. See which companies have had Tour Managers abandon the group or have left it up to the teacher to handle a last minute hotel switch or transportation adjustment. Or, see if the Tour Manager was so unprepared that he/she had to “google” the next stop in order to provide commentary. And, find out what companies put their groups out in the boonies with no way to get back into town in the evenings. I think you will see that this never happens with an ACIS group. There is a reason they say “you get what you pay for”!
I am a high school Spanish teacher who has organized three educational trips to Spain with my students, and I couldn’t have imagined doing it without @LanguageandFriendship #Ifhosting. They are a group of the most wonderful people I could imagine working with. They create real life, meaningful experiences for my students, and the family stays are the most amazing part. My students have been placed with lots of wonderful families throughout Spain, and without Language and Friendship, they wouldn’t have had the opportunity. My students have also hosted students from Spain and France, and he memories made have been incredible. I recommend them to anyone looking to organize a reality travel experience abroad… or in their own home via hosting! We love Language and Friendship!
Love you Rick and your book! When I think of “reality travel”, Language & Friendship immediately comes to mind. I’m a high school Spanish teacher and this organization embodies “reality travel” and their company name “Language & Friendship”! In 3 days, I will leave with students on my 4th trip with @Language & Friendship. Their programs not only include sightseeing, but students can stay with host families. After every trip, the general consensus from students is that the host family stay was the best part of their trip. Although they only stay with their host families for 6 days, the friendships have lasted years and decades. I have also helped find host families in the US for students coming from France and Spain for @language&friendship. Language & Friendship is unique in that students (from US and Spain/France/Germany) can not only see the monuments and sites, but they can also experience every day life of people living in those countries. Hosting students has broadened our students’perspectives and the connections that have been made transcend the few days or weeks of their initial hosting time. #lfhosting is reality travel. Language & Friendship rocks! can’t say enough about their commitment to making and building international friendships.
Good work
I traveled with ACIS in 2015 over the summer with my elementary school. It was one of the best experiences of my life. We went to both Italy and France in a matter of days. Being able to explore the new cities and learn more about the culture was amazing. One of my favorite memories was going to an open market in Nice where I was able to see the creative art works from a different side of the world and how it is similar and different. But ACIS was amazing. Our schedule was always full of activities and tours around the cities taking you to the most iconic places such as the Sistine Chappel at the best times. Also being able to have a tour guide who has lived in the country is extremely helpful because they know the tricks and the trades of these cities. Without ACIS I wouldn’t have been able to have such a good experience.
Friendship Force International provides opportunities to explore new countries and cultures from the inside. Local hosts welcome international visitors into their homes and culture, sharing meals, conversation, and the best sights and experiences of their region. Friendship Force is a global community whose members are ordinary people of all ages who share a desire to better understand people of other cultures and to spread goodwill and friendship. I have been a member for 10 years and have become increasingly involved in leadership roles. Friendship Force has changed the way I see the world.