<p>D and a friend wish to go somewhere together after graduation. No, not to Cancun or Ibiza. But somewhere. I’d prefer they do something with some sense of safety. They are planning on doing a great deal of volunteering this summer at other times and aren’t interested in a study trip or sports trip. We are not wealthy nor is the friend’s family so “student budget” is required as they will be paying their own way.</p>
<p>They have a good relationship with an exchange student going home to Germany in June, and I have suggested - Germany. LOL. </p>
<p>I’m not that pleased with the idea of a cruise. Any experience? Are there student travel escorted tour type things? Like they have for us old folks? We don’t want control, but some structure would be nice for me and they desire some structure, too. A planned itinerary I guess is what I’m asking for. Any (helpful) thoughts would be appreciated.</p>
<p>The travel tour group buses and what not usually just really suck. I would go for a cruise - after all, the girls can only venture so many places on a boat/at ports.</p>
<p>I still remember the summer trip my best friend and I took in a car. His father’s last words to us were when one person is driving the other one doesn’t say “Oh, look at that.”
For that reason I have been a big fan of public transportation when teenagers are involved. I think a Eurail pass might be good. She and her friends could stay in youth hostels which are very clean and often close to the center of town. Always travel in groups. I like the German speaking countries. Paris is good too.</p>
<p>im a senior in hs. ive traveled to costa rica and spain. i went to spain after 10th grade w/ a teacher but wasnt really under his supervision. i would def. recommend going with a friend.they can go to a school and stay in a homestay or do EF tours or something of that nature. when i went to costa rica it was a similar situation but i didnt have any advisor…i went w/ two friends during our spring break. we attended a school that provided a tican family for us to stay with and we never encountered any sort of problems.<br>
hope that was helpful.</p>
<p>Don’t know much about the escorted tours, but S went to Hawaii w/2 friends after graduation and had a fantastic time. He spent 5 days on Oahu and 3 on Maui, and airfare thru Priceline was really cheap booking pretty much last minute from the east coast. The hotels were extremely reasonable. Total cost including island hopping flights and activities was under a thousand (plus spending $) Travel time was extensive but well worth it. If she’s thinking about a beachy type of vacation I’d put that on your list to consider Of course the cruises are all inclusive and have plenty of activities. I’d feel comfortable with either option re: safety.</p>
<p>I believe for a cruise you have to have an adult over 21 accompanying; so, if they are going by themselves, it won’t work. My S’s friends and moms all went on a cruise together for graduation and had a great time except the boys spent most of their time in the casino!</p>
<p>Timewise it just didn’t work out, but my friends and I planned a trip to Hershey, PA last summer. It would have been really cheap, about $100 each. We were planning to drive, stay two nights, go to the park and just have a good time. There would have been four girls all going together. We were paying for the trip ourselves and since none of us are wealthy and were all headed off in separate directions at the end of the summer it seemed to fit perfectly. Not exactly structured, but cheap.</p>
<p>An Irish colleague of my H traveled cross-country on the Green Turtle bus. Keeping clean was a challenge but she reports having a great time.</p>
<p>I recommend traveling with at least one other person. You can share rooms to keep costs down and help one another when inevitably an emergency arises. Also it’s safer traveling in a group of 2 or more than by oneself, especially if female.</p>
<p>Contiki Tours offers escorted tours for ages 18-35. No personal experience, but it looks interesting and they would be assured that they wouldn’t wind up on the AARP tour.:eek: </p>
<p>Some of them look fairly, barely, possibly reasonable-ish. I would prefer that every tour didn’t start each leg with “meet for a drink (beer, chianti, riesling, cocktail, nightcap, rohypnol laced coca cola)”.</p>
<p>Depending on their interests, Washington DC might be an alternative. There are a lot of things to do (a good many of them free) and transportation is not an issue if you find a place to stay with easy Metro access.</p>
<p>No offense. But as a high senior i wouldn’t want to go to disney world…being a kid is great but sometimes disney world is to forceful in asserting that. i really suggest some sort of tour. i have several friends that went on tours throughout high school from sophmore year on. and i myself, as stated earlier, traveled to costa rica alone. honestly, they’re going to be in college in a few months anyway…where they’ll be on their own…if they are independent and likely to succeed in college next year…they probably don’t need that much supervision. but again…maybe im just saying that b/c i myself am a senior and of course think that i know everything : )</p>
<p>I understand - not for everyone. I hear there are actually a lot of couples that Honeymoon at Disney so I assumed there are some added things for adults.
Costa Rica sounds great too!</p>
<p>My junior in college has gone to Disneyworld two of her last Spring breaks with friends! The biggest reason was one of her friends parents has a timeshare there and it was a free place in a sunshine state. They got park hopper passes the first year and had a day left the second year. They went to Pleasure Island a night or two, to the gulf beaches, etc.</p>
<p>my D is going on a trip with TravelforTeens (it’s at a .com) and they are travelling to Europe, not on a chartered bus, stop, get on the bus but more of an experiecnce the country tour. there are other kids on the tour that have also graduated. she is going alone, as they say many do</p>
<p>This may be a plus, but it would make traveling harder and probably more expensive. Keeping the budget low won’t be that easy in Europe with the low dollar/Euro exchange. Good news is that air travel is very competitive with Southwest-wannabes everywhere. Eurail passes are nice, but there are some limitations and should be purchased from abroad. Renting a car is close to impossible for HS students, and very expensive for 2 travelers.</p>
<p>The biggest business cities can offer great bargains when Europeans travel in masses to the beaches. The most expensive hotels offer good rates when booking from the US. I guess they pity us! </p>
<p>I would second the idea to look towards Hawaii and Canada. I assume Aruba is out of the question. :)</p>
Of course the cruises are all inclusive and have plenty of activities. I’d feel comfortable with either option re: safety.</p>