<p>Our boys will still go on family trips with us if the destination is appealing enough but $5000 for a high school tour of Europe doesn’t seem like good value. I third Mathmom’s suggestion of a course in Europe instead. My older son recieved a semester’s worth of college credit for the 8 week immersive mandarin course he did in Beijing.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, my 17 year old is scheduled to take an eight week overland truck tour through East Africa-- Murchinson Falls to JBerg. The cost will be $5000 all up. </p>
<p>A kid can see a lot of the world for five grand.</p>
<p>I ditto the family trip idea. We went to Paris, France and Italy for 18 days this past summer as a family (two Ds going into senior and sophomore year). </p>
<p>We spent about $10,000 on airfare, rental car/gas/tolls, hotel, food, etc for the four of us. We drove from Paris to Italy and spent time in Milan, Florence, Rome, the Amalfi coast and Genoa. We also visited my grandparent’s hometown and met cousins there for the first time…on my grandfather’s childhood home/farm. Priceless experience.</p>
<p>We happened to be in Europe during World Cup Soccer which added to the fun.</p>
<p>Yes, it was expensive, but we do not regret it. It will probably be the last family trip for a while with our older D going off to college. It was valuable family time, plus our kids got to see what they wanted to see on our time schedule, not rushing in a tour.</p>
<p>BTW, My older D’s friends went on a school tour for 2 1/2 weeks, a number major cities in Europe costing close to $5000. It was exhausting for them and they did not get to stay and linger or move on when they wanted to do so.</p>
<p>Unless your S or D is getting academic credit, I would not do a student tour. Our D’s Spanish teacher takes the students on a 4-week study tour of Spain. They live with a family and take classes at a university. They have side trips to places in Spain and get college credits. It is about $4000-4500.</p>
<p>My D went on two EF trips in high school, led by an English teacher and her husband. These were not official school trips, and the kids who wanted to go had to apply to the teacher privately. She was quite strict about her rules and expectations and I feel they were well supervised. There were several parents who went with the group as well. </p>
<p>Both trips were for ten days over spring break. In her junior year, she went to Paris and London and in her senior year to Italy. I think the cost was about $1,800 plus spending money. I think they suggested $500. I felt both trips were well worth the money and I think it was a better experience for her than going as a family. They packed so much into the tours, I never could have kept up with that. Each tour had an excellent European as their guide for the entire tour, and that was supplemented by an additional guide in each city. My D loved all their running commentaries on what they were seeing. I am very glad we sent her because she can’t do a semester abroad in college due to her science major. It was money well spent in my opinion.</p>
<p>My daughter is going on her 5th trip with people to people. It is a four week trip this summer. The longest so far. It is also the most expensive at $8000. They are going to Austria, Greece, Italy and also Washington DC. It is a special trip to celebrate 50 years of P to P. Each trip has been great. The teachers have been wonderful and there was plenty of supervision. When I went with my high school a million years ago, there was barely a teacher in sight. Yes, it is alot of money and we would not consider it if it was not worthwhile. This will be her last trip and hopefully the best.</p>
<p>DD went to Ireland for 5 weeks with Irish Way (<a href=“http://www.iaci-usa.org)%5B/url%5D”>www.iaci-usa.org)</a>. I think the trip, including air is about $3500. It’s high school kids from all over US. Very well run. They have classes in Gaelic, traditional music, dance, literature, drama, etc. Lots of fun including a homestay with an Irish family. D made friends for life.
Some high schools give credits for participation since the curriculum covers so many topics.</p>
<p>My d (high school senior this year) did a p2p trip this summer to France, Italy and Greece The initial cost was 5200 but ending being about 5400.</p>
<p>We do very little traveling and since my d loves european history and arts, we decided if she earned the money through working, donations and fundraising she could go.</p>
<p>She had the time of her life. Yes there were four adults to 42 kids but from what I gather it was relatively well supervised. I have heard some horror stories but if your child is mature and level headed, its a great opportunity.</p>
<p>I would not hesitate to recommend this program.</p>
<p>My daughter did a P2P trip after Freshman year. France, Italy and Greece. It ran about 5K altogether. I was appalled at the level of supervision. It purports to be a “selective” student ambassadorship, but is in reality a huge money making machine. Her teacher/chaperones, while nice people, were far too loose. The kids were left alone in Venice for hours–(one of them had his ATM card eaten by a machine, and didn’t know what to do–no adult there to help) and then left alone in a hotel again when reservations were mixed up and the rest of the party left for lunch. Your kid had better be very mature to handle this kind of thing. My d enjoyed it (more in retrospect–at the time, she was disturbed). But it sure grew her up.</p>
<p>I am now 17, and I’ve travelled with same age friends in China, India and Europe. I spent my junior year of HS in China with a great deal of freedom. My best friend spent hers in France where 16 year olds can drink, and travelled all over Europe with girlfriends. The SYA programs we both did allowed a great deal of freedom and everyone not only survived but thrieved!!</p>
<p>My experience with a number of teen travel experiences has been that the supervision is relatively poor. On one bike tour, the kids were riding on the side of legal highways (not four lanes, but cars going 60 mph right next to them; also know of kids camping and one kid rides to the grocery store in the dark…Hello? At age 13? Even on some of our foreign school trips the supervision has been minimal at best. </p>
<p>It comes down completely to the maturity of the kid. Some I would never allow on such trips, while others are just fine.</p>
<p>Suze, my DDs were thrilled to find out that drinking age is 16 in most places in Europe and quite relaxed at that. They had their stodgy parents to deal with, but we did allow them to have some wine and beer, just for the “cultural” experience!</p>
<p>I have been on two p2p trips(one to Australia in 2003 and one to Europe in 2004) and on a school(EF) tour to Italy this past April.The school trip was about $3000 cheaper but was much less strict. There were 4 chaperones for 25 students and it was a great experience because we did a homestay with Italian families and were really immersed in Italian culture.we definitely amde lasting friendships on that trip and most of us are planning visits back.</p>
<p>However the P2P trips are longer, there are more planned activities, much more supervision, and are more expensive. We had 4 chaperones for about 40 kids on both trips and all rules were followed well. We stuck to the P2P rule book with curfews,no drinking,journal writing, etc. During free time each group even had to have 4 people in it(including a male) to help keep us safe.I found it much more supervised but it was still fun.</p>
<p>That being said both trips are expensive and could go either way. I think it really depends on the chaperones and your child’s maturity level. If it is a student by themselves(or with a group of friends) I’d think very carefully about your child before agreeing to let them go alone.Even if you think that your child is mature keep in mind the peers traveling with them because taht can and will influence their behavior. Both types of trips were wonderful experiences for me and I would repeat any of them in a heartbeat so it is mostly a personal decision as to whether a group tour or a family/solo trip is right.</p>