Educational tours for schools?

[mrcool138]

I teach school at the Junior High Level(yes, I am crazy). Every other year we take a group of students to either Washington D.C. or New York city through a tour company. EFtours is who we have went through for these and they do offer a Mayan heritage tour, does anyone know of any other companies that offer such tours. Might I be better off arranging the travel/hotel through a travel agent(shammy) and organizing tours myself? Groups usually run around 15 kids/ 8-10 adults. We are just thinking right now, but the area has so much to offer. Might be more trouble than its worth, just looking for ideas and suggestions. Thanks.

Mike

[Michele]

Originally Posted by mrcool138

I teach school at the Junior High Level(yes, I am crazy). Every other year we take a group of students to either Washington D.C. or New York city through a tour company. EFtours is who we have went through for these and they do offer a Mayan heritage tour, does anyone know of any other companies that offer such tours. Might I be better off arranging the travel/hotel through a travel agent(shammy) and organizing tours myself? Groups usually run around 15 kids/ 8-10 adults. We are just thinking right now, but the area has so much to offer. Might be more trouble than its worth, just looking for ideas and suggestions. Thanks.

Mike

Well, I don't really have any advise to offer you but I did want to say "Bravo"! Even considering taking a trip of this nature, exposing these young adults to a to a foreign country and a new culture, seems to be a relatively progressive thought in the US. When we moved to Mexico, almost 4 years ago, 90% of all Americans DID NOT HOLD A PASSPORT. Given the new regulations recently implimented, this number has dropped somewhat but it gives us a startling idea of the cultural egocentricity of our home nation. Good for you for considering a trip of this nature. I hope you receive the support you need from the parents. A majority of these kids may never have the opportunity to take such a trip otherwise. Some will NEVER venture beyond the borders of the US in their lifetime.

[aquavitgal]

You should contact "The School of Environmental Studies" in Apple Valley, MN. It is a school in the Twin Cities for Jr and Sr students who are college bound and looking for a strong emphasis on science and writing skills. Each semester they have several programs for the students to study 7-10 days in various places in the US and internationaly. One of there more popular trips is to the Yukatan bringing them to the biosphere, tulum, akumal. It is a combination of culture study, marine biology, and history. They are a great group of people that I'm sure can give you some direction for getting a program started at your school. PM me if you are having trouble getting the phone number for them as it probably shouldn't be posted. My daughter did this trip and loved it.

Good luck, I know it would be as rewarding for you as a teacher as it would be for your students.

[maestranba]

I travel to Mexico with high school students and we always go with ACIS out of Boston. They're wonderful! I haven't brought kids to the Caribbean side of Mexico with them, but I'm pretty sure they offer a trip that includes a lot of the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan. They will also create a customized tour for you. Their prices are very reasonable as well. Last time we were in Oaxaca there was a miscommunication with the hotel and they ended up putting us in a much nicer hotel. All of the teachers who take kids on trips at our school use them as well. We've had several trips to Europe and there are never any complaints. I highly recommend them!!

[aligarcia]

I travel with a group of 20; my eighth graders for the last 2 years, and I organize the trip myself. I know the area well and feel comfortable doing this, plus I like the flexibility to change plans midstream if we want to do so...
Any questions, I'd be glad to help!