Travel For Teens: Italy

From beginning to end, this was the trip of a lifetime. Everyday was a new adventure: a new sight to see, a new story to hear, a new scene to photograph. Being a photography trip, we had a different photography assignment every day, from portraits to street photography, to only being able to shoot vertical shots. Constantly having my camera in my hand as we wandered the beautiful cities made me look at them from a different perspective, always on the lookout for the perfect shot. I left this trip with an abundance of amazing photographs, but I also left with the knowledge of how to look at things with different perspectives before judging its worth. One of our assignments in Venice was to shoot whatever we wanted, but after we took that picture, we had to turn around 180 degrees and take a picture of whatever was there. Sometimes it was just the bricks of a wall. But other times, the scene behind you was just as beautiful, if not more, than the one in the original shot. Many of my best pictures were from this day, and many of them were of the scene behind me. This assignment made me think about all the moments that happen right behind me everyday and if I take a minute look around, I will see so many new perspectives. So thank you TFT for opening my eyes, advancing my photography skills, introducing me to amazing friends, and creating memories that will last a lifetime.

Throughout my 13 days in Italy, I was constantly feeling rewarded by our service. The locals were so kind and grateful, and the service only made them more enthusiastic to connect with us! Though working was fun, my favorite part of this trip was 'Boat Day'. We spent the day sailing the Amalfi Coast, jumping out and swimming along the way. I am so glad I had this overseas experience, and I'm so glad I spent my time with TFT!!

I have been to 26 countries , Half of them with Uncle Sam's dime USN Ret. and a lot on my own. none of them were guided tours. TFT was my first guided garden tour with travel for teens and I have to say Ned did an outstanding job ! I enjoyed giving a few tips on photography and picked up a few new tips from Ned. I would be happy to go anywhere in the world with this crew!
James E Johnson BMC USN Ret.

This trip was absolutely amazing from start to finish! Everything exceeded my expectations and my Italian dreams came true! I definitely recommend teens and parents and faculty to go on a Travel for Teens trip because they're going to have the time of their life! I was in awe of everywhere we went and I could have not asked to see more since the main points were covered. I loved going on the gondola in Venice and visiting a vineyard in Tuscany. Each city had its own atmosphere and environment so it was a joy experiencing each culture. Siena was very different than what I expected but it was overall a beautiful and history filled city. I'm so thankful to come from an Italian culture and to have taken three years of the language because I got to translate and talk to the locals.

The sun, radiating down on an elderly woman and glistening off of her pale blue eyes, showed a glimpse of her appreciation for volunteers. She was a local, watching the Travel for Teens Sicily participants work for the Biancavilla community. Our hard work was rewarded with soft smiles from elders and laughs from children. The locals spoke limited English; however, their facial expressions transcended language barriers and were more meaningful than words.

As a member of the TFT team during the summer of 2015, I spent two weeks living with a Sicilian family. I assisted with many aspects of running the families facility, from farming and household projects, to a cultural exchange of ideas and knowledge.

After cleaning out an abandoned tool shed to use as a donkey barn, or picking pappleechaes off 300 plus trees, the true result of service was not the work itself; instead, it was how the work affected the feelings of others.

Travel for Teens Sicily allowed my desire to help others prosper through the service work, my drive to explore soar through the excursions to Taormina, Catania, and Syracuse, and my personal connection to the world to click through my hike up Mt. Etna.

I first found this company when I was 17 years old. I went on my first trip to Italy with them and it was a life changing experience! It was clear from the first day that the gudies not only knew tons about this beautiful country, but that they really cared about the culture and place as well. The tours of the museums and monuments were engaging, accessable, and fun! Most days we would spend walking through the beautiful cobblestone streets from our always centrally located hotels to that day's activity. The trips found a good balance between educational activities such as museums and monuments and chill activities like swimming, shopping, and gelato eating!

I feel so lucky to have found this company. I have heard others stories of touristy bus trips that drive you to monuments and pile students into chain or cafeteria style restuants and stay in huge hotels far away from the town centers, and that thought makes me shudder when I think of the intimate first experience of Italy with Travel for Teens. I left Italy feeling completely satisfied with my experience, but wishing that the trip would just go on forever! I would HIGHLY reccomend these tours for any teen!

I had so much fun during my time in Italy. The experience was unforgettable and I made a lot of great friends that I still keep in contact with today. The counselors where wonderful, I always felt safe and never unhappy. There was never a dull day on the trip and every hour of the day was filled with activities.