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Pacific Discovery

Why choose Pacific Discovery?

Pacific Discovery gap year, semester and summer programs are experiential education programs suitable for high school graduates, university students and recent graduates. They were developed with a focus on six core components: educational travel, service learning, cultural and language immersion, sustainable adventure travel, outdoors and wilderness exploration, personal and leadership development.

By giving students responsibilities and freedom within the framework and safety of a well designed and carefully managed program, they are supported and empowered, helping them become more capable and self-reliant. These programs are pivotal experiences in our participants lives.

Pacific Discovery has been in operation for over 22 years. We are accredited with American Gap Association (USA) and a member of The Forum on Education Abroad (USA).

Founded
2001

Diversity & Inclusion

BIPOC Support

We understand that we have a long way to go in achieving the diversity we strive for among our students, staff, and partners. We are committed to fostering a more diverse and inclusive organization, and we recognize that this requires time, effort, and resources. At Pacific Discovery, we deeply value diversity, equity, and social justice, and we are dedicated to creating educational experiences that reflect and promote these values. Our program curriculum incorporates social justice education and encourages students to explore their own identities. To further support these efforts, we offer a 'Diverse Voices' Scholarship.

LGBTQIA+ Support

All of our Pacific Discovery programs are LGBTQIA+ friendly, and our operations team have attended CIS Abroad's LGBTQ+ Allyship Training, to ensure we’re doing what we can to support this community. We provide an open and non judgemental space for students to explore who they are at this pivotal time of their life, and in our admissions process we seek information not only on a student's gender, but their pronouns and gender identity. We’re aware of the differing cultural perspectives of LQBTQIA in the countries that we visit, and can direct students to a semester location where they’ll feel the most comfortable. Operationally we ensure that our instructors use inclusive language and can facilitate conversations with students around their identity, and discuss the rooming situations with LGBTQIA+ students.

Neurodivergent Support

Our programs are designed to support students with a wide range of neurodiverse conditions while following our essential eligibility criteria. For students needing extra help, we provide personalized wellness plans . These plans include coping strategies, care protocols, and specific requirements to help them engage effectively in the program. Our instructors have access to mental health first aid resources and are well-prepared to offer strong support to students with these needs.

Accessibility Support

Our programs offer a variety of physical activities, including hiking, surfing, rafting, and mountain biking. We make sure to accommodate students with diverse needs such as asthma, diabetes, and chronic medical conditions, while working within the infrastructure of the host country and our program schedules. We're mindful of the varying levels of accessibility in the countries we visit and can help students choose a semester location where they feel most at ease.

Impact

Sustainability

Sustainability is one of the 6 core components of each Pacific Discovery program, where we educate students about the local and global environmental issues, how to travel sustainably, and have them think deeply about their impact and what they can do in their daily lives to affect change.

We recently embarked on a Net Positive Benefit project where we are qualifying what impacts our groups have on the local communities, taking into consideration carbon emissions +/- social impacts +/- conservation impacts +/- community impacts. On our programs, students engage with non-profit organisations such as Litter Intelligence, Scholars of Sustenance, Ulu Mau puanui, Llama Pack project where they directly work for a better future - planting trees, eradicating invasive weed species, helping local communities and food banks.

Ethical Impact

We make a conscious decision to partner with host communities and suppliers who are passionate about our students' participation and involvement with them being of a positive benefit to the community. We want our presence to enable positive sustainable growth for our partners and this mantra is ingrained in the fabric of our programs.

Reviews

Default avatar
katie
2/5
No, I don't recommend this program

Read this before going

I am currently finishing the 6 week mini trip in hawaii. I have to say the only thing i really found enjoyable were the people and some of the activities. I feel PD was not very transparent about how poor the living conditions would be. we had 4 people crammed into a 2 person yurt, staying at an accommodation with about 10-15 people with 2 toilets and 1 shower. I could barely sleep due to how uncomfortable the living situations were. The packing list was also misleading, i was underprepared and overprepared. They didn’t give us any money in the budget for group snacks, and i spent hundreds on buying my own food. The 10$ a day for spending is not true. PD also didn’t tell me I would be spending 6-7$ on laundry, or getting laundry where the dryer doesn’t work or it is cold so all my clothes smelled weird and didn’t dry properly.

Response from Pacific Discovery

Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your experience. It is important to us that all of our students have a positive experience on our programs and so we welcome your feedback. If you feel there are specific details we could add to our pre-departure checklists, we would love to chat with you so we may improve for future programs. Please email us at info@pacificdiscovery.org.

Default avatar
Seth
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Australia/ Bali

Leaders were amazing and had lots of fun. Our group really meshed well together and had a blast traveling everywhere and doing all the activities. Food was amazing in Australia but a little on the pricier side so maybe spend less on that because in Bali everything is so cheap and we could have planned a little better. Accommodations were great especially Waves campground, the people were so cool there. I would recommend adding an excursion in Bali with the water because Nusa Penida is so close. ( we checked it out after and it was so cool). I highly recommend this trip to adventurers and I met my best friend on this trip. You will make amazing relationships with people all around the world!

Pros
  • New Experiences
  • So fun
  • Memories for Life
Cons
  • Dependent on weather
  • Food Budgeting
Default avatar
Quinn
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best experience in my life

My 10 weeks experience with my group were fantastic. Learning about all the different cultures and then fully immersing ourselves with the locals, showing how they lived their days without having a lot of money and how there's more to life than getting paid. How friendship and family meet. To them, it's not about material possessions or wealth, but about the bonds they create and the love they share. The way they prioritize relationships and community over monetary gain was truly eye-opening. I realized that true happiness lies in the connections we make and the memories we create together.

Pros
  • meeting people from all around the world
  • Getting to travel
  • Learning about different culture
Cons
  • None
  • None
  • None
Default avatar
Maxwell
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Polynesian journey

The Polynesian Journey for me was an amazing time that allowed me to grow as a person and branch out more than I ever expected. The combination of activities and people you meet throughout the trip along with having 2 great instructors (special shout-out Henry Grayson) made for an incredible trip with a great group of students. Made some life long friends from all over the world and I wouldn’t have done it any other way. Pacific discovery is awesome with great staff support. If you have the opportunity to go on a gap year trip with PD definitely do it. Life changing experience.

Default avatar
Jenna
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Pacific Discovery SEA Spring 2023

Going into this program I had no experience or expectation of what it was going to be like. Not only was I able to step completely out of my comfort zone but I was genuinely supported and encouraged every step of the way. It was the best mixture of teamwork and independence, exploring and learning, and the ability to truly be present and focused. This program, along with the people I have met and learned from within it have impacted my being in such an incredibly powerful way, that it has inspired me in my approach with how I move forward through life. I recommend an experience like this to anyone and everyone.

Pros
  • Support & encouragement
  • Personal development
  • Comfort zone expansion & first hand exposure to different perspectives
Cons
  • Re-integration when back home
  • Indirect conflict

Programs

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Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Sophie Torres

Sophie is a recent graduate of Binghamton University, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Human Development, with a Minor in Sociology. She is currently looking to work for an organization that is a proponent of experiential learning, serving as a leader and mentor for students from diverse backgrounds. In her free time she loves practicing yoga, and being surrounded with family and friends.
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Why did you choose this program?

I chose the Nepal and Tibet program because I wanted to immerse myself in cultures that I have never been exposed to before. When reading over the itinerary, everything sounded like a dream and I knew that if I embarked on this journey, my life would change for the better.

What I also liked about this program was that it included a fourteen-day trek across the Annapurna circuit and I thought it would be so cool to be embark on a trek that would challenge me both physically and mentally. I wanted to be able to look back and say, "wow this is something I was able to do", and when I finally got to experience the trek it was way more rewarding than I thought it would be. I feel very lucky to have gone on this program.

What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

Pacific Discovery is very buttoned up with everything they do, which made me feel that I was in very good hands. Everything that I needed to pack was included in a well thought out gear list, which also offered suggestions as to where I could get some of the necessary items.

PD was also very good with responding to any questions about the trip. They helped every step of the way and I am very thankful for that.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

The most important piece of advice I would give to someone going on this program would be to trust in the process! When it comes to making plans I often like to take control, because change can be difficult for me at times but on a program like this I had so much more fun when I adopted a "go-with-the-flow" attitude.

Some of the other students on my program found themselves frustrated because they wanted to know what was going to happen every step of the way, but sometimes it's nice to let things surprise you, because you never know what amazing experiences you might have as a result!

The trip goes by so fast, so why waste any second of it worrying about what you're doing next.

What did you learn about yourself from taking part in this program?

I learned that I am capable of far much more than I give myself credit for. On this trip I trekked up to about 17,000 feet, I got up on stage during a cultural dance performance, and I lived with a Nepali family for ten days without speaking English.

What is so special about going on a program like this is that it forces you to reveal your true self.

Makeup and other materialistic things fade to the background and the focus becomes what lies in your heart and soul. What I discovered is that I am brave, compassionate and ready to experience more of the what the world has to offer.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

It's difficult to say what an average day/week would look like on this program because we were constantly doing different things! I would say, however, that when we were on the trek for two weeks, we got up at very similar times and would begin trekking to the next destination, stopping to get lunch in between.

It never felt monotonous though because the Annapurna circuit has such an eclectic mix of landscapes, the scenery we experienced each day had its own unique beauty.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it and/or how did your views on the issue change?

My biggest fear before embarking on this journey was the plane ride. I have been to many places (including Greece), but Nepal and Tibet are the farthest I have ever been from home. I am not afraid of being on planes, however I was nervous that I would get anxious or not know what to do with myself.

As soon as I sat down on the plane I realized that it wasn't going to be as bad as I had originally thought. In fact I had plenty of movies to watch, and I was actually starting to get excited about what I was about to experience. I think that I will definitely keep this positive perspective with me for future plane rides.

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Sophia Allen

Job Title
Program Instructor
Sophia grew up in the lush Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. Attending an adventure camp throughout her childhood instilled within her a strong desire to provide others with the same special experiences in the outdoors. After completing a bachelors in Outdoor Education, Sophia went on to coordinate and implement expeditions and educational activities across the North America, South America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania for a wide range of demographics and backgrounds.

What is your favorite travel memory?

When I roadtripped across Texas with my sister in a big white van. I was directing a course near Big Bend National Park, and my teams needed a van and a trailer full of gear transported to them from the east coast. My older sister decided to join me for the journey and it has become one of our most memorable experiences. We explored hidden waterfalls in the desert and at night were amazed by the countless stars in the sky. We had hours of quality time to talk and speak of our dreams for the future as we traveled across the bizarre landscape of Texas. From Big Bend to the Guadeloupe Mountains, and El Paso where we said our goodbyes. Camping and Roadtripping are always a special way to share an adventure. I think that’s why I like the style of Pacific Discovery programs so much. It is the slower way of seeing all the beauty along the way and the adventures that spring up on the road.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

I had worked in a lot of different settings before Pacific Discovery, but I had never worked a seventy day shift before with one team. It was an extraordinary learning experience to empower and support students over an extended length of time. The rewards are immense in the sense that you are sharing an incredible journey with them and you get to see all ways that everyone including yourself grows from the experience. I personally learned a lot about adjusting my leadership style according to the skill set of a team. Throughout the course, the students were becoming more and more independent which required me to use discernment in the ways that I stepped back in order to give them opportunities to lead themselves autonomously.

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

One of my students wrote a lovely blog about volunteering alongside an elderly woman who was once a world class surfer.

Please enjoy below:
“We have arrived in New Zealand! Wahoo! Our first stop was the Tawharanui park and campground. Riddled with sheep, cows and plenty of birds, including the endangered Takahe, we awoke each morning to a symphony of moos, baas and indescribable birds tweets.
Throughout the week, directed by park rangers Morris and Amy, we “tickled” trails to create easier walking paths, planted trees with retired volunteers and took advantage of our surroundings by exploring the park, jumping in the ocean, and watching the sunrise over the rolling hills.
My personal favorite moment of the week was talking to Gale, one of the retired volunteers, while we bagged some young trees. Gale was the New Zealand woman’s surfing champion in 1969 and represented her country at the world championships in Australia the next year. As an aspiring surfer bum myself, I was eager to learn anything I could from her. Though I expected her to discuss the nitty gritty mechanics of surfing and how to dominate waves, she spoke of it as if it was still just a fun hobby. She wasn’t concerned with being the best surfer in the water. She just loved the ocean and riding the waves, both surfing and bodysurfing. As someone who gets in their own head about perfecting every single detail of riding waves, it was refreshing and calming to hear how to dominate surfing: chill out.”

-Sam L

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

Toughest question yet! All of the locations are exciting and beautiful. I am a bit biassed for the Australia and New Zealand Course though. You can’t beat the activities such as canyoneering through the Blue Mountains, surfing the beautiful waves of Australia, and rafting the highest navigable waterfall in the world! The volunteer opportunities are also interesting and enriching. We work with the local park service to fight invasive species, learn how to maintain trails in New Zealand, and live on a beautiful permaculture farm South of Sydney for a week. It is a marvelous course and I highly recommend it, but all programs at Pacific Discovery have something special and different to offer for everyone.

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

Pacific Discovery is different in the sense that the program is designed to empower you to become an independent ethical traveler. The adventures are outstanding and there are a lot of other companies that could simply take you sightseeing, but Pacific Discovery provides an educational viewpoint on each region and has an excellent curriculum to help you reflect on your gap year. One of the moments I was most proud of my team is when they designed their own itinerary for their student led section of their program. It was amazing to see everyone collaborating and creating a wonderful experience traveling across New Zealand. They did an excellent job and it was great to see how comfortable they had become with trip logistics and designing an adventure. I hope they utilize those skills in the future so that they can continue to explore the world outside of the course.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

How companies treat their employees always speaks volumes to me. Companies that place value in everyone on the team have a much better atmosphere that people want to be around and a part of. It is an incredibly feeling to work for a company that is such a team player. Even though we are spread out all over the world on course, everyone knows that they are a part of something wonderful and meaningful and it connects us. From the local vendors and guides that conduct our adventure activities to the folks in the office that make sure our logistics are running smoothly we are all focused on giving students the best experience possible.

Professional Associations

Gap Year Association Logo
The Forum on Education Abroad Logo
Gap Year Association Logo
Institute of International Education Logo
USA Gap Year Fairs Logo