Program Reviews

I cannot recommend Rustic Pathways enough. I’ve gone on three trips with them, my first being Peru, and this was the most formative travel experience I’ve ever had. It was highly adventurous, reflective, and community focused. The service I had the opportunity to complete and the meaningful relationships I was able to create really will stick with me for life. Peru was utterly stunning and a journey of leadership and self growth. If you’re looking for a way to group as a teammate and learn about yourself and others in a context of support and collaboration Rustic is for you.

As a parent, I want my kids to explore the world. Life gets busy, work demands happen and I was so excited to find a travel program specifically for teens! Of course I was nervous, but I can’t say enough great things about Rustic from beginning to end.

Emily was amazing during the pre-departure process and answered my million questions!

The leaders are educated and awesome with the kids! They have a WhatsApp to keep us informed every step of the way. They meet the teens at the airport, send parents updates, and keep a great eye on all the teens traveling! I am excited that my daughter will be doing another trip this year :)

Such an amazing and unique group dynamic, was better than I could have ever hoped. Counselors made it super easy to fit in from the moment we arrived, and enriched the whole experience so much. I loved working in the gardens, swimming and snorkeling, and going on the hikes. The food was really good, and they were very accommodating for all allergy’s and preferences. The entire trip was filled with jokes, laughter, inclusivity, and friendship. The time flew by so fast, but I am so grateful to have been able to go on the trip.

Rustic Pathways was a great place to relax and get away from the usual stresses of life. Oftentimes I find myself worrying about the future and what i’m doing next, but I never focused on the present. This program really helped me do that my exploding my knowledge of Hawaiian culture and food. I loved just talking to everyone and being involved in meaningful activities. The program helped me learn a lot about myself, which I think overall helps me improve as a person. I made lifelong friends, some of which happen to be going to high school with me next year.

I really enjoyed all the activities that was offered for the program. Furthermore, I really enjoyed all the support and love the staff provided. Whether it was an injury or someone seemed to be having a hard time, they provided a safe haven for us students. We had a superb time doing all the diverse activities. They provided a diverse range of activities, from lei making to climbing a mountain. And the food that was provided were nutritious, yet very delicious. Overall, I enjoyed the program and would like to do it again.

Camp was really really fun I think we did a good balance of fun adventure filled activities and some service work to give back to the land. And the service work was still really fun and we got to eat fresh fruits and learn more about Hawaiian history, culture and food. I really enjoyed meeting the people in my group because I think that we all were so inclusive and fun and made camp a million times more fun and exciting. My favorite activity we did was probably snorkeling and going on the boat.

It was so much fun! The program leaders were so nice and funny! Everyone was so inclusive, supportive, and I have gained so many new friends!!! The planning of the trip was clearly very good because everything we did was so fun and there was never too much or too little going on! The boat day, fun service, and more were some of my favorite parts! The food was really good, even for picky eaters, they still thought it through! The exercises and talks we did were so community building and never boring! Hope to do another rustic trip again!

The program was ok. There was not a lot of elephant service to be honest considering that's what we paid for, but it was otherwise fun. We only spent three days at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center and spent too much time in the three markets considering they have pretty much the same things. For a service trip, there wasn't enough service. However, the chaperones were very nice and helpful, and the food was very, very good.

I had a lot of fun on this trip and am so sad that it was only a week! Everyone was so cool and the leaders were really welcoming and fun. I also really loved the staff at the thai elephant conservation center. They were so friendly and I learned a lot from them. The service work was also really fun and it was nice that it was spread out between the days and wasn’t for too long because it was pretty hot. I also loved shopping at the markets and it was nice that we were trusted to go out on our own to shop.

I had such a great time on this program! I met great people and had some great experiences. I really loved seeing all different parts of Peru, especially the Amazon rainforest! On this trip, I did many activities that I have never done before and likely wouldn’t have tried. For example, we went white water rafting and rock climbing. I also really loved the part of the trip where we stayed in Cusco, and got to learn the history of the place, and go shopping for souvenirs in the market. I would definitely recommend this trip!