Program Reviews

I feel that people seem to like the phrase “life-changing” a lot, and use it to describe just about any experience that they really enjoyed. Sure, I have had many amazing experiences that I will never forget, but none that I would label truly “life-changing”. This mindset of mine completely changed with my first Rustic trip in the beautiful country of Thailand. First off, the people you get to meet are amazing. Whether it be your fellow students, the staff, or the locals, everybody is so open and friendly. I think it’s safe to say that nobody really felt alone on the trip and that everybody was able to form some great relationships. Also, this trip really allows for so many fun activities, all while immersing us in the local culture. One awesome thing that we did was try a bunch of unique local Thai cuisine, and it was really great to be able to try new and different things together with an equally inexperienced bunch of people. We even got to eat crickets, which were surprisingly tasty! Lastly, the service on this trip was great and so meaningful. I’ve volunteered at my local library shelving books before, but that can’t compare at all with what we got to do on this trip (of course, working at the library was/is still a good thing). We got to do inspiring things such as building a house for a struggling mother with epilepsy, teaching Thai schoolchildren English and how to swim, preparing meals for hospital patients, and starting an organic farm at a local school. It was motivating to know the backgrounds of all the service projects and it provided us with some insight on what the situation is like over there, regarding various aspects of life. One of the best things about the service for me was that I got to do a lot of physical exercise and help out the community at the same time. Back to the “life-changing” aspect of this whole experience: After I’ve returned home, I’ve been exercising a lot more, and I actually owe that to all the outside work we did on this trip. Also, I feel like a more open person, more open to new things and to meeting new people. I am honestly looking forward to starting school again and trying to make some new friends. All in all, my first Rustic trip was such an awesome experience, and today I will be signing up for another one for next summer!!! Thank you so much Rustic Pathways!

This was honestly a life changing experience. My group was great, and was not too big. My host mom was an angel on earth, and I will stay in touch with the people I met through my family and group forever. I now have a second family in Costa Rica, and a home to return to whenever I want. My Spanish has also improved a lot. Now, i can communicate with many more people, and language barriers are not as big of a problem anymore. One of the coolest things that happened on a trip was when I was talking to one of the locals, who was learning English. She would talk in English, and I would speak in Spanish, so we could both improve.

Going on the Highlands and Islands trip in Fiji gave me a chance to go off the beaten path and really dive into a new culture. This trip gave me the opportunity to truly experience a culture because I got to live within it by staying in a host family and living as a local in the village of Nausori for a week. It's an amazing experience and probably the best time of my life. My leaders were so fun and caring and my group turned into my best friends.

The community service is fantastic. You feel like you are truly making an impact and the results are instant. The villages and children are so cute and it is a once in a lifetime experience that you gave to take. My favorite memory from this trip was definitely playing with the children in the town. All of them after school play soccer in the fields and in the street and are extremely welcoming. We played with them all day until dinner and they were so kind. Even though there was this language barrier, it disappeared once we started playing with them.

I went on the Escape to the Fiji Islands trip with Rustic Pathways this past summer and could not have had a better experience! The activities were super fun, the scenery was breathtaking, and the locals were so kind to us. My group and I bonded so much over the course of the week and we still talk all the time! My program leaders were absolutely incredible and I miss them an insane amount. Overall, SO worth it and SO perfect!

My experience with Rustic Pathways has been life changing. Through quickly learning about a new country and new people, I learned a lot about myself. I enjoyed the accommodations, the food, and every single activity that we did throughout the course of the trip. I am nothing but grateful and happy that I chose to travel with Rustic because I have gained important knowledge of myself and lifelong friends.

My trip to the Rustic Pathways Children's Home was fantastic. I made strong connections with not only the other people travelling with me, but also the local children who stayed at the children's home. On our trip, we also spent time teaching English at a local school, which I though was an incredibly rewarding experience and really fun. I had such an amazing time and would recommend it to anyone interested in a global trip.

On this trip, students could spend four hours serving the communtiy doing different activities such as mixing concrete or moving blocks across a field to help build a locker room for a soccer field to make money for the community. On the last day if the service, a little girl came to visit our group ehich made all of the kids in the group realize how much we were making an impact on the community and how we can inspire students do to the same thing thag we are.

I’m 14, going into my first year of highschool. I went to Australia this summer with Rustic Pathways for the trip of a lifetime, and that’s exactly what it was. Even though I was the youngest at least by two years, everyone was so kind and I quickly became the little sister. I really loved this trip because of all the adventurous activities such as skydiving and bungee jumping. It was an amazing trip. I will always remember this trip and the people on it!

I had an amazing time on the trip to Mongolia and met some lifelong friends. We spent most of our time staying in gers in more remote villages, but we spent multiple nights in a guest house called the Lotus, which I really enjoyed. The highlight of the trip for me was the Buddhist temple or the camel riding. I enjoyed the temple because it was unlike anything I’ve seen before and I enjoyed the camel riding because I like animals