Program Reviews

I went on their Hawaii Minimester course this year and it was one of the most unique and fun experiences of my life. Pacific Discovery are committed to having their students fully immerse themselves in the culture in a way that someone travelling independently would not have the opportunity to. Our days were action packed and we all enjoyed ourselves in activities such as surfing, lei making, hiking, snorkelling and more. Although there were instances where Pacific Discovery was not hugely supportive and though there are things I would change about the program, I am truly thankful for the experience that has been provided to me.

From learning the art of cutting open a coconut, a proper surf board stance, hiking up Coconut Creek, enjoying a private manta ray tour, or looking at the stars at the top of the volcano of Mauna Kea, I can think of dozens of magical moments these past 4 weeks that were elevated by the support and community of my fellow peers and the Pacific Discovery team. All while prioritizing safety, Pacific Discovery has given my group a rare opportunity of true cultural immersion: daily fun experiential education peppered with moments of deeply personal growth.

Coming from the UK I was nervous about travelling over 8000 miles away to travel with a group of new people. However, it has ended up being one of the most positive and exciting experiences I’ve had so far. The program perfectly balanced hard work and volunteering with deep cultural immersion and a ton of fun activities. Highlights have included surf camp, finding the only snow in Hawaii and snorkelling with manarays. The experience was made by the amazing group of people and leaders that I travelled with. Everyone was open and welcoming and eager to learn and experience the trip. There have been ups and downs in the group but all in all the experiences have brought us closer together. I would highly recommend

I’ve have really enjoyed my time on this program. I feel like I have learned a lot about myself and others, as well as the culture and history of the Hawaiian islands. We have had the opportunity to experience some incredible moments, such as snorkeling, cliff jumping, stargazing at Mauna Kea, surfing, and much more. In addition to the fun and exciting activities we have experienced, we have also had multiple opportunities to engage in various service projects which has been incredibly rewarding. I’m so grateful for having the opportunity to go on this trip, and I feel I have grown so much through the experience.

This experience has really helped push me outside of my comfort zone and has overall been very rewarding. You learn many important life skills, meet many amazing people, and become very close with the other members of your group. There are definitely some challenging experiences that you will surely encounter (like camping in the rain), but I now feel more confident dealing with these obstacles. This program is a lot of fun and is a great option for people looking for an amazing experience during their gap year.

Got to meet really interesting people and learn about Hawaiian history and culture. Also got to do lots of thrilling activities like cliff jumping off a 40 ft cliff, surfing, swimming with manta rays, sharks, sea turtles and much more. I loved the kids on my program, everyone was so kind, smart, funny and adventurous. There was one student who was very disrespectful and unkind to the group and many of the people we met and the student was removed from the program eventually. Other than that one challenge, the majority of the trip was wonderful!

This gap year has been an amazing experience! With covid 19 almost everything I had planned for this year was canceled but this has been an amazing experience because of the people and places we have met and travels too. Our group instructors have been so helpful, alway making sure we are having a great time with our operators. My favorite thing that we have done so far was the sunset atop Maunakea. The colors were so vibrant and the stars afterwards were mind blowing. My other favorite thing was the manta ray dive, they came so close which really emphasized the massive size to the animals

My trip to Central America with Pacific Discovery was the best seventy days I could've imagined. We traversed through Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.

Let me start by saying that I traveled with PD in the spring of 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. PD could've easily said that it was too difficult to travel internationally at the time, but with the right protocol, planning, and leadership, they pulled it off. I am so grateful for this opportunity to travel safely and get an amazing experience.

The program activities were something out of a dream; who wouldn't want to spend a semester scuba diving, surfing, hiking, sea kayaking, and immersing oneself in the incredible cultures of Central America? I pushed myself physically, mentally, and socially and got so much out of it. Although not every moment was perfect, the trip was the best thing I've ever done.

Jack and Amelia, my co-leaders, are two of the best people in the world. They modeled leadership, flexibility, and positivity. They encouraged us when we were struggling and would always be willing and available to talk to us.

I wish we'd had a slightly larger food budget when going out to eat, but I understand that Pacific Discovery has to pay its HQ team. I was able to mostly stick to my personal budget through careful planning.

I can't say enough nice things about Pacific Discovery. I have grown so much as a person and learned so much about myself. I feel so ready to travel independently. I will never forget my gap year. I only hope I can inspire others to also take gap years.

I've put off writing this review for about six weeks now. I really don't like speaking badly about things, and I hate to put a damper on someone's dreamy fantasies of rainbows over sunsets and coconuts and palm trees. After all, that was me only five months ago. But I do feel an obligation to share the experience I had with Pacific Discovery this fall, and unfortunately that means I have to be critical; to do anything less would be a disservice to prospective students looking for an honest take on the program.
I am lucky to be a very well-traveled teen. My parents worked for an extremely renowned, global travel & exploration company for 20+ years, and as a result, I have a lot of experience with group settings, unfamiliar places, and adapting to the ebbs and flows of travel. Which is why I was startled to realize, even from the beginning of my semester, that PD lives up to none of the standards I've come to expect from this kind of program.
Students: It's not fair for me to speak ill of anyone on my program, so I'll just say this: almost all of my fellow students were in Hawaii for entirely the wrong reasons, and that quickly became a source of tension and negativity within the group.
Organization: Or should I say lack thereof...I can think of many an occasion on which hours of a day were wasted due to poor planning, failure to rally the group, or negligence to think ahead.
Structure: Days on end of intensely concentrated activity were followed by vast stretches of absolute nothingness. Not to mention that we crossed back and forth across the island many, many times (I know this was so that the groups didn't overlap, but it was nonetheless aggravating to waste away hours in the van). It made for a really frustrating and exhausting trip.
Itinerary: I know that right now, in the era of the coronavirus, travel plans are especially shifty. So I understand when things change, I do. Except that doesn't change the disappointment of having the key aspects of this trip canceled or vastly altered. Not a critique of the company, but to any maybe-students out there, do expect to not do the itinerary as written, and be prepared to not know where exactly you'll be camping until the day or two before.
Leadership: My instructors were lovely people, that is an objective and 110% true statement. For the most part, I did feel supported and cared for by them, but there were definitely a few times when I didn't, too. Maybe that's par for the course, but I do think my experience would have been better with stronger leadership that could deal more readily with difficult personalities. They let many things slip through the cracks, including rampant bullying and exclusion that affected me on a deep personal level. I got apologies and sympathies, but I never witnessed any true attempts to shut down malicious behavior. They also weren't the most experienced when it came to the great outdoors, which I think is quite important for leading any sort of outdoor-based program.
Overall, it wasn't a great experience, but it was a growth experience; I learned how to conduct myself on my own, since the group did very little for me. But I do think there are better ways to achieve that growth than to go through a largely negative experience like I did. If I had to name one redeeming quality of PD, it'd be the people. I got to interact with two staff members from HQ, both of whom were some of the kindest, most insightful, understanding people I have ever met. It makes me a little regretful to speak so negatively of a company with such great people at the helm, but alas.
Long story short, there are better programs out there for you.

I did have an incredible experience. The variety of places we went allowed me to experience and fully enjoy a vast amount of different environments from desert to snow and everything in between. The program has boosted my confidence by physically challenging me in ways I could not imagine before this trip such as rock climbing and mountain biking but I had such fun trying these activities that I now have more confidence to try new things in my everyday life. Additionally working with the group has helped me develop my teamwork and problem solving skills