Program Reviews

My life changed drastically over the course of two weeks and I owe that change to Travel for Teens and the summer I spent abroad in Berlin, Paris, and London! From the moment I stepped off the plane, I was greeted to nonstop action. From the get-go, there was so much to do. Being exposed to other cultures and learning phrases in German and French was fascinating and showed me that there was so much more to the world than my tiny bubble in California. From biking around Berlin to riding on the London Eye, there was never an absence of adventures. Besides adventures, there was also a community that formed over the course of two weeks. The staff were able to make every moment enjoyable and the other campers all contributed to the general companionship through their kindness and willingness to learn about the foreign world we found ourselves in. In the end, I came home wanting to go on more trips in the summers to come! From my summer, I’ve made lasting friendships and can effectively call myself a traveller and not a tourist!

I have been so fortunate to experience two unbelievable Travel for Teens: Older Teens trips. I was able to go on the Travel for Teens: Florence, Cinque Terre, Switzerland, and Paris the summer of 2018. Also I went on the Travel for Teens: Prague, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia trip summer of 2019. I have visited destinations in Europe that were so beautiful that words cannot describe it. Through these trips I have gained many stories that I look forward to sharing, I have gained confidence in myself to be independent, and I have tasted food that can only be dreamt about. I was able to go paragliding through the Swiss Alps, go canyoning in Slovenia, island hopping in Croatia, visit the Louvre, and climb the Eiffel Tower. The opportunities that were provided through TFT were amazing and I would recommend any of their trips because you will have a once in a lifetime experience.

My first TFT trip was incredible. I got to see the various types of beauty found along the pacific west cost from national parks to vibrant cities. One of my favorite parts of the trip was going to Lake Tahoe. We were able to fish which was a lot more fun than had first expected. The view was breathtaking and the water remarkably warm. Looking over pictures of this part of the trip makes me want to go back so badly. Not only were the destinations wonderful but so were the TFT staff. They were immensely caring and fun people to be around. Some of my fondest favorite memories came from those friendships. One of my favorite aspects of this trip was that we were taught to be travelers not tourists. Where we are encourage to seek and explore all corners of the earth. I loved my TFT trip and I hope to never stop traveling

I absolutely loved traveling with the Travel For Teens organization. They are highly knowledgable about any location that you are traveling too. Little things such as knowing which restaurants have the best dinner or knowing the locals goes such a long way. They are able to keep everyone organized and safe at all times while giving lots of freedom to enjoy your time there. They also provide two meals a day which are breakfast and dinner so the only one that you need to worry about is lunch. Everyday they would give out free time in new areas to go out on your own to try the local cuisine on your own. This was such a nice way to meet new people from the place as well as the new people you are traveling with. I have several friends from all over the world that will always be my best friends from these trips!

I went to Tanzania for three weeks during the summer of 2018, from late June until early July. Going into this trip I was so excited to meet girls living at a boarding school and to work in an orphanage. I was excited to meet all the people that I would be staying with and going on safaris. What I wasn't expecting was to have my outlook on life changed forever.
When we landed in Dar es Salaam after two long flights, we were greeted with the most love and joy I have ever seen and felt. Everyone was smiling and waiting to help us in any way they could. I was so overwhelmed at how amazing these people were. After being greeted we began the drive to our first hotel. On the way, I saw the poverty throughout the capital, but what I also saw was smiles. Smiles everywhere. I saw mothers carrying their children along the streets, with no shoes on; but they were still smiling and talking happily to each other.
Not only did I see this is the capital, but I also saw this with the girls and the orphans. These girls had nothing but their uniforms and books, yet they were so happy. They always thanked us for any little thing we did. I will never forget one time a sweet girl about my age (16), cried out of happiness just from me sitting with her and making friendship bracelets. The little kids in the orphanage that had been living there since before they could remember were all joy. All they wanted to do was hold your hand and be next to you.
These things will always stay with me, not because I got to go to Africa, or see zebras and lions and giraffes up close, or meet some amazing people who I still keep in touch with today, but because I saw people who realized that life is not about what you have, it's about who is in your life and how you chose to live it.

Traveling to Thailand with Travel for Teens in the Thailand Service and Adventure program has been one of the best decisions I had made so far. The staff and the kids I went with were wonderful! Each and every one of them made the trip a memorable experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. The staff was really supportive when it came to dietary restrictions and allergies, and they made sure everyone had what they wanted and needed throughout the trip. They were also very flexible with what we wanted to do and the schedule. The places we visited were unique and beautiful, for example, we visited a Monkey Island near Phi Phi, where we witnessed the monkeys steal food from the visitors, or take off the lice from one another. We also visited an elephant sanctuary where we learned about the elephants and the different ways we can help them, in the long run, to stop them from getting abused. Not only that, but we were able to give back to the community by building a cement house from scratch in a tiny community in Chaing Mai. This trip not only was wonderful, but it made me feel at home and thankful for having the opportunity to live such a unique experience.

This summer I went to the Costa Rica for younger teens: Hola Costa Rica trip. It's a very big step to go out of the country with people you don't know. Trust me I was very hesitant. It takes a lot of courage to sign up for something so far out of your comfort zone, assure you, you will NOT regret it. I had the time of my life. Everything was perfect. The food was wonderful. The other kids were great. The counselors were very professional and experienced. It was truly a life changing experience that I was lucky enough to be a part of. This was the best summer ever!

Henry Bleiweiss

My tft greece and italy trip was so much fun. My group and i had so many fun and personal experiences. we did cooking classes, scuba diving and so many other once in a lifetime cultural immersions. we walked through many wonderful market places and swam in many beautiful beaches. i would do the trip again in a heart beat and always talk very highly of this particular tft trip. the hotels in greece were amazing and i was extremely happy with them. the counselors gave us so much room to explore and grow on our trip. i highly recommend this trip to any interested as it will reach every expectation you may have. TFT does an amazing job in any trip that they have on their site but this one has been my overall favorite. i had gone to the paris and barcelona trip and i loved that trip as well.

Traveling to Bali with Travel for Teens on the Bali Ultimate Service and Adventure trip has been one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I was excited to embrace long-haul international travel and finally explore somewhere that far from my home. Like a lot of people, I was nervous about how I was going to fit in within the group. That was fear was quickly squashed and I formed some very close friendships with everyone on the trip, from other travelers to the counselors to our amazing local guides. This trip was very diverse in many ways: both in the cultures of the regions we visited, the activities that we did, and the composition of our surrounding environment.This trip had a bit of everything, which I loved! We went from cityscapes to mountains to beaches. We had valuable service opportunities, working to restore coral reefs and practicing English with local children and more. We also had adventures like white water rafting, mountainside hikes, and scuba diving. It is really difficult to answer the question “what was your favorite part of the trip” because there really wasn’t one singular event; however, a part of the trip that I found really valuable was eating dinner with the prince. Talking with him provided insight into their culture and their views. He answered our questions about Bali and we answered his about America and Canada. 21 days flew by so fast and while our group is no longer in Bali, the friendships and memories remain.

This was my first year traveling through TFT, and I can definitely say I will travel with them again. Greece and Italy: Island Service gave me a truly well-rounded experience. I was able to help the local community in Corfu, visit historical sights in Italy, and still have time to immerse myself in the culture around me. TFT was extremely organized, and I felt as though the counselors were people who i could really open up to and ask for life advice from. I made some of my closest friends on this trip, and we still get together even now. The accommodations were perfect- small, family-run inns and hotels, allowing me to see the countries through a traveler's eyes, not just a tourist in a resort. The trip was exactly what I had hoped, and I got to do things I'd only dreamed about. For instance, one of the optional excursions was a scuba diving trip, which has been on my bucket list since I was 10 years old. I had a truly amazing experience traveling through TFT this summer, and I hope that more people will choose to go through this company.