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Student travel is becoming more and more common. With a trend toward a gap year before college, many parents are allowing their children to gain life experience outside of school.
Our oldest son had this opportunity at the end of middle school.
We sent him on a 12-day educational tour of Berlin and Dresden Germany, Prague Czech Republic, Krakow Poland, Budapest Hungary, and Vienna Austria. For more on packing for educational travel see my post, What to Pack - Travel Essentials.
Learning a Language
When our son started 6th grade, he had the option to take a foreign language. He could have chosen, French, Spanish, or German. Of course, I immediately encouraged him to take German.
Why German
I thought it would be a great language for him to learn. Both sides of my family were of German descent. But since both families had been in the states for decades, that was about as German as I get. But, honestly, I had always loved everything German.
In addition, there are several other good reasons to take German as outlined in a pamphlet provided by the Goethe Institut:
- knowledge of German may help you with entrance into some of the finest Universities both here and in Germany.
- having German as a second language can potentially increase your salary by 4% in the US and more in Europe.
- many German companies have subsidiaries in the US as well as US companies in Germany.
- Germany is a think tank for science, producing many scientific breakthroughs and German scientists winning multiple awards including Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine
- there are thousands of grants offered to US students for study and research in Germany.
- I also knew that attending University in Germany was often free except for living expenses and other minor fees. With 3 to put through college, this seemed an excellent opportunity to learn the German language for the future.
German is a challenging language to learn. But in the long run, it will provide some of the biggest rewards with future jobs.
At least I hoped so!
Eighth Grade German Trip
At the beginning of his second year of German, the teacher sent out an invitation for parents to join in a discussion of the upcoming 8th Grade German trip. I was excited to learn about this opportunity.
For my son’s trip, the class was not travelling just to Germany, but also to the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Austria. The plan was to take a 12 day trip to Eastern Europe, to countries where German is spoken.
We thought it would be the trip of a lifetime. Once I attended the meeting, I knew right away that our son should go. When else would he ever be able to travel to all these countries and experience their cultures? The problem was that I was concerned with him traveling so far from home.
The solution to that ended up being me going on the trip too. Apparently, we weren’t the only parents thinking this way, because on our trip there were 18 students plus 14 adults.
Wow. I was so excited, probably more so than my then 14-year-old son. I had traveled to Canada, Mexico, and to islands off the Eastern coast of the United States but I had never been to Europe.
Student Travel Details
There were a lot of details to finalize with this type of trip. Luckily they started recruiting travelers 18 months prior to the trip.
The German teacher picked a popular student travel tour company to organize the trip. They planned our itinerary, with input from our teacher. In addition, they coordinated flights, hotels, meals, bus transportation, tours, tour guides, and a tour director.
A lot of the hassle of student travel to a foreign country was managed by this company.
We were just along for the ride.
Costs
Our travel could be paid in full at the time of enrollment in the trip or the tour company offered payment plans. We chose to use the payment plan since we were both going on the trip.
For travel in 2017, the student cost was just under $4,000. The adult supplement was an additional $425 to the $4,000 basic cost of the trip. For both of us that was a big chunk of money.
We both received an early enrollment discount, but signed up for an excursion at the Budapest Baths and also purchased travel insurance in case anything unforeseen might happen.
The base cost of the trip included round trip airfare, shared hotel rooms with bathrooms, breakfast, and dinner, a tour director, transfers between cities and to and from airports, entrance fees and walking tours as specified on the tour agenda as well as other incidentals.
It did not include optional excursions, room upgrades for a private room, travel insurance, beverages and lunches, tips for the tour director, bus driver, and local guides. baggage handling fee and any costs caused by airline rescheduling.
Gratuities
Tips for the Tour Director, Bus Driver, and Local Guides were collected prior to our trip by our trip chaperone, the German teacher.
The student travel tour company recommended $6 per day for the Tour Director, $3 per day for the Bus Driver, and $2 per day for local guides.
This prepayment of tips made the trip stress free. Honestly, for our trip, I would have tipped more for out great Tour Director and Bus Driver.
Spending Money
I had no idea how much money my son and I would need for spending money on lunches, snacks, souvenirs, and other purchases. The tour company suggested $60 per day, but I felt that might not be enough so we took $100 per day for each of us. It was a fair estimate for the purchases we made on the trip.
Phone Costs
If your children are like ours, their phone is an extension of their body. International phone calls are expensive. We purchased a plan that was $10 per day for the days we were in Europe. Check out other International Phone Plans or follow up with your carrier to determine which plan will work best for your family.
We also communicated with friends and family back home via a Facebook Group. We were able to post pictures and detail our travels for everyone at home who was watching our travel from afar.
Packing for the Trip
A big piece of the trip was packing. For the 12 day trip, we were planning to visit 5 different countries. This means that we would be on the move all the time. Our tour chaperone recommended that we pack light. Having a smaller suitcase and packing smart by rolling clothes and just taking what you need helped.
We each took a 22-inch piece of luggage on wheels. Yes, it's hard to believe that I could pack enough clothes for 12 days in Europe but it can be done. Find my packing tips in my article What to Pack - Travel Essentials. I also included tips on what to pack for the long transatlantic flight.
Safety
With the unrest in Europe, we were a little concerned with sending our son so far from home by himself. As I mentioned, we were not the only ones who felt this way because there were 18 teens and 14 adults on our trip.
Traveling with other parents and our Travel Chaperone made me feel more secure. We all shared our phone number so we could easily communicate plans on the trip.
We were assigned to groups and would regularly do group checks. These were done prior to leaving any location or activity to make sure everyone was together.
In addition, we developed a plan with the kids that if they or we should happen to get separated from the group that they would stay put and wait for someone to come back and collect them. This actually happened with one of the teens and he waited for us to return to get him.
Overall when you travel you need to stay alert. I had this conversation with my son before we left. Not to scare him, but to make his aware and to have a plan if there was a crisis. Just like they do fire drills at school, it is good to have a plan when you travel too.
Hotels
Student travel companies typically book budget hotels and our trip was no different.
When I got the list of hotels I immediately got online and looked up the hotels. Most had fairly good reviews. European hotel looked quite different than typical American hotels.
For example rather than full or queen-sized beds, European hotels typically include twin beds that are pushed together. Most are very spartan and modern in their style. I knew that I would be sharing a room with another parent so this would be an adventure.
The Trip is Finally Here
Anticipation had been building for the last couple of months. Now we were really leaving. Everything was paid for, packed and we were ready.
The last detail was to show up at the airport on the day of departure 3 hours before the flight.
Make sure you have your passport, other identification, tickets, and money for the trip when you get to the airport. Triple check before you leave home for the airport.
Everyone will gather as we wait for others to arrive. Now is the time for pictures and teary goodbyes from the parents who weren't able to join us on our adventure.
Our flight out of the states left at 7:40PM and was due in Amsterdam at 10:50AM the next day.
We settled into our seats in the economy section of the huge airplane. We had individual monitors for movies, some games, and a cool ap that tracked our flight over the Atlantic.
This personal entertainment center also contained charging ports for our phones. I understand that not all planes have this so make sure and pack a portable charger for the long flight. Just in case.
This overnight flight was challenging. We had been warned that we were touring as soon as we arrive in Berlin. It was highly suggested that we sleep on the plane to help with fatigue and jet lag. My son got a few hours of sleep, but I don't sleep well on planes. Many of our group were in the same boat.
For tips on make the experience better, check out my article on Travel Essentials - What to Pack. I have a few tips after this trip that will help you be more comfortable.
We Arrive in Amsterdam, Right on Schedule
Bleary-eyed but excited we navigated customs with a very tight deadline. Customs was like a cattle call. We were guided into tight lines that inched toward the booth where we would be interviewed after flying in from the States. This is a little intimidating if you don't travel much. At least it was for me.
A few questions and we were on our way to catch up with the rest of our group.
Our next flight would drop us into the land of lederhosen.
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