Travel Tips and Information

3 Reasons Why Our Educational Experience Is Simply The Best

WorldStrides Perspectives programs believes the real world offers a classroom like no other. Educational travel inspires those moments when the light bulb goes on. Students’ minds race beyond their everyday worlds and they find the personal meaning behind what they study in school. That’s a transformation. It’s the “aha” moment that you—and we—love most as educators.

Why choose WorldStrides Perspectives to help your students experience their “aha” moment? We have three reasons why our educational experience is simply the best.

We’ve got the most knowledgeable, talented Tour Directors

Our tour directors invent new ways of seeing things and help students squeeze the last ounce of learning and fun from their programs. We invest a lot in the selection and training of our Tour Directors with a formal training process that assesses how they’ll lead and inspire our groups, based on auditions, role plays, and more. (We start with ~1,500 application forms per year, with 20 of them becoming our new recruits!) It all adds up to a carefully vetted, well-qualified, and enthusiastic group of trip leaders.

Here’s how our Tour Directors personify excellence:

• Infectious enthusiasm: They lead adventures off the beaten path and set the action-packed pace for each day.
• Inclusive friends and coaches: They know that bringing students along with them instead of lecturing at them is the key to making things fun and memorable.
• Proud locals who love to share: They’re all savvy natives and exceptionally knowledgeable about our destinations abroad: “Let me show you my London. It’s not just what you’ve read and think!”
• Innovators and creators: They continually build on our LEAP philosophy by inventing new activities— like treasure hunts and bus skits.
• Skilled leaders: They’re great with kids: “The trick for a kid pick me up? Make them laugh. Then they’re listening. Because they’re having fun, they’ve now joined the conversation!”–Nick Hatley, Tour Director

We deliver the deepest learning

Our programs build on students’ natural curiosity and encourage them to grow through live exploration. We relentlessly focus on helping them find the best personal discoveries through their journeys. Here’s how:

• LEAP: “Learning Through Exploration and Active Participation,” LEAP is our own unique and powerful learning tool. It puts our learning-by-doing philosophy into action on every program. It was developed by our in-house educational staff and is led by Dr. Wendy Amato, Vice President of Education. In practice, LEAP translates into hands-on activities and personal reflection prompts. It takes on all kinds of fun and entertaining forms, based on the specific program and destination. Through LEAP activities, our students participate in live history debates, dramatic skits, dance classes, and much more: a mock bullfight in Spain, a hand-painted masterpiece, a local cooking class with friends
• Three free college credits included with every trip: We’re officially accredited as a school. Through our partnership with the University of California, San Diego, we can give high school students three free college credits for completing online coursework after their trip. WorldStrides is proud to be the only travel partner that provides this amount of free credit to student travelers. What’s more, our internal Curriculum & Academics Team gives us a depth and breadth of academic focus that you won’t find anywhere else.

We offer the most authentic experiences

We put the most committed, expert team behind every trip, and it shows in the cultural quality your students will feel. This is what transforms an ordinary travel program into the educational experience of a lifetime. This is what we do best at WorldStrides:

• The best hotels: Our hotels are centrally located, so you don’t spend valuable time commuting into the heart of the city. It means you can take fun evening walking tours with your Tour Director. You’ll have extra hours in your days to see the sights, and you’ll spend less money paying to get there.
• The greatest food: We provide plentiful breakfasts to carry your group through busy days. We carefully select three-course dinners at local restaurants so you get real, native cuisine—and save your students the snack money along the way!
• The fastest transport: We get you from place to place on the fastest trains and most comfortable coaches. We want to maximize the time you spend in each city or town instead of idling on a coach, waiting to get there! We also include metro tickets so your group can get around like the locals do.
• The most inspirational experiences: Iconic castles. Historic town squares. Famous paintings. They’re the “wow factor” we build into every trip. And these are only the starting points: We lead fun and challenging games and creative projects to get students thinking, critiquing, and making their own interpretations. This is what lasting inspiration is all about!
• All-inclusive, top-quality itineraries: Compiled by our team of experienced Travel Specialists and planners; Vetted for learning value by our Curriculum & Academics Team; Filled with the most popular and important sites and activities; Optimized based on continual teacher and student traveler feedback; Packed with activity to keep students busy, engaged, and having fun; Complementary to your classroom curriculum; Flavored with special, off-the-beaten-path experiences.

Ready to experience one of our WorldStrides Perspectives programs for yourself? Download our catalog and browse our programs!