Travel Stories

The Adventure Your Girl Scouts Are Waiting For

Did you know WorldStrides offers custom educational tours created just for Girl Scouts? 

Designed to maximize the lifelong impact of travel and provide a variety of opportunities for character building, leadership, and skill development for your troop, our specialized itineraries combine experiential learning with plenty of adventure—and even the opportunity to visit a WAGGGS World Center in London or Switzerland.

We recently sat down with Patty C., a Girl Scouts troop leader from California, to hear more about her experience on a one-of-a-kind educational journey with her troop.

Why is educational travel important for Girl Scouts?

“The Girl Scouts organization prepares girls to empower themselves and promotes compassion, courage, confidence, character, leadership, entrepreneurship, and active citizenship through a variety of activities. With that said, I believe travel plays a big role because it opens minds, creates learning opportunities with different cultures, and teaches girls to go out of their comfort zone to explore something new.”

Where did you travel with your troop, and how did you pick your destination?

“I had the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica with my troop and it was an incredible experience, from the beautiful landscapes to the beaches, culture, food, and learning opportunities. It enriched the girls’ lives in many ways and helped strengthen some core values, like how important it is to take care of our planet for future generations to enjoy. Since it was our first trip, I took into account the distance, security of the destination, cultural activities, and community service opportunities available to us.”

Pro Tip: Your travel consultant can help you pick the perfect destination for your trip! Start by checking out our four itineraries just for Girl Scouts, or work one-on-one with our team to customize the ideal tour for your troop’s goals.

How was your tour planning experience?

“Working with the team was a great experience from beginning to end. They put in their best effort to go above and beyond from start to finish, helping us overcome any challenges that popped up along the way.”

Pro Tip: When you travel with WorldStrides, you’ll partner with a dedicated team member who handles all of the details, from planning and logistics to troubleshooting, fundraising support, and more. Plus, we provide you with all the materials you need to promote your trip, including colorful posters, a recruitment folder with step-by-step instructions, a fun-filled presentation to share at your informational meeting, and a personalized trip site that allows you to send messages, track recruitment progress, and more.

Did your troop use fundraising resources to help offset the cost of their trip?

“Absolutely! Fundraising is a must because it opens the opportunity to apply the Girl Scouts philosophy from cookie selling to many other activities. When they get to enjoy the end result—besides being an incredible experience—it becomes an opportunity to teach girls how to achieve goals they’ve set and find the satisfaction that comes with reaching them.”

Pro Tip: WorldStrides makes fundraising easy by providing each participant with a personalized Gift of Education page. Simply share the link with friends or family to collect donations, and 100% of the money raised will go directly toward the trip cost.

What was your favorite part of traveling with your troop?

“Watching the girls’ faces during these new experiences was a unique moment. I would describe it as the Christmas morning gift-opening smile—knowing that a seed was well-planted in their lives and seeing the strengthening bonds of friendship between them.”

Why do you think it’s important for young women to travel?

“Travel is enriching and life-changing. I would encourage world travel all the time because of the experiences gained, the memories treasured, and the learning opportunities. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience!”

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Interested in taking your own troop on a WorldStrides educational tour? Click here to browse our specialized itineraries, or contact us to work one-on-one to design the perfect trip for your Scouts.