Active Educational Trips & Adventures

We endorse the value of an active, physical educational experience.

Our most popular means of travel is on foot, trekking through a range of natural landscapes from mountain foothills to rain forests and bush trails. Along the way we may encounter remote communities, monasteries and ruins, as well as a range of flora and fauna endemic to the region. 

We will observe delicate eco-systems and interact with ethnically diverse cultures and come away with a sense of how to co-exist harmoniously in these environments. If the activity chosen is trekking you will be expected to carry a day-pack that holds your requirements for the day. Some challenging treks may require you to carry a full pack. Trekking days can range from easy 3 hour per day rambles to more rigorous 7 hour a day treks. 

We will tailor a trip to suit the desired degree of difficulty and level of experience of the group. All our adventures are graded to the physical rigours of the trip.

World Expeditions Schools advises against the use of mobile phones on all of our school trips abroad.  

Learn more about our core values below.

WES has an exemplary safety track record in the operation of small group adventures. Each trip is assessed for risks and follows a stringent risk minimisation plan. Our expert leaders and support crew undergo intensive first aid and leadership training each year to ensure a high level of competency. During the adventure they will provide participants with valuable insights into how to stay safe and healthy.

Knowing whom to trust when sending your teenager on an overseas adventure is an important consideration. You only have to look at the long list of schools across the globe that come back to us year after year to appreciate that the ingredients of our adventures are precise in respect of safety, enjoyment and experience. We are aware of the different parameters to be considered when dealing with youth groups and we will always go the extra mile.

Using only private vehicle transport is another area were we minimise risk. Our fleet of mini buses and 4WD’s are well maintained and driven by experienced and licensed drivers. Not having to rely on public transport also means we have more time to enjoy the destination and stop off when and wherever we like along the way.

The best way for students to gain a genuine understanding of a country is to immerse them in a community project. This is a way to ‘give back’ and transcends cultural barriers through the shared experience with a local community. 

Projects can range from teaching English to students in Africa; to a full participation, hands-on project involving general maintenance and painting of a facility for a community in need. The benefits are many for all involved. 

A meaningful and sustainable contribution is made to an underprivileged community, and participants are thoroughly immersed into the culture in a way that is not achievable when simply passing through as a regular traveller.

Prior to departure, students are given a per-student fund raising target that constitutes the funds required to complete the community project. 

It includes the costs associated with purchasing the materials for the project as well as the wages for local workers and transportation costs. We provide guidance and encouragement to participants so that they can fundraise in their local community, working together with schools to achieve this. 

Charitable activity is another integral part of the adventure. Our adventures are a great vehicle to build in a small donation that can be presented to the charity by the group before departure. 

Or, we can recommend a range of charities that are carrying out work in the country that you have chosen to travel to. For example, the Australian Himalayan Foundation and Himalayan Trust's in the UK, Canada and New Zealand have projects across the Himalayan regions where a donation could be directed to if the tour took place in the Himalaya. 

Participants are also encouraged to bring pens and books to give to schools where such items are scarce and we can arrange to have the local school students, teachers and wider community present to coincide with your groups visit.

World Expeditions Schools is operated by World Expeditions who are widely regarded as market leaders in environmental and sustainable tourism. Well-defined environmental plans exist on every adventure across all continents. 

The land content (accommodation, vehicle transport and internal flights) on all of our adventures is fully carbon off set and we have also factored into the package the cost to off set one tonne of carbon caused by the international air travel component.

When travelling with WES you’ll witness first hand the range of simple but effective measures that preserve environments and cultures. WES believes every traveller has a role to play and will provide each participant with information on how to minimise your footprint while travelling before they depart.

WORLD ANIMAL PROTECTION

We are a World Animal Protection signatory and are proud to be involved with collaborations between local cooperatives and the animal handlers we use when travelling.

RESPoNSIBLE CHILD CARE

We’re proud to be on the Rethink Orphanages working committee to stop orphanage tourism around the world. We do not work with residential care homes and are working to promote our shared belief in an alternative, family based care model.

DEVELOPMENT GOALS

We’re advocates of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and our global action areas support this vision.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

We’re pro-planet. We’re taken the TAP pledge and issue water purification so we don’t contribute to the single use plastic water bottle waste.

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