Come With Nothing: The Mekong Expedition

Every student travel company boasts about having the best safety record or most qualified staff, but few deliver on those and other promises like Rustic Pathways. If you’re considering student travel providers, ask them three questions. Find our answers to these questions below and use them to evaluate our programs and those offered by our competitors. How much experience do you have? Rustic Pathways has been operating student travel programs for more than 36 years. We offer summer travel for middle and high school students, customized teacher-led trips for school groups, and gap year programs for recent high school grads. Since our founding, we’ve developed exclusive relationships with local community partners making your child’s travel experience with us truly unique. The World Youth Student Education & Travel Confederation named Rustic the best youth travel provider three of the past four years (2018, 2017, and 2015). We’re a Gold Verified provider on Go Overseas, where we have a 95% student satisfaction rate. The Rustic Pathways Experience What impact will your program have on my teen and where they travel? Rustic Pathways is committed facilitating positive impact through transformative student travel experiences that prioritize meaningful community engagement around the world. Programs are intentionally designed to challenge students to think critically and experience personal growth. Last year, nearly 98 percent of Rustic students demonstrated growth in at least one of the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) our programs are designed to foster. Students contribute to community projects with local organizations and partners during projects that align with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Rustic students completed more than 187,000 community service hours last year. Impact at Rustic Pathways How do I know my child will be safe? More than 10,000 students travel safely each year with Rustic Pathways. We supervise students from the time they arrive at one of our gateway airports, on their international flights, during their programs, and on their return flights home. Our skilled Program Leaders are certified in wilderness medicine and/or CPR and receive extensive training online and in-country. We maintain a student-to-leader ratio of no more than six-to-one. All countries also have comprehensive safety and risk management plans to address potential issues. We offer 24-7-365 emergency response coverage for students and their families and partner with International SOS, the leading provider of emergency travel services. In addition, our dedicated health and safety team ensures all programs are actively monitored.