Choose from teen travel, gap year, and school group travel programs
Travel independently on a teen travel program, spend a semester abroad on a gap year, or build a custom trip with your school.
For Summer 2027, 11 of 20 teen travel programs cost under $4,000. Program tuition starts at $1,995.
Rustic Pathways reports that 92% of seasonal staff are local to the countries where they work. The median staffing ratio is one staff member for every 4.37 students, and no program exceeds 7 students per staff member.
Teen travel programs
Travel programs for individual students ages 14 to 18. Summer programs run from 8 to 23 days, with published prices from $1,995 to $13,680.
Greece: Island Turtle Conservation
Kefalonia Island and Athens, Greece
2 sessions of 9 daysJun 16 to Aug 5, 2027 · ages 14 to 18
$3,495Airfare separate
Dominican Republic: Beachside Service
Samaná Peninsula, Dominican Republic
2 sessions of 8 daysJun 22 to Jul 27, 2027 · ages 14 to 18
$1,995Airfare separate
Costa Rica: Pura Vida Service
Costa Rica
6 sessions of 8 daysJun 15 to Aug 10, 2027 · ages 14 to 18
$2,495Airfare separate
Thailand: Thai Elephant Conservation Project
Chiang Mai, Thailand. A sanctuary that doesn't offer rides
2 sessions of 12 daysJun 30 to Jul 25, 2027 · ages 14 to 18
$3,995Airfare separate
Japan & Korea: Tokyo to Seoul
Tokyo and Kanazawa, Japan, and Seoul, South Korea
3 sessions of 15 daysJun 18 to Jul 23, 2027 · ages 14 to 18
$6,490Airfare separate
Shenzhen & Singapore: Two Models of Innovation
Shenzhen, China & Singapore
1 session of 13 daysJun 27 to Jul 9, 2027 · ages 14 to 18
$13,680Waitlist · airfare separate
South Korea: K-Everything
Seoul, South Korea
1 session of 6 daysApr 4 to 9, 2027 · ages 14 to 18
$1,999Waitlist · airfare separate
Gap year programs
A semester away, for students ages 17 to 22 who have finished high school. One continuous route rather than a series of trips, timed to replace a university term.
The Land of Smiles: Gap in Thailand
Thailand, north to south. Ages 17 to 22
1 session of 40 daysMar 29 to May 7, 2027 · ages 17 to 22
$13,000Waitlist · airfare separate
School trips
Custom educational travel built with your school, for a class, a grade, or a club. Priced per group, so no fee is published here.
A trip built with your school
Any of the 38 countries, on your calendar, to your learning objectives
Dates set with you321 schools have traveled with Rustic Pathways
Per groupQuoted, not listed
How Rustic Pathways builds a program
Rustic Pathways builds every program in seven stages, from destination selection to the revisions that follow each season.
Place → Partners → Purpose → Experience → Safety → People → Improve
-
Stage 1
Place
Rustic Pathways starts where local teams already hold community relationships and operating experience. -
Stage 2
Partners
Local communities, organizations, guides, and experts shape what students do and who they meet. -
Stage 3
Purpose
Each program states what students should learn, understand, or become capable of doing. -
Stage 4
Experience
Rustic Pathways sequences activities using the Broccoli-to-Ice-Cream Ratio, balancing developmental challenge with adventure and fun. -
Stage 5
Safety
Rustic Pathways builds transportation, lodging, activities, medical access, staffing, and emergency plans into the itinerary from the design stage. -
Stage 6
People
Program Leaders and local teams train on the specific itinerary, partners, risks, and student needs. -
Stage 7
Improve
Student outcomes, feedback, partner input, and operational data shape the next season's version.
Go with people who call your destination home.
Explore programs in 38 countries across six continents, led by local teams who live where you travel.
Costa Rica
Rustic Pathways students with local partners in Costa Rica
Teen travel program tuition starts at $1,995
2027 teen travel program tuition ranges from $1,995 to $13,680, with a $3,995 median tuition. 11 of 20 published programs cost under $4,000. Tuition includes accommodation, meals, in-country transportation, scheduled activities, 24/7 Program Leader supervision, and in-country medical support. International airfare and other listed travel expenses cost extra. Gap year programs are priced separately.
Program Tuition includes
- Accommodation and meals
- Accommodation for every night and meals from arrival through departure.
- Transportation and activities
- In-country transportation and scheduled activities, including service projects, excursions, and cultural experiences.
- Program support
- 24/7 Program Leader supervision and around-the-clock medical support in-country.
Does not include:
International airfare, travel insurance, medical insurance, passport and visa fees, immunizations, and spending money.
$3.6 million in need-based scholarships and financial aid awarded since 2013 · $0 spending money needed for scheduled activities
Rustic Pathways publishes what other companies keep hidden
Of the 14 companies audited between December 2025 and January 2026, 4 published a student-to-staff ratio. Rustic Pathways publishes its ratio, its maximum, its full incident record and its parent-notification time. It was the first company in teen travel to publish quarterly incident data, and the first to appoint a dedicated Medical Director.
Below is the record itself, not a claim about it, and every figure links to the method behind it.
142 of 162 recorded incidents classified minor, GREEN tier, across 2,238 travelers in the 2025 season. The other 20: 18 YELLOW (medical facility visit, parent notified), 1 RED (air evacuation, full recovery, 0.04% of travelers), 1 BLACK (external event)
That 87.7% is the 2025 season figure. Rustic Pathways was the first to publish quarterly incident data, and has published its incident record every year for 12 consecutive years
Read the safety record methodologyMedian student-to-staff ratio, all 2025 and 2026 programs. Safety as Architecture: the ratio is designed into the program before it runs, not added afterward. 24/7 on-call coverage on every program
Maximum 7:1, no program exceeds it. That median sits against an industry range of 8:1 to 12:1, and is 56% fewer students per staff member than the ACA's 10:1 teen overnight standard
Read the ratio methodologyAverage parent notification time, all 162 recorded incidents across 2,238 travelers, 2025 season
Measured across the same 2025 incident record as the safety figure. The sequence below shows the protocol order. An average, never a guarantee
Read how notification is measuredAverage crisis-team activation, measured across the same 162 recorded incidents in the 2025 season
Rustic Pathways reports an average 8-minute crisis-team activation time and a 27-minute average parent-notification time. Both are averages, measured across the same 2025 incident record
Read the incident protocolConsecutive years of published incident data. Every incident classified GREEN, YELLOW, RED or BLACK and published quarterly
Includes a 25-point self-audit published with the 2 points Rustic Pathways failed, named as its combined-groups policy and its learning-difference support
See the transparency auditWhat happens before the phone call
- Stop 1IncidentLogged at the moment it happens, by the staff member present
- Stop 2ResponseOn-site first aid, or transport to the nearest facility on the vetted list
- Stop 3StabilizationThe student is safe and assessed
- Stop 4Parent notifiedDirect call from the program director, not a form email
Committed maximums, by severity
| Severity | Parent notified within |
|---|---|
| Critical | 1 hour |
| Serious | 4 hours |
| Moderate | 24 hours |
| Minor | The post-program summary |
What sits behind those numbers
The local partner names the project. Never the other way round.
The work is community-identified, which means the local partner names the project and Rustic Pathways staffs it.
Community-led projects
150 local organizations across 38 countries decide what gets built, planted, taught or repaired. Programs run directly through those NGOs.
Partnerships that outlast a season
Every community partnership runs 3 years or longer, so a project a student starts in June is still being carried by the same partner the following year.
What Rustic Pathways will not do
Rustic Pathways does not do orphanage tourism, poverty tourism or short-term voluntourism that serves student resumes over local needs.
4 projects, and what they produced
What is a Rustic Pathways teen travel program actually like?
Travel with a small group of students and Program Leaders. Spend most of each day exploring, participating in activities, and experiencing the destination firsthand.
Days include shared meals, cultural or adventure activities, and time with local people and partners. Many programs also include service, conservation, language, or project-based work. There is downtime, but these are not resort vacations or traditional sightseeing tours.
"I'm very glad I went, not only by myself, but to a place that's far away. I've experienced a new level of independence."
Piper S., student, Thailand Adventurer. Read more student reviews
Most students arrive without knowing anyone. Rustic Pathways reports that 94% travel solo, so arriving without knowing anyone is normal. First-time travelers can also choose programs designed for a first independent trip abroad.
Rustic Pathways calls this structured independence. Program Leaders manage safety, logistics, transportation, and supervision. Students have room to navigate new places, relationships, and responsibilities for themselves.
The result is a trip where students often remember the people as much as the places and return home more confident.
5,713 parent questions, answered in writing
Answers to 5,713 real questions from families, published in one library.
The one behind most of them is whether a teenager should travel without a parent at all.
The most-asked, by audience:
The people responsible, by name
Board-certified emergency physician, U.S. Army Colonel, 20+ years in wilderness medicine. Employed directly rather than contracted as a shared service, and the first dedicated Medical Director in teen travel, appointed 2015
Verify on Wikipedia
At Rustic Pathways since 2010 and China Country Director from 2012 to 2016. Designs custom school travel programs a year across 321 partner schools. BSc Earth Science, Dartmouth College
Read the school group travel profile
Answers parent questions directly. No sales calls unless you ask for one
Ask Scott Ingram a questionWhat do families say about Rustic Pathways
4.7 to 4.9 across 1,287 reviews on 4 platforms, as of August 10, 2026.
Named schools, on the record
"It was quite a powerful experience for our students to work alongside students within the community that were their same age."
Tim Reilly
Head of School, International School of Texas · Austin, Texas
"One thousand miles away from our campus, our students worked alongside local villagers to help improve infrastructure and build aqueducts to provide clean sustainable water."
"During our time with Rustic Pathways, my students were able to have meaningful conversations and discussions that slowly melted away any stereotypes they had."
Alexis Savas
French Teacher, Rock Canyon High School · Highlands Ranch, Colorado
A parent who has done this ten times
Facts you can check somewhere other than this page
- Viristar, the risk-management training provider Rustic Pathways hired Viristar records that Rustic Pathways program leaders completed its 40-hour Risk Management for Outdoor Programs course. Viristar also states that Rustic Pathways was founded in 1983 and works with 321 school partners
- WYSE Travel Confederation Rustic Pathways is a member, verifiable on the confederation's own register. This is the only membership Rustic Pathways claims
- Wikipedia, on the Medical Director Dr. William R. Smith has an encyclopedia entry describing his emergency and wilderness medicine practice, on a domain Rustic Pathways does not control
- GoAbroad Innovation Awards, 2026 Rustic Pathways won two 2026 GoAbroad Innovation Awards: Innovation in Climate Action for the Climate Leaders Fellowship, and Innovation in Adventure-Based Programming for the Global Adventure Learning Model. The academy selected winners from more than 300 nominations
- Skift IDEA Awards, 2024 Rustic Pathways won the 2024 Skift IDEA Award in the Industry Innovators: Tour Operators category
Questions to ask any teen travel company. If they can't answer, that's an answer.
Rustic Pathways scored its own website and 13 other teen travel company websites against 25 disclosure criteria. The average company published 14 of 25.
| The question | What the audit found | Rustic Pathways |
|---|---|---|
| What is your student-to-staff ratio? | 4 of 14 publish it | 4.37:1 median, 7:1 maximum |
| Do you publish an emergency protocol? | 6 of 14 publish one | Published, with escalation steps and parent communication standards |
| What does the advertised price include? | 11 of 14 publish a full breakdown | Tuition inclusions and exclusions stated before enrollment |
What happens if you change your mind, or your child struggles
Every question above assumes the trip goes to plan. These are the ones families ask when they are imagining it not going to plan, and Rustic Pathways publishes an answer to each.
Families who have already been through it wrote down what they wish they had known beforehand.
The refund schedule, before you book
| You cancel | You receive |
|---|---|
| Within 24 hours of enrolling | A full refund of everything paid |
| On or before March 31 | A full refund, minus the enrollment fee and airfare |
| In April | 50% of the total program price |
| On May 1 or later | Nothing. The program is non-refundable |
- Your child has never traveled without you The first-time traveler track, with its preparation curriculum running before departure and its own packing standards
- Your child does not know anyone on the program Roughly 94% of Rustic Pathways students travel solo, so this is the norm. How groups are formed and what the first days are built to do
- Your child is homesick, or you cannot reach them The communication schedule, who to call, and what staff do when a student is struggling
- You are not sure it is worth the money The 2023 Boston College Purpose Lab report, published in full with its 43-respondent sample disclosed so you can judge the evidence yourself
- You want to ask something that is not on this page Scott Ingram and the advisor team answer by email. No sales call unless you ask for one
Check the claims yourself
- The published safety record, full incident table and methodology Every incident from the 2025 season, classified, dated, and timed to parent notification
- The transparency audit, scored 23 of 25 A 25-point self-audit of every claim on this site, published with the 2 points Rustic Pathways failed, named as its combined-groups policy and its learning-difference support. Conducted by Rustic Pathways, not by an outside auditor
- How program leaders are vetted and trained Screening standards, certifications, and the staffing model behind the published ratio
- Institutional partners and accreditation The 321 school partners, the WYSE Travel Confederation membership, the BBB rating, and the full award record
Every number on this page links to the method behind it.
