High School Community Service & Volunteering Programs in Italy

I traveled to both Italy and Greece with Rustic Pathways. The nothern italy and turtles programs. The most memorable part of my trip was meeting all my new friends and knowing i'll have them for life.

I truly enjoyed every moment of the journey I went on while in Agnone. The trip left me fairly immersed in the local culture. The locals I met were kind and helpful, as well as Scott and Megan Holcomb.

My trip was a blissful experience, from the beautiful scenery to friendships that I built, I could never anticipated bonding so closely with the other travellers and leaders. We became like a little family together, we ate, laughed, learned, explored, and adventured together. From the water activities, to helping out the less fortunate, there were always opportunities to experience the finer things in life. Those memories I will hold close to my heart.

This was not my first travel abroad program, but it was my first year traveling through TFT. This organization was by far the most coordinated and well-rounded company I have ever traveled with. The service felt meaningful and important, though I wish I could've done even more. While we were doing service, I was able to interact with the children at Smile of the Child, help to organize a clothing drive, and learn more about Grecian life from a local boys and girls cub. The accommodations chosen were exactly what I had hoped- small and "quaint" hotels (as opposed to a hotel chain or resort). The trip leaders were very organized, and I felt extremely comfortable talking to them about things ranging from hopes for the future and social scenes back home. This trip allowed me to really explore what it's like to go abroad in an independent way, and it also allowed me to check several things off of my fantasy bucket list. In Greece I had the opportunity to go scuba diving for the first time, swim in the Mediterranean, snorkel through caves, and so much more. In Italy I was able to see some of the most amazing historical sights, such as the Pantheon, the Colosseum, Piazza Navona, and more! I would definitely recommend this trip for anyone who wants to have a well-rounded trip. I was able to see the tourist sights, help local communities, and make some of the best friends in my life. TFT definitely follows their motto- be a traveler, not a tourist.

Honestly this was one of the best trips ever. Besides the amazing food, I made friends for life and got to put work into Italy’s community. I loved volunteering along with all the adventures we went on.

This trip gave the opportunities to have the summer of my lifetime! We started out with a week of community service in the gorgeous setting the Cinque Terre. During this week we amounted 20 hours of community service, but still had time to participate in different activities within the different towns. From there the group moved south- from Tuscany to Sorrento, even stopping in Rome for a few days. The itinerary was jammed packed with different planned activities for us to participate in, as well as built in free time for us to have the ability to explore the towns. The counselors were amazing on this trip, making sure that we were safe at all times, while still giving us time to explore on our own! They were pretty cool and it was super easy to talk to them about ANYTHING going on, if anything happened :)

Over summer I went on the Italy Service and Adventure trip with Travel for Teens and it was absolutely incredible. We volunteered at an Italian elementary school and a monastery during the beginning of the trip, and towards the end we took part in many fun activities. For example, we went to Vatican City, spent a day on a boat off the Amalfi Coast, and went to the island of Capri. Each day was a new adventure and I had some of the best experiences of my life on this trip! Even with all of these fun activities, the Italian food was by far the best part. TFT knew all of the amazing food spots and I will never again be satisfied by Italian food in America!