Travel For Teens: Italy, Spain and France

I was on the Italy, Switzerland, and France TFT trip the summer before my junior year, and it was the best experience. It was such a good blend of destinations, from Italian beaches, Swiss Mountains, and city life in Paris. The trip was filled with fun excursions such as paragliding, canyoning, and hiking, but also gave kids enough down time to be able to walk around towns or relax on the beach. As someone who is adventurous and has always loved to explore, this trip was perfect as TFT made time for exploring the local culture and daily life of the places we visited. Seeing the leather market in Firenze and eating local Parisian food was so much fun and also allowed me time to talk to locals about their home country. The staff of TFT were incredible and they always made sure everyone was happy with the trip through consistent check-ins, asking if there was anything else we needed or wanted to do to make our trip even better. If you have a kid who is adventurous and wants experience being more independent before college, I highly recommend TFT trips.

When going into a trip abroad, young and without your family, this trip truly strengthens you through the trust you can have in your counselor. I will forever cherish this trip for the strength it gave me. I have made many of my best friends through these trips.

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Traveling with TFT absolutely changed my life. When I left, I had never set foot outside of the United States; when I returned, I'd added three new countries (and their public transit systems) to my list! The trip gave me a taste of a few cultures so different from my own in the best way possible. Really, TFT opened my eyes to all the world has to offer. It was a whirlwind of once-in-a-lifetime experiences: climbing the Duomo in Florence, cooking lessons and flamenco shows in Barcelona, wandering centuries-old streets in Rome, and tasting authentic French pastries in Paris. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to explore Europe with Travel For Teens—if you get the chance, take it!

The Italy, Spain, and France trip was my first experience traveling without my family. I was so nervous going into the trip, I had no idea what to expect. But I can say now that the trip was one of the best trips of my life. My counselors were so kind and supportive through every step of the process. I made life long friend ships with the other campers on the trip, it has been three years since the trip and we still visit each other at college when we can. On our trip we experienced all the major cities had to offer, and more! It was an amazing first trip experience that I will never forgot and gave me the confidence to begin traveling more on my own.

Ultimate Europe was a life changing experience for me and one I will never forget. I visited 7 countries in 30 days and formed close friendships with people I still keep in touch with and visit today. I highly recommend this trip in particular, because it offered a great mix of active, tourist, historical, and art related activities. The wide range of activities kept the trip interesting and fun, and I never felt as if we were doing the same types of activities throughout the trip. For instance, we hiked in Cinque Terre, visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris, visited the Van Gough museum in Amsterdam, and took the train to do a tour of Dachau in Germany. I also relished learning how to use the public transportation systems abroad and believe it helped me develop a stronger sense of direction. One of the reasons I chose TFT was because in comparison to other competitors who tend to use large buses to transport everyone, we primarily used public transportation, which afforded me an incredible opportunity to experience each place as if I were a local, observing the people who boarded the trains. TFT also stands out from competitors because it embraces flexibility and fosters independence, allowing participants to sometimes choose between activities based on personal interests. Overall, Ultimate Europe was an unbelievable trip that instilled in me a passion for traveling.

I participated in the Ultimate Europe cultural immersion program in the summer of 2016 and could not love a company, group of people, or experience more. I am currently a high school senior and have written numerous college essays on my love for everything TFT has provided me with. We toured a new city every 2-3 days, and while that seems like a short amount of time, our trip director packed it with tours of museums or historic sites that really made us feel like travelers, not tourists, as their motto goes.

This summer I went on TFT's trip to Italy and Greece and it was by far the best two weeks of my life. I met the most amazing people, was guided by the coolest and kindest counselors, ate literally the best food in the world, and got to see parts of the world I never dreamed of. I highly recommend this trip, or any other TFT trip, to anyone willing to meet new people and do new things. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

I had such a wonderful time on this trip. We saw so many cool places and I loved every second of it! We were always laughing and having a great time thanks to our trip leaders. My parents loved the pictures and the updates and I made friends that I will keep in touch with.

My time on the discover Europe trip was just amazing. The leaders were amazing, fun, flexible. Everyone was polite, and understanding. I wish i could go back especially to paris. My trip leader Allison is originally from there and she provided so much insight in everything.