If your teen is the adventurous and outdoorsy type, sign him up for a teen backpacking tour in Europe. Tour companies, such as Big Brother Backpacking, offer teens the chance to see European nature up close, visit museums, camp and stay in a variety of hotels or youth hostels. Packages for such trips often include the price of food, beverage, transportation within Europe and accommodations. It is important to note what types of equipment or gear your teen is expected to bring with him on his trip, as these items may not be supplied by the company.
Many teen travel companies do adventure tours across a few European countries, such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Greece. Bold Earth Adventures is one company that offers teens a chance to experience the fun of Europe with a jam-packed itinerary in each country they visit. Activities such as climbing the Eiffel Tower in Paris and whitewater rafting in Spain are some examples of the fun that teens can expect to have on adventure tours.
Teens may be interested in doing a homestay trip to Europe, where they are placed in a native host's home and directly exposed to the culture and language. With homestay trips, teenagers learn what it is like to live among the natives, and they get a more authentic experience than they do when they tour several countries. A homestay trip allows students to apply for one particular country, such as Italy, and experience cultural immersion. While teens are there, they can attend classes at the local university to learn language fundamentals, or they may have a scheduled itinerary through the homestay company with other teens also in the program.
Some high schools put together trips to Europe for students or graduating seniors as their class trip. If your teen's high school does this, and your teen qualifies, you can send him on a trip to Europe with his classmates and some teachers from his school. The teachers who chaperone these trips put together itineraries and do the organizing. On such trips, teens will experience Europe while also gaining an educational perspective about the art, culture, music and history.
