FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 1, 2009
Kathleen Carpenter, Director of Promotions
Phone: (888) 430-TEACH
E-mail: kathleen@teachers.net
Student travel expert provides valuable tips, support for teachers escorting students on educational travel adventures
SAN DIEGO, CA--Educational travel with students is the focus of the newest addition to the Teachers.Net Gazette. As the Global Travel Guru, Josette Bonafino will respond to teachers’ questions about arranging safe, interesting, educational and economical excursions with students.
Bonofino will apply her experience gained since founding Culture Quest Tours educational tour company in 1993.
In her inaugural column, Bonafino helps teachers who are planning to escort students to Bavaria and Spain, with tips for decreasing the cost of the trip without sacrificing its educational integrity. She warns that one of the most common methods tour companies use to keep their costs down is combining your school group with others.
“Though this works sometimes,” Bonafino says, “it can lead to unforeseen problems. Diverging travel priorities, variation in learning levels or simple personality conflicts often cause contention. Don’t let tour companies persuade you into it; there are more creative ways to keep the price reasonable.”
She encourages teachers to pass up expensive tour guides and employ their own expertise, filling in with short-term, local tour guides.
“If you’re comfortable with the country and language, fire the tour director!” she urges. “If you speak the language, and have decent where-with-all, you’ll do just fine. Hire specialized local guides in each of the places you visit.
“Try to organize your trip from one central hub, taking day trips via mass transportation to nearby destinations. For instance, base your trip in Munich and take the train or bus on day trips to Oberammergau or to Fuessen to see King Ludwig II’s Neuschwanstein Castle. This saves you money on the coach and driver and allows your students to experience the country more like the locals, less like tourists.”
In response to a teacher of Spanish seeking advice about how to make sure her group’s trip to Spain won’t end up exposing students to more English speaking tourists than Spanish immersion experiences, Bonafino offers inside information.
“It’s true that most popular cities in Spain are flush with American travelers, but it’s a big world; there’s no reason for everyone to visit the same international destinations.” She offers as a solution, several specific areas where the language experience won’t be diluted by hordes of English speaking travelers.
“A Spanish city that generally gets passed over is Almería. This Mediterranean port has as much history as some of its other famous Andalucian neighbors but with better weather and a great deal less tourists. Use Almería as your base; visit Roquetas del Mar, a fishing village with much Old World charm, and Adra, a former Roman colony located inland in Europe’s only desert!”
Bonafino also recommends lodging outside the usual establishments frequented by tourists.
“When visiting La Sagrada Família in Barcelona, stay in a hotel on the northern edge of the city outside the traditional American frequented hotels.”
Josette comes by her travel expertise through direct experience. An avid traveler herself, she and her husband spend time in homes they own in Iceland and Montserrat.
Teachers may submit travel questions to josette@cqtours.com.
The Teachers.Net Gazette debuted in March 2000 and is the pre-eminent online source of articles and information written by and for educators. The current issue and all back issues are available at http://teachers.net/gazette/.