When I wrote this, I had recently returned to the US and was in the comfort of my own home recuperating from a ten-day trip that began in Barcelona and ended in Morocco. Let me start by saying that I had a fabulous time with my five students, however, this was my first trip abroad with students via an educational tour company and I’m afraid that it may be my last. Here’s why:
Travel Group Way Too Large
When I initially planned this trip, I capped the number at twelve participants. I know that there are teachers who prefer to take lots of kids on these types of trips, but I am not one of them. This is probably due to the fact that for nearly a decade I traveled for ten days out of each school year with seventh-graders…sixty of them…and perhaps the memories of kids getting sick, physically hurt or suffering typical kid drama may have persuaded me to focus on a much smaller group of older, more mature students.
In fact, for this trip across the pond, three of my students were recent high school grads and the remaining two were a summer vacation away from becoming high school seniors. But keep in mind that no matter the age of your students, the responsibility to both students and their parents is too immense to take lightly. Being my first travel abroad experience with students, I really wanted to focus on setting us all up for success.
However, because we were such a small group, we would have to join several other groups from around the US in order to fill a tour bus. In our case, our small group of six people, including myself, became part of a larger group of forty-two! Yep! You read that correctly, FORTY-TWO… kids and adults…together…for ten days… traversing Spain from North to the South!
Had I known from the inception of this trip that our group would be so large, I probably would have canceled it. But for some reason when my point person at Explorica informed me that we would need to fill a tour bus, I must have been delusional to assume that the bus would hold only twenty to twenty-five people. My mistake for assuming and not following up with more specific questions.
During our ten days together, I met some terrific kids and teachers, but with a group this size, it’s difficult for everyone to get to know each other. In fact, it took roughly three to four days before kids felt comfortable enough to talk to others outside of their own peer group. This introduction should have happened on Day One, especially if some students are required to room with other students that they don’t know, as was the case for two of my kids.
Perhaps a good ice breaker or welcoming activity could have brought more cohesiveness to our large group, warding off the unnecessary drama that occurred between two of my girls and one girl from another group that would eventually percolate on the penultimate evening of our trip. Unfortunately, this issue resulted from misguided assumptions that the other girl and her friends had made about my students with regard to their socio-economic status and race. A simple activity to break down barriers may have prevented this incident from ever taking place, which could have prevented an awkward and uncomfortable situation for the final day of our trip.
Traveling with a large group also creates time limitations. It just takes longer to do everything from eating dinner to buying souvenirs in a gift shop. This lack of time leads me to my next point.
Travel Group Way Too Rushed
I’m not sure if it was just my trip or if all educational tours are alike, but this one was super rushed. I chose a ten-day trip that began in Barcelona, ended in Morocco and hit Madrid, Zaragoza, Cordoba, Sevilla and Malaga. I knew that with such a lofty itinerary time would be an issue, but I had no idea to the extent that it would affect our travel experience.
For example, during our first evening in Barcelona, our tour group was herded out of the restaurant while dessert was being served in order for us to catch our return bus to the hotel. Quite literally I was shoving half a slice of cake into my mouth as I was hustling toward the exit.
According to our tour guide, the buses throughout the trip were following a strict time table and we absolutely could not be late. This struck me as comical since we were in Europe, which is known for being more relaxed than the US when it comes to the clock. But here we were, Day Two, and it felt more like the pace of New York City.
Similarly, during our trip to Cordoba, we made a stop at a rest area to grab a bite to eat, use the restrooms and purchase souvenirs. However, because our large group overwhelmed the checkout, many of us had to abandon our purchases in order to return to the bus on time.
Even taking the Metro was a sheer challenge, as we hustled together amongst the frenzied crowd while navigating the underground labyrinth in search of our train. Our extensive group then clogged two of the three turnstiles while our tour guide swiped each one of us through individually, using only one MetroCard containing enough passes for the lot of us.
As the Metro approached the platform, each car crammed mostly with tourists, I couldn’t help but think that we would inevitably leave someone behind, as there wasn’t much time allotted for passengers to embark and disembark the train.
With my small group, it was a tad easier, as we stuck close together and boarded the car with the mindset to divide and conquer. We managed to jam ourselves into the nooks and crannies that barely existed, pressing ourselves against sweaty strangers in an attempt to find a sense of balance while simultaneously hoping that we weren’t being pick-pocketed.
Having spent most of my life living in the Northeast, I can say that I am no stranger to trains since we use them in Connecticut, New York City and Boston. But most of our students were new to this concept and I thought for sure we would leave not one, but many students waiting behind on the platform, their faces plastered with expressions of sheer astonishment as the train would sail off into the abyss without them. Luckily, we managed to squeeze every last one of us into the overcrowded cars and, surprisingly, we only left one person behind during our many train encounters; a teacher, no less!
Because we were either en route to a specific location or we were on a guided tour, there wasn’t much time to explore on our own. In Morocco, there was exactly zero time to wander off and the fact that we had a security detail accompanying us indicates to me that it was probably in our best interest.
With the exception of Morocco, we were given a couple of hours to have lunch on our own. However, if you have ever been to Europe, then you know that service is nothing like it is here in the US, and I am thoroughly convinced that it’s because the waiters don’t receive tips.
In most restaurants we were seated right away, but then waited an eternity before a server would take our order. We would then wait another eternity… or two… before the food actually arrived. By then we had to scoff down our meals in order to return to the bus on time, ready and eager to check off the next item on the never-ending bucket list of places to go and things to see.
At the Alhambra, we had an hour and a half to shop and eat before we had to catch the bus. My group decided to forego the shopping so we could relax and fill our bellies before moving onto the next tour destination. The service was so incredibly slow that our tour guide commanded the restaurant workers to box the food that they had already prepared and to cancel the rest of our food orders. Believe it or not, after all that time, they only had two orders completed out to five. Several of my kids did not eat lunch that day.
During our free time in Barcelona, my group decided that it would be fun to ride the Port Cable Car, which romantically floated across the sky from one end of the city to the other. Touted to deliver the best views of Barcelona, we headed in the direction of the attraction. We walked…and walked…and we walked some more. Let me add that my feet were loaded with blisters already, so this was an excruciatingly painful trek.
The tower that was home to the cable cars appeared to be closeby, but in reality, it was nothing less than a long, scenic, meandering journey to arrive there.
By the time we arrived and purchased our tickets, the line to board the cable car had us waiting roughly another forty-five minutes. Spain was experiencing a heatwave so everyone was dripping sweat regardless of whether or not they were simply standing still. A tiny fan worked overtime to circulate the thick hot, humid air amongst the forty or so roasting tourists while we patiently waited our turn in the packed line.
The cable car ride itself lasted a mere seven minutes and the views were spectacular. However, as we approached the Torre de Miramar on Montjuïc Mountain, one could not ignore the long, coiling chain of visitors who were eager to return to where we had just left.
Realizing our time crunch, we literally spent ten minutes taking photos of the park that surrounded the tower before joining the long wait of anticipating tourists, who were keen to head back. There simply wasn’t enough time to adequately absorb our surroundings.
By the time we landed at the Port Tower, we had exactly twenty minutes to walk to Plaza Cataluña, which was roughly thirty minutes from us. I could foresee another slap on the wrist for arriving late…but wait, next door to the tower lived a Ferrari dealership. We could rent a slick, red beauty and arrive at the bus in style…and with time to spare! Sadly, our budgets would force us to settle for the next best thing: a bike taxi, or rather, two of them, which would each accommodate three people.
If you’ve ever taken a taxi cab through the streets of Europe or if you’ve seen someone else taking one in the movies, it’s nothing short of an adrenaline rush. I know from personal experience in Italy, but let me tell you that being a passenger in a bike taxi is a whole new level of craziness.
We were off to a slow start, as there was a slight incline in the pavement and my taxi pedaler was not in tip-top form, like his younger, more muscular partner. Perhaps giving up the cigarette habit he was advertising when we found him would help improve his lung capacity. Believe it or not, he made all three of us disembark so he could walk the bike up the slight incline. For a brief moment, I thought he would need the muscle power of our sole male student, but he managed, barely, to get the bike on level ground. Then we all jumped back in and the race was on.
Our two guys were speeding throughout the city and several times I thought we were going to be clipped by moving vehicles. We flew by the street vendors and blasted through crowds of tourists. We didn’t pummel into anyone, though I was pretty certain we would.
When we finally arrived at the bus, our tour guide greeted us outside the door with an acute look of disapproval. We were ten minutes late and though we explained what had happened, he was not amused. In fact, he singled me out to remind me of the importance of punctuality. Ouch!
Later, when we reflected on our trip, the kids said that the bike taxi experience was one of their favorite memories. Mine too. For a brief time, I felt like a kid again, laughing hysterically alongside my students, and that alone definitely made it worth the reprimand.
Except for a free morning in Madrid, there was no time to really explore on our own, or even just to sit, relax, absorb and get to know the environment around us. It was run-run-run from the time we left the airport in Barcelona until we arrived in Malaga ten days later to catch our flight home. In fact, while we were waiting around for our flight to the US, I asked my students what the best part of the trip was. Without hesitation, they all answered, Madrid.
So let’s talk about Madrid for a second. During our two days in the capital city, there was an early morning tour to Toledo, which I opted out of when making the initial travel arrangements. As a result, we were able to take an entire morning and part of the afternoon to do whatever we pleased. It was fabulous!
We began by visiting a local cafe to indulge in a local favorite; churros con chocolate. I would describe churros as long, skinny donuts that are folded like a pretzel. The hot chocolate that accompanied it was so thick that it was served with a glass of water. Delicious, but rich. I couldn’t finish the chocolate, nor did I want to because I figured it would wreak havoc on my intestines, but had we taken the trip to Toledo, we would have never experienced this Spanish pleasure.
Next stop, the Reina Sofía Museum, where Pablo Picasso’s most famous work, Guernica, lives. Quite honestly, I found it astonishing that our itinerary did not contain one art museum, not even the Prado. When I planned this trip, there were three “must-see” items on my travel list: Picasso’s Guernica, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia and the Alhambra.
Sagrada Familia is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Barcelona, so it was beyond disappointing to learn that when we visited her, we would only be observing her ornate facade. We did not have tickets to tour the interior of this massive wonder nor were entrance tickets available to purchase during our time there. But let’s face it, even if we could have obtained tickets, we wouldn’t have had enough time to really enjoy the tour.
At least I was able to see Guernica, but that was only due to the fact that I had I opted our group out of traveling to Toledo for that day. In my opinion, it was truly worth the sacrifice. When I entered the room where Picasso’s masterpiece was displayed, I immediately felt moved. An overwhelmingly profound energy drove uncontrollable tears down my cheeks as I stood silently beside the crowd of onlookers, who were also experiencing complete awe. We all stood together breathing in her essence and internalizing her impact.
My students were not as interested in Guernica as I was and they were already planning what to do with the rest of their free time. Shop, of course! And shop we did.
After the museum I had them practice navigating the metro lines in order to find their way to Salamanca, the shopping district. I told them that if they wanted to go there, then they had to figure out how to get there. I thoroughly enjoyed observing them as they figured out which routes to take and how to handle an unexpected stop closure, which put us ten or so minutes out of our way.
My kids had a blast visiting what I would describe as the Rodeo Drive of Madrid. The heat was intense and we discovered that the best place to find relief was in Gucci. When the security guard opened the door to welcome us in, it felt as though we had stepped into an icebox.
Though I had no intention of purchasing anything, I probably overstayed my welcome just so I could avoid the heatwave outside. My kids, on the other hand, had a mission and off they went checking out every shop on the street.
The morning flew by and it was already time to head back to meet the rest of our tour group. We emerged from the Atocha Metro Station on time but we had to cross multiple lanes of traffic coming from every direction, including a roundabout in order to reach our bus.
It was comical as we darted from one sidewalk to another and then to another before reaching our final destination. We were four minutes late and I anticipated another slap on the wrist. However, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that everyone was still eating lunch, quite casually I might add because they arrived late from Toledo. What happened to that strict timetable?
After lunch, it was time for another panoramic bus tour, which leads me to my final point.
Way Too Much Time Spent in Transit
If I could add up all the hours that we spent on the bus, the trains and the ferry, I bet it would add up to about half the trip. To be fair, I understand that we only had ten days to migrate from Northern Spain to Southern Spain, but we could have had more free time to take a tour of the Sagrada Familia, the Prado Museum, or to just relax in El Parque de Retiro if we hadn’t spent so much time in transit.
I also understand that the travel company needs to pay its employees and to do this they need to find the most cost-effective way to deliver their itinerary. However, I think it is a complete waste of time to sit in rush-hour traffic as we did several mornings while traveling from our hotels into the cities.
For example, in Barcelona, our hotel was located forty-five minutes from the metropolitan area. On our second day, I accidentally left my wallet in my hotel room but didn’t realize it until we had already left the bus and were navigating the city with our groups. Returning to the hotel was not an option. However, if our hotel had been centrally located, I could have easily walked or taken a taxi to retrieve my wallet. Instead, I had to borrow money from my students for my lunch, cable car ride and bike-taxi ride, and I was unable to shop for souvenirs. Talk about awkward.
Our other hotels were chosen in a similar fashion. In Madrid, we had about a thirty-minute commute from the hotel, which was similar to our hotel situation in Sevilla. Malaga was even worse. Although our hotel was on the coast and there was a ferry nearby that could get us to Morocco, we had to travel two hours to take a different ferry.
From the ferry station, we then endured a forty-five minute ferry ride to Morocco followed by another bus ride for roughly an hour before we trekked around the city of Tetuan with our local guide and security detail. We stayed in Morocco for nearly three hours before we had to travel back to the ferry, back to the bus and back to the hotel.
By the time we returned to the hotel, it was already 10 pm and the dining room was closed. The hotel kindly left a cold buffet for us in a conference room, which we devoured rather quickly so we could pack our bags and perhaps snooze for a few hours before reporting once again to the bus, which would take us to the airport at 4:30 am.
Why did we have to leave so early? Because the airport was located yet another hour and a half away from our hotel. Of course, our travel to the US would equate to another day in transit with the long flight and layovers, but home sweet home was in our sights and by this point in our trip, I was yearning to be there.
In my opinion, the biggest waste of time was the bus ride from Barcelona to Madrid, which took us through the blandest landscapes of arid mountains and wheat-colored plains for eight long hours. We stopped in Zaragoza for a quick tour and lunch, but then we were right back on that bus.
If we had taken the AVE train from Barcelona to Zaragoza, it would have taken roughly an hour and twenty minutes. We could have either spent more time in Zaragoza or we could have arrived in Madrid in only an hour and fifteen minutes and perhaps spent more time visiting popular landmarks.
Whether cost was the driving factor or scheduling, it was extremely frustrating to spend an entire day in transit when a more time-efficient option was available to us.
In Conclusion
While I was utterly disappointed with our tour company and the manner in which the tour was conducted, I will admit that this was a great experience for myself and for my students. We turned lemons into lemonade and enjoyed being in each other’s company as we experienced the richness of Spain together.
The changes in landscape, culture and cuisine became increasingly evident as we migrated from the northern part of the peninsula toward the south. Morocco was spectacular too, however, let me share with you that four of my students and I became extremely ill a day or so after arriving home. One of my students was even hospitalized for a few days and it was determined that she had two strains of Ecoli bacteria and Salmonella poisoning.
I concluded that we must have picked up the bacteria from Morocco, as the temperatures lingered around 105 degrees and the meat they served us, though it was cooked, had more than likely come from an outdoor market where it could have spoiled. Additionally, the plates, silverware and glasses we used were probably washed in local water, so they could have also been contaminated.
Take-Aways
I so wanted to like this trip, especially since I love to travel and I have heard other teachers rave about how great their trips with students turn out. I suppose IF I were to offer another trip to Spain, I would need to change a few things.
First, I would choose to travel in the off-season when the temperatures are a bit cooler and the tourists are less in number. Spain was experiencing a heatwave during the time we were there, so the temperatures were a sultry 105 – 106 degrees each day making our walking tours extremely uncomfortable.
Moreover, we were slowed down by the large number of people in our travel group, but we were further slowed by the overwhelming number of tourists we had to navigate at each destination, which I firmly believe contributed to our rushed frenzy throughout our trip.
Second, I would schedule a shorter trip and focus on one or two locations. While we covered a lot of ground during our ten-day trip, it was just too long and I felt like we had been rushed through so many attractions that I couldn’t even process it all.
In fact, my students and I were chatting only three days into our trip about Barcelona, which is where we spent our first two days. All of us had trouble remembering what we did exactly because it seemed so far into the past. By the time we left Sevilla for our last stop in Spain, Malaga, I just wanted to get on a plane and go home already.
In chatting with some of the other teachers and chaperones, I concluded that this particular trip was geared to provide only an overview of the country so a tourist could pick and choose where to return for future exploration.
The last change I would make is to choose a different tour company and perhaps arrange a private tour for my students. I know there are other well established educational tour companies that exist, as they all bombard me with their literature at the commencement of each school year.
Perhaps I need to ask other teachers who they prefer for student travel and why. When I chose Explorica, I chose them because they were the only tour company to offer an itinerary that would cover northern and southern Spain plus Morocco. After this travel experience, I can better understand why none of the other travel companies offered this type of trip.
In conclusion, I know that these changes would not necessarily guarantee a better travel experience, but they would allow me another opportunity to determine whether traveling abroad with students is something I would really want to continue pursuing.
As a traveler who enjoys taking her time, mingling and chatting with locals, sitting in outdoor cafes to absorb the local culture, taking meaningful photos and journaling each and every detail, I’m not so sure that student travel is right for me. Once enough time has passed and I can finally weigh the pros and cons objectively, perhaps I’ll reconsider. But for now, I don’t want to think about anything except preparing to usher in a new school year.
A teacher who cares says
Hmmm. Very well-written. Maybe trying out a new tour company to a different location would make you feel differently about student travels? 😜😉
Rebecca Ford says
Thank you for the compliment and yes, perhaps I will consider a new location and a different tour company, however, I really want to return to Spain so I could re-visit the same cities and just spend more time in each one. They’re all so unique and have their own story to tell, but we were so rushed, that we only tasted the frosting and never made it to the cake!
Gladys says
Great read! Thank you for sharing the link. The frustrations you mentioned are exactly why we (myself and another teacher colleague) branched out on our own and developed our own company! The last thing we wanted to be was another sight-seeing company, instead we focused on actual learning and meaningful experiences and the building of relationships with others– I feel that’s what it’s supposed to be about for students and ourselves.
Rebecca Ford says
Agreed! It is supposed to be meaningful and to some degree our trip was, but I just wished for something more. My students are really fantastic Spanish-speakers, but they hardly spoke more than a few polite words in Spanish during the entire trip. I was hoping they could use their skills and build their confidence. Kind of hard to do when everything related to the tour is in English and the groups of people they lump you with are mostly English speakers, some with no Spanish language experience at all. I once worked in a school district that offered trips to Spain and they created a treasure hunt for kids to complete as they visited the cities and towns. It required them to speak to people and to immerse themselves in the culture. These kids were not on a tour, but rather they were doing home-stays and taking classes each day for a period of a month, but I really did like the treasure hunt idea and perhaps would try to create one of my own if I decide to lead another trip.