Next time you visit Italy, think outside the pizza box. In North America, Italian cuisine is largely believed to be composed of five major food groups: Tomatoes, basil, bread, pasta, and cheese. But when you travel to Bell’ Italia, see for yourself what a wide variety of dishes and yes, even vegetables, make up Italian cuisine. Of all Read More …
Want to travel somewhere beautiful, exciting, and sans tourist traps? Try Croatia. The best kept secret of Europe, Croatia has it all: medieval history, sunny beaches, and of course, delicious food. Visit Dubrovnik, one of the best preserved medieval cities in the world. As soon as you arrive, you’ll see why Dubrovnik is known as the “pearl of the Adriatic.” Stroll Read More …
Get a closer look at historical Beijing with a rickshaw tour through the city’s hutongs—historic residential neighborhoods full of narrow streets (also called hutongs) lined by traditional courtyard houses called siheyuan. From the Mongolian word for “town,” hutongs appeared during the Yuan Dynasty (1027-256 BC) and were built in concentric circles around the Forbidden City Read More …
For the first time in Explorica’s history, a group of travelers went on an expedition to Antarctica. We spoke with Mary Jo Westlake and Cricket Guyer, the co-leaders of the trip from Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids, MN, about this experience of a lifetime. What brought you to Explorica? We had the opportunity, as Read More …
Justin views educational travel as a way to help his students experience faraway places they probably couldn’t visit on their own. “I like to choose destinations that are outside of Europe—a little less conventional,” says the veteran group leader who has logged successful tours all over the globe. In 2015 Justin reached out to his Explorica program consultant, Emma, and they designed a dream Read More …
Explorica’s unique online Tour Diary allows family and friends of Explorica tour participants to check in on their loved ones and follow along with their tour. This private trip log is maintained by each group’s Tour Director, an area resident and expert in the local customs and language. Each day, they update the Tour Diary Read More …
Husband and wife team Darren and Andrea weren’t always travelers. “When I decided to start leading trips, I’d never been to Europe,” admits Darren. “Here I was teaching all this European history, but I’d never actually been there myself.” When a friend asked Darren and Andrea to co-lead an Explorica tour they jumped at the opportunity. “That was 10 years ago,” says Darren, Read More …
“Watching the students interact with the locals in the Trastevere district was glorious. They were using the language appropriately and navigating around the locals and the street vendors with ease, really embracing everything they’d learned. It changed them.” –Morgan, art teacher, Insider’s Italy 2015 Sun-soaked from a long day of sightseeing, you find yourself walking Read More …
Right from the entrance, you’re captured by the colors that zig-zag across 42 acres of chiseled vegetation and stone. As you sit on the famous Serpentine Bench—with its row of concave seats said to be formed by the park laborers taking a break in wet clay—you hear the pitch-perfect notes of a flamenco guitar. Following the music, you find a young man casually dressed, hunched Read More …
Business Development Manager Phil Todisco recently went on a Group Leader Training tour to Italy and shared some insights from his time abroad: Lunch on tour with Explorica is on you, and here’s why! Student travel is quickly becoming an affordable extension of today’s classroom. The opportunity to see new cities, cultures and countries is Read More …
