Eastern Europe is a hotbed of architecture, music, art and old-world style, and educational trips to this part of the world have experienced tremendous growth as travelers recognize the opportunities available in these politically and historically rich countries. From educational city tours to aid-based trips into remote areas, here's a rundown on companies providing learning-based travel experiences in Eastern Europe.
Explorica (tel. 888/310-7120; www.explorica.com) provides "teacher-led-tours" to destinations all over the world. A ten-day trip to Berlin, Prague, Krakow and Budapest costs $1,490. The tour includes roundtrip airfare, eight overnight stays with families, full European breakfast daily, nightly dinner, full-time services of a professional guide, guided sightseeing tours and city walks, a tour diary. For this particular tour (recommended for medium to large groups) travelers can put their own group together, choose a departure date, and contact Explorica who then arranges flights, hotels, and a tour director within thirty days of a group's registration. These are flexible learning trips as travelers can select hotels, some activities, and meals. Call Explorica for more information
For adults, Go Ahead Tours (tel. 800/597-0350; www.goaheadtours.com) has a fifteen-day "Eastern European Treasures" trip starting at $1,999. The trip visits Austria, Hungary, Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. In all the trip includes roundtrip airfare, ground transportation, airport transportation, the services of a bilingual Go Ahead tour leader, thirteen nights in local hotels with private baths and showers, all hotel service charges, baggage handling fees, and local taxes, daily buffet breakfast, six dinners, deluxe motorcoach travel, and all entrance fees to sightseeing locales. Sightseeing highlights include the Parliament Building in Budapest, Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Hradcany Castle in Prague, and Wawel Cathedral in Krakow. Optional excursions include a half-day in Auschwitz ($69) and a full-day on a horse farm in the Hungarian town of Kecskemet ($89), where you'll enjoy a three-course lunch of Hungarian cuisine with local Gypsy music for entertainment. Departures at the $1,999 tour price are for November 19, 2007. If you want to travel in the warmer summer months, tour prices start at $3,259 for trips leaving June 11, July 9, and August 13, 2007. This trip leaves out of New York with other gateways available for departure at higher prices.
Serious do-gooders would enjoy Heifer International's (tel. 800/422-0474; www.heifer.org) special learning tour to Lithuania geared towards helping under-privileged children. These tours specialize in visiting remote locations such as tiny villages and isolated peoples. The Lithuania trip takes place from July 2 to 21, 2007. This is the inaugural Heifer study tour to this area. Starting at approximately $3,000, the tour includes accommodations, most meals, local transportation and project visits. Heifer's mission is to end world hunger and poverty by improving infrastructure, animal care, and eco-economies to promote self-sufficiency among remote cultures and build sources for sustainable food sources. You will be teaching people how to improve their lives and the world around them by building shelters, plowing fields, and caring for the Earth. The Lithuania trip is land-only, giving travelers who want to a chance to see Europe before or after their Heifer experience. Study tour travelers will meet in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, on July 9, 2007.
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