If you know you want to plan a trip but can’t decide where to go, don’t worry. Our school travel specialists know all of our destinations very well and can help you decide which offers the best opportunities for your specific group and learning objectives.
We asked them for their top destinations for 2023/24 to help inspire you:
Best for...German
If you’re looking for an alternative to Berlin that offers just as much culture, history and opportunity to practise speaking German then Munich is for you! And if you can be flexible on when you travel, you can make a real saving on flights!
Munich is the third-largest city in Germany and capital of the state of Bavaria. A major centre for culture, art, science and technology, Munich also has a long and fascinating history, not least its connections to the Nazi party. All this means that
Munich offers a fantastic variety of attractions, so you can really tailor your trip to suit the interests and requirements of your group.
Some of our most popular visits include the castles of Nymphenburg and Neuschwanstein and sports stadiums such as the Olympic Park and the Allianz Arena which is home to Bayern Munich football team. You could even choose to visit Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial.
Our Language Culture Tours to Munich offer the opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the German language and culture, perhaps for the first time. These trips are a great way to get students excited about German and the opportunities that being able to speak German can offer them, whether that means more interesting travel experiences or perhaps even career opportunities.
If your students are preparing for their GCSE or A Level exams, then you may like to consider adding language lessons to your trip. These are provided by a specialist language school, where the fully-qualified teachers are all native German speakers.
You’ll be able to liaise with the school before you travel, to ensure that lessons are tailored to suit your specific requirements and learning objectives.
Munich is also a great option if you’re thinking of teaming up with another department to make your school trip cross-curricular. History groups studying the Nazis and the Holocaust will find plenty of fascinating visits in Munich to support their curriculum.
Best for...French
In November, Normandy was voted ‘Most Desirable Region (Europe)’ at the Wanderlust Travel Awards in London and we have to say, we’re not surprised as it’s been a favourite among our school groups for a long time.
Part of Normandy’s attraction is the history here, and many school groups like to take advantage of the opportunity to team up with the history department for a cross-curricular tour. This year, the Musée du Débarquement (D-Day Museum) in Arromanches is set to open a new 1200m² exhibition space focusing on the technological challenge of building the artificial port used on D-Day, which will be a fantastic draw for those interested in WW2 history.
You can also visit the Bayeux Tapestry and the iconic Mont Saint-Michel. And when visiting a region as well known for its cuisine as Normandy, you should probably throw in some foodie activities too, like a visit to a cheese factory or a sweet manufacturer!
Normandy also boasts a fantastic self-contained accommodation centre that’s really popular with school groups. The UNCMT Bernieres-sur-Mer is close to the D-Day beaches and in the centre of a lovely village, where students can really enjoy the local culture. There’s a large dining room ideal for groups, a teachers’ room and leisure facilities including an indoor games room with table tennis and table football.
There’s even an outdoor volleyball/badminton court, a basketball court and a pétanque strip.
As you can imagine, this accommodation centre gets booked up very quickly, so if it sounds like a good option for your group, please do contact us for a tailor-made quote!
Best for...Spanish
Flights to Spain are tending to be on the high side at the moment which isn’t ideal for school trips. However, there is a solution. If you choose to visit Barcelona and the Costa Brava, you can travel there by coach, guaranteeing low prices!
Plus, once you’re there, you’ll be able to use the coach to get around (subject to drivers’ hours), so your students won’t spend lots of money on public transport.
Most groups who choose this destination prefer to stay in one of the resorts along the Costa Brava, rather than in Barcelona itself.
One reason is that, as exciting as Barcelona is, it’s quite nice to be able to come back to a quieter location in the evening after a full day of exploring the city, so that you can all recharge ready for more adventures in the morning! It’s also nice to be able to spend some time on the gorgeous beaches that the area is famous for.
The city and all its attractions will be a short coach ride away. And there are plenty of attractions to choose from, whether it’s exploring the Catalan Modernisme of Gaudi, the temple to football that is the famous Camp Nou or one of the fabulous art museums.
Best for...history
Berlin remains a popular destination for history school trips, as it offers the opportunity to explore both the Nazis and the Holocaust and the Cold War.
The German capital makes a concerted effort to remember its past and educate future generations, and this is reflected in the sheer number of historical attractions there. This is great news if you’re planning to run this trip regularly, as it means you can tweak the itinerary to support the learning of each particular group you take.
It also means the trip stays fresh for you and your accompanying staff.
Berlin is also a city that is constantly evolving and, in particular, the area around Museum Island and Unter Den Linden has been undergoing development in recent years.
Groups travelling to Berlin this year will be interested to learn that the new Monument to Freedom and Unity, celebrating German reunification, is set to be unveiled outside the Humboldt Forum on 3rd October 2023, German Unity Day.
Almost 6m high and 50m long, the memorial will be interactive – when more than 20 people gather on one side of the bowl-like platform it will tilt, and if more than 50 gather on one side it will sink 1.5m. The idea is that the memorial itself invites participation and comes to life when people gather and communicate with one idea, as a visual representation of democracy.
For history groups studying the Nazis and the Holocaust, Krakow is an incredible destination. In the city itself, they can learn more about the history of the Jewish community in Poland – 90% of whom were murdered during the Holocaust.
Of course, every group that travels to Krakow includes a visit to Auschwitz on their itinerary. The German Nazi concentration and extermination camp is certainly a difficult visit for both students and staff, but it does help them to better understand the huge scale of the genocide that took place during WW2. They will learn more about the concentration and extermination camp system and find out how the Nazis industrialised murder.
They will also have the opportunity to discover individual stories, reminding them that the victims were ordinary people just like them, who were targeted solely because of race, religion, disability, sexuality or some other trait that the Nazis decided
was undesirable.
On 27th January, it will be the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. This is celebrated around the world as Holocaust Memorial Day and this year’s theme is ‘Ordinary People’. We’ve created these free classroom posters on this theme which will remain pertinent even after Holocaust Memorial Day.
If your students are studying either US politics or the civil rights movement, then the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. is unmissable.
With a presidential election coming up in November 2024, now is a really interesting time to visit the heart of US politics. On your trip, your group can enjoy a guided tour of the US Capitol building, as well as visiting the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
You’ll also be able to visit Ford’s Theatre, where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The museum here has exhibits on Lincoln’s presidency and legacy, the American Civil War and the assassination conspiracy.
And make sure you don’t miss a visit to the White House Visitor Center, where your students can learn more about the official residence and workplace of the US president and pose for a photo in front of the iconic building!
Best for...geography
We just had to include Iceland in this list. It remains a huge favourite among our geography school groups because it offers the opportunity to see so many spectacular geographical features within a relatively small area.
Just a few days in Iceland will give your students the chance to see volcanoes, glaciers, geysers, volcanic beaches and basalt columns and spectacular waterfalls.
For students with a passion for geography, a visit to Iceland can give them some great ideas for future careers. And if you have any more reluctant geographers, a school trip to Iceland will help them to see how incredible geography is and how it tells us about the world around us.
Iceland is like nowhere else on Earth and your students will never forget their time here. And as a geography specialist, your passion for your subject will be even greater after seeing the effect that the trip has on your students.
If you’re looking for a geography school trip that helps your students to understand the importance of studying geography and understanding the world around us, then Naples and Sorrento is really hard to beat.
Of course, Naples sits in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, which is designated a Decade Volcano, because of its large, destructive eruptions and the fact that it sits in an area that is home to over 3 million people.
The effects that an eruption could have on that population are clear to see at the archaeological sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Both sites were destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79.
Having seen the devastating effects of that eruption, your students will undoubtedly question why such a large population continues to live in such a potentially dangerous area. Exploring the area’s local produce and cuisine, with visits to olive oil and mozzarella producers, will help them to understand the life that the volcano gives to the area.
Looking for a geography school trip that leaves your students awestruck by impressive landscapes and keen to learn how they were formed? Looking no further than the USA’s West Coast!
On this geography school trip to the USA, your group will be able to visit the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park and Bryce Canyon. They can explore a range of topics here, from ecosystems and biodiversity to erosion and weathering.
This is certainly a geography school trip your students will never forget!
Best for...art
Paris is home to some of the world’s most renowned art museums and many of the world’s most famous pieces of art can be found here. So, it’s no wonder that it’s such a popular destination for art school trips.
The Louvre is the world’s most-visited museum and many of our art groups do choose to include a visit here in their itineraries. The opportunity to see works of art such as the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo will be hugely exciting for your young artists.
With its collection including Egyptian, Near Eastern, Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities, as well as examples of Islamic art and paintings dating from the 13th to the 19th century, the Louvre offers your students a wonderful introduction to the history of art.
The Musée d’Orsay is another popular visit for our school groups. With a strong focus on French art, the Musée d’Orsay is home to the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art in the world. Your students will love the opportunity to explore the works of artists such as Monet, Manet, Degas and Renoir among many, many others.
There are also opportunities to focus on the life and works of individual artists in Paris. Picasso spent much of his life in Paris and the museum dedicated to him in the city is home to much of his personal collection. If your group is interested in sculpture, you may like to include a visit to the Musée Rodin. Or why not head up to Montmartre, where artists flocked during the Belle Époque? Here you’ll find the fantastic Espace Dali Montmartre, which is home to over 300 original works by Salvador Dali.
And if modern and contemporary art is of interest to your group, you mustn’t miss the iconic Centre Pompidou which houses the Musée Nationale d’Art Moderne.
Best for...science
Orlando is a fantastic option for a science school trip. Your students can learn about space exploration at the Kennedy Space Center and physics at one of the many incredible theme parks. You can also explore ecosystems with an airboat ride on the Everglades!
Last summer the new Gateway experience opened at Kennedy Space Center. Here, your students can explore the future of space exploration, including a spaceport (the airport of the future) leading to an interactive journey to explore the universe!
And at Universal Studios your students can take part in a STEAM workshop exploring why rollercoasters are so exciting!
Geneva is still very popular with our science school groups because it offers the opportunity to visit CERN, home to the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. CERN is, of course, home to the Large Hadron Collider, which is the world’s largest and highest-energy particle collider.
What is also incredibly inspiring about CERN is that it is such a fantastic example of international cooperation. An intergovernmental organisation, its main site straddles the France-Switzerland border, and scientists from all over the world go there to work together to answer some of the deepest questions of our universe.
This summer, CERN plans to open its new Science Gateway – an education and outreach facility that will consist of five different spaces offering immersive exhibitions, hands-on laboratories and a large auditorium, as well as a shop and restaurant. You’ll be able to see behind-the-scenes at the lab and travel back in time to learn more about the mysteries of the universe. You’ll even be able to experience the world at its smallest scale!
The building itself is impressive too – inspired by CERN’s underground tunnels and all connected by a bridge that hovers 6m above the ground, it will have a net zero carbon footprint thanks to being surrounded by a forest of 400 trees and with 2,000 square metres of solar panels.
Please note that if you do wish to visit CERN, you will need to book this visit directly as they only accept bookings from schools themselves. Having said that, we can, of course, then organise all the other elements of your trip, such as transport, accommodation, meals and other activities.
Ready to start planning your next school trip?
Please don’t hesitate to contact us for any further information or advice, or to request your tailor-made quote.