Photo Courtesy Coral Springs Travel Club.
By: Jill Fox
Mama Mia! Get ready for a ten-day excursion through Italy and Greece. High school students with an interest in seeing the world, are the perfect candidates for The Coral Springs Travel Club.
“This is our fourth trip. Greece is definitely what the kids are looking forward to; the students are really getting excited about going to a new place that they’ve only seen in pictures,” said Steven Beauchamp, founder of the travel club, and a full-time teacher at Coral Glades High School.
The nonprofit club whose motto is “Where travel is a passion and an adventure” was created by Steven and his wife, Jamie, who also worked in public education for ten years.
Although most of the students are from Coral Springs Charter and Coral Glades High School, the travel club is open to all Broward County high school students. According to both Steven and Jamie, these students gain more than just education from this trip.
“They get a level of confidence, they build lifelong friendships, not only with the students they are traveling with that are part of our group, but they get to interact with other students from other schools that are also on that trip,” said Steven, who added that some students may leave very shy, will come back more confident, more outgoing and more sure of themselves.
This ten-day educational tour will be through their travel partner Education First Tours. There is always a six to one ratio of students to adults, as well as a full-time tour director. The student tours are fast-paced, with a very full agenda from morning until evening.
“We keep them going. Our travel guide is amazing. We also have local guides in each city. It’s just terrific all around,” said Jamie.
The ten-day tour explores Rome, Florence, Delphi and Athens begins on March 22 and costs around $3,500, which parents can make monthly payments towards. The price includes everything from airfare, hotel, two meals a day, ground transportation a full-time tour director, local guide, and select entry to various museums and other activities. The only thing students are responsible for are lunch, tips, and spending money.
With a number of parents asking about trips for themselves, the Beauchamps decided to offer tours geared toward adults at a much more relaxed pace.
Next up is a Food, Beer and Wine tour for their adult members at the end of June. This trip has limited spaces available and is for adults 21 and up.
“It’s a great opportunity for adults to go on a tour where they’ll have the experience of eating and enjoying the foods and drinks of Belgium and Germany,” said Steven.
For more information about either of these tours you can visit www.coralspringstravelclub.com or email coralspringstravelclub@gmail.com.
Jill Fox
Jill Fox is an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer. She is currently a Senior Account Director at Lon Haber & Co., a leading full-service public relations firm. Fox worked at NBC Miami for eight years after graduating from the University of Miami. She lives in Parkland with her husband, Brian and two children.