Trip to Europe?

[avakitty]

My dd's favorite high school teacher is taking a group of students to Europe (england, france & italy )next June and my dd wants to go, dd is 16 will be 17 when the trip rolls around and we are wondering if we should let her go.. the catch is that it costs $3600. plus spending $. The price includes air fair, hotels and 2 meals a day plus train fare between cities etc. I think the price is reasonable for what is included. I'm just a little nervous about letting her travel overseas without us. I went to a meeting about it last night and it sounds like an amazing experience and maybe even a once in a lifetime thing..
As per the expenses she says she will work this summer to help pay for it. She has some savings bonds that she can cash in for about 1400. so that will help. But it will be hard for us to come up with the rest of the $ if she cant earn it. The school group will be doing fundraisers but i dont want to count on that.
So my question is.. do you think 17 is old enough to travel out of the country without family and is the cost too high for such a trip? And do you or anyone you know have a a child that has done such a trip?

She is very responsible and does great in school but she is pretty inmature in many ways. I want to say yes as it's something me and have always wished we had done. Dh is on board but concerned about the $.

[Jessy1019]

I went on a school exchange to England when I was 16, and it was by far THE best school-related aspect of my high school years. We had a ton of freedom, and saw great sites (and got to experience lots of time in pubs and hanging out with our exchange students -- who then came to stay with us the following spring). We made friends, had a ton of laughs, and just overall had a great time. It was totally worth whatever we spent on it.

I'm sure my mom was worried about me, and I know she was pissed when I was unhappy to come home two weeks later, but she's also glad I had the chance to enjoy such a fun trip.

I'd definitely let my kids go if the opportunity ever came up for them.

[allgirls]

My neice left today with her class on a 10 day trip to Europe..she's 15.

I think it's great! I wouldn't think about age as much as maturity. My 17 year old travelled to the Dominican with her boyfriend in November for a week. I signed a letter of permission. I knew him well, I trusted her to have good judgement and they had a great time.

School trip...absolutely!

[rmzbm]

I was a foreign exchange student for part of 11th grade, and the summer between 11th and 12th grade I went TOTALLY alone for almost 2 months. I wouldn't trade it for the WORLD. Let her go, she'll remember it forever!

[katheek77]

I went to Spain for three weeks the summer between 10th and 11th grades. I was 16. I stayed with a local family, and then their son (and his best friend, due to a shortage of "American" houses) came to our house for three weeks - the Spanish kids had a government grant or something, and THEIR english teacher had gone to school with MY Spanish teacher, so, that's how it got set up.

The next summer, I was invited back by the family, and went completely on my own (ie...no school involvement) for a month. My mom joked that she was afraid I wasn't going to come back at all...I think I called home once after the initial "Hey, I got here ok".

After I graduated high school, I went back over to Spain for 3.5 mos (but a different part).

I loved it. Especially the first two times...I just loved where I was and the family I was with. I still talk about it and talk to my Spanish family and remember things 15 years after the fact. Honeslty, that second summer was one of the happiest times in my entire life - it was just wonderful.

[enkmom]

My son is 17 and is in Spain right now. My daughter went last year at the same age. It is a wonderful experience, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They were very well chaperoned, and at 17 are old enough to realize how wonderful the trip is, especially if they had to earn some of the money themselves. Our trip is 10 days in Spain at a cost of $2800, so I think your trip sounds like a real bargain.

[ThreeBeans]

The cost is MORE than reasonable and I think she's more than old enough to travel with her teacher

[Sage.Naissance]

I moved into my own apartment and supported myself completely at seventeen. Its hard to say because each person is different, I know others couldnt do what I did.
However, school trips are very safe and extremely controlled. Lots of people I know at like eighteen went and hitchiked and camped around Europe with no control. This is a GREAT way to introduce her to travel.
I wish I had the opportunity to do that in highschool! I would have absolutely loved it. I would really work hard and have her work hard to make it happen.
Travelling is a beautiful growing experience.
Let her do it! Encourage her! It will be amazing, if shes a bit immature it will mature her in a great way(not the kind of mature that comes from living on the streets and doing drugs! hehe) Some of my most growing experiences have been traveling.
Plant the seed of travel.

[newclementine]

One of the best trips I ever went on was to England and France with my HS French teacher. It was a great experience to be (semi)independent at 16, without parents. I made friends with one of my best friends on that trip, our friendship is still strong after 14 years. Def worth the money.
You might be surprised what the school fund raiser can do. Give your daughter the chance to pay you back some of the money this summer. It might be one of those defining experiences for her.

[avakitty]

Thanks so much for all the replies..
We are really ready to say yes if she is totally commited to helping pay for it etc.. i just am worried that since she's pretty spoiled that she thinks that we will just pay for it all if she doesnt make the $ during the next yr. And thats most likely true since we will lose a $495. deposit if we back out next yr. :
I have to say so far im disappointed in her commitment since today she's mad that I said if she sells her old ipod (she got a new nano for her birthday)she should save that $ for the trip and she got all mad saying she had plans for the ipod money already. soo.. i understand the 'have it now' mentality and im worried she wont be able to focus on something so far in the future ...
Dont get me wrong i want her to go as i know it will be amazing for her, i just want her to learn about saving for the future and not expecting us to pay for everything all the time. she's needs to learn these lessons now dont ya think?? maybe im too much of a tight ass about this..but i just dont want her to expect she should have everything handed to her..

[dawningmama]

Originally Posted by Jessy1019

I went on a school exchange to England when I was 16, and it was by far THE best school-related aspect of my high school years. We had a ton of freedom, and saw great sites (and got to experience lots of time in pubs and hanging out with our exchange students -- who then came to stay with us the following spring). We made friends, had a ton of laughs, and just overall had a great time. It was totally worth whatever we spent on it.

I'm sure my mom was worried about me, and I know she was pissed when I was unhappy to come home two weeks later, but she's also glad I had the chance to enjoy such a fun trip.

I'd definitely let my kids go if the opportunity ever came up for them.

Did we go to the same school? I went on an almost identical 3 week exchange program my sophomore year of high school (and the students came and stayed with us in the US for 3 weeks). It was amazing, and definitely the trip of a lifetime. That sounds like a really reasonable price and I would jump at the chance to provide something like that to my children.

[allgirls]

Originally Posted by avakitty

Thanks so much for all the replies..
We are really ready to say yes if she is totally commited to helping pay for it etc.. i just am worried that since she's pretty spoiled that she thinks that we will just pay for it all if she doesnt make the $ during the next yr. And thats most likely true since we will lose a $495. deposit if we back out next yr. :
I have to say so far im disappointed in her commitment since today she's mad that I said if she sells her old ipod (she got a new nano for her birthday)she should save that $ for the trip and she got all mad saying she had plans for the ipod money already. soo.. i understand the 'have it now' mentality and im worried she wont be able to focus on something so far in the future ...
Dont get me wrong i want her to go as i know it will be amazing for her, i just want her to learn about saving for the future and not expecting us to pay for everything all the time. she's needs to learn these lessons now dont ya think?? maybe im too much of a tight ass about this..but i just dont want her to expect she should have everything handed to her..

I think, in your situation, I would actually forfeit the deposit. Can you negotiate for half the ipod money but then seriously let her know that you expect her to pay part of the expenses and that you are willing to forfeit the deposit. If that's the deal, that's the deal.

[Marcee]

My son is going to Austria next summer to play Basketball. He will be 13. While he has sponsorship from local businesses, he is expected to earn 1/3 of the money.

[MamaLisa1]

I think I would definitely set up a rule with regard to how much of the money she needs to earn, and then let her go. The amount is very reasonable, I think. Our kids are going on a trip with their high school band to be in the Macy's parade at Thanksgiving time, and it is going to cost $1200...and they are going by BUS for only 5 days.
She will grow up a LOT in the next year too...I have seen a huge difference in my oldest in the last year, it's amazing.
Good luck!

[Black Orchid]

I went on similar trips when I was 13 and again at 16. Go for it, she will grow so much as a person. It is well worth the investment in terms of cultural and personal growth. Seriously, I believe taking those trips directly contributed to my ability to transition to college and "Real life" easily.

And setting up goals for paying is a great idea. My parents helped me with fundraising and I got a weekend job to earn spending money. BAck then about $600 was enough for spending money. I imagine $1000-1500 would be needed now because of the weak dollar and inflation.

[txdancer]

What a great opportunity! I think she is old enought for sure. If you are really concerned about the money then I would let her know that you will make her the deposit if she doesn't have the trip paid for by the time she leaves. You might be suprised by how much she can make if she really works for an entire summer.

[Ruth S]

Originally Posted by Black Orchid

And setting up goals for paying is a great idea. My parents helped me with fundraising and I got a weekend job to earn spending money. BAck then about $600 was enough for spending money. I imagine $1000-1500 would be needed now because of the weak dollar and inflation.

My daughter (aged 13) is currently in Israel on a school trip -- we had no problem letting her go.

If your daughter really wants to go, why not let her know that she will be responsible for the non-refundable deposit -- after all, it sounds as if you're expecting her to contribute at least that much herself. And at 17, she should be able to earn plenty of money baby-sitting, during the summer, etc -- unless you need her to contribute to the household from that.

I would not count too much on school fundraisers -- it can be hard to organize something that makes a serious difference, especially if the parent body is being tapped for $$$ in other ways.

I just got back myself from 2 weeks in France/England and I would say that $1000 to $1500 is way, way more than your dd would need for spending money, even with the Euro the way it is. We gave our daughter $200 for her 2 weeks in Israel (the amount suggested by the tour group), though admittedly it's cheaper there.

This is a great opportunity -- I hope your dd proves mature enough to get herself there!

Good luck!

[avakitty]

yeah i think $500 should be enough spending $ for 10 days imo. But we will see.. it might not happen this year as she is thinking about going the summer after next now. She has so many things she wants to do this summer and i think since she can work this summer being 16 she was not prepared emotionaly with the thought of having to save it all and not do all the fun things she had planned. So we shall see what she decides. im leaving it up to her, she knows our feelings and what she has to do to be able to go. Thanks for all the advice, i'm really ready to let her go now, if that's what she decides. Heck i want to go to!

[mamabebe]

It's a great opportunity. I spent 4 weeks in Germany as an exchange student in high school (summer exchange program) and it was wonderful. My trip cost about $2000, but this was 10 years ago, and my parents made me earn part of the money to go. They set an amount I had to earn and I stuck the money into a savings account. My class also did fundraising, which helped a lot, but my parents didn't count it toward the amount I needed to earn.

I had about $200 in spending money and I didn't even use most of it. My partner and I went to Europe for a week about two years ago and $500 was enough for us to shop, eat, visit museums and sites, and stay in hostels.

[elizaveta]

I went to Panama with a group at 14 years of age for two weeks and to Thailand/Myanmar for a month at 16. I loved it! I'd say if you can come up with the money do it!