Educational Travel Tours?

[Roots&Wings]

Does anyone do guided educational travel tours, such as through Road Scholar (or other)?

I realize many here are into independent travel hacks or long-term slow travel, but some of my favorite trips (e.g. guided immersion study courses back in college and graduate school...things like Ecuador Spanish language immersion and field botany in a cloud forest, Irish folklore, green building innovations in Germany) were organized small group tours where we got to see/meet/visit/hear experts I could never have organized on my own.

Any experiences or recommendations? Thanks!

[2ndTimer]

Don't get excited to see an answer.  I have never done one of these but fantasize over the Road Scholar website regularly.  Eagerly hoping for responses from someone with experience.

[lizzzi]

Alison Weir does some English history tours that look interesting. I don't know anything about them, though. I don't have the link…try googling Alison Weir Tours. For those who don't know, she's a well-know writer of historical non-fiction.

[choppingwood]

I went on one with AHI to Morocco. It was fabulous -- but definitely not mustachian price-wise. I've been to Haida Gw'aai (Queen Charlotte Islands) on Zodiac rafts to see totem poles and ancient Haida villages. The best trip ever in a lifetime of travel. I've met people on Roads Scholar tours who enjoyed them. I used to go on adventure travel tours with Explore. Not quite as educational and definitely geared to younger travellers, so I stopped travelling with them by my later thirties.

To me it is a balance of having some company when I travel, but only to places I wouldn't be comfortable travelling by myself or physically couldn't do myself, and/or where expert knowledge is needed. My friends all travel, but aren't necessarily interested in travelling to the same places, so sometimes this is an easy way to get company.

[lizzzi]

The Jane Austen Society has tours to England where members get special access to "Jane" places normal tourists don't get to see. (Obviously not adventure travel, unless you're into jumping off the Cobb at Lyme Regis or whatever.)

[FrugalFan]

My in-laws have taken tons of Road Scholar courses and really enjoyed them. They always seem to get great guides and the lecturers are usually experts in their field (often university professors but sometimes PhD students). But, they are 70 and often among the youngest in the group. Don't know how old you are but that might impact your thoughts on those courses. They are also pretty expensive as you probably already know.

I teach tropical ecology field courses to university students and also conduct field work in the tropics and I have some suggestions that might be more affordable. 1. Go stay at a biology field station. You will be surrounded by experts who would be happy to talk about their work and might even be happy for you to accompany them in the field for an hour or two. You'll also pay cheaper prices staying at field stations than the expensive hotels Road Scholars stay at. 2. Volunteer at a nature preserve in an exotic location. Same as above but you may even get free food or accommodations (e.g. national park for trail maintenance, or sea turtle nesting site protection). 3. Take a language course with homestay. These are often quite affordable in many parts of the world.

[Roots&Wings]

The Jane Austen Society has tours to England where members get special access to "Jane" places normal tourists don't get to see. (Obviously not adventure travel, unless you're into jumping off the Cobb at Lyme Regis or whatever.)

Alison Weir does some English history tours that look interesting. I don't know anything about them, though. I don't have the link…try googling Alison Weir Tours. For those who don't know, she's a well-know writer of historical non-fiction.

http://www.alisonweirtours.com/ and http://www.jasna.org/tours/tour2015-price.html

Literary tours are a great idea! These sound interesting, but cost a small fortune. Another summer immersion class I really enjoyed back in college was Nicaragua poetry & landscapes, which cost fairly little (stayed with a host family, met for classes and went on various daytrips).

[Roots&Wings]

My in-laws have taken tons of Road Scholar courses and really enjoyed them. They always seem to get great guides and the lecturers are usually experts in their field (often university professors but sometimes PhD students). But, they are 70 and often among the youngest in the group. Don't know how old you are but that might impact your thoughts on those courses. They are also pretty expensive as you probably already know.

I teach tropical ecology field courses to university students and also conduct field work in the tropics and I have some suggestions that might be more affordable. 1. Go stay at a biology field station. You will be surrounded by experts who would be happy to talk about their work and might even be happy for you to accompany them in the field for an hour or two. You'll also pay cheaper prices staying at field stations than the expensive hotels Road Scholars stay at. 2. Volunteer at a nature preserve in an exotic location. Same as above but you may even get free food or accommodations (e.g. national park for trail maintenance, or sea turtle nesting site protection). 3. Take a language course with homestay. These are often quite affordable in many parts of the world.

Thanks for all the great ideas!

I never would have thought of the biology field station! Do you often host independent visitors at your field station (i.e. not associated with a college/university)?

And nice feedback about Road Scholar, and the older age group. I didn't realize Road Scholar is the new name of ElderHostel. I'm basically an 'old soul', and would probably fit right in :) Some of the Road Scholar fees seem quite reasonable, while others are quite expensive...might be hit or miss cost-wise.

Also found one program where you can participate in a turtle conservation program in Costa Rica for ~$1,500/mo including room & board, https://www.volunteerhq.org/volunteer-in-costa-rica, though volunteer travel is a bit of different topic...lots of 'working travel' options along those lines on coolworks too.

[FrugalFan]

We don't get independent visitors all that often at the field station I currently work at, because it is not in a super popular tourist area, but some of the other stations I have taught or worked at get many visitors. Some, like La Selva in Costa Rica, even have regular lecture series, etc, that the public can participate in. Costa Rica is where I do most of my work and teaching, but I have done some in Canada, Peru, Mexico, Australia, and France. Beautiful field stations in all of these places.

[Roots&Wings]

We don't get independent visitors all that often at the field station I currently work at, because it is not in a super popular tourist area, but some of the other stations I have taught or worked at get many visitors. Some, like La Selva in Costa Rica, even have regular lecture series, etc, that the public can participate in. Costa Rica is where I do most of my work and teaching, but I have done some in Canada, Peru, Mexico, Australia, and France. Beautiful field stations in all of these places.

Nice! Definitely going to explore that further...I stayed near a biological field station and went to a lecture series on my last vacation (in North Carolina), though housing rentals were not an option for those not with a college/university. Great to know!

[Roots&Wings]

I went on one with AHI to Morocco. It was fabulous -- but definitely not mustachian price-wise. I've been to Haida Gw'aai (Queen Charlotte Islands) on Zodiac rafts to see totem poles and ancient Haida villages. The best trip ever in a lifetime of travel. I've met people on Roads Scholar tours who enjoyed them. I used to go on adventure travel tours with Explore. Not quite as educational and definitely geared to younger travellers, so I stopped travelling with them by my later thirties.

To me it is a balance of having some company when I travel, but only to places I wouldn't be comfortable travelling by myself or physically couldn't do myself, and/or where expert knowledge is needed. My friends all travel, but aren't necessarily interested in travelling to the same places, so sometimes this is an easy way to get company.

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! Great feedback about AHI and Explore too. I feel similarly about the bolded text. I can always travel on my own or with family/friends, but also enjoy group learning trips that open doors not possible traveling solo.