Greece & Turkey 2025

The program fee includes housing, ground transport, breakfasts, dinners, weekly laundry, group-sponsored activities, and the trip t-shirt.

Not included in the program fee: international airfare (current estimate from our group travel specialist: $1200-$1600), lunches, snacks, and costs incurred during free time.

We recommend bringing $15-$20/day for lunches and other incidental expenses. Participants are also asked to bring a cell phone with an international mobile data plan to stay in touch with the group.

Your illustrious trip leaders are Blake Boles and Dev Carety. Learn more about them on the Leaders page.

To get a feeling for the spirit of the kind of adventures that Dev and Blake might challenge you to undertake, explore Blake’s list of 81 Adventure Challenges for Young People, Dev’s High Desert Center gap year programs, and the Adventure Semester (an Unschool Adventures program that they co-directed in 2015).

By taking a commercial ferry across the Mediterranean! Which will quite an adventure itself :D The ferry is included in the program fee.

International flights will be organized by our group travel specialist, Karen Chieppa of Global Vision Travel. Participants are responsible for the cost of this international airfare *(currently estimated at $1200-$1600) as well as domestic airfare to the meeting airport in the USA (TBA, but a major east coast airport is likely).

During periods of free time, you’ll be free to explore local areas that (1) aren’t known to be dangerous areas and (2) stay within a reasonable radius of our homebase. Following the Unschool Adventures tried-and-true group outing guidelines, we will require that you always go out in a group of three or more people. (We make exceptions for very quick, nearby trips—the “1-person/1-block” rule.) Please understand that these rules will limit your autonomy, and we cannot make exceptions—but we do have them for important reasons.

During free time you’re welcome to wander by foot and public transport. Rental bicycles, scooters, rideshares, and other novel forms of transport are unfortunately not part of the deal (unless specifically authorized by trip leaders) due to liability considerations.

Since our first trip in 2008, Unschool Adventures has facilitated independent exploration of foreign cities by teen groups without serious incident. While no such independent exploration is ever risk-free, we are confident that our chosen destinations can be successfully navigated by our young adult participants with basic precautions, street smarts, and regular communication with staff. If you’re unsure whether this level of freedom and responsibility is appropriate for your teen, don’t hesitate to contact UA Director Blake Boles (blake@unschooladventures.com) prior to applying.

We will predominantly stay in youth hostels, renting out entire dorm rooms just for the Unschool Adventures groups. Occasionally we may find ourselves in novel situations with less conventional rooming/bedding setups; you’ll always have a safe and comfortable place to rest for the night.

Weather in Greece and Turkey is forecasted to be fantastic in March and April! Warm days, cool nights, and not too much rain.

Food will be a highlight of this trip! Breakfasts and dinners are provided by UA, while lunches you find or create for yourself. Sometimes we may eat out. Other times we will co-create our meals, to which you’ll contribute by shopping, cooking, or cleaning.

Breakfasts are typically simple and DIY, while dinners are more substantial, with vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and carnivorous options. Vegan and gluten-free participants may find their options limited in some of our destinations, but we always make sure that everyone has plenty to eat on Unschool Adventures trips. Keeping a personal snack stash is also suggested.

Packing for this trip will be simple. We’ll ask you to bring a variety of clothing layers for different kinds of weather, a traveler’s towel, and a few other basics. A full packing list will be provided upon enrollment.

Unschool Adventures no longer requires proof of Covid vaccination for participation.

Upon enrollment, a $2000 nonrefundable deposit is due within two weeks to hold your space, payable by bank transfer (or credit card, with a 3.5% surcharge). The balance is due in November 2024.

All Unschool Adventures programs require a minimum number of participants for a program to run. We anticipate making a “go” or “no go” decision for this trip by late August 2024. If cancelled due to low enrollment, all payments are refunded.

If you decide not to apply to this trip, we’re interested to learn why! Share your feedback or perspective by writing directly to Blake (blake@unschooladventures.com). Thank you!