Individual Adventures

Individual Adventures costs $800 for initial coaching and planning with Blake. We’ll work together one-on-one (over email and Skype) until you have a plan that satisfies you! Typically this takes a few weeks of regular communication.

When you begin your travels, you may opt to begin monthly support with an Unschool Adventures travel advisor for $200/month. You may start, pause, or end this coaching at any time.

“How much will I pay in total?” depends on where you go and what you do, of course! The costs associated with your adventure are highly variable, and it’s our mission to help you minimize them. See the profiles under “More Examples” (above) for various total cost estimates based on activities, destination, and duration.

We recommend using the website Budget Your Trip to estimate costs. And don’t forget the flights!

Remember, our goal is to help you travel as much as possible within a limited budget. We’re on your team when it comes to cost savings.

Over the course of 3-4 Skype calls (or phone calls), you and Blake will co-create a meaningful, practical, and affordable travel plan. He’ll help you:

• Set intentions and goals for your trip: How do you want to learn, grow, and push yourself?
• Brainstorm and research different activities, locations, and methods of travel. He’ll scour the internet, books, and his personal networks to find the best opportunities for you.
• Save money whenever possible: The goal is to maximize your experience while minimizing the $$ you spend.
• Understand the risks of the activities you’re considering and make informed decisions. This will make you (and your parents) feel a lot more comfortable with solo travel.
• Come up with a solid yet flexible travel plan that gives you direction and structure while leaving space for spontaneity and new opportunities.
• Keep a birds-eye view by creating a hand-drawn “Adventure Map” that visually represents your plan: an easy way to review and revisit your plans and goals along your journey (example).

Good question!

Risk Management:

• His Unschool Adventures trips have a perfect safety record.
• He’s a certified Wilderness First Responder and formerly certified E.M.T.
• His worldwide friend network keeps him informed of regional safety concerns.
• He’s held positions involving significant risk management with young people since 2003.

Career Highlights:

• He’s the author of College Without High School, Better Than College, and The Art of Self-Directed Learning.
• He’s privately coached teenagers and their parents since 2010 (see his coaching website).
• He’s worked as a cook, delivery truck driver, summer camp director, Aurora Borealis research assistant, snowboarding market researcher, web designer, and windsurfing instructor.

Personal Adventures:

• He’s Couchsurfed all over the world (check out his profile).
• He once tried—and failed—to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail (see his goal list).
• Favorite travel memories: Hitch-hiking across New Zealand in a sombrero, dancing tango at 3am in Buenos Aires, and sleeping high in the Guatemalan jungle as a troop of howler monkeys swung by.

It’s up to you. Start traveling when you want and return when you want. We generally recommend traveling between 1-3 months for a first-time international experience.

If you’re unsure of where you want to travel and what you want to do—no problem! The primary purpose of the planning process is to help you get clear about the why and how of your travels: Why are you doing this in the first place? How do you want to learn and grow? How much money do you have to spend? How much risk can you tolerate? How will you stay safe? What do you want to get out of this? With these questions answered, you can embark upon an international adventure with a fuzzy itinerary but clear intentions and purpose.

If you want to change your plan, then change it! That’s normal. It’s bad to travel with zero planning, and it’s also bad to travel with an overly rigid plan. Blake and your travel advisor will be here to help you think through your options, make your pivot, and stay true to your intentions and risk threshold along the way.

If you’d like to begin your journey with someone else, we will help you find that person! And if you don’t need a partner, no worries—we’ll skip that step.

Our process for finding you a travel partner includes searching online travel networks + our personal networks. We’ll help you do the initial leg work, help you connect with the person, and advise you on deciding whether they’re a good fit and setting clear expectations with each other.

Traveling with a stranger (for a little while, at least) is not as crazy at it sounds! Young people (especially Europeans and Australians) have done this for decades, and the internet only makes it easier.

Please note that we cannot 100% guarantee that your travel partner will follow through on their plans with you, but we will do our best to help you find multiple options and deal with any situations that arise.

No! Individual Adventures are for ambitious travelers and self-directed learners of all backgrounds. We don’t care if you attended a traditional school, an alternative school, or no school at all.

There are a handful of excellent gap year consultants out there, and their main focus is matching young people with established (and often expensive) gap year programs. Our focus is on independent budget travel.

We’d love to support your travels within your home country! Maybe there’s a great domestic opportunity that you want to make part of your adventure plan. Maybe you don’t yet feel comfortable traveling abroad. Maybe you’re on a very tight budget. No matter the reason, we are happy to help!

Yes! We’re happy to work with small groups. (Please note that advising calls will only be provided to the group as a whole, not to multiple individuals.)

Blake will help you with:

• International flights: How do you find the best and cheapest flight?
• Emailing strangers and creating opportunities: Where to begin?
• Language learning: What’s the best way to learn before departure?
• Visas & vaccinations: What do I really need?
• Packing: What should you bring?
• Staying in touch: How do I reliably stay connected to family and friends?
• Money: What form should I bring, and how much of it?
• Traveler’s insurance: Do I really need it? Where to get it?
• Avoiding scams: What’s the most common way that people like me get tricked?
• Risk management: What’s your backup plan? Which regions are safe to visit right now?
• Couchsurfing and work exchanges: How do I do them intelligently?
• Making friends abroad: How?!? (a topic close to Blake’s heart)
• …and much more. The resource library is regularly updated.

You also gain access to Launchpad, our 3-week digital workshop about staying productive as a self-directed learner: a handy tool for independent travelers, and a $100 value!

The $800 program fee is due in full upon registration, payable via credit card or bank transfer.

Because we invest a huge amount of time and energy into each member—especially at the beginning—we cannot offer full refunds. If you’re unsatisfied, we will find a way to make it right.

Great! Please email us: office@unschooladventures.com.