We have had some of the funniest moments while traveling with students and we want to share them with you!
Check the metro schedule!
While visiting London with a group of students, we were doing some late night sightseeing. Well, our tour guide didn’t inform us that some of the lines for the Tube (London’s metro), close late at night. We had been happily exploring the city with our group and were heading back to the hotel only to find out that the Tube line we were supposed to take was closed for the night. We had never been to London before so we were not familiar with the area. After a large group map reading effort, asking directions from late night metro travelers, and some serious guessing, we managed to get our whole group onto a Tube line that got us within a half mile walking distance of our hotel.
Now, keep in mind, during this time the kids had picked up the London Tube safety phrase “Mind the gap”, and were having a field day repeating it over and over.
Double decker bus tour of London. (repeat edition)
Seeing the city of London at night is amazing. And, what better way to see the lights of London than from an iconic double decker bus. You have to remember, this was our first time traveling abroad with a group of students. We hotravelipped on the bus excited to see the sights, and see them we did, over…and over…and over. We couldn’t figure out which stop was ours! Luckily, the bus driver caught on. He pulled the bus over and informed us that he needed to take the bus back to the garage for the night. Lucky for us, the driver had a big heart and a great sense of humor. He went out of his way to drop us at a stop close to our hotel that was not on his route. We disembarked the bus and thanked him profusely. He was still snickering as we walked away.
Bad tour guides can lead to funny moments when traveling with students.
Our first European tour with students was eventful to say the least. Many of these events were inspired by a less than stellar tour guide. She was a very nice person! Her tour guide skills were just lacking a little. She had to do internet searches at every stop for information on what we were seeing, lost her phone in the Louvre, booked the wrong restaurant, and got us lost countless times. The craziness of the tour actually led to many funny moments with the students. At one point, the tour guide actually handed Jeff the microphone on the bus and said, “You talk. You know more about this.”
Vending machines are a part of the cultural experience too!
There are two things you should know about vending machines. They have one simple function – to provide snacks when you’re hungry and kids love them. One particular student discovered the joy of the cultural differences of snacks in vending machines abroad. He loved checking out the variety of different European snack items. In fact, when going through security at the airport on the way home, he was asked, “What was your favorite thing you saw while visiting us?”. His reply was simple. “The vending machines.” Needless to say, the security employee got a good giggle out of that. It was the first time he’d ever had that response.
If you want more of our funny adventures with students check out this week’s episode on YouTube. Top Funniest Moments When Traveling With Students
Have you ever traveled with students? Share your adventures in the comments below. We would love to hear your stories!
Want to know about traveling during school breaks? It’s the perfect time to do a group tour with students. We have some tips in post We Learned How to Travel During The School Year.
And remember, break the monotony, not the bank.
–Jeff and Marnie
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