Travel Education: Workshops

Travel Education workshops are free! They are held at Hostelling International hostels and other venues, such as school campuses, travel stores, community centers, and libraries. For a schedule of upcoming public workshops, see our events calendar.

Private workshops can be arranged for groups of 10 or more. Please use our reservation request form to schedule a private workshop.

World Travel 101

Geared towards college-age and adult travelers who are planning their first trip abroad, this workshop educates participants about how to travel safely and responsibly on a shoestring budget.

Trip Planning 101

Oriented towards travelers who are high school-age or younger, this program was first developed for Girl Scouts, but has been adapted for other audiences. The workshop includes highly interactive activities that teach participants how to research and plan trips, pack smart and light, and travel safely and with an open mind.

Women Traveling Solo

This workshop is for women of all ages who are planning to travel by themselves for the first time, or who are looking for smart tips on how to add more value and independence to their solo travel adventures.

Travel USA

Geared towards high school and college students as well as adults, this engaging workshop closely examines and explain the art of planning fun-filled trips around the U.S.

Hostel California

This workshop is for travelers of all ages seeking to experience the diverse beauty and wonder of California by taking advantage of Hostelling International's unmatched network of quality, affordable hostels. Get the hard facts and best tips for an unforgettable trip using the network of California hostels.

Girl Scouts: Discover the World Patch

Created by girls, for girls, the Discover the World patch helps 11- to 17-year-old girls become more engaged, caring world citizens while quenching their thirst to travel the world. Created with the help of a troop in Maine that used the Boston Hostel as a base to study American history, the patch blends intercultural exploration and budget travel to help girls gain confidence in traveling and to instill a genuine interest in meeting people from other places and cultures.

To complete the patch, girls choose among activities that range from trip planning and interviewing international travelers, to participating in local volunteer projects. The patch criteria include the following activities as guidelines:

• Stay at a hostel
• Create a travel budget
• Learn common greetings in another language
• Volunteer for a hostel-led community project

Many troops have discovered new ways to complete the patch by using the criteria as a guideline. HI-USA encourages troops to be creative when they go hostelling, and only requires them to contact their local HI-USA council to discuss their idea and to get it approved. Here are two examples of troops that decided to take a different approach:

• A troop from Ohio visited the Chicago Hostel in preparation for a future hostelling trip to Europe.
• A troop from California incorporated budget preparations, meal planning, and travel research while they stayed at the Sacramento Hostel, our historic Merchant Row mansion where the city's Gold Rush past comes to life.

For more information: 

• Download the Discover the World Patch brochure (PDF).
• Download a step-by-step guide to the Discover the World Patch criteria (PDF).
• Download the Discover the World Patch order form (PDF), a simple form you can mail, fax, or email.