Teachers Marc Healy and Sean Rice are incharge of planning a trip for students to go to London, Paris and the Alps in the summer of 2023 for 10 days. They started this club to give students and adults the chance to explore new places and to give students a college credit.

“I created this club because of my love [for] travel. I have been fortunate to have been traveling since I was a little kid. I have been to over 60 countries now, some of which no longer exist in titles such as Czechoslovakia.I wanted people in the Harrisonburg community to have a reasonably affordable way to see the world. We started advertising this trip in late February [and] early March,” Healy said.

Healy and Rice are still working to figure out which date will work best; they plan for it to be in July of 2023.. Any high schoolers and parents are allowed to go on the trip. The cost for students to go is $4710 and$5210 for an adult.

“The organization Education First Tours has been in business for over 50 years. The purpose of the organization is to promote tourism and education for students through international travel. Currently there are 35 students and 5 adults going on the trip. Of course the price of the trip is a little expensive for many people, however, this is an all inclusive trip. You can pay in monthly installments, all at once, or make arrangements with the company for payments. You pay for everything up front and then everything is arranged for you once you get on the plane. For everything that we will be doing it would cost almost double to do on your own. You pay the money and have peace of mind. [We are doing fundraisers to help students pay for the trip which conclude] Car washes, running concessions, golf tournaments, etc.,” Healy said.

The club is organized through teachers at the school, but it won’t be school related, it will only be for the experience. There are not any special demands required to go on the trip.

“This trip is not sponsored by HCPS. HCPS has allowed the Travel Club to function at HHS as well as advertise and hold meetings on school grounds. To go on the trip you need a passport. There are no special accommodations. We will not be traveling to any place where you would have to get special visas or vaccinations for diseases,” Healy said.

Healy and Rice are really excited for this trip. They are hoping to give the students and adults a new experience that they will enjoy and remember. The trip will also allow students to earn college credits.

“[We are hoping for the students] to have a love of travel and a greater understanding of the world around them. [We want students] To experience first hand things we read about and step out of their comfort zone for a little while. The organization has options for people that want to earn college credits and other endeavors for learning,” Healy said.

Healy and Rice chose London, Paris and the Alps because they feel it will allow students and adults to see some of the main tourist attractions in Europe.

“We will be in each place for 2 to 3 days. These trips are organized so that you see the major sites and have a little time to do your own thing in each of the places we visit. On this trip we get to see some of the big things in Europe. London and Paris are some of the most visited places on the planet. When you go to Europe you want to see these places. I have been to these places many many times and every time I see something new or from a different point of view,“ Healy said.

On the trip there will be many opportunities for those touring to interact with the locals.

“[We will be] touring the major sites of each place, but also have free time to experience first hand what the locals are doing. In London we will have a guided tour of the main attractions in the city such as the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Tower of London, etc. We will Chunnel on a train under the English Channel to France and go to Paris,” Healy said. “In Paris we will go to the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Latin Quarter, Seine River cruise, and then go out to tour Versailles. After Paris we will go to Burgundy, France and then to Lucerne, Switzerland and the Alps. We will go through a micro country called Liechtenstein on our way to Germany. In Germany we will go to Neuschwanstein Castle, Munich, and then tour [the] concentration camp Dachau for the day. This trip is full of fun stuff to see and do for everyone.”