TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE

8 of the Best Tour Companies For Students and Young Backpackers

Dani De Leo, The Young Globetrotter 

07 September 2021

So, you have decided that you want to join a group tour to travel overseas, but where do you
start? There are many many tour companies out there used for traveling, some of them luxury travelers, some made for families, some just for females, some for students, and some for all those budget travelers out there.
I have highlighted 8 travel companies that are aimed towards student travelers, young backpackers, and budget travelers that are reputable and have been operating successfully for numerous years. These tour groups all run multiple trips around the world for varying lengths. You can
find more specific information through their website directly

Contiki

Contiki is a tour company kept strictly for travelers aged 18-35 so the crowd stays young and
energetic. Group size for their trips vary, but their tours do tend to be very large groups that
average at around 50 people per tour, depending on the destination. If you are looking for a
smaller group tour where you can really get to know and bond with everyone in your group, this
tour company is not for you. However, having a large group does give you the opportunity to
make tons of friends and not have to be stuck with the same small group for a long tour.

Top Deck

Top deck is another tour company that is known to have a very large party atmosphere. The kind of travelers who join these tours typically love to go out and party and explore the night life of their destination. If this is the kind of experience you are looking for, this tour company may be a great fit for you.
There groups can be as large as 16- 35 people per tour, so a smaller group than Contiki but you still have plenty of passengers to befriend and mingle with.

Plan my Gap Year

Plan My Gap Year is a bit different than the other companies listed. This company offer trips for just volunteering, just for traveling, or a mix of the two! If you already wanted to go to Nepal to travel for two weeks, why not ass on an additional 2 weeks to volunteer with PMGY and help make a difference within the local communities?
PMGY is a travel and volunteering company based out of the UK that offer extremely affordable trips. They offer tours in 18 destinations, so there is not as many options to choose from as the bigger companies listed above.
They also offer longer 3-month PMGY experiences to multiple countries that include a perfect mix of volunteering and weekend adventures. I traveled with them for two weeks in Nepal after doing my own Everest Base Camp Trek. Their group tours are comfortably small enough to allow everyone to really get to know each other on a deeper level as well as really click and bond over the course of the trip. I still talk to most of the 10 other passengers that were with me on this trip 3 years ago!

Gap 360

This is another tour company that has slightly cheaper and more affordable costs than the
Contiki and Top Deck companies. Gap 360 offers multiple different group travel tours for young travelers as well as volunteering opportunities and paid work. Despite the company’s name, you do not have to be on a gap year to participate and sing up for their services. They go to more than 50 countries and have more than 200 trips to choose from on 6 different continents! If your number one trip does not have availability or does not have dates available that are suited for your time frame, you have plenty of other options to choose from!

Real Gap Experience

Real Gap Experience is another company that is based out of the UK, but they offer their
services to other nationalities. In my opinion, this company is quite similar to Gap 360. A nice
feature about this company is that they divide their tours by different segments, such as party
trips, sports/activity trips, short trips, learn a skill trip, etc.
This makes navigating all their options a lot easier so that you can find the perfect trip for you. Another cool option is their “around the world” multi month and multi country trip options as well as their plethora of volunteering programs.
There is nothing like combining an amazing once in a life time trip with giving back to the country by volunteering and immersing yourself with the locals.

Education First

Education First is known to be specifically targeted for students in university as well as even high school students! Although, you do not have to be a student to join a trip, EF is marketed and advertised by a lot of universities so therefore a large portion of their business is from current students.
This is a great opportunity if you want to meet likeminded students from around the world! There is nothing like creating lifelong international friendships and then being able to visit one another in your home countries. They also offer gap year programs, language programs, high school exchanges, and international boarding school opportunities.
There group adventure tours are eligible for those between the ages of 18-29 years old.

G Adventures

G Adventures is the only company on this list that is does not cap their trips at any specific age. I included G Adventures in this list because I went on a tour with them through India in 2018 and had an amazing time.
The group size was perfect as there was only 8 of us. By the end of the tour the whole group was very close and it felt like we had known each other for years.
G adventures is a great option for those who want a more laid-back nonparty type of trip where you will meet people that are all different ages. G Adventures has decent priced trips as well and are approximately the same costs or even cheaper than the companies mentioned above.
If you are not looking for group tours specifically for party minded students or young back packers but still want to go on a fun group tour, G adventures is a perfect budget friendly option.

Student Universe

Student Universe is a reputable website that offers special offers for not only student tour
groups, but also for flights, cars, and hotels. In order to unlock their special discounts and fares
for students, you will need to create an account as well as verify and prove that you are currently a college student.
There tours are not the cheapest offered compared to the other companies listed above, but you can be sure that you will be traveling with a highly reputable company that is partnered with many operators and airlines around the world.

I hope this list of travel and tour companies has helped you narrow down the hours of research
that comes with planning a trip overseas. Be sure to check out the websites directly for pricing and more information. If you are still unsure if taking a group tour is right for you, you can check out my latest blog post 7 Reasons Why You Should Join a Group Tour to help you make an informative decision.

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