Trips give teens global insight

"When Costa Rica came up this year, it stood out from the rest because it's small and not in Europe," he said a few days before departing on the weeklong journey. "Just a chance to go to the rain forest and a volcano I thought would be so cool."

George is among a growing number of high school -- and middle school -- students using spring break to travel abroad on trips that can cost thousands of dollars and include traditional sightseeing as well as community service and language studies.

Although there are no firm statistics on the growth of teen travel abroad, a 2006 study by Michigan State University estimated expenditures for 12- to 18-year-olds on overnight domestic and foreign group trips at more than $9.8 billion. That age group, the survey shows, is a growing segment of the travel market. Spring is the most popular travel period, and 40% of the trips are sponsored by schools.

Many schools send students across the country to national monuments or on college scouting trips, but increasing numbers are adding foreign travel opportunities as a corollary to the trend of providing a global curriculum.

George, a student at the private Viewpoint School in Calabasas, has at age 16 traveled to more far-flung locales than many adults. During a spring break trip sponsored by his school last year, he explored Italy with 26 classmates, practicing his reading of Latin in the ancient city of Pompeii.

More schools are providing financial aid or scholarships for students whose families would otherwise not be able to afford the trips. Private donations and a portion of Viewpoint's financial aid budget of more than $2 million help pay for some expenses on the trips, which cost $1,900 to $3,300 per student, depending on the destination, said Chad Tew, George's father and the school's chief financial officer.

Many students still spend spring break at the nearest party or at home trying to avoid homework until the last minute. But overseas travel is on the rise, for students of public and private schools alike.

Experts point to a number of reasons for the travel boom, including requirements at many schools for student volunteer work, enhancing resumes for college applications and even parental guilt over the lack of time spent with children.