Fiji Service & Adventure — 15 Days

Groups are put together by US school grade, so the group has teens of a similar age. This trip has one departure, for grades 9–11 (roughly ages 14–17): Jun 30–Jul 14. The grade is the one your child is in during the 2026–27 school year — we'll help you match it to your school system. Dates are the operator's official start and end dates.

45 hours of hands-on work done together as one group, with a letter of completion listing the hours and projects afterwards. Around the mainland base at Momi Bay: an ongoing project to bring water to homes in Bavu village alongside skilled tradespeople (digging, block-laying, painting, carpentry), craft workshops with village women whose crafts are then sold for the village, designing and running a Kids' Club for a local after-school program, weeding, watering, planting and harvesting on a pineapple farm, and planting native trees with rangers at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes. In the Yasawa Islands they join a marine biologist for tasks such as mangrove and coral planting, reef surveys, fish counts, removing invasive species and beach clean-ups, and help on the community farm in Somosomo village. Exact projects are confirmed in late spring and are similar to these.

Simple, and for most teens the highlight. On Barefoot Manta the group sleeps a few steps from the beach, with shared bathrooms and solar-powered electricity — think glamping rather than a hotel. The operator describes the rooms both as permanent tents with bunk beds and as dorm-style rooms, so we'll confirm which it is for 2027. It suits teens who are happy to unplug for three days.

On this trip the operator books all the flights, and the airfare is charged on top of the tuition. Normally the group flies together on a chaperoned flight from Los Angeles to Nadi (with a connecting chaperoned flight from New York, and the leaders meeting teens from other US cities at Los Angeles airport). For teens coming from Europe the operator agrees the flight plan case by case — for example meeting the leaders at Los Angeles airport, or joining the group in Fiji — so please talk to us before you book anything; we'll get the options and the airfare quoted for your child. The chaperoned return flight goes back to the US via San Francisco or Los Angeles and on to New York (final details are set in the spring), with help connecting onwards after US customs. Whether teens arriving on their own can come a night early with the extra hotel night included isn't stated for the Fiji start — we'll confirm it with the operator.

Accommodation, breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, the service projects and all the activities listed, the local guide, coach and ferry transport in Fiji, airport transfers for flights within the set time windows, tips and local taxes. Not included: the flights to and from Fiji (booked through the operator), meals on the journey there and back, snacks, spending money, laundry, the operator's application fee, and travel insurance — optional, but we strongly recommend it.

Yes — at the moment the operator takes US$300 off the tuition for early enrolment, so the 15-day trip costs US$4,999 instead of US$5,299 (flights are charged on top either way). It's a limited-time offer and the operator can end it at any point, so ask us whether it still applies before you decide. The price shown on this page is the full tuition.

Families arrange travel documents themselves. Teens with an EU passport get a free visitor permit on arrival in Fiji; the passport should be valid for at least six months after the trip, and they need the return ticket. The group flights go through Los Angeles, so teens joining them also need an approved ESTA (the online US travel authorisation) — apply well ahead. For any other passport, ask us and we'll check what applies.

Mostly American teens — on most programs around 85% of participants come from the US, and the operator tries to limit how many teens from any one other country join each group. For an international teen that means a genuinely English-speaking group, which is a big part of the appeal.

At least a confident beginner level — the operator recommends A2 or above, since everything on the trip happens in English. Your child can ask for an English-speaking roommate, and one-to-one English conversation time with a staff member can be arranged daily or a few times a week.

Yes, and many do. The first days are built around icebreakers and getting-to-know-you activities, roommates are assigned and rotated, and the staff actively help everyone settle into the group.

Yes. Teens can bring their phone, so you can call or message them directly. The operator also runs a communication centre that's staffed every day of the summer, with someone on call around the clock for emergencies.