Teachers on tour: what to expect in your role overseas

Travelling overseas with your students for the first time can feel a little daunting. But you needn’t worry – we take care of more than you might think!  

With Edventure Travel, you’ll become part of a productive learning partnership that pairs our in-country experience with your knowledge of your students. 

As a teacher, your primary role on tour is to make sure your students follow school rules and regulations. You’ll manage your students’ behaviour, monitor their wellbeing, make sure they meet any required dress codes, and deal with minor health incidents. 

In this way, being a teacher on tour is more of an accompanying role than you might be used to. You don’t need to do any lesson planning or organising of any kind – and we certainly won’t ask you to choose a restaurant for dinner! Because our tours are designed to be enjoyed by students and teachers alike, you can leave the learning and logistics to us. 

The key person who’ll take care of your students’ learning, along with all logistics, is your tour leader. Meticulously trained in both theory and practice, they’ll accompany you and your students throughout your entire journey and ensure its success. 

Our tour leaders are experienced professionals. They have a minimum of five years’ experience leading student groups and are adept at teaching to all personalities and learning styles.  

They understand students’ energy levels, their ‘window of tolerance’ for learning, and how to keep students engaged. Throughout your tour, they’ll act variously as a teacher, a cultural ambassador and a translator. They’ll also be your friend. 

Importantly, our tour leaders are locals – not foreigners imported at your students’ expense with no language skills or insight into the host culture. Having lived in-country for decades, they’re expert translators and trouble-shooters. They speak the local language, as well as fluent English, which makes communicating a breeze. 

Your tour leader is with you from breakfast until you return to the hotel in the evening. They’re contactable 24/7. And when they’re not in their home city, they usually stay in the same accommodation as you. They’re fully trained in all aspects of running your trip – from managing your itinerary and organising all your food, accommodation and transport, to filing travel insurance claims, applying first aid, and following our COVID-safe travel protocols. 

Above all, our tour leaders are passionate about showing you around their country or region. They live and breathe the culture as locals and are eager to share their deep knowledge of local history, politics and geography with you and your students. 

A tour leader’s role is comprehensive. It includes: 

• Taking care of all travel arrangements, including check-in, passports, and COVID compliance  
• Organising and facilitating activities, and reconfirming all bookings 
• Arranging and ordering all the included meals on trips, with a full understanding of food allergies, dietary requirements and special requests 

• Ensuring health and safety procedures are always adhered to 
• Providing daytime or evening briefings to prepare travellers for the coming day’s activities 
• Facilitating your immersion into new cultures and experiences 
• Explaining cultural norms, customs and traditions, to ensure everyone behaves in a culturally sensitive manner  
• Helping with room share arrangements and special requests 

Along the way, you’ll also be supported by knowledgeable local guides. Our local guides complement your tour leader’s skills and knowledge in certain regions, rural settings, cities, museums or attractions.  

Local guides live in the area or work at the site regularly, which means their knowledge is up to date. Our guides may be with you for an hour, a day or several days. They won’t accompany you on the entire trip, but rather join temporarily to make your journey as educational and informative as possible. 

Of course, as your experience in-country develops, your confidence will too. You might decide you’d like to have more input into the tour, such as by helping run daily briefings. This is entirely up to you – remember, there’s no obligation to do this! 

Ready to meet some of tour leaders and local guides? Check out their profiles to discover their expertise for yourself.