Rustic Pathways does a great job of making sure that most of the information available about their company on the internet is positive. But we know that personal experiences vary, so this is the place to share any problems you may have had working for Rustic Pathways or as a Rustic Pathways student or parent.
If you would like to share your story, leave a comment and we will repost it as a full post.
This blog is not affiliated with or managed by Rustic Pathways.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
"Very Expensive"
"Reasonably-priced volunteer placements for 16-year-old
Posted here in April, 2009.
March 2009 Would like suggestions for almost 16 year old son for volunteering placements, organizations outside of Bay Area that are priced reasonably or offer financial aid. Looking for 2-3 week stints. Rustic Pathways would be an example of very expensive. Sarah"
Posted here in April, 2009.
Friday, April 1, 2011
"The trips are NOT as advertised"
"Cons:
-If you aren't a social butterfly, you might want to take a friend. Everyone is in "I must make friends" mode for the first few days, so if you don't find a friend quickly you're kind of out of luck for the trip. Everyone is really nice though, it's just high school clique-ish-ness that's at fault.
-The trips are NOT as advertised. The itinerary is total crap. The trip will still be amazing, but it will be because of the few special moments you have and bonds you form with the local people, not because of all the picturesque things described in the itinerary. The days of the trip will likely be more repetitive than described. For example, on my Service in the Clouds trip, each day during the first week in our first village we taught English in the morning and built a playground in the evening. It didn't feel at all mundane, but it wasn't the shiny list of different activities every day that was described in the itinerary. Don't get your hopes up for one particular event described in the itinerary, just read it for the general feel/focus of the trip, which IS maintained.
Counselors: What you get as a Rustic counselor is a young adult who is a very experienced traveller but wants to enjoy the trip just like you do. You don't get a teacher or a mom. This can be a pro or a con. For example, I am kind of a worrier so when I got a weird-looking bug bit in India I freaked out and got kind of hypochondriac. My counselors were nonchalant about it, and they were correct because it turned out to be nothing and they are experienced enough to know it, but they didn't take me to the doctor or anything which was a bit disconcerning to me, being the worrier I am. It has also been great, though, because the students get a lot of freedom during their trips because the counselors can relate to the students and the counselors seem approachable and fun to the students. They are not at all unqualified, just young and wanting to enjoy travelling along with you. It's as if you are going on a trip with a slightly-older friend who can show you the ropes and stuff."
- from a rustic pathways student
-If you aren't a social butterfly, you might want to take a friend. Everyone is in "I must make friends" mode for the first few days, so if you don't find a friend quickly you're kind of out of luck for the trip. Everyone is really nice though, it's just high school clique-ish-ness that's at fault.
-The trips are NOT as advertised. The itinerary is total crap. The trip will still be amazing, but it will be because of the few special moments you have and bonds you form with the local people, not because of all the picturesque things described in the itinerary. The days of the trip will likely be more repetitive than described. For example, on my Service in the Clouds trip, each day during the first week in our first village we taught English in the morning and built a playground in the evening. It didn't feel at all mundane, but it wasn't the shiny list of different activities every day that was described in the itinerary. Don't get your hopes up for one particular event described in the itinerary, just read it for the general feel/focus of the trip, which IS maintained.
Counselors: What you get as a Rustic counselor is a young adult who is a very experienced traveller but wants to enjoy the trip just like you do. You don't get a teacher or a mom. This can be a pro or a con. For example, I am kind of a worrier so when I got a weird-looking bug bit in India I freaked out and got kind of hypochondriac. My counselors were nonchalant about it, and they were correct because it turned out to be nothing and they are experienced enough to know it, but they didn't take me to the doctor or anything which was a bit disconcerning to me, being the worrier I am. It has also been great, though, because the students get a lot of freedom during their trips because the counselors can relate to the students and the counselors seem approachable and fun to the students. They are not at all unqualified, just young and wanting to enjoy travelling along with you. It's as if you are going on a trip with a slightly-older friend who can show you the ropes and stuff."
- from a rustic pathways student
"high turnover, low employee morale"
Pros
travel and freedom to work on projects that interest you.
See the world, get experience in many areas of business
Interacting with teenagers and watching them enjoy new experiences
See the world, get experience in many areas of business
Interacting with teenagers and watching them enjoy new experiences
Cons
expectation that you don't take days off...ever.
low pay, because they think you get 'experience' by traveling
high turnover, low employee morale, bad management and ownership
low pay, because they think you get 'experience' by traveling
high turnover, low employee morale, bad management and ownership
Advice to Senior Management
Pay attention to employee's quality of life. Take care of the employees and keep in mind that being overworked leads to lower quality work"
- from a current employee
"no response from owner of company"
"
Pros
- Travel
- Meet new people and experience new cultures
- assist people in need
- visit amazing location
- 6 weeks vacation
- company covers costs while abroad
- Meet new people and experience new cultures
- assist people in need
- visit amazing location
- 6 weeks vacation
- company covers costs while abroad
Cons
- You only travel to one location, over and over again
- low pay
- expected to work without days off during summer period
- expected to travel through the states in hotels that cost under $80 a night and with no daily stipend
- expected to work weekends during sales season
- no response from owner of company
-horrible hr department
- low pay
- expected to work without days off during summer period
- expected to travel through the states in hotels that cost under $80 a night and with no daily stipend
- expected to work weekends during sales season
- no response from owner of company
-horrible hr department
Advice to Senior Management
- I would suggest a new hr department"
-from a current employee
Friday, February 25, 2011
Just warm bodies
"D1 (college freshman) went on Rustic Pathways to Fiji last year; she was very disappointed with the behavior of the staff (and felt that they were wayyyy too young)...said that some of her "supervisory staff" didn't know what was going on day to day..... If your kids are really interested in these programs, find out who their "counselors" are going to be....and make sure it's not just "warm bodies" that they could find who were interested in travelling for the summer.... we were very thankful that our daughter was 18 and that stuff doesn't really bother her, but she really felt like she was on her own.....wouldn't send another kid though......" - posted by user Rodney on college confidential, here. | |
"They lost me"
"Four years ago, I went on a Rustic Pathways trip to Thailand. I hate to say it, but the other posters hit the nail on the head. I was looking forward to finding "like-minded people," to borrow my mom's expression. Instead, I found myself in the midst of a swarm of wealthy L.A. kids. They would be the first to tell you that their parents had sent them to Thailand to keep them out of trouble (and the notion that the trip would give them a leg up in their Ivy League applications). I was a rising freshman in college, but there were several students in my boat, so that wasn't an issue.
But here's the really big thing. They lost me. I was barely 18, and the group left me behind in the Thai countryside several hours from our house with no phone number to call, no passport, no money. I learned a great deal from that experience. A creepy Australian man offered to give me a ride on his motorcycle; I sent him packing. I took a leap of faith and got a ride with a family of Japanese tourists to a nearby town, where they dropped me off at a police station. I googled Rustic Pathways to find a phone number, used a cop's cell phone to call the US office, got a phone number to call one of my leaders in Thailand, and finally someone picked me up. I got back to the house eight hours after they had lost me. When I got back, one of the leaders told me to call home because he wasn't sure if anyone had told my parents. At this point, I was two weeks into a month-long trip, and as much as my mom wanted to fly me home immediately, we couldn't afford it. She didn't sleep for the next two weeks as she awaited my return. She was furious with Rustic Pathways for allowing this to happen, and she tried calling them several times. They never called her.
I realize that this is a long post, but I think it's something you need to see before you send your kid across the world. There are other, better organizations..." - posted by Dory427 on College Confidential, here.
But here's the really big thing. They lost me. I was barely 18, and the group left me behind in the Thai countryside several hours from our house with no phone number to call, no passport, no money. I learned a great deal from that experience. A creepy Australian man offered to give me a ride on his motorcycle; I sent him packing. I took a leap of faith and got a ride with a family of Japanese tourists to a nearby town, where they dropped me off at a police station. I googled Rustic Pathways to find a phone number, used a cop's cell phone to call the US office, got a phone number to call one of my leaders in Thailand, and finally someone picked me up. I got back to the house eight hours after they had lost me. When I got back, one of the leaders told me to call home because he wasn't sure if anyone had told my parents. At this point, I was two weeks into a month-long trip, and as much as my mom wanted to fly me home immediately, we couldn't afford it. She didn't sleep for the next two weeks as she awaited my return. She was furious with Rustic Pathways for allowing this to happen, and she tried calling them several times. They never called her.
I realize that this is a long post, but I think it's something you need to see before you send your kid across the world. There are other, better organizations..." - posted by Dory427 on College Confidential, here.
Too much travel time
"I had a negative experience. I have reserached a lot of traveling companies and it really all depends on what you want out of the experience...
Rustic Pathways is a different companies because their programs do not last as long. You can mix and match different programs. But a lot of problems arise out of this. First of all, you don't make the friendships and bonds that you would have if you were with the same group the entire time. Also, the switching is VERY COMPLICATED. They make it seem like it is so easy but it is simply not the case. By complicated I mean there is a lot of traveling and down time and its very hectic. I went to the Costa Rica trip by the way.
Let me give you a summary of what happened.
First of all, they book your flights for you. They booked me a flight that included a 9 hour layover in Houston. So we didn't arrive in Costa Rica til about 10 that night (tuesday). Now we all went to San Jose and stayed in this cool hostel they rent out. But everyone is going on separate trips so everyone there will not be in your group. Something like 100 kids were at the hostel that night. In the morning you leave to your respective sights. Lucky me mine was 8 hours away....I know the surfing one is about 9 hours from San Jose. SO when we got to our area that day was shot(wednesday). Then the next day we just had orientation about where we were which is thursday. Then friday and saturday we actually did community service. We leave on sunday...and traveled back to the hostel which takes ALL DAY. So that day i shot. Then we get to the hostel sunday night. Some kids leave Monday to go home and others who have a connecting trip have to stay all day at the hostel. You ahve 3 options 1)go to the mall for free 2) go to the beach which costs 50 bucks and is a 5 hour ride 3)go on a private yacht for a day which is 125. Anyways, so that day you really arent doing much either
(or at least what you thought youd be doing on yout trip). Monday night the new kids arrive. Tuesday you head back for a long drive to your site.. As you can see there is a lot of traveling involved which may not be so apparent in how they advertise it.
Also the kids in rustic pathways seem much younger, especially in Costa Rica. The leaders and people running the program are very nice and helpful.
I noticed that many kids brought friends along with them in rustic pathways which is definitely a downfall because they tend to cling together. Also, if you know that you are only going to be with a group for (it ends up being 5 days not 8 or whatever they advertise) they really don't make an effort to make friendships.
There are many GREAT summer programs out there. I would seriously look into all of them and try to contact people who have been on the trip to get the real idea of what the program is like. Many other people complained about Rustic Pathways. For me, Rustic Pathways was not a good experience, especially compared to my Peru trip."- User Nicole07 posted this review on collegeconfidential.com on 3/9/07, here.
Rustic Pathways is a different companies because their programs do not last as long. You can mix and match different programs. But a lot of problems arise out of this. First of all, you don't make the friendships and bonds that you would have if you were with the same group the entire time. Also, the switching is VERY COMPLICATED. They make it seem like it is so easy but it is simply not the case. By complicated I mean there is a lot of traveling and down time and its very hectic. I went to the Costa Rica trip by the way.
Let me give you a summary of what happened.
First of all, they book your flights for you. They booked me a flight that included a 9 hour layover in Houston. So we didn't arrive in Costa Rica til about 10 that night (tuesday). Now we all went to San Jose and stayed in this cool hostel they rent out. But everyone is going on separate trips so everyone there will not be in your group. Something like 100 kids were at the hostel that night. In the morning you leave to your respective sights. Lucky me mine was 8 hours away....I know the surfing one is about 9 hours from San Jose. SO when we got to our area that day was shot(wednesday). Then the next day we just had orientation about where we were which is thursday. Then friday and saturday we actually did community service. We leave on sunday...and traveled back to the hostel which takes ALL DAY. So that day i shot. Then we get to the hostel sunday night. Some kids leave Monday to go home and others who have a connecting trip have to stay all day at the hostel. You ahve 3 options 1)go to the mall for free 2) go to the beach which costs 50 bucks and is a 5 hour ride 3)go on a private yacht for a day which is 125. Anyways, so that day you really arent doing much either
(or at least what you thought youd be doing on yout trip). Monday night the new kids arrive. Tuesday you head back for a long drive to your site.. As you can see there is a lot of traveling involved which may not be so apparent in how they advertise it.
Also the kids in rustic pathways seem much younger, especially in Costa Rica. The leaders and people running the program are very nice and helpful.
I noticed that many kids brought friends along with them in rustic pathways which is definitely a downfall because they tend to cling together. Also, if you know that you are only going to be with a group for (it ends up being 5 days not 8 or whatever they advertise) they really don't make an effort to make friendships.
There are many GREAT summer programs out there. I would seriously look into all of them and try to contact people who have been on the trip to get the real idea of what the program is like. Many other people complained about Rustic Pathways. For me, Rustic Pathways was not a good experience, especially compared to my Peru trip."- User Nicole07 posted this review on collegeconfidential.com on 3/9/07, here.
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