IMMERSIVE + RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL
Travel with meaning and intention. Genuinely experience a different way of life while exploring your interests and developing valuable skills for your future. Learn more about our programs throughout Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the United States.
SUMMER TRAVEL ABROAD PROGRAMS
Ages 13-20
Expand your worldview by diving into another culture. Become a more well-rounded traveler and build lasting friendships.
GAP YEAR PROGRAMS
Ages 17-22
Travel with purpose and gain skills. Hear stories, discover fresh perspectives, and engage with critical global issues. Download our free Gap Guide.
INDEPENDENT EXPERIENCE
Ages 17-25
Engage outside the confines of a group program. Travel independently with the support of Dragons resources and mentorship.
![Rio Grand Semester #throwback to 11/15/20 by Mare: “I believe today is Day 63, but I could be wrong. We’re an hour outside of Big Bend National Park and two and a half hours away from any real town. There is nothing but desert around us. Well, not just desert. After an hour’s drive and a lot of Alice Phoebe Lou, we pulled up to the most beautiful mesa I’ve ever seen this entire trip. These mountains are called the Chisos. They look just as severe and desolate as all the other stark rock bodies that pull themselves out of the earth’s crest and reach ever-glorious towards the Texan sun. Most of these formations are red or grey with streaks that reveal millions of years of compression or riddled with holes from the days of fire that poured like rain when the land never rested. [...] The Chisos looks like none of these. They are a worn slate grey with softened ridges running in vertical rows beneath the shockingly lush forest that hugs its every curve. When we started hiking, it was all sand and cacti and five miles of uphill switchbacks. The quiet banter of breathless lungs filled the air and we found ourselves stopping every so often to admire the desert mountain ranges below us. [...]
Ten miles, two sandwiches, and one water bottle later, we started to descend back down the mesa but not before looking out on the other side. Despite the oasis of color around us, the tundra below was thick with cacti and desert sand. The curves of the hills swirled and released in tight-bodied motions with endless pits and plains spanning out to the horizon. The sun was going down, and so did we. The flora on this side of the mesa was different, too. The sand was fine and grey, artificial in appearance, like tennis court sand. The trees hung lower to the ground and sweet tulip cacti sprung up between the roots in purple and sharpness. I felt happy walking down, the air was cool and easy, and the path down easier. When we drove away, I glanced back to see the dark silhouettes brought out by the setting sun. The trees and their vermilion limbs stood strong against the light and I wondered how on earth a fall jungle could survive in a vast stone desert.”](https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
