Is 3-days enough time to explore a city on the Historic East Coast? If you've ever led a trip, you know it's a whirlwind. There are many activities to choose from, but time is limited. With only three days to travel, the last thing you want is an educational tour that does not deliver for you and your students.
Here’s how you’ll get the most from your 3-day trip.
The first rule of traveling on a tight schedule is to minimize transportation time. Stay in hotels near the city center. Time spent on the bus could be time spent experiencing activities. Activities engage you and your students and create life-long memories. Staying in one city or region is another way to minimize transportation time. Traveling from one place to another comes at the cost of experiencing activities. If you must travel to more than one city, plan to schedule motorcoach driving time at night. Avoid travel time so that you and your students can experience the most a city or region has to offer.
On a five-day trip, you'll only have 2 to 2.5 days of touring. If your group departs on a red-eye flight and tours all of the first day and catches a late return flight on day 3, you'll get closer to the full 3-day experience. These 3-day itineraries include traveling to and from your destination cities. Traveling between destinations cities is another factor that compresses activity time on a trip. To maximize your activity time, we recommend your group sticks to one city or two cities and plan to drive at night.
How you’ll feel: On a three-day trip, you and your students will experience unique cultures. You'll see and experience things together that you'll never forget. When you get home, you'll feel like your trip made a difference in their lives.
You and your students had a fabulous trip and created life-long memories with each other. In order to get this right, you'll want to pick the best destination for your trip.
Trip Highlights: New York City will pique the interest of all of your travelers. Are you interested in Art and Architecture? New York has you covered. Are you interested in history and theatre? Check! How about nature, STEM, Sports, culture, and food? Yes, please!
Experience Broadway the right way. In the morning, attend a Broadway Classroom workshop where your students will have fun learning acting techniques. At night, dress up and have a Broadway Dinner and Show experience. You and your students will never forget the feeling of this special night.
If you look out from Battery Park, you'll see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Groups love to climb the steps of Statue Liberty and look back at the Manhattan Skyline. Ellis Island has a wonderful museum where you and your students can research your own family history.
Day 1: NYC
Day 2: NYC
Day 3: NYC
Insider Tip(s) - Travel like a real New Yorker. Ditch the motorcoach and travel by subway. Eat like a New Yorker in New York. Your trip meals should always be an experience.
When to go - Travel to New York City in the late Spring through the early Fall. If your group has the time, travel between Thanksgiving and Christmas and experience the lit-up Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
Cost -
3 days/ 2 nights in New York “air” costs $1,600 - $2,600
3 days/ 2 nights in New York “bus” costs $1,400 - $2,400
Trip Highlights: Experience history and culture walking the freedom trail in Boston. While sightseeing in Boston, you'll see the home of Samuel Adams, Bunker Hill, and the site of the Boston Tea Party. Board a duck tour and see Boston by land and by sea. Follow your duck tour with a trip to the New England Aquarium, and at night visit Boda Borg. Take a short trip to Lexington, Massachusetts, and see where the "shot heard around the world" started the American Revolution.
Visiting Harvard and MIT will challenge your students to explore the possibilities of their own achievement. You'll love having downtime in Cambridge. You'll hear music and eat great food where the Harvard kids hang out.
Day 1: Boston
Day 2: Boston
Day 3: Boston
Insider Tip: Have hands-on experiences at the Ship Building Museum in the seaport town of Essex.
When to go: Visit New England in the Summer and Fall.
Cost -
3 days/2 nights in Boston “air” costs $1,100 to $2,100
3 days/ 2 nights in Boston “bus” costs $900 to $1,900
Trip Highlights: Our Nation's Capital is the most student-friendly city in the US. Take a morning stroll on the grassy National Mall, and you'll be surrounded by Smithsonian Museums. You'll notice the sun rising over the US Capitol. Behind you, you'll see the Washington Monument. During the day, your groups will hop from one interactive museum to the next. You'll take pictures of monuments and memorials. The sites and activities in DC's Federal Triangle are plentiful for school groups.
Travel across the Potomac River and plan to lay a wreath at the Arlington National Cemetery. Groups love competing in a Scavenger Hunt and stepping inside George Washington's home at Mt. Vernon. At night, board a ship for a DJ Dinner Cruise, watch a Baseball Game or experience a ghost tour.
Day 1: Washington DC
Day 2: Washington DC
Day 3: Washington DC
Insider Tip(s) - If the sun is out and the wind is blowing just right, head out to Gravelly Park near DCA. Lay on the grass, look up and watch the airplanes fly just overhead. The planes are so close you can (almost) touch them.
When to go - Spring through Fall. FYI the summer can be very humid in the Mid-Atlantic.
Cost (air and bus) -
3 days/2 nights in Washington D.C. “air” costs $1,100 to $2,100
3 days/ 2 nights in Washington DC “bus” costs $900 to $1,900
Trip Highlights: Arrive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and spend time in the old city. Take a group photo at the Liberty Bell. See the birthplace of America at Independence Hall. Enter the room where the framers wrote the declaration of Independence and Constitution.
Groups love visiting the National Constitution Center, the Museum of the American Revolution, and walking the cells of the East State Penitentiary. Grab lunch or dinner at the Reading Terminal Market or the nearby Bourse.
Given the tight time frame, focus on the federal triangle area of DC. Sure, your bus driver can drive you from place to place. Or, you could walk to many sites and save time. See our three-day trip to Washington DC (above) for inspiration.
Day 1: Philadelphia
Day 2: Washington DC
Day 3: Washington DC
Insider Tip(s) - Christchurch docents perform a tremendous presentation of the history of the church.
When to go - Avoid the humidity and travel in the Spring and Fall.
Cost (air and bus) -
3 days / 2 nights in Philadelphia and Washington DC “air” costs $1,100 to $2,100
3 days / 2 nights in Philadelphia and Washington DC “bus” costs $900 to $1,900
Trip Highlights:
On days 1 and 2, you'll see all of the top sites in Washington DC. Stick to the Federal Triangle district and enter your favorite museums, have a tour of the US Capitol, and see the White House. Stroll along the Potomac River and touch the cherry blossoms in between monuments and memorials. Grab dinner on Night two and head out to your hotel in Williamsburg.
Day three in Historic Virginia might look like this: Visit Historic Williamsburg in the morning. For lunch, eat a tavern meal or pick up something to go. In the afternoon, experience Richmond's civil war museum and historic St. John's church. Fly or bus home from Richmond.
Day 1: Washington DC
Day 2: Washington DC
Day 3: Historic Virginia
Insider Tip(s) - Enjoy one or more of the authentic tavern meals in the region.
When to go - Travel year-round to this region. There will be a few snowy weeks in the winter and a few weeks of hot and humid weather in the summer.
Cost (air and bus) -
3 days / 2 nights in Historic Virginia and Washington DC “air” costs $1,100 to $2,100
3 days / 2 nights in Historic Virginia and Washington DC “bus” costs $900 to $1,900
Middle School Students - Rank ordered based on accessibility, cost, connection to curriculum, and fun. Note: There is a slim margin of difference between 1 and 5.
High school and College Students - Rank ordered based on accessibility, cost, connection to curriculum, and fun. Note: There is a slim margin of difference between 1 and 5.
The Plan for a Successful Three-Day Trip
Minimize transportation time. Stay in hotels near the city center. If you're planning a two-city trip schedule driving time at night. Drive after dinner and arrive at your hotel at bedtime. Avoid travel time so that you and your students can experience the most a city or region has to offer.
Three days is ample time for your trip to have an impact. Your trip is fun and has tremendous value for your students. On a trip, you watch your students learn and grow in ways that are much different from the classroom.
On a three-day trip, you and your students will experience a trip that you will never forget. When you get home, you'll feel great. Your trip was fun and memorable. You led a memory maker trip.
If you want to learn more about leading a three-day trip (or any length of time), schedule a quick call with us. We want to help you create a memory-making trip for your students.