Plastic in Our Oceans affects the Caribbean and Panama
October 16, 2020At first glance, this picture of a beautiful, serene beach on the San Blas Islands of Panama looks pristine, but in reality, it is hiding a dirty secret, millions of small broken shards of plastic mixed in with its sand.
We live in a disposable plastic world. We eat out of plastic, drink out of plastic and just about everything around us has some plastic in it. It fills our world’s landfills, lakes, streams, and oceans and unlike organic waste, it doesn’t break down. You can’t burn it like paper without releasing toxic fumes into the air. The only way to deal with plastic is to recycle it. Unfortunately, many countries don’t have an effective waste management system and that plastic doesn’t get recycled. It may not even make it to a landfill. Many people often discard their trash improperly because they just don’t see why proper disposal is important. Often it ends up in the ocean where it washes up on the shores of countries like Panama and its neighbors, the San Blas Islands.
Your Risk of Covid on a United Airlines Flight is Practically Non-Existent
October 15, 2020The U.S. Department of Defense conducted a study with the cooperation of United Airlines to determine the risk of getting Covid on a flight. They discovered the chances of getting sick are .003%! Click to read the study below. Please note it does take a few minutes to load.
Virtual Immersion Experiences
October 5, 2020ViVamonos is an educational live platform that connects classrooms with remote and unique destinations in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean. Students and teachers can enjoy safe, high quality, live sessions with cultural ambassadors, experts, and leaders that can provide new perspectives in real time. Get the chance to provide a broader global awareness using technological tools to create interactive activities. Workshops, chats, cooking classes, and virtual choir concerts are few of the activities that educators can use as an extra educational resource. Programs are customized to the class level, and time and day, with no extra logins.
View our catalog for our list of activities including seasonal experiences.
Let’s Go There!
September 22, 2020
SYTA Road Scholar Application Now Open
September 21, 2020SYTA is now taking applications for the Road Scholar program until November 13th. A Road Scholarship is financial aid granted to individuals or groups who are nominated by a teacher or youth group leader and who meet criteria within five categories:
- Achievement – Accomplishment in the student or group’s area of focus.
- Need – Financial. Cultural. Linguistic. Home life hardship.
- Initiative/Involvement – Preparation financially or through enrichment activities.
- Service/Citizenship – Student citizenship within the classroom or community. Family service in the military or as a first-responder.
- Connection – Relevance to student or group’s area of focus.
Staying Hydrated While Traveling
June 26, 2020SYTA has published an article on the importance of staying hydrated while traveling. You can read the article by clicking the link below. Vamonos Tours also recognizes the importance of staying hydrated. We provide each of our travelers with a reusable Nalgene water bottle and remind our students to fill it frequently throughout the day.
Tips For Keeping Students Hydrated On The RoadCovid-19 Safety Standards
June 10, 2020The safety and well-being of our travelers is Vamonos’ top priority. Beginning on June 1st, 2020, we are implementing additional safety measures to protect our travelers during and after this crisis. These protections are not just for our groups but also for our staff. Our preventative measures are geared to protect our travelers and staff from any spread of Covid19.
LivExperiences + Google
May 26, 2020We are now offering virtual tours and trips through our ViVámonos.com website. For a preview of our new ViTrip offerings view the video below. You can find a list of all the ViTrips we offer on our ViTrips page.
Everyone is talking about Puerto Rico!
May 22, 2020
The Benefits of Working with a SYTA Tour Operator
SYTA recently published a blog post on the benefits of working with a SYTA member tour operator. Below is a brief excerpt from the article. Clic the button to read the full post.
One of the greatest advantages to using a tour operator, rather than plan a student group trip on your own, is benefitting from the relationships that operators have with various vendors, such as hotels and attractions. Operators cultivate these relationships over many years through networking, conferences and meetings with associations such as SYTA. As a result, the tour operators build volume over time and that means leverage in securing group rates, VIP access and tickets that an individual would not be able to get on their own.