An educational tour package provides students an opportunity to learn beyond the four walls of the classroom. Students can learn and experience history and science in different ways in various parts of the country. India’s New Education Policy 2020 promotes learning through different and new pedagogies.
At Ease India Travel, we provide such services through Virya School Trips, our division of educational tour packages to different destinations like Hampi, Bastar, Ladakh, Mishmi Hills, Andaman, Bhutan, Rajasthan, Nag Tibba, and the Statue of Unity. Each of our tour packages provides learning with safety and security. Schools can approach us for tour packages tailored to their requirements.
A Stone Chariot and a Student Who Taught a Lesson with no Textbook
While on a school educational tour to Hampi, a student from class 7 was at the Vittala Temple along with his teachers and other students. A teacher on the tour told the students that the stone chariot was carved from a single stone.
The student politely corrected the teacher and told the rest of the students that the stone chariot was made from several pieces of stone and the joints were hidden from the view. He also showed the joints to the students. The teacher on the tour, nodded in approval to the student’s explanation.
A couple of students from the tour later went to the musical pillars where a student from class 9 who rarely spoke with the school tour teacher, asked a series of questions to the guide about acoustics. The teacher later said that she could not remember when and where she had seen the student so enthusiastic.
None of the chapters on the yet-to-be-drafted school syllabi captured the essence of that afternoon like a place did. It illustrates the reason the best schools in India have partnered with Ease India Travel to integrate learning adventures into the curriculum. It tells the reason they have incorporated educational tours into the learning philosophy of their schools.
The Latest Trends in Educational Travel in India
The school trip used to mean taking a huge group of noisy children on a bus to the nearest picnic spot. Several of those trips meant a school management job. That model is being revised.
Learning Outdoors
The NEP 2020 encourages inquiry and adaptation from the current systems which promote memorization. In the process of adoption and implementation of the policy, a host of other shifts will occur. One of such shifts will involve academic institutions identifying a hundred (100) tourism destinations in India and sending students to carry out advanced studies on the history, science and culture of those regions.
In the same spirit, the Ministry of Education, in 2024, directed all schools to organize at least ten (10) bag less excursions for students of classes VI to VIII. Furthermore, the CJBE, in the same year, instructed all affiliated schools to have experiential (learning by doing) trips as the centerpiece of teaching.
From the foregoing, learning (teaching) beyond the confines of the class is the new normal.
Students Who Think and Act Like Adults
The values of the students are not misaligned with those of the adults. The students of today want to understand the essence of a place they visit. These values are influencing the way they travel. Sustaining this positive trend will prove beneficial for the society.
What Educational Institutions Choose a Specialist Over a Bus and Booking
Teachers have numerous responsibilities including lesson preparation, assessment, and communication with parents. Planning school trips adds to this mounting work pressure. A customized school tour package alleviates the burden of teachers and staff by taking care of the following:
- Ensuring the safety of students during the trip including transport and accommodation and responding to emergency situations.
- Ensuring that the tour promotes and reinforces the lesson plans of students.
- Providing services of tour guides who can explain activities in a language that children can understand.
- Providing Food that caters to dietary restrictions of children
- Employing First Aid and Medical Personnel
- Carrying out effective communication with parents
Additional Information for Principals and Coordinators
Trips to destinations such as Ladakh should be planned well in advance. The learning objective has to be defined first and then a destination has to be selected, keeping in mind the subject and level of the students.
Parents have to be given a copy of the itinerary and trip plan well in advance to obtain consent. The trip plan has to be elaborative enough to facilitate post trip presentation by students and bring closure to the learning process.
If your school has defined its learning objectives for the coming year, Ease India Travel can plan school trips to help accomplish these objectives. To request a school itinerary, please fill out this form.
Meaning of Virya
The term Virya has its origin in Sanskrit, and refers to zeal, exertion, and endeavor. Within Buddhist Orthodoxy, it denotes one of the paramitas. In the Yoga Sutras, it coalesces with other limbs such as faith, memory, and awareness.
Ease India Travel has based its business on this concept, and has accordingly named the company, and the journey opportunities it provides. It aims to facilitate students to rediscover their zeal, and to help them re-orient and heighten their consciousness as well as contribute to students’ physiological well being.
Virya Destinations: Nine Classrooms Without Walls
The focus of the various destinations is to offer innovative and immersive experiences.
Hampi, Karnataka
Students are offered an opportunity to explore the ruins of the Vijayanagara Empire, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as other scientific enigmas in the field of acoustics and engineering.
Ladakh
The high altitude arid region, offers landscapes rich in geology and climatology, and reinforces the understanding of sustainability as it integrates the practices of Buddhist Monasticism. The immersive experience and opportunities offered by the region helps students to teach, and practice mindfulness.
Geography, environmental science, and outdoor education
Mishmi Hills, Arunachal Pradesh
Within the Eastern Himalaya, the Mishmi Hills are home to several endemic plant and animal species. Students collect data on biodiversity and learn about traditional knowledge and practices of forest-dwelling communities.
Biology and cultural studies
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Young students discover coral reefs and other marine ecosystems. Older students study the Indian freedom struggle at the Cellular Jail in Port Blair.
Modern Indian history and marine science
Bhutan
With a focus on the Greater Himalaya, students study Bhutan’s commitment to conservation and well-being of its citizens.
Civics and environmental studies
Rajasthan
Historically, culturally and scientifically, students explore a range of forts and palaces. Students observe desert ecosystems. In Jaipur, students explore a large astronomical observatory.
History, astronomy, and ecology
Nag Tibba, Uttarakhand
Nearby from Dehradun, students hike to a 3,000 meter high campsite and enjoy the wilderness.
Leadership and outdoor education
Statue of Unity, Gujarat
Students cross the Narmada to explore modern Indian engineering and architecture. On site, students learn about Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and the integration of India.
Engineering and Civics
The Difference Ease India Travel Makes
There are many tour operators that can book your transport and lodging. Very few can design itineraries to incorporate how children learn best. Ease India Travel can, and does.
Learning Through Experience
Experience Travel® is the hallmark of all Virya journeys. There are countless opportunities for children to observe, wonder, discuss and interact with their peers; all while developing their interests and confidence.
No Compromise on Safety
Parents select schools for their children based on trust. Schools select Ease India Travel based on the same principle. Some of the measures that protect our clients’ trust include:
- A team of medical personnel on-call and available throughout the school trip.
- Medically trained staff who escort the trip, if required, and trusted local tour operators
- Safe and Secure Accommodation
- Careful trip itinerary planning to account for potential risks and challenges
Healthy and Hearty Food
All meals are served during the trips to help students remain alert and focused. Each meal includes different food groups and helps meet students’ nutritional requirements.
The Right Balance
Depending on your school’s location, a tour can include topics on biodiversity, history, culture and other areas that align to the national curriculum.
Moments Worth Waiting For
Postcard worthy sights and experiences on a Virya tour stay with students for a lifetime.
Questions Schools Frequently Ask
Can we customize a tour for our students?
Absolutely! Each Virya tour can be aligned to your students’ age, interests, and focus; as well as your school’s budget and duration constraints.
How in Advance Should We Book Our Tours?
Three to four months in advance is the minimum to secure your school’s booking to popular destinations like Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar, and Bhutan.
Medical Emergencies
Medical professionals are placed on our trips to help students in case of a medical emergency. There is 24/7 medical help available for our employees and students.
Do you help schools communicate with parents?
Ease India Travel helps schools send itineraries to parents and offers schools a way to share their safety and security protocols with the parents prior to the trip.
What kind of memories do your school trips make?
The chaperone may not be remembered by the boy from Hampi, but he will remember the joints hidden in the stone chariot. A well planned school trip can transform a student’s interest in history and other subjects.
Plan Your Next School Trip
Teachers, school staff, parents and students all deserve the very best and Virya School Trips by Ease India Travel is the best partner to help plan school trips.
To help schools plan the next school trip, customized itineraries can be requested at Ease India Travel’s Virya School Trips.
