American Council For International Studies

This last spring I took a group of high school students to Rome, and I am so glad that I selected ACIS as the educational travel company to help me plan the trip and then to take such good care of me and my students throughout. First of all, our tour manager (Colin) took the time to get to know every student on the trip, as well as the adults. So that although we had a set itinerary, whenever anything came up that he thought might speak to student interest, he made that an option. He made our entire trip a collaborative effort in which the students and teachers had a voice. He was incredibly knowledgeable, spoke fluent Italian, was caring and patient (a must), down to earth, a great problem solver, easy going, and fun to boot. The students had an amazing time, thanks to him, and they hated saying goodbye to him.
But he is also supported by an amazing staff. When our luggage was lost by the airlines, the good people at ACIS in the US and in France and Italy never flagged in their efforts to trace the luggage. Granted, there is only so much one can do when Air France and Delta and Italy all conspire against you, but they never gave up and were in constant touch, and we did get our luggage back! Also, for those who opted for a higher level of insurance for their children, ACIS paid out cash to compensate for those kids without luggage for more than 24 hours. So I do suggest that if your child is traveling with ACIS that you opt for the higher level of insurance. It was a godsend.
Two other things in particular that made ACIS the best choice:
1. The hotel we had in Rome a 2-​minute walk from the Tiber, and a10−20 minute walk from everything else (Pantheon, Ara Pacis, Forum, Coliseum, Vatican, Bridge of Angels, you name it). That gave us so much freedom to explore the area easily in small groups and revisit sites when we had free time. The kids became familiar with the area so knew how to navigate their way back to the Pantheon and their favorite gelato and coffee shops on our last free afternoon. Central location of hotels is key. And the hotel was very, very nice, too.
2. Money: apart from the tips for the tour manager and bus driver that we had collected in advance, there were no hidden costs, no points at which students had to dig in their wallets for any cash. EVERYTHING (apart from lunches and souvenirs) was included in the price: walking tours, museums, archaeological sites, hotels, ground transportation, breakfasts and dinners. That made life so much easier and simpler for the students and the teachers.
I can’t imagine going with another educational travel company.
Thank you, ACIS.
Frances Spaltro
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools