Sojourntraveller

Have you ever taken or considered a 'learning vacation' rather than just a 'sightseeing vacation'?

Over the years I have done this many times rather than just taking a 'normal' vacation somewhere. It's an alternative to consider, I am not suggesting doing it every time but perhaps sometimes.

When I say 'learning vacation', I mean a specific activity that has some structure to it. Some are courses that see you actually gaining some kind of certification and some are not.

So for example, someone might book a week long scuba diving course which leads to certification. You can take an Italian cooking course in Italy for a day or a week and there is no certification involved but plenty of satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment to be had.

I think a lot of people think this kind of thing costs more money than a 'normal' vacation. I believe that is a fallacy. For example, one of the first such trips I took was a sailing course in the British Virgin Islands. It cost less to take the course and liveaboard on the boat than it would have for a week in a hotel on shore.

Some of the best opportunities to find this kind of thing is through colleges/universities who often have off-site courses they offer. Others are offered by organizations, foundations, etc. For example, I joined an archeological dig in New Mexico one year through the http://www.crowcanyon.org/index.php/...search-program

Often the courses offered by colleges/univesities, etc. are done on a non-profit basis. They organize everything and arrange group bookings (usually at a discount) for flights, hotels, rentals, etc. which saves you money. Doing the same thing through a profit making company would cost you more. Again as an example, I have took several sailing courses through a local college at a cost which was at least a third less than a saling company like Sunsail would charge.

Many of these trips by colleges/universities are not limited to students but at the same time, will get you university 'credits' if you want them and/or certification of some kind. ie. Sailing courses get you internationally recognized certifications. Some courses are student only but you may enroll as a 'mature' student. Some have prerequisites and others don't. For some examples of more ambitions courses requiring a bit deeper pockets perhaps, that a typical university might offer, have a look here: https://www.summerabroad.utoronto.ca/
I would consider a 5 week course in Sienna for $7k CAD value for money.

These kind of trips can be found for almost any activity you can think of. What they have in common is that you 'learn' something. They are not to be confused with tours which are organized and in which you participate but do not in fact contain any actual teaching and learning.

An example of that would be a walking tour through the Swiss Alps for a week. Your 'leader' might impart some local knowledge etc. along the way but it isn't really about you being taught anything or learning anything. It's just a guided walk. Nothing wrong with that but it is not what I am referring to as a 'learning vacation'.

So what interests do you have that you have taken a learning vacation around or might consider taking one around?

annhig

hi ST,

i really agree with you, and have done several sorts of "learning holidays" over the years from activities like sailing and skiing to learning italian. In fact in February I'm hoping to attend what will be my 4th language school in Italy.

as you say, the extra cost is usually not a great deal if you compare with the other things you might be doing if you weren't learning.