
High School Student Tours
Teachers: Looking for Educational Excursions for Your Students?
You've come to the right place. Our educational trips in Cairns, Sydney and The Red Centre give students opportunities to dig deep into culture, ecology, marine biology and adventure. We take care of all arrangements: airport pick ups, meals, guides, accommodation and educational activites.
Our Tours Are Not "Bus Trips".
They are a collection of experiences that get young people into the natural world rather than viewing it from the window of a bus. Our guides facilitate authentic hands-on educational excursions, with your academic goals incorporated into the trip.
Students snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef and simultaneously survey coral predators. They can spot the endangered cassowary during a stay in the Daintree Rainforest or see first hand effects of climate change on a rapidly disappearing population of highlands animals. They can learn from modern-day cowboys to milk the cows and crack whips or make a didgeridoo under the gentle tutelage of an aboriginal elder.
Through one of our pre-set itineraries or a custom-designed trip, students and teachers have a choice of authentic experiences that bring them closer to understanding the natural sciences and aboriginal culture of Australia.
Student Excursion Itineraries:
Ecosystems At Risk
Featuring The Great Barrier Reef and The Wet Tropics
Marine Studies, Rainforest Ecology and Aboriginal Culture
Length: 5 days/ 4 nights
Cost: $795 per student
Under The Sea: Marine Science
An Adventure at The Inner and Outer Great Barrier Reef
Marine Studies and Biology, Community Service at the Reef and Earning a SCUBA Diving Certification
Length: 8 days/ 7 nights
Cost: $1795 per student
Kangaroos Jackaroos & Didgeridoos
A Sample of Aussie Culture & Animals
Wildlife Service Project, Snorkelling The Reef, Outback Cattle Station & Making a Didgeridoo
Length: 7 days/ 6 nights
Cost: $1495 per student
Raft, Ropes & Reef
Team-Building and Adventure
Climbing and Abseiling, Whitewater Rafting, Ropes Course, Hiking and Sailing the Reef
Length: 7 days/ 6 nights
Cost: $1345 per student
Sustainability Studies - 8 Days
Business, Government & Community Methods for Protecting Our Natural Resources
Study how different sectors of Australian society come together to protect our natural living resources.
Length: 8 days/ 7 nights
Cost: $1645 per student
Sustainability Studies - 6 Days
A shorter version of the trip above.
Length: 6 days/ 5 nights
Cost: $1295 per student
Red Centre Rock and Culture
Central Australia’s Icons and Indigenous Culture
Aboriginal Culture, Community Service, and Uluru/Kata-Tjuta (Ayers Rock/The Olgas)
Length: 8 days/ 7 nights
Cost: $1695 per student
Sydney Highlights
The “Can’t Miss” Sites in the City by The Harbour
Sydney Aquarium, Wildlife Park, Aboriginal Culture Centre and The Blue Mountains
Length: 4 days/ 3 nights
Cost: $675 per student
Sydney Culture & History
A Look At Modern Culture and Convict History
Archaeologist for the Day, TV Station Visit, Opera House Performance and “Ghost Tour”
Length: 4 days/ 3 nights
Cost: $795 per student
Sydney Adventure
An Action-Packed Tour For Excitement Seekers
Surfing Lessons, Bridge Climb, Sea Kayaking and Overnight at The Taronga Zoo
Length: 4 days/ 3 nights
Cost: $895 per student
Custom Educational Excursion Modules:
Great Barrier Reef Marine Biology 
The ultimate underwater classroom! The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's most spectacular natural wonders. Its biodiversity is unparalleled. Why not use this living laboratory as a teaching tool?
Our marine biology programs honour the lure of the sea. Our marine biologist can teach the basics of coral and fish identification, reef ecology and marine conservation, or offer more advanced hands-on experiences.
More on our Great Barrier Reef programs
Rainforest Ecology
The Wet Tropics has the oldest continually surviving tropical rainforests on earth. Home to animal and plant species found nowhere else on the planet, this region is a perfect living classroom.
Walk with our zoologist to discover ecosystems at risk, find nocturnal endemic species with our wildlife expert, and engage in hands-on projects meant to bring discussion topics to life.
Read more our Rainforest Ecology programs
Aboriginal Culture - Cairns
The Kuku Yalanji aboriginal people are Australia's last remaning rainforest tribe that have retained their own language and culture. Encounter these traditional owners as well as the Yidinji and Djabugay and participate in art projects, making didgeridoos, traditional hunting & fishing and rainforest walks.
Aboriginal Culture - The Red Centre
Meet and stay with the gentle Luritja aboriginal people who have called central Australia home for thousands of years, and through a community service project you will come to understand a different side of Australia. Stay in a remote indigenous community, and through the stories you hear and the people you meet you will experience the history and culture of Australia's aboriginal people in new ways.
Community Service Projects
Volunteering provides an important pathway for personal growth and leadership development. It also can trigger a sense of empathy and cultural understanding while simultaneously helping a community.
Whether assisting at an aged care facility in an aboriginal community, staying overnight to help at an animal refuge, or collecting seeds to aid with rainforest species propagation, come together for a common goal to contribute.
Homestay Program
During a stay with a host family, students discover the lives of "regular" Australians, rather than just people working in tourism. Students experience first- hand the similarities and differences that exist between their cultures, which adds depth to their experience of Australia.
Our Guides
Our guides stop for ice cream. But that's not the only fun thing they do. Our guides are enthusiastic, responsible, creative, and knowledgeable people who love working with high school students. They are teachers, wildlife experts, outdoor educators, field guide authors, aboriginal guides and zoologists. They have experience leading groups of young people, and know the area intimately.
Our guides are government approved to work with children (i.e. have a "Blue Card"), certified in CPR and Senior First Aid and their first aid kit is always within arm's reach. They can run the show, or simply support your leaders. Best of all, they also know how to create fun. Can they lead a game of charades? Check. Know the best swimming holes? Check. And stop for double-fudge chocolate cones? You bet.
Safety
Our safety record is immaculate. Hundreds of students have travelled with us, and while a few have received some minor cuts and scratches, there has never been an injury requiring a hospital visit. We evaluate all risks, and Risk Assessments are provided to you for your educational trip on request.
Show Your Students You're Environmentally & Socially Conscious.
We are proud to say that we are a carbon-neutral company--rare in the travel industry, but most certainly appreciated by your students. Small World Journeys pays to offset the carbon emissions that result from all of our office activities and our trips.
Through Sustainable Travel International (STI), our emissions are calculated and offset by our financial support of sustainability projects around the world, all of which are in the ClimateCare™ portfolio. We also make financial and in-kind donations to local conservation and indigenous community groups. For more information on our responsible tourism practices, see 10 Reasons Why We're Eco
Group Leaders Travel Free.
We understand being a group leader can be rewarding, but can be challenging work as well. Therefore, we want to make sure all of your land costs are taken care of. With every 8 paying participants, you are entitled to one leader free of charge. It's our way of saying thanks for your hard work.
Questions welcome, even the silly ones.
We realise you are, in most cases, responsible for a large groups of young people, and therefore subject to a host of parent questions and worries. No worries, we're used to this. We will patiently answer all of your questions (even if you think they're silly ones!) and endeavour to put your mind--and parents minds--at ease.



