Backpacking the World with Teenagers with them able to continue their education is certainly possible if you live in Australia.
All the issues of how they can complete their schooling while backpacking have been solved.
The big bonus is, that they have a chance to explore and learn about new country’s and cultures along the way whilst completing their studies.
Jaranan dancers, Banguwangi, Java, Indonesia
In 2012 my wife and I decided to do a long trip starting from Perth, Western Australia to Europe via South East Asia. This was an opportunity to tick off some of our Bucket List.
One of the 3 lakes in the Kelimutu National Park, Flores, Indonesia
My 15 year son Zack from a previous marriage wanted to stay with us, but I was not prepared to spend the next two years in Australia so I suggested that he could come with us.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
HOW WE DID IT
The first issue of course was that he had two more years of high school to complete. Year 11/12. (16 to 17 years old)
With a bit of research I had found out about a Distance education course that he could do whist travelling and investigated the possibilities there. w
Welcome to the School of Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE)www.side.wa.edu.au based in Leederville. SIDE is the center of distance and online learning within the Department of Education and provides quality education for students who for various reasons cannot attend classes in a regular school.
With a bit of organization between SIDE and his high school, an interview and a small fee, all that was needed was the text books for the first year, Year 11. We brought a small wheeled suitcase for him to carry his text books, with his small backpack it was not too much extra to carry.
The major requirement whilst travelling was that there was access to good internet so Zack could complete his course work. Through the internet he was able to have:
- Synchronous, real-time communication, via the Department’s WebEx web-conferencing platform. Students have access to scheduled ‘live’ instruction.
- Asynchronous. 24/7 access. Moodle is used to deliver curriculum materials and facilitate student and staff collaboration online.
Our accommodation on the road would be small hotels laterooms guesthouses booking.com and in Europe mostly Airbnb with good wifi.
Brandenburg Gate, Berlin,Germany
Whilst travelling we had to plan our movements to coincide with the weekends so as to be in accommodation with wifi during the week. Sometimes it was not possible.
ON THE ROAD
On the road in Western Australia
We began our trip from Perth Australia by hiring a Britz Camper Van to take on a one way journey to Darwin. It was a 17 day 5300 kilometer journey.
Schooling on the road in Western Australia
We flew from Darwin to East Timor with Air North ,and then carried on travelling overland through Indonesia up into Malaysia, then into Cambodia.
END OF YEAR 11 EXAMS
From Phom Penh, Cambodia my son flew with Air Asia back to Perth to complete his Year 11 exams.
Jaranan dancers, Banguwangi, Java, Indonesia
While he was in Perth, my wife and I carried on travelling through Vietnam and Laos. Then we flew to Sri Lanka from Kuala Lumpur, Air Asia and spent a month travelling around the island.
Hanging out at Angkor Wat in Cambodia
From Sri Lanka we flew back to Kuala Lumpur, where we met my son who was now carrying his Year 12 text books.
We then flew to London with Royal Brunei to begin the European leg.
London Bridge, London, England
Easyjet took us to Porto in Portugal where we spent 3 weeks in an Airbnb apartment. This was our first Airbnb accommodation. From Porto we traveled to Lisbon and onto Spain by bus Eurolines. From Barcelona we flew to Rome Ryanair then overland to London via Italy and France using Trainline.
Porto, Portugal
MID YEAR 12 EXAMS
My son’s mid year exam was conducted with an organized and approved Supervisor in London. The exam was conducted over several days. The Supervisor was responsible for organizing the return of the exam papers to SIDE in Perth, Australia.
Place of Parliament, Bucharest, Romania
From England we flew to Zagreb Easyjet, Croatia to continue travelling overland throughout Eastern Europe then up to Berlin. A flight with Easy Jet got us to Athens with another to Istanbul with Pegasus flypgs.com/en , Turkey. Istanbul was the final stop to a 16 month adventure.
The Bridge in Mostar. Bosnia & Herzegovina
BACK HOME
By now my son was an experienced traveler and was able to fly back to Perth, Australia with Malaysia Airlines, to finish his final Year 12 exams . My wife and I returned to Bali, Indonesia.
I am sure with a little bit of research in most developed countries, you could do the same. It enables you to be able to continue backpacking long term whilst bringing up a family.
The overall experience for my son did not adversely effect his education. He was able to complete the required work along the way. Completing the days work in the mornings which gave him time to explore in the afternoons.
The experience has certainly helped with his chosen occupation and he continues to travel whenever he can.
A quote from Zack. “It gave me a lot of exposure to the outside world, and a lot of knowledge that I would not have received from school. Perhaps if it weren’t for that trip, I am not sure whether I would be as interested in exploring other parts of the world or certainly not with the motivation I have now”
I would highly recommend doing the same.
The sun setting on another adventure.
If you enjoyed reading this post, how about checking out my other backpacking posts: Backpacking-overland-from-luxor-to-capetown
OUR OVERALL BACKPACKING COSTS
Here are our costs for the overall trip:
Travelling in Western Europe was approximately AUD$160 per day for 3 people, and Eastern Europe AUD $134 per day.
Expenses includes:
Accommodation, Transport, Personal and Food. For food we mainly shopped at local supermarkets and cooked ourselves in the Airbnb accommodation.
| AUSTRALIA TO EUROPE | 2012/2013 |
| AIRFARES | A$6,643.85 |
| TRAVEL INSURANCE | A$1,232.00 |
| OTHER EXPENSES | A$52,836.85 |
| TOTAL COST | A$60,712.70 |
| DAYS TRAVELED | 466 |
| AVE COST | A$130.28 |
| PER PERSON (3) | A$43.43 |
| COUNTRY’S VISITED | 27 |
RESOURCES
- ACCOMODATION
- TRANSPORT
- TRAVEL INSURANCE