Mountain Treks & Expeditions
Fancy getting into the heart of the mountains, up near the snow line and even taking in a summit or two? The mountain expedition programmes that we run are adventurous treks with our instructors alongside you so that we can take in exciting terrain. You will cover some amazing terrain and stay in traditional mountain huts (or similar basic accommodation).
AE operates a transparent pricing policy across all programmes - it is important to us that you know exactly how much each participant has to pay from the outset - there are no hidden extras.
Mountain treks & expeditions start from £90.00 per person, per day (depending on location) and include all instructor and accommodation costs (travel costs and food costs are additional to this). Overseas programmes are usually run over eight days with some R&R time built in for sightseeing after the expedition phase. As a costing example, an 8 day expedition to Slovenia (departing the UK on Saturday morning and returning home again the following Saturday evening) would cost £720.00 per person.
Plan your programme with us here
DofE Expeditions Overseas
Taking your pupils overseas for their DofE expedition is an extremely rewarding experience and often the culmination of several years of DofE awards and training.
AE offers a range of adventurous overseas locations that are designed to be a little bit different - our aim is to choose adventurous locations where your teams can choose the level of challenge to suit them while heading into beautiful and inspiring terrain, all while balancing time and cost.
Destinations are designed to be memorable for both participants and leaders but stress-free to arrange and organise.
Full DofE Overseas Information
Adventurous Journeys
AE works with a number of schools undertaking The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award each year to plan and undertake exciting Adventurous Journey options either in the UK or overseas.
We are keen to help schools and colleges achieve the Adventurous Journey that their pupils wish to have, whatever level of challenge or type of environment they would like to visit best.
Over the past 10 years we have worked with organisations from all over the World including Thailand, Nigeria, Spain, Kenya, Germany and Holland - many on an annual basis, forging links between countries and visiting different beautiful areas for Adventurous Journeys as friends.
We have staff who have undertaken training with The International Award to ensure that programmes you attend with AE can be signed off as official ITA Adventurous Journeys.
More Adventurous Journey Information
Morocco Winter Summits Week
Get ready for an exciting mix of Berber hospitality, crisp mountain air and snowy treks in our Morocco Winter Summits week.
Each year, AE works with students to plan and undertake a very special Winter trekking expedition in the February half-term or Easter sunshine of Morocco. We'll plan our itinerary, routes and the peaks that we'd like to trek up, culminating in a possible ascent of Jebel Toubkal, the highest point in North Africa (conditions permitting) where you can look out and see the edge of the Sahara Desert on a clear day.
Our week starts by arriving in Marrakech before transferring to the mountains to get used to our surroundings and begin trekking a little higher. The snowline varies each year and as we make our way higher each day we'll stay in either Berber lodges or mountain huts with local fare and warm Berber hospitality to greet us each afternoon. Evenings spent under clear skies and crisp air give wonderful evenings together looking at stars or around the fire - great for relaxing away from everyday life for a little while.
Instructors are experienced at working in and around the snowline and we will learn techniques during our days of trekking and acclimatising - using ice axes and crampons if we need them and feeling confident in doing so.
Programmes last 6 - 8 days depending on your preferences and cost is £90.00 per person, per day (including accommodation, food, equipment and instructors).
An ideal option for February half-term or an early January escape and a great alternative to school ski trips.
Plan a 2022 Moroccan programme here
Combining adventure with the curriculum
Opportunities for learning and development are inherent within the adventurous activities that we design for overseas programmes and we always ensure that fun and adventure are integral to everything that we do.
However, the majority of our overseas locations are chosen to give interesting and inspiring options around the adventurous elements and many of these are easily embedded into curriculum learning.
Some examples:
- Mountain environments, upland environments, fieldwork, glaciology, fluvial geomorphology (all mountainous areas);
- Settlements, travel, tourism, cultural studies, human geography (all locations);
- History and religious studies (Poland & Slovakia with excursion to Auschwitz and Schindler Factory Museum);
- Volcanoes (Iceland);
- English and literary studies (Transylvanian Alps).
Locations
The all important factor for your programme!
We want to craft the programme that you and your students want with the right level of challenge, adventure and excitement - you can dial this up or down across the programme to ensure that everyone has a great time with lasting memories.
Take a look at the overseas locations that we have developed via the link below - these have proven to be popular for a number of reasons but in particular because they are rather unique and aim to get away from the usual offerings for young people. The expertise within our instructor team also means that we can keep adventure levels high and often give a range of options based on your aims and needs.
If you have a location in mind that isn't on our list or would like to explore somewhere in particular then do get in touch for a chat - some of our overseas locations have developed in this way and have been exciting partnerships with our schools and colleges to work on.
Check out some of our overseas locations
Instructors, Safety, Expertise
All AE overseas programmes are developed and run by qualified International Mountain Leaders or Mountaineering and Climbing Instructors. Using qualified and experienced instructors means that we can maximise the safety of your students without compromising on the adventure and authenticity of what your students experience.
All participants are given full briefings and training in emergency procedures for their chosen location and carry individual Safety Cards specific to the country that we are operating in that act as an ‘aide memoire’ in the event of an emergency.
Back in the UK, the Adventure Expeditions HQ acts to coordinate all expedition operations and provide support to leaders in the field, 24/7. We are also supported by Pharos Emergency Response Services who can lend immediate expertise in case of incident and emergency. For more information on how we manage safety and the licences, quality badges and insurance that we hold, please click below.
Safety & Quality Assurance