Tour Europe by Bike with Teen Treks!

This summer, see Britain, France, Belgium and Holland the best way -- by bike!

 

On this incredible 4-country European Phantom tour, you’ll bike through major cities and quaint villages in Britain, France, Belgium, and Holland in 28 days.  If you've never been to Europe, this is a wonderful introduction, and if you're an old hand at international travel, it's still a jam-packed trip you'll never forget.

 

Spend 3 days each in London, Paris, and Amsterdam, plus visit beautiful Bruges and Ghent.

Get to know the music, history, landscape, traditions and food in each of these fantastic, bike-friendly countries.  You'll visit world-famous museums like the Louvre and monuments like Stonehenge, eat at great pubs and local restaurants, stay in hostels and hotels, and do a little camping out between the cities.

On your first day, you'll visit Windsor Castle and head out toward Stonehenge. After your first taste of the English countryside, a ferry will take you to France.

.

 You'll see the Notre Dame Cathedral in Rouen, and then bike along the Seine, visiting Monet's house and gardens at Giverny, touring the spectacular Palace of Versailles, and continuing on into Paris.

The Eiffel Tower is only the beginning of your adventures in Paris!  You'll also see the Arc de Triomphe and the rest of the Champs-Elysees, breathtaking architecture at Montmartre, and much, much more.  You'll dine in charming sidewalk cafes and immerse yourself in Paris' one-of-a-kind culture.

A train will carry you to Belgium, where you’ll bike between the beautiful cities of Bruges and Ghent, seeing more stunning medieval architecture, enjoying more delicious food -- including Belgian chocolate! -- and traveling alongside the canals that run through these cities. 

Then it’s on to the Netherlands to bike through Amsterdam, a city with centuries of history and culture, plenty of quirk, and, believe it or not, the occasional bicycle traffic jam. You’ll visit the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and the Anne Frank House here. 

Another ferry will bring you back to Great Britain to cycle through green, rolling East Anglia, with a stop in Cambridge, and finally you’ll spend 3 days exploring cosmopolitan London before your flight home. 

Our European Phantom Trek features moderate biking (30-50 miles per day) and camping as well as stays in hostels and hotels.  Teenagers entering grades 10-12 can enjoy this amazing tour, which is loaded beginning to end with things to see and do.  We’re running two European Phantom treks this summer:

• June 25 - July 24 (trip code EP-JN25)
• July 2 - July 31 (trip code EP-J2)

Slots are filling quickly on these popular trips, so reserve your spot now!

Visit TeenTreks.com to apply to bike the European Phantom with us, or sign up for one of our other super trips: Across America, New York City – Montreal, Pacific Northwest, California Coast, New England Shore, Amsterdam-Paris, Maine Coast -- and more!

Farewell European Phantom Trekkers!

It has been a fantastic 28 days for our European Trekkers.  And today, the Trek returned to London's Heathrow airport to bid farewell to out well traveled Trekkers.  From castles to beaches, city streets and quiet pastures the Trekkers have toured England, France, the Netherlands and Belgium in two wheeled style.  We wish all of the Trekkers the best as they safely Travel to the countries of Canada, Germany and the USA.

London

Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England

Normandy region, France

Rouen, France

Paris

Bruges, NL

Ghent, Belgium

Ghent,Belgium

Amsterdam

Rural Holland

Rural England

Along the River Cam, England

European Phantom 2013

Oh, the places you've gone!  Teen Treks hopes the rest of your summer is as exciting as the past five weeks.  Bon voyage, merci and cheers!

European Phantom Photos from Versailles and Paris

We've got a delightful update from Taylor and Kate about the Trekkers' time in France:

 

"The European Phantom crew had an unforgettable three days in Paris. We spent Saturday morning at the palace of Versailles seeing how the French royalty used to live (among lots of gold items and giant paintings of themselves.) Then we rode to our hostel in the city. We were lucky to discover a concert in the plaza nearby, so we grabbed a quick dinner and checked it out.

On Sunday we spent the afternoon on a walking tour, during which our tour guide told us tons of stories about Paris' history and monuments. (Did you know that on statues, the position of the horse's legs tells how they died? The front legs in the air means that the rider died in battle, four legs down means that they died of natural causes, and one front leg and one back leg up means that they died of unnatural causes, like assassination. Cool, right?) 

Putting legs to good use on the walking tour...

For our final day in Paris, we first went to The Louvre, where we spent a couple hours admiring the amazing and plentiful masterpieces by some of the most influential artists in the history of art! After visiting the beautiful Mona Lisa, we let ourselves get lost in the art (literally) as we wandered down the halls within the humongous confinements of the museum. After seeing more pieces from eras such as the Renaissance, Ancient Greece and Egypt, and the Medieval ages, we left the Louvre and rode our bikes to the Eiffel Tower!

 

Sunday evening was the highlight of all our time in Paris, because we went to see the fireworks at the Eiffel Tour in honor of Bastille Day. It was really amazing to see the tower silhouetted by the fireworks behind it, then lit up with flashing lights. Though we had seen it lit up by an incredible  firework display the night before, seeing it up close gave it a whole new beauty. After many failed attempts to get a decent group photo (sans bunny ears, goofy faces), we headed back to the hostel to get ready for dinner.

Fireworks from Bastille Day

For our final dinner, we decided to splurge a bit in Montmatre, a lively and showy district where Moulin Rouge originated from. We went to a traditional French restaurant where many of us had our first taste of escargot. We had a delicious mix of foods which included foie gras, scallops , a hearty and flavorful beef stew, and"beautiful steak" (as described truthfully in the menu). After dinner we concluded our exciting day with an assortment of scrumptious pastries in downtown Montmatre.

As of now we are back on the road (or rather the rails) to Ghent, Belgium!

Au revoir, France! Till next time :)  "

-Kate and Taylor

European Phantom Trekkers in Paris!

Here are some photos of the gang getting their culture on in Paris.  Today the group visited the Eiffel Tower!

Notre Dame in the background

The Louvre

St Michel fountain

Tomorrow the group will take the train to country #3: Belgium, the land of chocolate and waffles!

Kicking of 2013

Teen Treks is Gearing up for our 2013 Season!

Welcome to all of our Trekkers joining us on this year’s adventures.

And for those who are thinking about a Trek, but holding off, please know that 2013 trips are filling up faster than previous years.  This year is shaping up to be a full one, so please, sign up now and avoid the disappointment of the dreaded “SOLD OUT” label on that trip you were eying up.
Please visit our Trips Tables for up to date information.

Teen Treks has some news to share with you all:

New Teen Treks Staff

Our veteran Trekkers probably remember Ben, spent two years as the Program Coordinator.  Ben has parted with Teen Treks so that he could pursue something exciting, frightening and tiring (but with far less biking): His MBA!  Go Ben!

Taking his desk and title is Alexa, who joins Teen Treks after spending a few years living in England and completing her master’s in management (University of Manchester/Manchester Business School), and working at an international art festival.  You will most likely be speaking with her as you prepare for your Trek.

And for all of you wondering about Trip Leaders: we are in the hiring process at this very moment.  We have a number of returning Leaders, as well as some great new leaders who have experience with youth as Fulbright Scholars, AmeriCorps members, teachers, camp counselors and are all around outdoor lovers!   Leader bios will be posted soon on this blog and on our Facebook page. 

Brand Spankin’ New Trips for This Summer

Yep, we have two new trips!  One in Europe: Amsterdam-Paris and one in America’s North East: D&R Canal.  Here are the details:

Amsterdam-Paris

Paris, the city of light, love, culture and food.

Do you dream about waffles and croissants in the lunch line?  Do you wish you had Marie Antoinette's indulgent wardrobe when you learn about the French Revolution?  Is your ideal wood shop project making a pair of wooden clogs?  Do you want to see the classic art that inspires your art projects?  Want to practice your French, or dare to learn Flemish or Dutch?

French pastries, from my own travels to Paris!

Our Amsterdam-Paris Trek travels the most bike-friendly part of the world, and starts in the world’s most bike friendly city, good old Amsterdam (http://tinyurl.com/amsterdambikefriendly).  This Trek is great for high school students, and has low/moderate daily mileage, making for a more casual ride.

Amsterdam glowing the evening away

The Breakdown

Starts in Amsterdam and ends in Paris over 16 days

Countries: Netherlands, Belgium and France. 

Cities/Towns: Bruges, Ghent, Amsterdam, Paris, Versailles

Places: Palace of Versailles, Eiffel Tower, Anne Frank’s house, Vincent Van Gough Museum, the Rijksmuseum, country villages, canal sides and small medieval towns sprinkled on the route.

Everyone bikes in Holland!

D&R Canal

 Calling all history lovers! Calling all outdoors lovers!  Calling all new riders!

The canal is it's summer glory

Ride along the historic D&R Canal, checking out farmhouses, granaries, and barns, groups travel between New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  As a First Time Explorers trek, this adventure has been designed as an introductory course to the great sport of bicycle touring.

The D&R Canal Ride is our new trip for younger riders in grades 6-8. 

Visit farmers markets along the way!

So many great ways to experience the canal: land or water!

The Breakdown

Starts and ends in NYC over 6 days

Travel through Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Visit Princeton, Easton, Bethlehem and Trenton

Ride almost entirely on a bike path 

Trenton, NJ

For trip dates, prices and more info, check out the Trips Table at http://teentreks.com/tripstable.html or give us a call!  
 That's all for now, I'm off to interview a potential Leader.  Enjoy your day!