Rustic PathwaysReviews of rusticpathways.com

What an extremely short sighted company. My Husband and I were planning a trip to Costa Rica as chaperones with my nephew for his school trip scheduled April vacation 2020. We paid over 5k for the 2 of us. The schools cancelled the trip because of the PANDEMIC and we were offered a voucher of 65%. After a couple weeks they offered 100% but in the form of a voucher. That is all well but we both lost our jobs (in sales) and we would like our money returned. The schools were forced to cancel by the Governor and it was 45 days prior to the trip. I contacted Rustic Pathways numerous times to finally get an email from the CEO. He explained he could only give us a voucher. 2 Adults- we do not have children (we were going with our nephew because I had lived there for a couple years and thought it would be a great experience) and we are NOT going to return next year for a trip. We do not know when we can travel again as our incomes are gone and this is completely unacceptable. I also have a screen shot of their policy that if it is not safe to travel to their area- WHICH right now is a LEVEL 4 DO NOT travel... they will provide a full refund. Funny, they have since changed their policy. I have a screen shot from March 5 2020. We are now going to the Attorney General and we are filing with our bank as well. Do NOT use this company if you do not have to. What a joke.

I am extremely disappointed with Rustic Pathways. I wouldn’t utilize their services again if they were the last company on Earth! I signed up my high school senior for the March 2020 Fiji trip with Rustic Pathways. When the Coronavirus began to spread around the world I asked Rustic Pathways to cancel my sons trip and refund the several thousand dollars we have paid them. They refused to repay one penny of what I have paid. For an organization that is supposed to be an advocate for high school students I believe they are hypocritical and lack any kind of integrity.

My daughter is set to depart on a trip to Thailand tomorrow 3/13/2020. Rustic Pathways Stance on travel during COVID-19... "All is fine and we’re good to go to Thailand! No issues at all. 100% nothing to worry about." Here in the real world... NCAA = NO tournament games NBA = Suspended the season until further notice NHL = paused MLB = same, no more games SXSW = canceled Schools = shifting to an online only model/canceling classes, Business = telling people to work at home Seems like Rustic Pathways is a reckless, and irresponsible organization to me.

I spent two weeks last summer in Fiji on the trip called sun, sand, and international service. This was my first rustic trip so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. My trip was absolutely amazing. Meeting all of the locals and people in my group really changed me. The service got hard at times but it was really rewarding knowing that I was helping the locals. The base is amazing and had the most beautiful views and a pool! The only issue I had was that it was a little unorganized however in Fiji they have something called Fiji time which means that you go with the flow and do things whenever. This trip truly gives you a new view on life and you get to see a new side of Fiji that others don’t get to. I highly recommend this trip to Fiji or any other trip by rustic pathways.

I do not recommend this program. My daughter went to Fiji last summer with Rustic Pathways and she was very disappointed. Relative to other trips my daughter has taken, this one seemed extremely expensive for what students got. The schedule was poorly organized with amounts of downtime with nothing to do, and not in a nice location that would allow, fror example, walking around on a beach. We were sent a single photo of all of the students on the trip which is pathetic, especially given the price of the trip. Other groups my daughter has traveled with have had someone taking photos all the time and posting them for parents. I think this organization is only good for very wealthy parents who have relatively young teenagers who want to travel abroad and be supervised. It provides poor value for the money. Parents pay a lot of money to subsidize quite a few young adults flying to Fiji supervising the flight, which my daughter definitely did not need. Also note that Rustic Pathway's Facebook page mysteriously deletes all past parents' reviews and comments. So if your child is going on a trip all you'll see are other new parents asking If anyone has a child going to Fiji in 2020, and so you don't get a sense of feedback on previous trips.

i hate this camp with a passion the councilors make you do everything and it’s a total rip off ur paying 5k for clogged toilets for 1 shower for 18 kids for unfiltered water so never go here and leave a new bad review #periodt

It was the most amazing experience I've ever had. It's been two months since my trip and I still think about the experience every single day. This may sound cliched, but it changed my life completely.

The Elephant Conservation Center and Amazing Thailand program that I attended last summer through rustic pathways was truly amazing. I learned so much about taking care of elephants and the Thai culture. All of the Rustic staff were so responsible, caring, and fun for having been with a group of teenagers for 2 weeks. All of the food and accommodations that Rustic provided were perfect and I will never forget the local Thai people that welcomed us into their country with smiles. In addition, the other teenagers on my trip have become some of my closest friends and I keep in touch with them today. Thank you Rustic Pathways for the best experience of my entire life!