Types of trips: Adventure, Outdoor Activity, Thrill, Educational, Cultural and Historical, Extreme Sports, Beach, Sight-seeing, Sports Tours and Spectating.
Best known for: Hollywood, Big food, Landmarks, Year round activities, Popular Culture, Diversity of landscapes and wildlife, automobiles, rock, rap and country music
Why Go?: The United States has an incredible amount to offer and despite being on the other side of the Atlantic it is a popular destination for school trips from the UK. The USA offers an abundance of activities for students of all ages with the opportunity to travel across vastly different landscapes and communities.
Population: 319,000,000
Capital: Washington DC
Language(s): English
Ties to the UK?: Many cultural links established through media and entertainment, as well as of course the language (although playwright George Bernard Shaw famously said, "England and America are two countries separated by a common language.")
Landscape: Mountain ranges, deserts, canyons, waterfalls, lakes
Climate/Seasons: Anything from extreme heat in Death Valley to hurricanes in the south east and freezing winter conditions and deep snow even in coastal cities such as New York.
When to Go: All year round, depending on state or city there is often a real reason to visit the US at any time of year
Reasons to Visit: You're pretty much guaranteed to find something to do and as a bonus you'll be in a country where it is effortless to communicate as we share a language
How to Get There: Flights are frequent between the UK and USA but be prepared for a long flight if you going to the west coast; jetlag is a possibility but with direct flights on established routes its likely to be a relaxed experience. Being such a big country it has a lot of internal flights, but you can also get around in a car reasonably easily if you don't mind longer journeys.
Places to Go: New York, Washington D.C., The Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Chicago, Houston TX incl.NASA, California
Famous People: Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston, Eminem, Johnny Depp, Will Smith
Natural Wonders/Wildlife: Crater Lake, Death Valley, The Grand Canyon, Missouri River, Bald Eagle, Yosemite National Park
History: Wild West, War of Independence, Slavery
Architecture: One World Trade Centre, Empire State Building, Golden Gate Bridge, Willis Tower, Hoover Dam, Sears Tower
Culture: Carnegie Hall, The Apollo, The Fillmore
Sport: American Football, Baseball, Basketball, Ice Hockey
Events: Comic-Con, E3, Superbowl
Watch Out For: New passport-type restrictions, Wild bears, Sunburn, drinking and driving age limits, needing ID at all times, bizarre local bylaws and overzealous law enforcement officers
Medical Issues: No Vaccinations needed
The Bushcraft Company offer residential school trips with a difference, taking students into the wild and giving them real back-to-nature experiences they will never forget.
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.