Summer Camp - How To Travel Long-Term As A Couple
Ideal Age: 18 -25
Who For?
University/College Students looking to fill a summer - Gap years - Aspiring teachers or anyone who enjoys working with children.
How Much?
(Based on approximate UK costs)
Visas: £300
Flights: £300 (depending where your camp is of course)
After camp travel: £500-£1000 (but remember you are working for the summer and will have a wage to fund this also)
How Long?
Average 8-10 weeks working at camp
Up to 4 weeks travel afterwards!
Where?
USA (Worldwide possibilities too)
Are you a couple that is looking to travel together for longer than a quick weekend getaway, but you’re struggling to find a suitable option? We have you covered.
Welcome to our 3-part Blog Series that showcases the most viable options for couples who are looking to put the pandemic-dominated world behind them, and have memories to last a life-time.
In Part 1 of this series, we shall be introducing Summer Camps. What they are, why you should work at one, and which couples they are suitable for.
In Part 2, we introduce Ski Seasons as a long-term travel option for couples. Perhaps you could try to work summer after summer at camp, and spending your winters in the mountains at a ski hill. You would both never need to return home again!
In Part 3, we highlight how backpacking is a viable option for long-term travel as a couple. Backpacking has many worldwide opportunities and can suit just about any couple’s itinerary.
Summer Camp - Your Gateway to the USA
We’ve all seen the photos - the red and white cabins, the canoes on the lake, marshmallows roasting over the fire. These are the images we summon when we think of Summer Camp, but what is it really like?
Summer Camp is one of those weird places where you can work from 07:00 in the morning until 10:00 at night, 6 days in a row, for 8 weeks straight, and still come home wishing you could do it all over again in a heartbeat.
In a few short weeks, you meet 100s of like-minded people from around the world and instantly form a friendship with every single one. One of the best things about Summer Camp is that the friends you make instantly become your new travel partners.
At the end of the summer, you all reward yourselves for working so hard with a well-earned, 3-week backpacking trip to let off some steam. As a couple, you get to spend quality time together with your new best friends in a place you love. What more could you want?
At Summer Camp there is no hiding from who you are. No pretense and no bravado. Which is a great thing. You get to be your true self all summer long. Most people go to summer camp to help children have the best summer of their lives. In reality though, the children will help you to have the best summer of your life.
Summer Camps are dotted all around the globe in one shape or another. From outdoor expedition-styled camps down in New Zealand, to wilderness training camps in Canada. The US, however, offers the most quintessential Summer Camp experience you can find on the planet.
If you ever meet anybody from the US, they will talk about their Summer Camp experiences as a child with such fondness that you cannot help but be intrigued as to what all the fuss is about.
Moreover, every American claims that ‘their’ Summer Camp is the best in the World. People will debate long into the night as to which camp is better, but the reality is, that whichever camp you go to as a child, is the best in the world.
The same is also true of whichever camp you decide to work at. We refuse to believe there is a better camp in the world than Timber Lake West (Upstate New York; where we worked). Ben’s brother on the other hand, cannot look past Golden Slipper Camp (In Pennsylvania; where he worked) as being the greatest sleep-away camp on the planet.
At the end of the day, working at a Summer Camp is sure to be one of the best experiences of your life, regardless of what camp you go to. The Summer Camp experience will make you better people. And a stronger couple too.
Another bonus of working at camp is that you can add it to your CV - you can see here how to successfully add summer camp to your CV/Resumé in order to make it stand out to future employers.
Travel Options after Summer Camp
Working at Summer Camp is the first half of the experience, travelling is the second half.
For most nationalities, in order to work at an American Summer Camp you have to travel on a J-1 visa, which allows you up to 30 days to travel in the country before and after your work. Take advantage of this. Although the wage for a Summer Camp job is not spectacular, you should have enough money saved up to be able to go and see some of the famous sights.
Often, people will try and plan their post-camp travels before they actually get out to the US. They will have their flights booked, buses arranged and hotels organised. This approach is fine if you want to have a plan before setting out. Invariably however, you will meet several people throughout the summer, and potentially other couples, that you will want to travel around the country with. If you already have everything booked, this is going to make things tricky.
We recommend that you don’t have a pre-planned travel itinerary before you arrive. You can book flights and hotels at any time throughout the summer, as and when you meet new people. You don’t want to be in a situation where you have become very close to a group of friends, and have to watch them all fly to the Grand Canyon together while you’re getting an overnight coach to the nearest city, just the two of you.
The United States is a huge country full of arid deserts and vast, great plains, ominous mountain ranges and fiery volcanoes. The travel options after Summer Camp are endless. But why stop at America? If you’re over that side of the world, why not venture to the snowy peaks of Lake Louise in Canada or down to the tropical beaches of Cuba or Belize?
All travel options are on the cards once you’ve worked at a Summer Camp and there are so many great places to travel to after camp.
Which couples are Summer Camp work ideal for?
This option is perfect for younger couples that want to be away for a number of months during the summer, but don’t really have the funds (yet) to go for a full backpacking adventure.
If you are university students or on a gap year after finishing school or college, working at a summer camp is a great option.
It is also a great opportunity for those people that haven’t experienced a great deal of travel before. Perhaps it is going to be your first time away from home for more than a few weeks and you’re not quite ready for a hair-raising, solo-backpacking adventure around the Himalayas. Summer Camp is definitely a safer choice.
As mentioned earlier, Summer Camp can be exhausting, and can be a challenge that some couples may struggle with. We have seen couples that absolutely thrive at Summer Camp and cannot wait to go home to tell their families about their experience. But we have also seen the other side, where couples struggle to adapt, eventually straining their relationship.
Do not expect to be spending every day with one another, being able to have a quick catch-up every hour between basketball and swimming practice. The reality is that you may not see each other for an entire day, and be too tired to hang out for longer than 10 minutes in the evenings. The positives however, far outweigh the negatives.
As a couple, you are able to spend your summer surrounded by people that will become your best friends and your ‘work’ consists of eating ice-cream, going banana-boating and climbing high ropes courses. There really is nothing like it. Summer Camp will open up your mind to a world of travel and endless opportunity.
Just in case you need even more inspiration, you should read 13 reasons why you should work at a summer camp.
How we did Summer Camp?
Timber Lake West - Upstate New York
We have spent a combined 13+ summers working as Summer Camp counsellors at Timber Lake West. It’s where we met; arguably our favourite place in the world; and where our passion for travelling and being away from home truly blossomed.
We could talk for pages and pages about our experiences at Timber Lake West. If you have ever read any other articles on this blog then you know this is true. It has shaped us into the people we are today and we are forever grateful for the people that we met there.
Ben’s first summer at Timber Lake West was in 2015, after his first year at University, having applied through a Summer Camp Hiring Agency in the UK. He worked as an outdoor adventure counsellor, which was essentially working on a high ropes course for 8-weeks straight (and being paid for the privilege).
Orla took a slightly different path to get to Timber Lake West. Rather than being placed by a hiring agency, she found Summer Camp through friends at University who had worked at Timber Lake West the previous summer. She went ahead and applied directly to the camp itself, and was hired in the summer of 2016 to work in the art barn.
Since then, the two of us have continued to return to Upstate New York, year after year. We’re completely hooked on the Summer Camp experience and everything that surrounds it. We know you will be too.
Working at Timber Lake West has also given us the opportunity to explore many parts of North America. East Coast road-trips from Washington DC up to Niagara Falls. Weekends to Vancouver and Toronto. Experiencing the enigma that is Las Vegas. Driving through Yosemite and Joshua Tree National Parks. Drinking mojitos in Havana, the home of rum.
From Orlando in the East to San Diego in the West, working at a Summer Camp is a brilliant gateway to explore the entire continent.
First steps you should take to become a Camp Counselor
If you’re considering working at a Summer Camp together, then doing some research is your first step.
The first option is to search for Summer Camps directly, reading their website to see what jobs they have available, and seeing whether the two of you would fit in. Remember not all Summer Camps are the same - some cater for disabled children, others can cater for children with single parents, and others can cater for strictly Jewish children. Whomever they cater for, you want to make sure you will enjoy yourself and in turn, help the children enjoy their summer.
The second option, potentially a little easier for those that are new to travelling, is to apply to a summer camp hiring agency. In this scenario, you upload a CV and have an interview with the agency, and from there they will send out your details to prospective camps to see whether they are interested in hiring you. The agency essentially acts as the middle man.
Whichever option you choose, remember to apply together. It’s important to highlight your own personality and strengths, but at the end of the day you are going to be coming as a package, so emphasise that too.
Great Resources to help you find a Summer Camp Job
Wondering how to be a camp counselor? Click here to find out how to apply and get £25 off your visa fees!
We hope this article has inspired you to travel long-term as a couple.
If you are considering the option of travelling with your partner for a long-time, then Summer Camp should certainly be in your thoughts. Working at a Summer Camp allows you to meet people from all around the world, get away with your partner for a summer, and earn money to be able to fund your future travel plans.
Working at a Summer Camp is a wonderful first step to take when planning to travel long-term as a couple. The second step could potentially be to learn some important long-term travel packing tips.
Keep up-to-date with our blog for more Summer Camp resources, tips and information.
