Is your child ready to experience everything the world has to offer? Local summer camps are a great way to learn about nature, make friends, and discover new skills. However, overnight international summer camps can pave the way to brighter futures, stronger ties to the world, and more profound relationships and insight into other cultures.
There are sleepaway camps for international kids out there that can have them volunteering in parts of Latin America, surfing the waves in Asia, and learning new languages in Europe. To get a taste of these fantastic experiences, these are some of the top international summer camps you can send your kids to during the summer break.
Best International Summer Camps
1. Rustic Pathways
Rustic Pathways offers student travel adventures to some of the most beautiful and historical countries in the world. You can find programs for places in different continents like Asia, South America, North America, Africa, and more.
Children can go scuba diving and snorkeling in the crystal clear waters of Fiji, surfing in Costa Rica, or particpate in elephant conservation in Thailand. The opportunities are endless, and each camp includes community service hours so your kids can have fun and make an impact on the world.
These adventures last anywhere from 8 to 25 days and are open to students ages 12 to 22. Rustic Pathways has become synonymous with student travel since it first began as a touring company in 1983. Today, they take your kids to explore the wonders of the world during the summer while providing them with a cultural immersion experience that they won’t find back home.
Whether they spend a week or three in Japan, Italy, China, Ecuador, Peru, or several other options, they’ll spend it doing unique and impactful activities.
2. Bold Earth
Since 1976, Bold Earth Adventures has hosted camps in countries worldwide, including more than five locations in the United States alone. Their programs allow participants to experience many diverse landscapes, from challenging Rocky Mountain hikes in Colorado to surfing in Costa Rica and scuba diving in Fiji and hiking in Switzerland, under the trusted staff’s watchful supervision.
Students in grades 7-12 can choose between various destinations for the summer. Group sizes are small so that safety can remain a top priority. Trips last anywhere from 12 days to 3 weeks, depending on where they’re heading. The adventure camps travel to destinations in the USA, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
While traveling, international campers volunteer and do meaningful community service to others and the planet while experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They help care for endangered animals, work with local schools and clean up areas. It’s the perfect way to experience nature, work together as a group, and learn more about our natural environment.
3. Camp Cody
Located in Freedom, New Hampshire, Camp Cody has access to mountains, forests, Ossipee Lake, and more. Your children can enjoy traditional summer camp activities and embark on the adventure of a lifetime.
Camp sessions are broken down by age, allowing children to excel in pursuits like baseball, waterskiing, sailing, woodworking, archery, scuba diving, soccer, dance, gymnastics, horseback riding, crafts kayaking, and much more. Each cabin hosts children of the same age group. The daily camp food is delicious with locally sourced ingredients, and the chefs can accommodate just about any diet.
Younger campers can gain confidence as they work together at their home away from home. They also offer a teen leadership camp so that older campers can return to camp, gain leadership skills, and become role models for younger campers. Camp Cody ensures that children learn to care for themselves and become more independent while having fun and making lifelong memories.
Since most campers aren’t locals, they have experience transporting kids to their campus. There are bus pick-ups from nearby states like New York and airport picks up from the Boston Logan International Airport.
4. Learn & Experience
Learn and Experience offers international experiences in Canada and the United Kingdom for students ages 8-17. Through their World Camps (8-15) and Teen Travel (14-17) programs, your kids can go on a life-changing and fun trip.
Their L&E World Camps take place in North Yorkshire, UK, and Vancouver Island, Canada. With these locations that offer magnificent landscapes and excellent facilities, your kids can enjoy activities that range from kayaking to rock climbing, horseback riding, water slides, and sports.
These are just a few of all the things the campuses offer. Learn and Experience as true to its name encourages campers to explore their curiosity and forge lifelong connections with the other campers.
The Teen Travel option takes teenagers on a fun tour around the United Kingdom, with stops in places like Cardiff, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and London. For two weeks, they’ll travel with a diverse group of students from around the world under the careful supervision of the staff. Expect visits to cultural landmarks and outdoor attractions that the UK is famous for.
5. XUK Camps
XUK camps take place on 150 acres of beautiful land at the Dauntsey’s School. Children can access a heated indoor swimming pool, sports facilities, and comfortable accommodations in dorms during their stay. Kids can participate in exciting activities like sports, which include basketball, soccer, lacrosse, water polo, and much more. They can also have fun with creative arts like dance and photography and outdoor adventures that cover bushcraft and shelter building.
They have traditional overnight summer camps for international kids from all over the world and day camps for local London residents. Serving between a range of 3 to 17-year-olds, parents can choose between the XUK Activity camp, where children can try new activities, make friends, and experience summer camp in the U.K. If your child prefers to focus on a particular skill set, they can go to the XUK Excel camp. There’s also an English camp for children interested in learning or honing their English communication skills.
XUK Camps staff can help organize all traveled-related logistics, from picking up your kids at the train station or airport and driving them back there.
6. Les Elfes
Resting in the breathtaking Swiss Alps, Les Elfes is close to the French and Italian borders. Starting in 1987, the camp that once hosted about 50 students a year is now an exciting adventure for more than 5000 kids+ every year from many different countries! Your child can stay in a private chalet with up to 3 other students when they attend.
The camp sessions are based on age, allowing them to focus on fun and independence. Campers ages 6-17 years old can select activities that interest them, explore the countryside around them, and form friendships with their peers. While working on manners, learning about first aid, and taking responsibility for themselves, your child will work toward becoming a more confident individual.
Younger children stick closer together as they learn how to care for themselves under the watchful eye of the camp staff. With their parent’s permission, older children can leave camp and practice being independent with their peers. The summer camps offer plenty of exciting things to do, from rock climbing to mountain biking, kayaking, horseback riding, zip lining, parachuting, and much more. They also offer spring and winter camps.
7. Altitude Camps
Situated in the Swiss Alps, in Verbier, Switzerland, Altitude Camps services kids ages 3-14. The summer camps focus on education and fun, working French and English language lessons into exciting days in the mountains.
You can select from language camps, adventure camps, or a day camp for younger campers. Sessions last between one week to six weeks and allow kids to participate in outdoor activities like tennis, ice skating, mountain hiking, ropes courses, swimming, drama, football, and more. There are also unique evening events and games like mini Olympics, capture the flag, parties, and more.
Students can focus on their language education daily, embrace the natural wilderness around the campus, and work on personal skills. Afternoons include mountain hikes, drama classes, and sports to give your child a personalized overnight camp experience.
Chefs prepare the campers delicious food with the ability to accommodate any kind of diet. Campers stay in cozy chalets with 2-4 other campers of the same gender and are supervised at all times by camp staff.
8. International Camp Suisse
Les Crosets is the beautiful village that hosts the International Camp Suisse of Switzerland. Here, campers spend their time at an elevation of over 5,000 feet while they improve their language skills, make unforgettable memories, and enjoy the summer with new friends. Language classes are offered in French, Spanish, English, German and Italian.
Boys and girls ages 7-17 can attend one of their one-week or two sessions. No matter the age, your child can safely try new things, go on fun cultural trips, and learn how to connect with the natural environment. Each activity allows children to step away from their comfort zones and learn more about themselves while having a blast.
Each overnight camp entails a new adventure for the attendees, from museums to dog sledding and even music festivals! In addition, your child can enjoy whole-body outdoor activities such as mountain biking, archery, wall climbing, hiking, scrambling over obstacles, and sports every day.
Kids are fully accommodated, so you don’t have to worry about meals, housing, laundry, or activities since everything is included. They also offer day camps for local residents.
9. International Summer Camp Montana
The International Summer Camp Montana originally started in 1961 in a historic building that previously catered to those needing the fresh mountain air of Crans-Montana, Switzerland. From clinic to hotel to sleepaway summer camp, this campus has changed the lives of thousands.
Wholesome physical activities with language lessons are the primary focus of this international summer camp. Your child can select their favorite options or try something different, from horseback riding, karate, yoga, mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, and sports to circus and magic tricks. Each day, campers socialize with others and form lifetime friendships during their magical session.
Kids and teenagers ages 8 to 17 can enroll to meet peers from around the world in their 3-week camps. There are four different age groups for students to interact with friends as well as receive language classes to improve their skills. The camp provides English, French, and Spanish lessons, with English being the primary language spoken at camp. If you’re particularly interested in Spanish, you’ll find this Spanish immersion camps guide useful.
They have international staff since they receive kids from around the world of more than 60+ nationalities.
10. Soccer Camps International
If you’re looking for international soccer camps for your kids, you can sign them up for one of these soccer programs in England, Spain, France, Italy, or Portugal. All locations also offer language lessons and soccer training from expert coaches. Campers can work with other future soccer stars to raise their skills and perfect their drills. The summer camps have been in operation for almost three decades to give students a chance to take their game to the next level.
Each camp focuses on specific age ranges, from 8 to 17-year-olds, to enable your child to train alongside others similar to their age. In addition, you can also select from co-ed camps or boys and girls-only camps. Some options specifically focus on goalkeeping or field players, ensuring your child can focus on their strongest position.
With locations in different countries, the training facilities tend to be situated on college and professional team campuses. These sports programs work with some of the biggest names in soccer, including Real Madrid, PSG, Arsenal, Juventus, and more.
11. Camp Adventure
Camp Adventure offers students language and adventure travel camps in three European countries, including Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The organization focuses on remaining small, so each child can have the attention and focus they need to enjoy epic summer adventures.
The sessions are divided by age, with junior campers 7 to 12, and seniors 12 to 16, allowing them to focus on suitable activities. Things to do vary by country. In Germany, your child can focus on English and German language skills, participate in a fashion show, explore hiking trails, and go on several excursions. In the UK, they can receive language courses, play sports and games, do arts and crafts, and much more.
Students can also expect fun courses on survival, rock climbing, specialized sports, creative and performing arts, and more.
12. International Summer Camp UK
Camp Cooper has two camps available in Scotland for different age ranges in Edinburgh and Crieff. However, they both have access to a swimming pool, tennis courts, dance studios, and other camp facilities. Camp Cooper was inspired by American summer camps and named after the founders’ summer-loving spaniel, Cooper.
There are so many activities to choose from, so the most challenging part of the program might be narrowing down your top choices. Students ages 7-17 can try raft building, photography, directing films, mountain biking, tennis, dance, golf, arts and crafts, and learning to be rock stars! If your child needs to brush up or improve their English skills, there are also fun classes to keep their education going through the summer.
There are two teams at Camp Cooper, the Vikings and the Celts. Your child will be on one team for various games, such as tug of war or dodgeball. Their team-building activities make them work hard as they laugh, struggle, and succeed together as a team. You can also sign older teenagers up for a leadership program to build upon and improve essential life skills.
The international summer camps routinely host special events like talent shows and music festivals, so there is always something fun happening at the International Summer Camp UK.
13. International Language Camps
Your child can attend the International Language Camps in Megève, France, within the beautiful Savoy Alps. Campers breathe clean mountain air while focusing on language goals and learning about different cultures. You can help your child have a brighter future by giving them an international education that can be the foundation for future learning, careers, and more.
There are five camp sessions, starting in July, ranging from a one-week to a five-week stay. There are three age groups for the children, 6-9, 10-13, and 14-16, with different dates and activities. Each day at camp starts with language lessons in French or English and is followed by fun activities in the afternoon like ice skating, fishing, yoga, laser tag, painting, cooking, swimming, archery tag, and much more. On a routine basis, there are also special group events like dance parties and talent shows.
There is a low student-to-teacher ratio to help students focus and learn in a safe environment while getting all the help they may need. Older campers are encouraged to practice independence and decision-making. You can also go to more sports camps focus by signing up kids for coaching sessions in a specific sport like golf or tennis.
Read our other country guides:
Leave a comment