The best countries for high school summer programs abroad are safe, accessible and will leave students with lasting memories and life-changing experiences. Countries like Spain, Japan and Costa Rica excel in these areas, making them top choices for a transformative summer experience. Since my first trip abroad during high school nearly a decade ago, I have traveled to 30 countries around the world. I am happy I didn’t visit some of them as a high school student. I would not have been ready to navigate the chaotic streets of Cairo, nor appreciate the challenges of exploring India. Choosing the best country for high school summer programs abroad is an important decision to ensure the best possible experience. In this guide we will help pick out the best countries around the world for your next summer adventure abroad. In this guide, we’ll look at: What Makes a Country a Good Destination for a Summer Program Abroad? The three essential factors that make a country a good destination for a summer program abroad are: Safety, Program Availability and Affordability. Summer programs abroad are about the experience, the destination is only the backdrop. Every country can be a great destination, but you need to be safe, there needs to be programs available and those programs need to fit your budget. We researched the most popular countries for summer programs abroad and scored each of them out of 100. Here is how we broke down the scores:
Safety Safety of a high school student on a summer program abroad should always be a top priority. We get it, traveling abroad can be scary for a teenager or their parents. The safety ultimately depends on the measures of the program provider. Make sure to ask the tough questions about safety before registering for a program. Most parents jump right to safety risks like crime, natural disasters and major health risks. In reality common incidents on summer programs abroad tend to be one of two things: stomach problems bug bites To measure the safety score of popular summer program destinations we gathered data from the World Trade Index safety ranking for travelers which looks at transport, crime-free, disease-free, sanitation and disaster-free. Here are the top five safest countries for travelers according to the World Travel Index: Country Safety Score Norway 97 Sweden 95 Iceland 94 Denmark 92 Singapore 91 »Have questions about safety on programs? Schedule a call with our expert travel advisors Program Availability It’s tough to go to a country when there aren’t many programs available. The best programs are competitive and it’s best to book a summer program abroad as soon as possible to guarantee your top choice. Popular destinations like Spain have dozens of providers offering programs with multiple sessions available. Other, less popular destinations like Laos or Jamaica only have one or two programs readily available. To rank the availability of programs we analyzed the number of program offerings available for each country on Go Overseas which aggregates information and reviews of programs abroad for students. We then gave each country a score out of 100 based on its availability compared to other countries. Here are the top five countries with the most programs available: Country Availability Score % of Available Programs Spain 97 7.04% England 93 6.36% France 90 5.79% Costa Rica 90 5.68% Italy 86 4.99% **Program counts were accessed from available listings as of 08/15/2024 on GoOverseas. Affordability So the country is safe, there are programs available, and now the program needs to fit your budget to be affordable. The main costs of a summer program abroad for high school students are the program fee and the airfare to and from the destination. To measure the affordability score of popular countries, we aggregated over 400 programs for high school students from 14 different providers. Then, we found the median airfare for a roundtrip flight from both Los Angeles and New York City in July based on Google Flight Trends. Finally, we combined this information to score each country’s affordability out of 100. Here are the top five most affordable countries for a summer program abroad for high school students: Country Affordability Avg Daily Cost Primary Airport Median Flight Cost LAX JFK Mexico 96 $200 Mexico City $360 $570 Argentina 87 $228 Buenos Aires $935 $975 Spain 82 $277 Madrid $915 $715 Canada 81 $328 Toronto $275 $238 Costa Rica 79 $325 San José $423 $395 **Average program fees are based on accessing programs of various providers as of 08/15/2024. Flight costs are the median costs of the typical round trip flight in July based on Google Flights Trends. »Learn more about scholarships and financial aid for summer programs. Best Countries for Summer Programs for High School Students Abroad The best countries for summer programs for high school students abroad are countries in Europe like England, Spain and France. European countries are safe, widely accessible and have similar cost of living as the U.S., making them great options for high school students looking for their first experience abroad. For the adventurous student that wants something a bit different from Europe, there are plenty of great countries in the Americas, Asia and Oceania that are excellent choices as well. Countries like our friendly neighbor up north, Canada, Costa Rica in Central America or Singapore in Asia, will all offer unique experiences. Explore Summer Programs Abroad for 2025 5 Top Countries for Summer Programs Abroad in Europe #1 United Kingdom (England) Total Score: 87 Safety: 89; Availability: 93; Affordability: 72 Best For: Summer Study Abroad #2 Spain Total Score: 87 Safety: 82; Availability: 97; Affordability: 82 Best For: Summer Study Abroad, Language Immersion, Cultural Immersion #3 France Total Score: 85 Safety: 85; Availability: 90; Affordability: 76 Best For: Cultural Immersion, Language Immersion #4 Ireland Total Score: 81 Safety: 90; Availability: 68; Affordability: 79 Best For: Summer Study Abroad #5 Germany Total Score: 81 Safety: 88; Availability: 68; Affordability: 79 Best For: Summer Study Abroad, Conservation, Adventure Explore Teen Travel Programs in Europe 5 Top Countries for Summer Programs Abroad Outside of Europe #1 Canada Total Score: 79 Safety: 84; Availability: 69; Affordability: 81 Best For: Summer Study Abroad, Cultural Immersion #2 Singapore Total Score: 78 Safety: 91; Availability: 61; Affordability: 69 Best For: Summer Study Abroad #3 Costa Rica Total Score: 77 Safety: 68; Availability: 90; Affordability: 79 Best For: Service Learning, Conservation, Adventure #4 Japan Total Score: 76 Safety: 80; Availability: 75; Affordability: 75 Best For: Language Immersion, Cultural Immersion #5 Australia Total Score: 74 Safety: 83; Availability: 69; Affordability: 60 Best For: Service Learning, Conservation Explore Teen Travel Programs in Asia Ranking of Most Popular Countries for Summer Programs Abroad for High School Students Country Region Total Safety Availability Affordability England Europe 87 89 93 72 Spain Europe 87 82 97 82 France Europe 85 85 90 76 Ireland Europe 81 90 68 79 Germany Europe 81 88 73 74 Denmark Europe 80 92 64 75 Norway Europe 79 97 62 61 Italy Europe 79 79 86 69 Canada North America 79 84 69 81 Sweden Europe 79 95 63 61 Netherlands Europe 78 90 65 69 Austria Europe 78 89 63 74 Singapore Asia 78 91 61 69 Switzerland Europe 77 91 68 57 Costa Rica Central America 77 68 90 79 Czech Republic Europe 76 86 64 71 Portugal Europe 76 83 64 76 Japan Asia 76 80 75 68 Iceland Europe 76 94 61 52 Belgium Europe 75 88 62 61 Australia Oceania 74 83 69 60 South Korea Asia 72 76 68 70 New Zealand Oceania 71 82 64 56 Argentina South America 71 68 66 87 Hungary Europe 70 81 60 54 Greece Europe 69 74 67 60 China Asia 68 60 78 71 Peru South America 65 56 74 76 Mexico North America 65 53 63 96 Thailand Asia 62 54 75 66 South Africa Africa 60 51 67 70 Vietnam Asia 60 55 64 65 India Asia 58 48 64 74 Indonesia Asia 58 52 62 67 Explore High School Travel Programs Abroad