More Than Mere Memories: The Top Learning Vacations
Challenge the Body and the Mind with Educational Escapes
by Nathan Borchelt

No one will argue with the recuperative benefits of relaxing on a Caribbean beach, even swigging some frothy beverages. But return from your next vacation with more than a deep tan: come home a better person with a learning vacation. The options are vast, from cultural pursuits like studying Italian or penning the great American novel to the more physical challenges of rock climbing, skiing, or sailing.

Let your casual interest define your next trip, but be warned: under the proper guidance, a passing fancy may quickly become an overwhelming, wonderful obsession.

Creative and Artistic Retreats
With the daily world forever grinding along, it's easy to let that sudden burst of creativity slip away. On your next vacation, find the time you need to indulge in artistic inspiration in a calm,
  Learning Vacations...for Your Mind
 • Creative Retreats
 • Cooking Schools
 • Language Schools
 • Photography Schools
 • Research Trips
 • Volunteer Vacations
   ...for Your Body
 • Climbing Schools
 • Diving Schools
 • Outdoor Schools
 • Paddling Schools
 • Sailing Schools
 • Skiing Schools
 • Related Articles
nurturing environment. You can hole yourself away and dive into your work without interruption, or enroll in a group workshop, where you submit your work for in-depth feedback. Gain insight from fellow artists and forge lasting mentor relationships with seasoned professionals. Write, paint, draw, sculpt, create intricate designs in mosaic tiles or stained glass, even handcraft a musical instrument led by skilled luthiers—the medium is limited only by your muse.
Start getting some class with our art and culture activity guide.
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Cooking Schools
Cooking schools come in as many shapes and sizes as a home-grown aubergine. Decide first where you want to go—Italy and France are natural choices, but don't overlook Japan, Vietnam, or Thailand—and then consider how you want to learn. Are you the sort who is happiest when you're choppin' chilis and sinking your hands into the dough? Or are you the great observer, ready to absorb all as a world-renowned chef shows you the way around her kitchen? A whole menu of options are out there, and in just about every cuisine that tickles your palette, so pick up a whisk and away you go.
Cooking trips to whet your appetite.
Get the full scoop with our culinary activity guide.
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Language Schools
Habla Español? Sprechen sie Deutsch? You will after spending your vacation immersed in a new language. Whether you have just a week or an entire summer, you can start speaking like a native by enrolling in a language school in your country of choice. Options vary, depending on your skill level and desires: total immersion with a local host family, morning classes at a language school (leaving afternoons and evenings free to test your daily lessons), or an intensive course that aims to give you an international silver tongue in a matter of weeks.
Go native with these lauguage school vacations.
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Photography Schools
Getting that stack of photos back from vacation is always a humbling experience: what you thought you shot and what you actually captured are two very different things. Forget the frustrations of blurred images, dead batteries, and that damn lens cap and learn how to take photos that truly capture the wonder of your trip. A professional photographer will show you the tricks of their trade—and we're not talking about spending your vacation in a dark room, hands submerged in chemicals. Countless options are possible, from month-long African photo safaris to week-long photography tours of Ireland, New Zealand, or Morocco, and all skill levels—from novices with their first Nikons to experienced photographers anxious to perfect their craft—will discover new techniques. Let your next vacation slide show inspire expressions of awe, not exhaustion.
Zoom in on these great photo school vacations.
Get into focus: Explore our photography channel.
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Research Trips
The thirst for knowledge, if not totally killed by the rigors of college, can live on without the onorous tests. The professor may even call on you to take some notes for his newest study. Next vacation, delve deep. Research marine mammal life in Monterey Bay; explore Midway Island's natural history; study Mexico's endangered Dry Forest; count dolphin families in the Bahamas, or humpbacks off Hawaii. The world's wonders await your in-depth investigation.
Delve deep on these research trips.
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Volunteer Vacations
Next vacation, why not contribute to society, rather then just observing it? Let your altruism lead adventure by volunteering to preserve Utah's ancient rock art, study community health in Cameroon, track mountain lions in Idaho, monitor the manatees of Sarasota Bay, save the leatherback turtle, or study Oregon's wildflowers. Volunteer programs create an unforgettable experience that unravels the world's complexities rather that than offering a simple escape. Volunteer, and discover that it is indeed better to give than to receive.
Give of yourself with these volunteer vacations.
Read more about volunteering on your next vacation.
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Climbing Schools
Let your interest for adventure take you to new heights. Enroll in a climbing schooL—experienced climbers will show you the literal ropes of mountaineering, rock climbing, and cliff ascent. Take a weekend excursion into the High Sierras, camping at night and climbing during the day; or head to Ecuador for a three-day seminar, followed by a day-long trek and a glacial ascent to the summit of the world's tallest active volcano. So head for the hills: challenge and instruction await both the shaky and the sure-footed.
Reach new heights with these climbing school vacations.
Ready your ascent with our activity guide to climbing.
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Diving Schools
With most of the planet covered in water, how can you say you've seen everything without plunging into the world below the waves? Next vacation, learn how to swim with the fishes. Most education programs offer PADI/NAUI/SSI, as well as Handicapped Scuba Association beginner and advanced certifications, in a variety of locales, from the popular to the less-traveled waters. You can learn before you go, or submerge yourself in a new experience amidst underwater wonders.
Learn how to go below the surface on these diving vacations.
Submerge with our activity guide to diving.
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Outdoor Schools
Kill your television, leave your armchair behind, and reacquaint yourself with the natural world. Learn to fly fish in Yosemite, backpack across the Grand Canyon, become a ranch hand at a Wyoming ranch, ride the Sangre de Cristo Range in Colorado. For the truly dedicated, enroll in an outdoor survival school, where you learn the basics of independent survival with nothing but a pocket knife. Be it extreme or extremely relaxed, just get outside.
Embrace adventure with these outdoor school escapes.
Enter the wild with our activity guide to ecotourism.
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Paddling Schools
To the uninitiated, the kayak may look like a perilously unstable craft. Once you get in, however, all worries fade with the water's steady current. But don't take our word for it. Learn the basics at a fast-track kayaking and canoeing course, or stay afloat a while longer by enrolling in a multi-week international program, exploring native lands while perfecting your paddling skills. Let professional paddlers guide you through troubled waters—both literal and metaphorical. Soon, you'll be braving the coastlines and river whitewaters on your own, forever pleased you left the solid ground behind.
Brave the waters on these paddling school adventures.
Ready your paddle with our activity guide to canoeing and kayaking.
Cruise the coastlines with our sea kayaking activity guide.
Hit the whitewater with our whitewater rafting activity guide.
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Sailing Schools
Dreams of the seven seas no longer reside in the impossible romances of pirates and turn-of-the-century explorers. Sailing schools now are available in almost any body of water populated by a wind-powered vessel, from the New York Harbor to the British Virgin Islands. Most how-to sailing vacations include certification after several days onboard a tall ship, where experienced crewmen show you the ways and worries of the sea. Then extend your nautical adventures by taking control of a smaller vessel for a private jaunt through untroubled waters.
Learn to let the wind be your guide on these sailing school vacations.
Set sail with our activity guide to sailing.
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Skiing Schools
The image of that ski jumper launching himself into a terrible accident is now part of our collective subconscious, but your first experience on the slopes need not involve the agony of defeat. Most major ski resorts now offer in-depth snowboarding and skiing lessons for those anxious to hit the slopes without actually hitting them. And if huge resorts and long lift lines leave you cold, dodge the crowds by learning the basics of cross-country skiing. Soon, you'll be braving black diamonds or heading out across the deepest backwoods territories, poles at the ready.
Conquer the slopes on these skiing school escapes.
Head for the cold with our activity guide to skiing.
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Related Articles
Get a full education with our activity guide to learning vacations.
Not sure where to start? Check out our learning vacations primer.
Nathan Borchelt, an associate editor of away.com, has learned the hard way...to bike and hike and edit.

 Photo: West Stock