Explorica

What Explorica does

Explorica is an educational travel company that organizes teacher-led student tours across global destinations. The company sells per-participant tour packages (3-26 days) covering Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific, with itineraries segmented by subject focus including language immersion (Spanish, French, German, Chinese), STEM, history, arts, adventure, and volunteer/service-learning. Its product catalog includes 159 European itineraries and 46 North American itineraries alone, complemented by a Girl Scouts vertical and an Instant Tour Customizer that allows teachers to build bespoke trips. Bundled tour components typically include Tour Directors, hotel accommodations, breakfast and dinner daily, airfare from multiple departure cities, and 24/7 emergency support, with optional academic credit accreditation and personal fundraising pages to improve affordability.

The underlying platform is a web-based booking and itinerary management system accessed via explorica.com (and a parallel Canadian site at explorica.ca), with no public API or developer-facing integrations. The go-to-market is sales-led: dedicated phone lines serve teachers (1-888-310-7120) and travelers (1-888-310-7121), supported by direct website booking, a refer-a-teacher program, a rewards program for group leaders, monthly email newsletters, active social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube), and participation in teacher conventions and training webinars. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, varying by itinerary, duration, departure date, group size, and customization. Tours departing October 2027 or later are being transitioned to the WorldStrides platform under the TourFlex payment flexibility offering.

Explorica is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WorldStrides, Inc., a B Corp-certified educational travel organization. The company is headquartered at 701 E. Water Street, Suite 200, Charlottesville, VA 22902, operates with 101-250 employees, and was founded in 2000. The primary customers are K-12 teachers and school administrators who act as group leaders and booking decision-makers, with students as participants and parents as financing sources. Explorica's revenue model is effectively one-time per-participant licensing on tour packages, with no disclosed revenue figures or independent funding rounds.

Name

Explorica

Legal name

Explorica

Website

https://explorica.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Explorica is a U.S.-based educational travel company that organizes teacher-led student tours across global destinations (Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, South Pacific), serving K-12 teachers and schools with per-participant tour packages, custom itineraries, academic credit, and fundraising tools. It operates as a subsidiary of WorldStrides, Inc.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Travel Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

School Group & Curriculum-Led Trips (THAKAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Educational & Student Multi-Day Tour Operators (THAKADAJ), Student & Youth Educational Tours (THAKAGAA), Group & Small-Group Custom Itinerary Planning (THAKAOAF)

Keywords

• Educational travel services
• Student group tours
• Language immersion travel
• School trip packages
• Educational tour operator

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Educational Tour Packages: Explorica generates revenue through the sale of educational tour packages to student groups. Tours are priced per participant and include itinerary planning, accommodations, some meals, guided tours, and transportation. The company offers various tour durations ranging from 3 to 26 days with different destination combinations across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and South Pacific regions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Explorica sells teacher-led educational group tours for K–12 and college students across global destinations, offered as pre-designed itineraries or custom itineraries built through an Instant Tour Customizer. Tour packages are priced per participant and bundle accommodations, breakfast and dinner, guided sightseeing, transportation, airfare options, Tour Directors, and 24/7 emergency support. The company also offers subject-focused variants (language immersion, STEM, history, arts, adventure, volunteer) and specialized Girl Scout badge tours, with academic credit accreditation and personal fundraising tools available as supporting services.

Product overview

Explorica is an educational travel company offering teacher-led student tours as a platform of themed tour products. The core offering consists of regional educational tours (European Tours, North American Tours, Latin American Tours, Asian/African/South Pacific Tours, and Northeastern U.S. Combinations) organized by subject focus including Language Immersion, STEM, History, Arts, Adventure, and Volunteer tours. The platform is complemented by Custom Tours (via Instant Tour Customizer), Girl Scouts Tours, Academic Credit Programs, and Fundraising Support tools. The product portfolio includes over 159 European itineraries and 46 North American itineraries, all booked through Explorica's consumer-facing website with no API access for third-party integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• European Tours Educational group tours across European destinations including Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Scandinavia, and the United Kingdom, with itineraries ranging from 6 to 26 days, marketed to K-12 and college teachers organizing student trips.
• North American Tours Educational group tours within the United States and Canada featuring destinations such as New York City, Boston, Washington DC, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Canadian Rockies, with 46 itinerary options, offered to teachers organizing student group travel.
• Latin American Tours Educational group tours to Mexico, Central America, and South America including Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador (Galapagos), Brazil, Argentina, and Caribbean destinations, offered to teachers organizing student trips.
• Northeastern U.S. Tours Combination educational tours focusing on historical cities of the U.S. East Coast including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, marketed to teachers within driving-distance regions.
• Custom Tours Bespoke tour creation allowing teachers to customize itineraries, destinations, and activities through the Instant Tour Customizer tool, with pricing adjusted for length, destinations, and group size.
• Volunteer Tours Service-learning tours combining community engagement with educational travel experiences for student groups.
• Girl Scouts Tours Specialized tours for Girl Scout troops including visits to Girl Scout World Centers (Pax Lodge in London and Our Chalet in Switzerland) and badge-earning activities.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• WorldStridescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExplorica is a brand of WorldStrides, Inc., a leading educational travel organization. This partnership provides Explorica with the backing of a large, established educational travel company with decades of experience, B Corp certification, and extensive global travel operations infrastructure. Tours departing October 2027 or later are now available on the WorldStrides platform.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Road Scholar: Road Scholar is a large, established educational travel operator offering instructor-led learning adventures; comparable structured-tour model and curriculum framing, though primarily targets adults and intergenerational learners rather than K-12 students.
• WorldStrides: WorldStrides is Explorica's parent company and the broader incumbent in K-12 educational travel; overlapping product lines (customizable educational tours, academic credit) but operates at greater scale across multiple sub-brands and audiences.

Direct peers

• Smithsonian Student Adventures: Smithsonian Student Adventures runs curriculum-led student travel programs with strong brand authority in arts, history, and STEM; targets the same K-12 teachers and students with comparable multi-day educational tour packages.
• Global Leadership Adventures: Global Leadership Adventures runs teen-focused service-learning and educational travel programs; comparable target demographic (high school students), volunteer-tour product overlap, and similar custom/preset itinerary structure.
• ACIS (American Council for International Studies): ACIS is a longstanding direct peer offering teacher-led educational student tours with curriculum integration and similar destination footprint; comparable buyer (K-12 teachers), tour structure, and subject-aligned itineraries.
• Putney Student Travel: Putney Student Travel designs small-group, teacher-friendly educational student tours with community service and cultural immersion focus; very similar buyer persona (teachers), product structure, and price positioning to Explorica.
• EF Educational Tours: EF Educational Tours is the largest direct competitor in K-12 student educational travel, offering similarly teacher-led, multi-day, curriculum-aligned tours across Europe, the Americas, and beyond; comparable products, target customers (teachers/students), and business model.
• National Geographic Student Expeditions: National Geographic Student Expeditions offers high-end teacher-organized student trips with photography, conservation, and cultural immersion themes; comparable premium K-12 segment, similar itinerary length, and similar teacher-as-decision-maker model.

Emerging players

• STA Travel (legacy) / StudentUniverse: StudentUniverse is a student/youth-focused travel booking platform; partial overlap in student traveler demographic though it primarily sells individual FIT bookings rather than teacher-led group tours.
• Rustic Pathways: Rustic Pathways is a smaller, mission-driven student travel operator focused on service learning and community engagement; comparable teen-student demographic and volunteer-tour product, though smaller scale than Explorica.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/explorica
• YouTubeyoutube.com/Explorica
• Facebookfacebook.com/explorica
• Instagraminstagram.com/exploricatravel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/explorica

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Explorica