Academic Expeditions

What Academic Expeditions does

Academic Expeditions is a privately held, full-service educational travel company founded in 2003 by Andrew Selinka and incorporated as an S corporation in New York State, with mailing headquarters in Charlottesville, VA. It designs and operates customized, all-inclusive multi-day field trip expeditions for K-12 student groups, anchored on U.S. history and civic education destinations — Washington DC, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Colonial Virginia, American Battlefields, and Chicago — and extended into outdoor education programs and international itineraries through a partnership with Discovery Expeditions.

The core product is an all-inclusive per-trip bundle covering roundtrip airfare, motor coach, premium hotel accommodations (Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton), three meals daily, a full-time 24/7 Expedition Leader, professional nighttime security, all admissions and educational programming, and on-trip travel protection through Trip Mate (Generali). Underpinning fulfillment is a custom registration and trip-management platform — the "My Trip" portal — accessed by individual travelers via a private Tour Code, enabling itinerary access, payment processing, and "Fund My Trip" donation links. Supporting sub-products include a Teacher Tools Portal for curriculum and trip planning, the Fund A Traveler crowdsourcing tool, and optional Trip Cancellation / Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) insurance upgrades.

The commercial model is direct-to-school sales-led, with trips sourced through website inquiry forms, word-of-mouth referrals among teachers, organic social, and trade memberships in NTA, SYTA, ABA, IATAN, and the Washington DC Guild of Tour Guides. Pricing is per-trip and customized by group size, itinerary, and destination. Compliance scaffolding includes WASC accreditation of educational programs, California Department of Justice Seller of Travel certification, IATAN certification, and a $10M Professional and General Liability policy via Steadfast Insurance Group. Customer concentration is horizontal across many K-12 schools, with a distributed guide and program-director team of roughly 20+ individuals across multiple U.S. states.

Name

Academic Expeditions

Legal name

Academic Expeditions Inc.

Website

https://academicexpeditions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Academic Expeditions is a privately held, full-service educational travel company founded in 2003 that designs and operates customized, all-inclusive multi-day field-trip expeditions for K-12 student groups across U.S. and select international destinations, anchored on U.S. history, civic, and outdoor education itineraries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Travel Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (56152), Tour Operators (561520), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land (487110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

School Group & Curriculum-Led Trips (THAKAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Student & Youth Educational Tours (THAKAGAA)

Keywords

• Educational travel services
• Student group tours
• Custom school field trips
• Curriculum-based expeditions
• U.S. history field trips

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. All-Inclusive Tour Packages: Revenue is generated through all-inclusive tour package pricing. Each expedition price covers transportation, premium hotel accommodations, three meals daily, full-time 24/7 Expedition Leader, all admission fees, security, taxes, transfers, airfares, and included travel protection. Pricing is customized per group based on itinerary, group size, and destination. No hidden fees. The only additional cost typically mentioned is spending money for souvenirs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Academic Expeditions designs and operates fully customized, all-inclusive educational field trip expeditions for middle and high school student groups across U.S. destinations such as Washington DC, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Colonial Virginia, American Battlefields, and Chicago, with outdoor education programs and international destinations offered via partnership. Each package bundles roundtrip airfare, motor coach transportation, premium hotel accommodations, three daily meals, full-time 24/7 Expedition Leaders, professional nighttime security, all admission fees, taxes, transfers, on-trip travel protection, and curriculum-aligned content. A private online Trip Portal supports registration, payment processing, itinerary management, and group-gated access via Tour Codes.

Product overview

Academic Expeditions is an educational travel company offering a single integrated service—custom educational field trip expeditions for student groups. The core product is the customizable U.S. expedition program, which includes domestic destinations (Washington DC, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Colonial Virginia, American Battlefields, Chicago), outdoor education programs, and international destinations through a partnership with Discovery Expeditions. Supporting sub-products include the Teacher Tools Portal (for trip planning resources), My Trip Portal (for registration and payment management), Fund A Traveler (for crowdfunding individual trips), and Travel Protection Plans (insurance add-on via Trip Mate). All expeditions are all-inclusive, featuring full-time guides, premium accommodations, transportation, and curriculum-aligned educational content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Domestic Destinations Educational Expeditions Fully customized, all-inclusive educational expeditions to major U.S. historical destinations including Washington DC, New York City, Boston & Plymouth, Philadelphia, Colonial Virginia, American Battlefields, and Chicago, with curriculum-aligned itineraries, full-time 24/7 Expedition Leaders, premium accommodations, transportation, and meals for middle and high school student groups.
• Outdoor Education Programs Nature-based experiential learning programs for students, including Sierra Nevada, Kings Canyon, Santa Rosa, Manzanar, and Costa Rica programs, customizable for any location and grade level with hands-on education in leadership, natural history, science, and community-building.
• International Destinations (via Discovery Expeditions partner) International and culturally-focused expeditions fulfilled through the Discovery Expeditions partner, including humanitarian and non-profit trips, academic credit programs, and professional development opportunities for teachers.
• Travel Protection Plans Optional travel insurance plans provided in partnership with Trip Mate (Generali Global Assistance), including on-trip coverage (Trip Interruption, Accident and Sickness Medical Expense, Medical Evacuation and Repatriation, Baggage and Personal Effects, Baggage Delay) plus optional paid upgrades for Trip Cancellation and Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Discovery ExpeditionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiscovery Expeditions is a strategic partner that extends Academic Expeditions' capabilities beyond traditional US History destinations to offer international expeditions, humanitarian and non-profit trips, academic credit programs, and professional development opportunities for teachers. The partnership enables AE to fulfill international and specialized expedition requests that fall outside their core domestic US History programming.
• Trip Mate (Generali Global Assistance)minorOthersTrip Mate, a Generali Global Assistance & Insurance Services brand, provides travel protection plans for all overnight travelers. Coverage includes Trip Interruption, Accident and Sickness Medical Expense, Medical Evacuation and Repatriation, Baggage and Personal Effects, and Baggage Delay. Optional Trip Cancellation and Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) upgrades are also offered through Trip Mate.
• National Tour Association (NTA)minorOthersProfessional membership organization for tour operators. Academic Expeditions is a member in good standing.
• Student Youth Tour Association (SYTA)minorOthersLeading professional association for student and youth travel. Academic Expeditions is a member in good standing.
• American Bus Association (ABA)minorOthersTrade association for the bus and travel industry. Academic Expeditions is a member in good standing.
• Washington D.C. Guild of Tour GuidesminorOthersProfessional guild for licensed Washington DC tour guides. Academic Expeditions is a member in good standing.
• International Airlines Travel Agent Network (IATAN)minorOthersGlobal network of travel professionals recognized by airlines. Academic Expeditions holds IATAN certification as a travel seller.
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)minorOthersRegional accrediting body for schools in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific. Academic Expeditions' educational programs are fully accredited by WASC, validating the educational quality and rigor of their curriculum-based expeditions.
• Steadfast Insurance GroupminorOthersProvides Academic Expeditions' $10,000,000 Professional and General Liability Insurance Policy, which offers clients an additional layer of protection. The policy document is available upon request.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WorldStrides: WorldStrides is one of the largest U.S. educational travel providers, offering curriculum-led student tours and experiential learning programs similar to Academic Expeditions across K-12 institutions.
• EF Education First Tours: EF Tours is a major operator of student and educational group travel with domestic and international itineraries; competes directly with Academic Expeditions for school group bookings and curriculum-aligned programming.
• ACIS (American Council for International Studies): ACIS specializes in educational student travel for middle and high schools with educator-led group tours; comparable to Academic Expeditions in target customer and curriculum-led approach.
• Explorica: Explorica (an Education First brand) provides K-12 educational travel tours across global destinations; competes for the same school-trip decision-makers and group-travel RFPs as Academic Expeditions.

Broad incumbents

• Smithsonian Student Travel: Smithsonian Student Travel leverages the Smithsonian brand to deliver curriculum-linked student tours domestically and abroad; overlaps with Academic Expeditions' educational positioning but with broader reach and brand recognition.
• National Geographic Student Expeditions: National Geographic's student expedition programs offer curated, content-rich educational travel; broader portfolio but comparable in audience (middle/high school students seeking premium educational tours).
• Road Scholar: Road Scholar is a large educational travel provider serving adult learners; adjacent in mission (educational travel) but broader in demographic, relevant as a category benchmark.

Emerging players

• Discovery Expeditions: Strategic partner of Academic Expeditions for international and humanitarian expeditions; both companies share an educator-led, mission-driven approach to student travel and cooperate rather than primarily compete.
• Globe Trek (G Adventures / similar youth operators): Small-group experiential travel operators targeting youth and student demographics; partial overlap with AE's outdoor and experiential segments, though typically less curriculum-aligned.

Regional players

• CIE Tours International: Established tour operator focused primarily on guided international travel to Ireland and the UK; relevant adjacent benchmark for premium guided group tour operations but geography-and-demographic overlap is partial.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/academicexpeditions
• Instagraminstagram.com/academic_expeditions
• Xx.com/AcademicExpedit

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 records

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 Academic Expeditions