has anyone in the UK sent their kids to summer camp in America?

[eyebrowsonflick]

my 14 year old daughter is a bit obsessed with the idea of a summer at an American summer camp. I'm open to the idea, but don't know anything about them, cost, where to go, if foreign kids can go etc

any experiences/advice?

No but I'm interested

I haven’t but I have just researched this now. This is a camp in the UK that apparently does American style camp and if you look at the price u r talking 1300 just for one week. So I can imagine it must be similar pricing in America. https://www.internationalsummercampuk.com/date-and-price/

Look at Camp America
they take kids from all over the world but the majority will be USA
The dates don’t really align with UK school holidays so be aware
they are v v expensive
How would your child feel about travelling alone; getting to a camp and having to make friends etc?

I found this exactly the same but in the UK and it’s 1300 just for one week. https://www.internationalsummercampuk.com/date-and-price/

My child has done it
the weekly pricing of that UK camp is about right for the American ones which are up to three weeks (so triple the price plus air fare on top and unaccompanied minor travel costs)
the first year my partner flew out and drove her to camp
Camp staff then drove her back to the airport for her return flight and literally stayed with her at the gate

I worked at an American summer camp (many years ago).

There were no foreign kids there (only local American kids).

I don’t see how this would work logistically even if you did find a camp who would take her? She may be able to fly to the US on her own in certain airlines but would then have to get to the camp.

I worked at a camp and was desperate for my kids to want to go as campers, but they didn’t fancy it. If your DD is year9, she be the second oldest group at my camp. If she’s year 10, she’d be the oldest. Which is quite fun as ours got senior privileges.

she can always go as a counsellor once she’s old enough. I’d say I had at least as much fun as the kids , if not more. I loved it !

She may be able to fly to the US on her own in certain airlines but would then have to get to the camp.
there are ones that will pick up from the nearest airport ans have a shuttle bus of sorts

We had lots of overseas students at our camp - British, European, South American Was a very privileged camp though, I can’t remember £££ . Just know the kids were very privileged (and absolutely lovely).

Well, just looking above a camp that’s like that but in the UK you are talking 1300 a week so I would imagine you would have to be privileged

My American grandchildren have gone every summer since they were 7, I think they go for 7 weeks. It is extremely expensive. I seem to recall that their parents have to remain in USA and not go abroad on holiday whist the children are at camp. Makes sense I suppose as if they had an accident at camp the parents would need to collect them.
My grandchildren go to one in the next state from where they live

Once she's 18 she can go and work at one which is an amazing experience by all accounts

Yes it certainly is! One of my sons was recruited from university and has now lived in USA for the last 20 years. His children now go to the same camp that he worked in.
If I remember correctly after the camp season finished he was able to travel for another few weeks on his visa before returning to the uk to finish his university course

I think I had kinda thought it wouldn't be hugely expensive because all American kids use them. but I realise now, my idea that all American kids go to them, comes entirely from watching American films, so probably not true at all. she is probably going to have to wait until she can go there to work in that case!

I will not send my child to other country

on way just looking at PGL holidays which might be an alternative but they don't seem to do them outside of the UK anymore?

For years 1-5 it costs 9000 dollars for 7 weeks at the camp my grandchildren go to , rising to 11000 dollars for year 11’s
My mind boggles at the cost of they go every year!
lime you say, it can only be the high earners who can afford it

Sorry typos! It’s late!

Yep, it's definitely not an "All American kids go" experience at all. It's pretty typical in the NE but less so in other areas, especially for the whole summer. To be honest, the only 14 year olds I know that still go have been going since they were 7 and go because they adore their summer camp friends. By 14, a lot of kids are spending their summers working or starting their camp counselor training. Also, by the time UK schools break up, a lot of the camps have pretty much finished.

I would love to send my kids to the place where I did camp America, but the intention was to all go over - a week at camp for the boys while DH & I travel around the area.
It's expensive but a fantastic opportunity.to meet new and very different friends.

However my eldest is increasingly a homebody so it probably won't happen unless we do family camp.

I think it would be crazy expensive. I worked at one when I was 20 and there was only one child who wasn’t American. She was Spanish, aged about 9, and her parents wanted her to improve her English. Poor kid was so homesick and couldn’t really communicate how she felt to us as her English wasn’t very good. This was about 18 years ago so no google translate available on the phone.

the American kids seemed to love camp and I really enjoyed working there. Mine wasn’t a privileged camp, it was a YMCA one with funded spaces for some kids. I wouldn’t send my own kid (from UK) but I would definitely encourage them to work there for a summer or two because it’s an amazing experience and you can travel afterwards for a bit too

We are in the US, but from the UK originally. Our son will go to Camp Manitou in Maine this summer. We also have friends who love Camp Laurel, also in Maine, particularly as it has good equestrian programs, but we didn't pick Camp Laurel as it requires the whole summer and our son is a little too young for that, plus we want to vacation as a family too. Our boy loves the fact that he gets to play tennis and swim in the lake every day. Camp Laurel particularly has children from all over the world, although mainly American.

I worked on a Girl Scout camp when I was a student. Sessions were only 1-2 weeks long, and it was non-profit. So it was much cheaper than the fancy private camps. The only international campers we had were ones with American grandparents nearby though, and we didn’t offer airport transfers.

I worked on a camp as a swimming coach in Vermont for a summer in 2015. It was a great experience! I went through the Camp America programme which was great, and I got to travel for a month on the visa after I finished working at the camp.

The camp was very fancy and each child was paying $25000+ for 8 weeks 😵‍💫 From what I remember the children were all american, mostly from NYC and the surrounding towns.

I went to an American summer camp. I’m American.
It was held at a lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains for a week.
Arts & crafts, canoeing, archery, hiking, etc.
I remember the very first thing the head of the camp said upon our arrival was that if we didn’t follow their rules we’d be beaten.
I was excited to go, then immediately homesick.
There was a campfire every night where they told stories and we sang songs.
One night we hiked a ways up and slept out under the stars - there must’ve been a million of them because the air was so clear.
The food was awful.
We slept in our sleeping bags in rough cabins.
It was sponsored by the YMCA and was called Camp Tulequoia at Sequoia Lake in California. I think it cost $32 or some ridiculous 60s amount.
It’s a “family camp” now and the cost is $2000+.