TRAVEL GRANT

Applications are now being accepted for the HI-USA $1,000 Travel Grant. If you, or someone you know, is between the ages of 17 and 26, live in the greater Los Angeles area, and dreams of seeing the world in 2008 but is low on funds, the HI-USA Travel Grant may help make your dream a reality.

For information on the grant guidelines, please click here.

RAIL EUROPE NEWS

New Products - Rail Europe has added Croatia and Slovenia to the Eurail Global Pass bringing to twenty the number of countries the Eurail Global pass is now valid in. New passes in 2008 include Eurail Finland-Sweden, Eurail Denmark-Sweden and Eurail Norway-Sweden.

Early Bird Specials - Purchase a 6, 8 or 10 day Eurail Selectpass before March 31, 2008, and receive an additional day of travel for free! Eurail Selectpasses offer unlimited travel on the national rail networks of any 3, 4 or 5 bordering countries of 22 European countries that are connected by train or ship. You may purchase an individual pass, a saver pass if there are 2-5 people traveling together, or a youth pass if you are under 26. You have up to six months from the date of purchase to begin using your pass. These new rail products, Early Bird Specials, and the full range of Eurail passes are available at the HI Travel Centre in Santa Monica. Rail Passes are printed and issued in the Travel Center, so you will not have to wait for the passes to be sent to you or incur additional shipping costs.

Confused by all the rail pass options available to you? Don’t worry, come and visit the HI Travel Center and the staff will help walk you through the most cost effective options available to you for your trip. The Travel Center is located at 1434 Second Street in Santa Monica, (between Santa Monica Blvd and Broadway) and is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday – Friday, and 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday. The phone number is 310-393-3413.

For more information on the Travel Center please click here.

WORLD TRAVEL 101 WORKSHOPS

Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to travel this year? We have some World Travel 101 Workshops scheduled in the next few weeks that might help you with your trip planning.

World Travel 101 Workshops
January 12	11:00 a.m.	Europe
January 19	11:00 a.m.	Mature Traveler
January 19	1:30 p.m.	Australia & New Zealand
January 26	11:00 a.m.	Europe by Rail
February 9	11:00 a.m.	Women Traveling Solo
February 16	11:00 a.m.	Europe

The workshops will take place at the HI Travel Store, 1434 Second Street in Santa Monica. Admission is $5 for HI-USA members and $10 for non-members. Two hours free parking is available in the public parking structure across the street from the HI Travel Store.

Call (310) 393-3413 for more information or to make a reservation.

For a map to the Travel Store please click here!

VOLUNTEER, INTERN and WORK STUDY OPPORTUNTIES AT HI-USA

The HI-USA vision is “that hostellers become caring world citizens, who are catalysts for intercultural exchange and understanding, and who are stewards of the earth.” Our efforts to make that vision a reality includes not only operating quality Los Angeles area hostels, but also providing programs such as our World Travel 101 Workshops, which help first time travelers in planning a trip abroad. Our annual Travel Grant helps a traveler between the ages of 17-26 pursue an experiential travel, and our annual Spirit of Adventure Award recognizes individuals, regardless of age, who, through their experiences, have demonstrated outstanding enthusiasm and curiosity while traveling. Our Discover Your World Program promotes and teaches environmental education, interpersonal skills, and intercultural understanding to grades 4-12. The Cultural Kitchen Program offers Girl Scouts an opportunity to explore the culture, cuisine, geography, government, lifestyle, and people of a another country. The program is now expanding to LAUSD schools, and will serve grades 4-12. We are also launching a new Water Science Program with the LAUSD, which will address environmental and water conservation issues, and will serves grades 7-12.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer and helping with our outreach programs, or believe that your travel experience qualifies you to become one of our travel workshop speakers, please contact us. If you are a student and your school has an Intern or Work Study Program that would allow you to work with us in our offices in Santa Monica we would also be interested in hearing from you. If you have any questions or for more information please contact John Estrada at 310-393-6991 x 25 or via email at john.estrada@lahostels.org.