Questions parents ask.

Programs are for high school and college students, 14 to 22. Weeks are split by age group and, in some locations, by gender. The 2027 calendar says which week is which.

"I had the opportunity to participate in the alumni week Guanaja program as the only new student. Before I knew it, I was welcomed into this family and began forming meaningful relationships despite being an unfamiliar face to all."

Any amount, including none. Over the week the team covers everything from knots to flies to reading the water, with one leader for every few students. We do recommend practicing the cast before arrival. A confident cast buys a lot of extra shots at a fish.

"This trip was my first time salt water fishing and I was a little bit nervous about the transition. The first day on the water, Kevin spent hours helping me learn how to double haul."

No problem. Every lodge has backup rods and reels. Terminal tackle is the student's responsibility. If you're short a rod or reel, tell us before the trip and we'll make sure it's there. Each program page has the full packing list, and former students tie flies for trips if you'd like to support an alum.

We never want these programs to be cost-prohibitive. Financial aid runs from $500 to a full ride and is decided on need and drive. Applications open in September and close the last day of February, with decisions by early March. If aid isn't enough, students fund their trips in all sorts of ways, and we'll brainstorm with you. Here is the process. Local students in our program destinations can apply for the Pollito scholarship.

Honduras is where it all started and the one most first-timers choose. Girls Week is the same island, just for girls. The Bahamas is white-sand bonefish on foot and local students training to guide, and the week we recommend for a first taste of saltwater fly fishing. Mexico is a permit fishery and a Spanish-speaking village. Costa Rica is a nine-day road trip for kids who love wildlife and science as much as fishing. Our programs work for everyone, but there are highlights to each program that might appeal to you. If you're still not sure, email us and tell us about your kid.

"On the very first day of tarpon fishing I was so excited and scared at the same time. When I got a tarpon to eat my fly the feeling is indescribable. Once the fly came flying out of the tarpon's mouth everyone went crazy."

Students. We want the kid to want it. The application asks them about themselves, their fishing and what they hope to get out of the week, and our team gets back to them. How enrollment works.

Every student has a Global Rescue membership for emergency rescue and medical evacuation, bought at registration. Trip leaders are First Aid and CPR certified, and several of our leaders hold Wilderness First Responder certification. Each location has an emergency action plan and a direct line to the local clinic. These locations have preexisting fly fishing lodges that operate throughout the year. We are connected to emergency action plans and teams in place, should anything happen. More on how we keep students safe.

There's no wifi at any location, on purpose: disconnect to reconnect. Trip leaders collect phones at their discretion, and they're only for music and photos. You get a message when everyone has arrived, a direct line to staff for updates, and photos on Instagram from that day.

"I knew there was going to be fishing, but I didn't know that most of the time off the water was the time I really enjoyed the most. I had the best week of my life with people I've never met before and now are friends forever."

Most of them haven't. Trip leaders are waiting at the destination airport the moment students clear customs, and they help everyone check in for the flight home. If you'd like a travel companion, we can arrange for a trip leader or another student to fly with yours from the States.

"This is my first time traveling without my parents, and I have to do everything on my own, so I think I improved a lot in making decisions."

Before the program, email info@fishforchange.org with anything at all. While your kid is abroad, the same address reaches the team, and you have a direct line to staff on the ground.

Every program includes ten hours of volunteer work: mangrove planting, reef cleanups, school projects and the like. Bring the school's service-hours form or email it afterwards and we'll sign it.

"Your organization has provided him the opportunity to see other parts of the world, given him the perspective of how other people in the world live, and instilled in him a love of the environment and an understanding that taking action makes a difference."

Zero tolerance. Students sign a form before the program agreeing to it, and are sent home at their own cost if they break it.

At the lodge programs, two or three to a room, and everyone eats together. In Guanaja the lodge moms cook every meal and do the laundry. The Costa Rica road trip is different: an assortment of food and places to stay along the way, with plenty of meals out. Each program page describes the lodge.

"Less than 24 hours in, we were all fast friends laughing and joking with each other in the kitchen over cheerios."

Each program page has a packing list you can tick off on your phone, print, or save as a PDF: Honduras, Girls Week, Bahamas, Mexico, Costa Rica. Being fully covered from the sun and the bugs is the single most useful thing a student can do.

Honduras and Girls Week: Roatán (RTB). Bahamas: Nassau, then Great Harbour Cay. Mexico: Tulum (TQO). Costa Rica: San José (SJO). Each program page has the arrival window and the earliest flight home, so book after you've read it.

Valid for at least six months past the end of the trip. Check it the day you enroll, not the week before you fly.