Rebuilding Island Life

We offer two itinerary lengths to better suit your summer schedule. Though we are not sure where our students will be needed or when – the 14-day itinerary will exclude either Jost van Dyke or Virgin Gorda.

There’s really no rigid mold that ActionQuest participants are cut from. Since our students come from different backgrounds all over the world, the groups end up being naturally diverse. Everyone arrives with different goals, expectations, hopes, and fears but they quickly find common ground and begin to bond. The ActionQuest environment allows team members to connect quickly and become closer friends than anyone would expect. Many students report leaving feeling as though they had known their fellow students much longer than they actually had.

Our philosophy revolves around small group sizes that are still large enough to foster a sense of community. For this program, we can have a maximum of 15 students. This program does not require any previous experience, skills, or language fluency – only a willingness to get involved and appreciate each incredible adventure.

ActionQuest utilizes clean, comfortable, and safe accommodations during our trips – we aim for an authentic stay in the places we go, which rarely equates to luxury. In the British Virgin Islands, students spend their entire stay onboard a ~50’ sail yacht. Each student is designated a cabin down below with up to 5 other students. While there is bunk space in each cabin, many students prefer to sleep under the stars by stringing up a hammock or sleeping on the ship’s trampoline.

The tight-knit community that results from living onboard a yacht is a huge part of the experience for this journey. Student shipmates will rotate through responsibilities while learning to clean, care for, and even steer their floating home. Everyone comes to rely on one another over the course of a few short weeks, and students are often surprised at how much they have learned about life at sea – no matter what their experience level might have been coming into it.

Call into our office to hear more about life aboard!

AQ is proud to attract and recruit the best in our field. Our summer staff includes professional maritime captains and medical professionals. Above all, we hire responsible and experienced facilitators and educators. All members of our team are dynamic, multi-talented, and passionate individuals with a devotion and commitment to the safety and experience of our students.

At AQ we strive for nutritious, and delicious meals. Student chefs of the day prepare meals with help from the staff using a mixture of goods we have imported and local fresh food we pick up onshore every few days. On occasion throughout the trip, students will have the option to eat at a restaurant during shore time to sample the local offerings. Moving around the British Virgin Islands poses its own difficulties in terms of provisioning and cooking but when it’s all said and done, meal-time is often a highlight of each day.

During the application process, families can inform us of any dietary allergies or restrictions. We are usually able to accommodate vegetarians, vegans etc., as well as various food allergies. However, if your student has a severe allergy to peanuts or other common substances, please call our office to discuss the options.

Sample Menu Download

Given that students will be mobile for the majority of their adventure, we recommend that you keep things simple and avoid over packing. Students are given the opportunity to do laundry once in the middle of the trip, so there’s no need to pack several weeks’ worth of clothing.

Our hope is that families will have minimal purchases prior to the trip, so we’ve compiled our packing lists in a way that you’ll find most of what you need in your closet at home. Around mid to late March, we make available our Pre-Trip Packet to enrolled students, which contains a detailed packing list for this year’s adventures.