The Auburn Alumni Association and War Eagle Travelers are recruiting students for the fifth annual Classic European Graduation Tour.
The tour is open to everyone, but it retains an emphasis on alumni and seniors.
The tour is a 10-day trip to London, Paris, Milan and Rome. There is also a six-day extension to Pompeii, the Greek Islands and Athens.
"Those are the ones everyone wants to go to when they're in Europe anyways," said Milan Dekich, student travel ambassador. "It is the Classical European Tour, so you're going to all the classical cities."
The tour is set for May 14-23, 2013 or, with the six-day extension, until May 29.
The price is $2,225 for the 10-day trip, with an extra $985 for the six-day extension.
The price includes two museum tickets in Paris, fast passes through lines at big names such as the Eiffel Tour and Big Ben, a boat cruise in Paris, admission into the Coliseum and travel arrangements.
Some meals are included in the tour, but not all. Dekich said this gives the group an opportunity to try local cuisine.
"They give you a lot of freedom," Dekich said. "This is not a hand holding kind of tour."
The trip also offers experiences such as a Moulin Rouge show or a recent popular favorite, the London Pub Crawl.
"This is super relaxed, this is just fun," Dekich said. "I don't want any learning going on. I just want pure fun, people enjoying themselves and experiencing new culture."
The informal setting for the trip allows students to experience culture on their own terms. The morning tours show the group where everything is, and the participants are free the remainder of the day to explore on their own.
Tanja Matthews, alumni programs coordinator, said there is a level of personal responsibility for those involved with the trip.
"If you calculate everything that you are getting and everything you are doing, if you try to do that on your own it would cost you that or more because you're trying to figure out personal transportation," she said.
"The value is not just monetary; it equates to the group experience, the safety of the group, and some of these guys are really close friends."
Meredith Jones, Auburn alumna and attendee of last year's tour, said, "It's totally worth it. I really enjoyed seeing everything that was historical, all the sights and making new friends."
Jones said she wanted an adventure after graduation. On the trip, she was able to enjoy seeing everything in person and crossing items off her bucket list, such as exploring the Louvre and seeing the Mona Lisa first-hand.
Matthews said she is trying to give that kind of experience to everyone.
"Auburn is all about tradition, and we wanted to make this a tradition," she said.
Visit AUalum.org for more information.
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