What are Teen Travel Quests?
What do all Quests have in common?
Who are the Quest leaders?
What is the food like on Quest?
How can I stay in touch with my teen on Quest?
What’s Jewish about Quest?
What if my teen has never been backpacking or rafting before?
What are the teen jobs on Quest?
What outside, professional outfitters do you use?
How do I choose the Quest that is right for my teen?
What if we don’t live in the San Francisco Area?
Can you help us get to or from a Quest?
Do teens go on Quests not knowing anyone?
If I have friends who want to go, can we be sure to be on the same together?

What are Teen Travel Quests?
Quests are Camp Tawonga’s on-the-go road trip programs that we have been leading for over 25 years! Quest take the best parts of camp (nature, swimming, Shabbat, and small group building) and go on the road with mini vans, a trailer, and our oldest and most trained staff! Our years of experience have made us experts on all our locations, working with the best guides, training the best staff, and creating the best programs for teens.

A Quest is an excellent opportunity to have new adventures, become more independent, and make lifelong friends.

• What do all Quests have in common?
• Are open to boys and girls. We save half the spots on each trip for each gender, until April, to help the groups feel balanced.
• Have 8 – 16 teens, keeping the groups small enough for our philosophy of community, communication and team work
• Are lead by 2-4 adult Tawonga staff and there is always at least one male and one female leader (click or scroll to Quest Staff for more details)
• Travel in 2-3 mini-vans towing one trailer for luggage
• Primarily involve car camping in beautiful locations around the Western United States, sleeping outdoors in state and national parks and private campgrounds with bathrooms and showers.
• Offer all adventure activities at introductory levels, no previous experience needed!
• Include a water sport (such as sea kayaking, surfing, or river rafting)
• Include a short backpacking trip in a national park or forest, exploring the area’s natural beauty
• Celebrate Shabbat and Havdallah, eat kosher-style, and engage in creative Jewish programming
• Are created for specific age groups, so you can choose between trips for younger or older teens.

Who are the Quest Leaders?
Each Quest has 2-4 adult Tawonga staff and there is always at least one man and one woman. Quest leaders are among our oldest staff who receive additional, pre-summer training (beyond what all Tawonga staff participate in) in wilderness safety and leadership, group building, passenger driving, teaching, and Jewish programming. Between them they hold certifications in wilderness medicine, & lifeguarding, and all have 3rd party screening of their driving qualifications.

These special people, often past counselors and wilderness leaders at Tawonga, share the responsibilities of bonding the group, staying in touch with camp while on the road, leading Jewish and nature programs, and generally conducting safe travels. Campers can expect their leaders to keep their confidences, prioritize safety (both physical and emotional), set appropriate limits, and have fun with the group.

What is the food like on Quest?
We shop for fresh, nutritious food about every 3 days on Quest. All meals are kosher-style, like camp, so we never eat traif and either serve meat or dairy products, but never both at the same time. If it is a meat meal, vegetarian options are always available. Snacks are always available on the van rides and occasionally teens may use personal money to buy things like sodas and candy for fun.

The rotating cooking team sets the weekly menu with the leaders, so everyone has a chance to eat their favorites and learn to cook new meals. Common meals include: pancakes, French toast, deli sandwiches, mac n cheese, soup and pasta, burritos, grilled salmon, hot dogs and hamburgers, quesadillas, and more! Typically the leaders are very hands-on, guiding the shopping and cooking, in the first week or so of each Quest. But as the group grows more comfortable with their new skills, the leaders start to step back and supervise. It’s amazing to see what can be learned and how proud teens grow of their new independence in two or three weeks!

How can I stay in touch with my teen on Quest?
Every Quest has 1-2 mail stops to receive letters and packages from home. Teens are also encouraged to pick up a pen and paper and try old fashioned snail mail for a change! Nonetheless, stops are also made at pay phones for your teen to call family back home, so calling cards come in handy. Quests are a great opportunity to unplug for a little while and cell phones are not allowed.

What’s Jewish about Quest?
Everyday meals are started by singing the Motzi as a group, to give thanks for the food and cooks. Even if you’ve never heard it before it’s easy to learn. One meal per day we close the meal with the longer Birkat Hamazon.

Every week the group makes creative Shabbat and Havdallah celebrations. Quest leaders will provide a theme for the week, candles, blessings, song books, etc… Quest teens make these events their own by contributing poems, songs, stories, skits, and special meals.

Furthermore, once a week Quest leaders will lead an activity that illuminates the connections between Judaism and nature or encourages the group to examine their own Jewish values.

Food on Quest is served kosher-style. We do not mix milk and meat and we do not serve traif.

Camp Tawonga is the JCA camp for the San Francisco Bay Area. We are non-denominational and our community is open to all families, Jewish (in all its diversity) and non-Jewish. Traveling with a Quest is a great opportunity to meet and make friends with other Jewish teens from the Bay Area and all over the county!

What if my teen has never been backpacking or rafting before?
All sports and activities are set at a beginner’s level. We hire professional outfitters for activities such as rafting, kayaking, and rock climbing who provide safety equipment and training to the group. Tawonga staff will always adapt activities to the group’s abilities, so this is the perfect way to try new things without having to worry about safety or your skills. Jump on in and find out how much fun it is!

What are the teen jobs on Quest?
As an independent “camp on wheels”, Quests depend on the teens helping with a lot of the day to day work. Activities like cooking meals, cleaning dishes, setting up campsites, and packing the trailer are shared by everyone. In the beginning, Quest leaders will role model and assist in getting these tasks done. But early on, teens will be assigned work groups (Cooking, Cleaning, Campsite & Trailer) in which they are responsible for getting things done. Over the course of the trip, everyone will have a turn at every job rotation and the work gets easier and easier as you learn to work together.

Furthermore, each 2-3 week Quest has a laundry day (so don’t pack clothes for 2-3 weeks!). Teens learn to do their own laundry with added guidance as needed from the leaders! These experiences give Questers more ownership over their trip and helps them become more independent in general.

What outside, professional outfitters do you use?
Camp Tawonga has been leading Quests for over 25 years. We select professional companies to work with based on their expertise, their ability to work with teens, recommendations from other clients, and our own positive experiences over the years. Tawonga staff lead activities such as backpacking, mountain biking, and day hikes. We use professional companies to provide excellent equipment, instruction and guiding for surfing, rafting, kayaking, rock climbing, etc.... Each company requires its own waiver forms which we will send with your registration packet. Please read and sign these forms and return them to us with the rest of your paperwork. Altered forms are not valid, so if you have any questions, please give us a call.

*Note: Due to the surprise element of the Magical Mystery Tour, these Quest families will not receive outfitter waivers in advance. Instead you will be asked to sign them upon arrival on the first day of the Quest. If there are any specific activities that your teen cannot participate in or you have concerns about, please call us before registering for this unique program.

How do I pick the Quest that is right for my teen?
First check which Quests are made for your teen’s grade level (7-8th, 8-9th, or 9-11th). Next, look at the general descriptions in our Teen Brochure (call for one at 415-543-2267) and the specific itineraries posted on our website (www.tawonga.org/quest) to see which locations and activities are most exciting to your teen.

Beyond these basic ideas, here are some guiding thoughts for specific Quests:
Yosemite Quest – This trip is a great transition from residential camp to Quest. It spends 3 nights at Camp Tawonga and we even provide the backpacks for the trip to the park! After this short adventure you’ll be craving the full Yosemite Slam experience or more!

Two Week Quests – We sometimes recommend two week trips as the longest Quests for anyone who has only been away from home (without family) for a week or less. The Yosemite Slam and Magical Mystery Tour are also awesome adventures for teens who have already been away from home for two weeks or more.

Magical Mystery Tour - A big part of the thrill behind this 2-week scavenger hunt is the day to day mystery of "Where are we going next and what will we do?!". For many, not knowing where they are going is fun and exciting. Every day is a surprise and every night filled with anticipation. For others, not knowing where you will be staying tonight or doing the rest of the week is not fun. You know your teen best and whether this mystery would be "sweet" or "stressful".

What if we don’t live in the San Francisco Area? Can you help us get to or from a Quest?
Every year many teens come from outside of the SF Bay Area to experience the adventure of Quest! If possible, it is ideal if you have a friend or family member in the area who can pick your teen up the day before the Quest begins and return them to the airport after your Quest ends.

If you do not have any contacts in the Bay Area, we can find a Tawonga host family (someone who is going on the same Quest or to camp the same session) who will pick your teen up from the airport the day before the Quest begins. Then on the way back to San Francisco, we will arrange for your Quest to stop at the airport and walk with your teen up to the security checkpoint. In your registration packet you can request this option and we will call you to arrange all the details. We make it easy so you can join us for an incredible trip!

Do teens go on Quests not knowing anyone?
YES! About 70% of Quest teens come alone and ready to make new friends. About 50% of Questers are new to Tawonga and have never been to camp or Quest before. Like we said above, traveling with a Quest is a great opportunity to meet and make friends with other Jewish teens from the Bay Area and all over the county!

If I have friends who want to go, can I be sure to be on the same Quest with them?
YES! If you do sign up with friends, as long as spaces are available, you will all be guaranteed to be on the same summer trip together!