HXP alternatives: how to compare LDS youth trips
If you are searching for an HXP alternative, that does not necessarily mean anything went wrong with HXP. It often means your family is doing the right thing: comparing several meaningful programs before deciding which experience best fits your teen.
HXP, Illuminate/RISE, and Kuska all offer faith-centered international experiences for young people. They are not interchangeable, though. The countries offered, group structure, kind of service, daily rhythm, price, and intended outcome can be quite different.
The most useful question is not, “Which organization is best?” It is: Which model is best for this particular teenager?
This guide was last reviewed August 12, 2026. Program details can change, so use the links to each organization’s official site to verify current dates, pricing, and policies. Kuska Trips is not affiliated with HXP, Illuminate, or ROAM.
The short version
HXP is the largest and most established of these programs. It operates many trips and organizes experiences around service models such as building, teaching, preservation, and working with displaced communities. It also has a highly developed registration process, trip-leader program, parent resources, and financial-aid system.
Illuminate Youth Trips offers a broad menu of church-history, adventure, and international experiences for youth. Its humanitarian trips now operate through the RISE partnership with ROAM Humanitarian. The current RISE Peru expedition, for example, combines several service projects with a fast-paced adventure itinerary.
Kuska is deliberately narrower. It focuses on a small group traveling in Peru and puts an entrepreneur-led micro-internship at the center of the experience. Teens work in teams beside local business owners, study a real opportunity or challenge, and present what they learned. Faith, culture, service, and self-reliance surround that work.
1. What will my teen actually do each day?
“Humanitarian trip” can describe very different experiences. One program may spend most working days on a construction site. Another may move among several community projects. Another may emphasize cultural immersion or adventure.
Ask each organization for a plain-language description of an ordinary weekday:
- How many hours are spent on the principal project?
- Is the work led by local people?
- What responsibilities are appropriate for an untrained teenager?
- How much time is spent sightseeing, traveling, worshipping, and reflecting?
- What does the teen create, complete, or understand by the end?
Kuska’s answer is its micro-internship. Small teams are matched with Peruvian entrepreneurs. Rather than arriving with a prefabricated solution, travelers listen, learn how the business works, and develop recommendations with an adult mentor. The experience is educational by design: the goal is better judgment, cultural fluency, humility, and useful communication.
2. Is the trip centered on breadth or depth?
A large organization can offer many countries, dates, and project types. That flexibility matters if your teen has a particular destination in mind or needs a narrow travel window.
A smaller specialist program can go deeper in one place. Kuska focuses on Peru: the founder’s family heritage, relationships with local entrepreneurs, time with local Latter-day Saint youth, and an itinerary connecting Cusco, Machu Picchu, and Lima.
Neither approach is automatically better. A teen seeking the widest selection may prefer HXP or Illuminate/RISE. A teen drawn to entrepreneurship, Peru, and a small-cohort experience may find Kuska more personal.
3. How is faith woven into the experience?
Do not settle for the word “faith-based.” Ask what that means during an actual week.
Useful questions include:
- Are prayer and scripture study part of the daily rhythm?
- Will the group attend Sunday meetings?
- What standards are participants expected to follow?
- Are teens from other backgrounds welcome?
- Is the program sponsored by the Church, or independently operated?
Kuska is independently operated and is not sponsored or endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its faith practices are explicit: scripture study and reflection, a service project and activities alongside youth from a local stake, Sunday church attendance, and a youth fireside devotional. Teens of any background are welcome when their family understands and respects that experience.
HXP and Illuminate also publish their own faith expectations. Read the current language directly rather than relying on a friend’s experience from a past year.
4. How large is the group, and who knows my teen?
Group size changes the feel of a trip. A large cohort can create tremendous energy and a wide social circle. A smaller cohort can give mentors more time to notice when someone is struggling, draw a quieter traveler into the group, and coach a team through meaningful work.
Kuska plans for a small cohort with a high ratio of adult mentors to travelers. Parents should ask every program:
- How many youth and adults travel together?
- Who is responsible for the group during flights?
- How are adult leaders selected and prepared?
- Will parents meet or speak with leaders before departure?
- How are medical, dietary, emotional, and accessibility needs evaluated?
An impressive destination should never substitute for clear answers about the adults responsible for getting everyone there and home.
5. What does the total price include?
Comparing headline prices can be misleading. One program may include international airfare while another lists it separately. Deposits, domestic connections, insurance, passports, vaccinations, equipment, spending money, and optional activities can materially change the total.
Build a simple family budget using the same categories for every program:
- Published trip fee
- International and domestic airfare
- Deposit and payment schedule
- Insurance
- Passport or visa costs
- Required clothing or equipment
- Vaccinations or medical preparation
- Spending money
- Cancellation and refund exposure
Kuska currently lists a trip fee of $2,800 per person, a $500 deposit, and an estimated $800–$1,100 for international airfare. The next trip runs in 2027; exact dates and final itinerary details are still being finalized. Families should confirm the current figures directly before paying a deposit.
6. What kind of growth is the program designed to create?
Most youth travel organizations promise confidence, friendship, faith, and a broader worldview. Look underneath those shared words for the mechanism.
HXP emphasizes difficult work, sustainable service, positive peer groups, and spiritual growth. Illuminate/RISE combines service, faith, cultural immersion, and high-energy adventure. Kuska uses entrepreneurship as the learning environment: understand before acting, work across cultures, solve with rather than for, and present ideas with humility.
That distinction matters for teens interested in business, leadership, international development, or simply understanding how other people build a life and livelihood.
When Kuska may be the right fit
Kuska deserves a closer look when your teen:
- is 15–19 years old;
- is interested in entrepreneurship or real-world problem solving;
- wants a smaller group with close adult mentorship;
- is excited specifically about Peru;
- wants faith to be an open, practical part of the experience;
- would benefit from contributing to a team with a real responsibility.
When another program may fit better
Another organization may be a better choice when your teen:
- is outside Kuska’s age range;
- wants to choose among many countries or dates;
- primarily wants a construction-centered service experience;
- wants a church-history tour rather than an international micro-internship;
- needs finalized dates before considering an application.
The honest answer is part of the service a responsible youth-travel organization owes families.
Ask the same questions, then notice the different answers
Start with the model of work, group size, leadership, faith practices, total price, and intended outcome. Ask every organization the same questions. The differences will become much clearer than they appear from scenic photos alone.
If Kuska’s smaller Peru micro-internship sounds aligned with your teen, review the current trip details, read the information for parents, or send the team a question. There is no need to force a fit. The goal is to choose an experience your family understands and your teen is ready to own.