Bermuda Girl Guides have left Bermuda for exotic locations around the world.

The 23 guides and their leaders are going on four separate camping trips to the Netherlands, England, Canada and Mexico.

The team going to the Netherlands for the Dutch National Jamboree left on the weekend and the remaining three teams will leave over this week.

The guides are between 13 and 16 years old and the trips range in length from one week to nearly a month.

Abseiling, archery, hiking, canoeing, raft-building and pioneering are some of the activities they will enjoy.

Although they will spend most of their time living in tents, all the guides will get the opportunity to experience living with a family in the country they are visiting.

International Advisor for the Bermuda Girl Guides Ethel Liverpool said: "Each person travelling will have home hospitality for two or three nights. That's one stipulation we have when we leave Bermuda.

"We always make sure they have home hospitality so they can learn about the place and the culture and build relationships with the people there. Hopefully they will continue to correspond with the families.

"There's lots of character building that goes on. The girls didn't know each other before, because they're from different guide companies on the Island.

"It's all about meeting new people and learning new things. The girls get a chance to meet people from other countries. They talk and share cultural differences. They're away from home and they need to learn how to get on with each other and with people from other countries.'' After being selected to join one of the travelling troops, the guides spent months working on fund-raising projects that ran the gamut from car washes and bake sales to take out dinners and concerts.

The guide leaders aim to mix camping with pleasure and cultural excursions, which will include a diversion to Niagara Falls for the troop going to Canada and a trip to ancient Indian pyramids for the Mexico team.

Mrs. Liverpool said: "Children need constructive things to do. All of this builds character and it's a really fun experience.''