Hate to plan? Stuck in a travel rut? Can’t make decisions?
Surprise travel can help!
According to a Booking.com survey of 27,000 travellers from 33 countries, 52% of participants polled ‘are keen to book a surprise trip where everything down to the destination is unknown until arrival’.
Wait. What?
The gist
You fill out a form, pay and surrender. The surprise travel company does the rest, including booking flights, hotels, excursions, activities, and meals.
You provide some basics: dates, budget, number of travellers, travel document details, travel history. Destination guidelines (in-country or international?) Tailor your profile with info about trip type (plane, train or car?) travel preferences (roughing it at the Ritz or camping with the fam?), special requests (vegan, live music, sport) and deal-breakers, sane or otherwise (mobility access, age restrictions, a fear of speaking German)
Until go-time, details of the destination remain a secret. You might get suggestions for packing, say, if you live in the land of flip flops and it’s snowing sideways at your destination.
Who books a mystery trip?
Surprise travel ranks highly with honeymooners. Not surprising, given the ginormous number of decisions that go into planning a wedding. Mystery trips are also popular with families. Kiddos love a surprise and parents don’t have to spend hours scraping the internet for family-friendly activities. This type of travel also works for solo travellers who enjoy the structure of an itinerary without the hassle of creating one.
What types of trips are available?
The trip depends on the company you use and your preferences. Some companies restrict services to specific regions, nationalities or departure points, so ask before booking.
US
Pack Up + Go organises getaways for up to 12 US citizens and permanent residents to over 300 destinations in the country. Trips last between 3 and 11 days and include travel arrangements, accommodation, prepaid activities, and curated recommendations. Trip types: Plane, Road, Outdoors or You Pick. Prices begin at around $500 per person.
Canada
For a surprise day trip in Eastern Ontario, Quebec, and the surrounding areas, hit the road with Unexpected Journeys. Each itinerary comes with 5 sealed envelopes containing stops that work (mostly) in all seasons, plus accommodation suggestions for a longer linger. Options include waterfalls, wineries and breweries, wildlife, city explorations and more. Descriptions indicate driving times from a variety of locations, accessibility, pet-friendliness and activity levels. The self-guided tour costs 60CAD.
UK and Europe
WowTrip delivers mystery destinations in the UK and Europe. For European trips, the package includes flights from the UK and accommodation. Within the UK, trips include digs and the option for a train ticket. No frills, baby.
There are penalties for being picky. Opting out of certain locations comes at a price. For train and car trips, sticking to only rural or only urban destinations will set you back 25 pounds, and you’ll pay a fiver for every European city you click to skip. Getting fussy by choosing departure or arrival times costs between 10-20GBP.
A map and a dartboard might be the wiser option.
Adventure
With Black Tomato’s Get Lost expeditions, travellers get dropped in a remote location, with the aim of arriving at a fixed destination. Using provided equipment, explorers navigate a series of check-in points. Adventurers can choose between polar, jungle, desert, mountain, and coastal climates, or leave it up to chance. An operations team on the ground nearby secretly monitors progress throughout.
The experiences – tailored for individuals or private groups – include detailed trip-planning, in-country logistics, an expert head guide, support team, training, gear, and meals. Prices vary, depending on terrain, trip duration, and the level of lost-ness you want, but start around 15K, GBP, per person.
Luxury
Upscale tour operators Brown & Hudson offer a Journey with No Destination, for next-level experiences that focus on individual traveller philosophies drawn from an in-depth psychological profile. For folks too busy to get away, the company designs bespoke virtual reality adventures.
Both options are too rich for my blood, but the free test offered revealing insight into my travel preferences and my personality in general. Think: your horoscope for travel.
Questions to ask your trip planner
Do trips support travellers from my country?
What’s the cancellation policy?
What type of travel insurance do I need? Is it included in the price?
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