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Journee Trips Review: Is It Legit?

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Have you ever come across videos online of people going on mystery trips? They open a sealed envelope at the airport, no idea where they’re going, to reveal their mystery destination. Well, I did just that !

A few years ago, I went on my first surprise holiday . And it was such a fun experience, I was ready for another mystery trip. This time around, I let Journee sweep me away to yet another unknown destination. I had no idea where I was going until a few hours before my plane left. Journee booked my flights, accommodation, and activities and kept me on my toes for weeks until the departure day was finally there.

If you’re wondering whether going on a surprise trip is something you’d like to consider, I’m here to share my experience.

Spoiler alert: it was a lot of fun!

How does a surprise trip with Journee work?

Before I go into more details about my own trip, I’ll explain a bit more about how you can book a mystery trip with Journee. They make the whole process a lot of fun!

1. Fill out the matchmaking form

Instead of sending you to a random place, Journee wants to match you with the perfect mystery destination. That’s why the process starts by filling out a matchmaking form. It only takes 10–15 minutes and asks you about your preferred travel style, things you like to do, things you’d rather not do and more.

The form is incredibly detailed and I really appreciated the options they give you. For example, you can select what activities you’re not comfortable with (including boat trips, swimming, scuba diving and wine tasting), and they also ask if you have any fears/phobias. 

You can also add your budget here. There is a minimum of £425 per person for a 4-day trip, but you can make it as expensive as you like. Journee will make sure everything (flights, accommodation and activities) will fit within the number you give them.

It shows that they want to create an unforgettable trip for anybody, no matter their preferences or budget.

2. Receive a trip proposal (& book your trip)

Once you’ve filled out the form, it’s time for Journee to get to work. Their team will take a look at our answers and put a trip proposal together. You’ll receive this in your inbox the next day .

Obviously, Journee specialises in mystery trips, so you won’t find the destination in this proposal. However, they will include the dates of your trip along with a few hints. Definitely not enough to guess the destination, but it’ll definitely get you started!

If you like what you see, you can decide to book the trip. You can also ask them to make changes if anything stands out to you that you don’t like. There’s no obligation to book a trip. So, even if you’re just curious, you can fill out the form without having to book anything.

3. Receive your clues

Your trip is booked and the countdown is on! This part is one of the things that really stood out to me – Journee doesn’t just make the trip exciting, they make the build-up to the trip just as much fun.

Leading up to your departure date, Journee will send you clues about your destination and trip via WhatsApp. Eight to be precise. And all of them bring you closer to guessing it while also completely throwing you off. I was so sure about a destination before receiving another clue which totally didn’t match it… Back to the drawing board, it is.

I also got my friends and family involved in the guessing game. “Have you received any more clues???” was a common text I received in the weeks leading up to my trip. It was so much fun and even though I told them NOT to tell me their guesses (I wanted it to be a surprise after all), seeing them get so involved made it an even more unique experience – especially since it was a solo trip.

4. Receive your packing list & weather report

One common question I received online after posting about my upcoming surprise trip was “but how do you know what to pack?”. Luckily, Journee came up with the perfect solution while keeping the destination a secret.

A few weeks before your departure date, you’ll receive a packing list and a weather report . This way, you know exactly what to bring. The weather report even updates daily, so you won’t be caught off guard by a sudden change in the weather.

You’ll also receive a physical pack in the post a few days before you leave. In it, you’ll find two closed envelopes. One includes the destination reveal card and the other includes Journee’s destination guide (which includes your itinerary and a ton of extra information about your destination – super handy since you’ve not been able to research anything beforehand!). Obviously, don’t open these until you get to the airport!

5. Time to pack

And then it’s suddenly time to pack already. With the packing list and weather report, this was very easy. I did bring a few extra outfits, just in case. But since I was only going for 4 days, this was no problem.

Then it’s time to get down to the airport. Journee will tell you the time your flight will leave and from which airport. Make sure not to check the airport departure screen before opening your mystery destination envelope though!

6. Open your mystery destination envelope at the airport

On the day of your mystery trip, it’s time to get to the airport. Journee will let you know the time of your flight, so you have enough time to get there. They take care of checking you in, and you can find your boarding passes on your online Journee Passport.

All that’s left to do is open your envelope and find out where you’re going! I recorded a video opening mine, so if you want to see my reaction, you can check it out here .

7. Follow Journee’s itinerary during your mystery trip

After opening the mystery destination reveal envelope, you can open the other one. In it, you’ll find a booklet with lots of information about your destination along with a tailor-made itinerary. This includes where you’ll be staying, how to get there and what you’ll be doing during your trip.

I won’t go into detail about my exact itinerary here, because I wouldn’t want to spoil it if you also get matched with the same city on your Journee trip. But I will say that it included a lot of amazing experiences, some of which I’ll never forget.

Want to see what I thought of my mystery trip? Read my full Journee review below.

Journee review: my surprise trip with Journee

After Journee contacted me to see if I’d be interested in working together, I already couldn’t wait to go on a trip with them. I love planning trips, but when it’s part of your job, it can get a little tiring. Plus, the idea of actually finding out AT the airport seemed so much fun. 

I’ve been on a surprise holiday with ATO Tours a few years ago (to Lisbon , which was an incredible experience). ATO Tours gave me the option to find out where I was going seven days before the trip. This worked out really well because it gave me time to prepare and read up on the destination – especially since I was going to be writing about it! But I always what it would be like to not know until a couple of hours before you’re jetting off .

Obviously, with Journee, you can also find out where you’re going in advance by opening the destination envelope. This is totally up to you! If you want to do some research before your trip, do so by all means. I just wanted to see what it’d be like to really not know.

Before my mystery trip

After filling out the trip matchmaking form on Journee’s website, I was sent a trip proposal. And while it did include a few clues, it was still way too early to find out where they were planning to send me. This did start the guessing game for me and my friends (and family, friends of family and family of friends). Where will I be going?

Over the next few weeks, Journee sent out some clues via WhatsApp . Every time I saw the notification popped up, I rushed to open it. This was very, very exciting.

The clues were great too. Not too vague, but vague enough to leave unsure about what it could be. But there were options – so. many. options . And with every new clue, I was thrown off completely. When I was sure it was going to be Pisa, the next clue didn’t line up with that destination and we’d be back to square one. The same thing happened when I received the weather report and packing list. This made things even more confusing (but exciting!).

While some of my friends turned into research mode, cross-checking clues, forty clicks deep into Wikipedia articles, and having heavy discussions at the dinner table, I decided not to Google anything. I want it to be a surprise, after all. 

But the clues were a fun addition that kept me super excited in the weeks leading up to the trip. It made the whole experience feel like so much more than just the trip. It was an adventure that lasted weeks.

And then the morning of my flight arrived. I was giddy. When I got to the airport, I was feeling a healthy amount of nerves, but mainly excitement. In a couple of hours, I’d be on the plane to God knows where (well, Journee knew, and I was about to find out too). Then, it was time to open the envelope…

Spoiler alert: the mystery destination turned out to be Krakow, Poland! 

They really couldn’t have picked a better destination for me . I love cities, I love history and culture, and I hadn’t been to Poland before. Also, Krakow had been on my wishlist for ages, but so have many other European cities. I have no idea how long it would’ve taken me to actually book a trip there, so this was the perfect opportunity to explore a new city!

During my mystery trip

As you probably can tell from my itineraries on this site, I love a bit of travel planning. So going to an unknown destination was a little scary. Luckily, Journee’s guide to Krakow helped me a lot. They also sent me a Google Maps with points of interest and restaurants they recommend.

All of this saved me so much research! On top of that, they planned my itinerary perfectly with some amazing excursions. They made sure I had enough free time to explore the city, and with their tips, I was able to fill the time properly. 

Obviously, I did immediately Google “things to do in Krakow” and “Krakow itinerary” to find what other bloggers had to say about the destination. But even just Journee’s booklet would’ve been more than enough.

The accommodation Journee picked for me was beautiful . Right in the centre of the Old Town of Krakow, making it very easy to go out and explore. Also, the excursions booked for me included hotel pick up and drop off, so I didn’t have to worry about anything.

Journee was available to me on WhatsApp during my entire trip, and they reached out to me while in Krakow to make sure everything was going okay. I felt very taken care of , which is definitely a plus when you’re going somewhere new (and on your own!).

My mystery trip to Krakow is something I’ll never forget. I’m so glad I was finally able to visit this city, and with all the extra tips from Journee, it was better than I could’ve imagined.

If mystery trips are something you’ve always wanted to do, Journee is definitely a company to check out. I’m very impressed by all the care they’ve put into my trip, all the information and clues they’ve given me throughout the whole process, and the quality of everything included in my trip. Highly recommend!

Journee Mystery Trip FAQ

If you have any other questions regarding the mystery trip with Journee, please comment below and I’ll add them to this list!

How much does a surprise holiday with Journee cost?

When booking a mystery trip with Journee, you can set your own budget. There is a minimum, however, which is £425 per person for a 4-day trip. But you can make it as expensive as you wish!

How do I know what to pack?

Packing for a mystery trip is tough. But Journee does everything they can to make it easier for you (without revealing the destination and itinerary!). A few weeks before your trip, they’ll send you a packing list and the weather forecast. The weather forecast even updates daily the closer you get to your departure date. This way, you’ll know exactly what kind of clothes to bring to be comfortable.

What if I don’t want to go to a specific place?

When filling out the Matchmaking form, there is a place to add destinations you don’t want to visit. You can add as many as you like. When I filled out the form, I knew I wanted to go somewhere new, so I added a ton of countries and cities I’d already visited. This allowed Journee to match me with the perfect new destination.

When will I find out my mystery destination?

Journee sends you the reveal postcard and trip pack (including your itinerary and a booklet with information about your destination) seven days before you leave for your trip. You can choose whenever you want to open it – however, it definitely adds a bit of excitement when you open it AT the airport!

Nele (Nay-la) graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with an English and Creative Writing Degree and has lived in the UK for nearly 10 years. She has had an interest in Japan and its culture for as long as she can remember. Since her first trip in 2018 surpassed all expectations, she has continued to return to Japan to explore more of all it has got to offer. You can read her full story here .

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Reviews 4.9.

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Awesome 😎 Surprise

Everything was wonderful. From start to finish. Only a few minor bumps in the road that weren’t their fault and maybe could have used a few more details about what to pack (light hiking shoes and poles) for one of our excursions. Otherwise I’m super happy with our Journee Experience.

Date of experience : April 10, 2024

Take on the unknown

After seeing Journee on insta a lot and feeling like I wasn’t brave enough to do it and letting self doubt stop me from doing it. I took the chance to fill out a questionnaire and finally book the biggest surprise ever! And I wasn’t disappointed at all. They chose a place I wouldn’t choose myself, yet it matched me and everything I wanted so perfectly. I had the best time ever, exploring, meeting new people, making memories and eating really good food! It was reassuring to know if I had an issue they were only a phone/text away. If you are looking at the ads and thinking is it for me?! From a person who overthinks the over-thinkable I highly recommend taking a trip with Journee. I will be taking another one in the future.

Date of experience : April 14, 2024

Give it a go!

We recently returned from a great 4 day trip to Florence, Italy. We really appreciated not having to plan anything ourselves and guessing the destination was a lot of fun! We went with standard accommodation which was good for us as we didn't spend much time in the hotel other than to sleep anyway! You may want to upgrade if you think you'll spend more time indoors as the room was a bit small, but we were slap on the middle of Florence, making it easy to walk anywhere and well connected to train, tram and buses. The staff were very friendly too. The pace of the trip was good (Chose a 2 on the questionnaire), with one of the days being a day trip to the surrounding areas which let us explore the Tuscan countryside which was probably my highlight! All the instructions you need come in the pack a few days before you leave, and we managed to get around pretty easily, would definitely recommend!

Date of experience : April 07, 2024

Just back from an incredible holiday…

Just back from an incredible holiday from Journee!! Absolutely loved not having to think about anything accept showing up. Everything sorted for us included some amazing excursions I’d never have thought of booking. Loved the destination guide and additional tips too. 10/10 recommend

A fab solo travel experience!

A great experience booking with Journee. Overall I had a wonderful time on the holiday and enjoyed the experiences/excursions booked! Journee's customer support should be highlighted as replies were instantly despite being in another country! I found the experience relaxing and the itinerary was very clear! This resolved any anxieties and allowed me to chill for the holiday! I would also highly recommend Journee as a female solo traveller!

Date of experience : April 09, 2024

We had a wonderful experience

We had a wonderful experience; we loved the clues and stress free process. Was so simple and easy start and finish. Made our holiday even more special and exciting going to… Prague! When we got there it was an amazing four star hotel, great staff. The activities were ones we may not have chosen for ourself but matched us really well. We had enough down time to do other things that interested us too including a concert and a jazz boat. Would definitely recommend we loved it.

Date of experience : April 05, 2024

Would Absolutely Do This Again!

My husband and I just got back from our first Journee trip and we couldn't be more pleased (and happily exhausted!). I filled out a Journee questionnaire on a lark, never thinking we'd actually do it. I was curious what kind of information we'd be given, curious how the whole thing worked. But from the moment we got our proposal, I thought, wow, this trip sounds amazing. It sounded like the sort of trip I'd plan for myself, except I didn't have to plan any of it. I was given enough information to soothe my Type A neurotic beast but left enough to chance to get that adventure I was craving. I guessed the destination from the initial description, but then some of the clues threw me off so by the time we were leaving... I had no idea! We waited until the airport to reveal our destination, and it turned out my initial hunch was correct - and it was somewhere we'd been dying to go. We were thrilled. Everything went so smoothly. Our hotel was clean, comfortable, close to transit, and had delicious breakfast. All of our planned activities were truly top-notch. The extra sites and recommended restaurants were helpful. We would absolutely do this again!

Date of experience : April 02, 2024

Absolutely amazing experience!!

Absolutely amazing experience!!! Destination, acommodation and booked trips met our expectations in every aspect. Everything perfectly organised. Well done 👏 We will recommend you to our friends and of course we'll be back 😀

Great Experience with Journee, highly recommend

I was very pleased with my experience with Journee. From the beginning survey and proposal to their communication and everything they planned for me, I was pleasantly surprised and happy with everything that they arranged. Throughout the entire process they were great with all communication and very quick with responding to questions. I have recommended it to all my friends and very likely use them for another experience in the future.

Date of experience : March 27, 2024

Best impulse decision we have made

Booked with Journee as we couldn't decide where we wanted to go this year. We couldn't of been happier with this decision! After the short questionnaire we got are match within the budget we had given them. The hints along the way had us (and friends) constantly guessing. The end result was Croatia and Montenegro! We had never thought about going to either of these countries before and we are so glad that we have now experienced both of them! Won't get into all the details so it'll be a surprise for anyone else that is given these destinations. But Journee had planned an activity for us each full day that we were there with plenty of time left over for us to explore. Also to mention they probably got us one of the best apartments available with views over Dubrovnik, could sit in the balcony for hours taking it in. Would highly recommend giving Journee a go! We will probably be doing it again next year!

Date of experience : April 06, 2024

Impressive experience with Journee!

We were very impressed with the organisation behind the scenes. Our flight, hotel and excursions were top tier and everything ran smoothly. It was so amazing to have it all booked for you. This meant we could really relax once we set off on holiday and could look forward to the experiences planned out for us, based on our own preferences. We highly recommend Journee and can’t wait to book another adventure with them!

The clues were great

The clues were great for gradually narrowing down the search. Staying in two different locations was a surprise. We loved both locations and both hotels. Two slight hiccups were: poor instructions for location of a bus pickup meant we missed a bus; the providers of an activity had not been given our contact details so were unable to contact us direct when it was cancelled due to bad weather. Overall a great idea, we were able to hand over all the decision making, which suited us for our first post-COVID holiday.

Date of experience : April 11, 2024

Great experience from beginning to end

I had a great experience from beginning to end. The form to match me to a trip was nice and easy to complete, and the description meant I could get excited without easily guessing where I was going. My itinerary was perfect and everything was pre-booked and arranged, making the trip less stressful than other holidays. I loved the element of surprise, and the small clues that kept me guessing all the way to my envelope opening.

Date of experience : March 20, 2024

Great communication and holiday

From the start to finish the whole Journee process was great! The Journee pack arrived quickly and the digital passport unlocked on time. It was a great destination, lovely accommodation and all activities that were planned were fab. It was a location that I would not have chosen myself if I had been planning this holiday myself! The clues were fab too and kept us guessing all the way and any questions I had were answered promptly! I will definitely be doing a Journee holiday again!

Date of experience : April 04, 2024

I am obsessed with Journee…

I am obsessed with these mystery trips!! I've been on 3 different ones and gone to the most amazing places. They think of everything. It is very well organized and you feel supported through the whole experience. I recommend Journee trips to everyone looking for an authentic adventure. I am so happy I found Journee!!

Fantastic Experience

Fantastic destination, hotel and experiences. Was sent somewhere I would have never chosen myself and I was really happy about that! Great value for money and completely hassle free. Super exciting not knowing where we were going until the airport too! Will be booking again

Date of experience : March 25, 2024

From start to finish

From start to finish, booking a trip through Journee was an absolute pleasure. I enjoyed completing the travel preferences questionnaire, and can confirm that my subsequent trip ticked all of my boxes. Journee’s communication is flawless, and the support I received from them when my bag was nicked (could happen anywhere) towards the end of my trip was extremely helpful and reassuring. I absolutely can’t wait to travel with them again. So much fun!

Date of experience : March 29, 2024

I loved my Journee!

I thought I was bonkers signing up for a holiday to an unknown destination but when I told family and friends what I'd done the response was that it was both brave and exciting. After a few clues and, several months after booking, I was on the plane. The itinerary really suited my preferences and I even met a couple other Journee-ers who were on a different experience (we'd selected a different length of break so our schedules didn't sync). The destination guide came in useful so I could choose to do some exploring outside of the arranged tours and the list of suggested eateries thoughtfully mentioned if they were veggie / vegan friendly. Knowing that the team were on the other end of a call if needed as useful since the destination wasn't subjected to my normal obsessive research and having them doing the planning meant I got all of the adventure and none of the hassle. Am sure I'll be booking with them again at some point in the future!

Great Experience

Although I have travelled solo in the UK this was my first solo trip abroad. Trusting not only the organisation but the destination to a third party, my friends thought I was mad but I couldn’t have had a better experience. I felt that being a solo female traveller my safety had really been taken into consideration and I felt positive and confidant throughout the whole trip. My destination was somewhere that I wouldn’t have picked for myself but it was right up my street and I loved every minute of it. Everything was well organised and I was provided with all the information I needed. I just wish it could have lasted longer!

Date of experience : March 28, 2024

Stress-free Planning

I was recommended to go through Journee by a friend who had been on a holiday with them after wanting to go somewhere different but not being able to decide on where. Journee took all the hassle out of having to book things and look for the best deals whilst staying within my budget. They were available quickly on Whatsapp for any issues, such as when I needed to get a trip refunded due to being cancelled by the company running it as the weather wasn’t good on the day. So quick and simple. Enjoyable to learn about a different culture in a place I may never have thought of going to. Will definitely book more trips through Journee in the future. Thank you for an amazing time!

Date of experience : February 29, 2024

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7 Travel Companies That Plan Mystery Vacations

Meet the newest trend in full-service trip planning: surprise travel. You won't find out where you're going until it's time to go.

Heading out the door? Read this article on the Outside app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

For most people, the joy of traveling isn’t the researching or booking—it’s that moment you step off the airplane in a place you’ve never been. So why not skip the planning and let someone else chart your next adventure for you, including choosing the destination? Besides, who cares where you go when you’ve got expert travel agents finalizing every last detail for you?

Introducing the latest trend in travel: surprise trips to places that won’t be revealed to you until it’s go time.

Jubel , a tech-enabled travel company founded in 2015 in California, offers customized multi-destination getaways and route planning. It can also save you more than 55 percent in travel costs compared with booking a trip yourself, thanks to insider travel deals. Jubel also offers surprise trips .

Fill out its survey with your preferred dates, budget, and travel style, and it’ll send you a trip proposal. You can be completely surprised by the destination or learn the continent or country ahead of time. Once you’ve booked, you’ll get sealed envelopes to open along your journey, plus details on what to pack and when to show up at the airport. International trips start at around $1,000 per person per week.

Pack Up and Go

Want a weekend getaway in the U.S. without any hassle of planning it? Enter Pack Up and Go , founded in 2016 in Pittsburgh. Give the company your dates and budget, and complete a quick survey (sample question: Do you want action, relaxation, or culture?), and it will do the rest for you. Prior to your trip, you’ll get a packing list, flight information, and a weather forecast. Days before you leave, an envelope with your destination and itinerary will arrive in the mail. Open it at the airport. Trips start at $400 per person.

The Vacation Hunt

Whether you have three days or two weeks, the expert travelers at the Vacation Hunt , started in 2017 by a husband and wife in Washington, D.C., will plan a trip for you. Tell the reps what you’re looking for (spas or zoos? bars or museums?) and they’ll start sending you clues as to where you’re going. Packaged trips in the U.S. start at $750 per person; international trips start at $950. They also offer gift certificates if you want to give someone else a surprise trip.

Magical Mystery Tours

With Magical Mystery Tours , you won’t know where you’re going until you show up at the airport. First, enter your preferences: Do you want a foreign trip? Do you dislike the cold or the beach? Would you prefer heading to the desert or someplace tropical? Then input your dates, budget, and who you’re traveling with. The company will take care of the details. Magical Mystery Tours has been booking destination vacations to locations all over the globe since 2009. Cost depends on the length of the trip, whether it’s international or domestic travel, and the kind of accommodations you want. Weekend trips for two start at $1,500.

Surprise Me Trips

Choose between quick road trips from your hometown or far-flung destinations via airplane. You’ll get details about what to bring and where to be just before your departure. For its weekend road trips, tell the company where you want to start, and it will plan a surprise itinerary around your region, including a few nights in different locales and major landmarks and activities to check out along the way. Despite this travel company’s name, it will also arrange trips that don’t come as a surprise, if that’s more your thing. Surprise Me Trips was launched by three well-traveled friends in Texas in 2016. Weekend regional road trips start at $375.

Black Tomato

In 2017, high-end travel company Black Tomato  debuted its  Get Lost service, which creates adventurous tailor-made expeditions to wilderness destinations like Mongolia or the Arctic that are kept entirely a secret from you. Here’s how it works: select a polar, jungle, coastal, desert, or mountain trip—or have Black Tomato choose that, too—and book at least six months in advance to give you time to train and prepare. When you arrive at your location, you’ll be outfitted with all the gear you need, plus a private transfer from the airport to your starting point and a satellite phone for emergencies. Chart your way through a series of mapped-out checkpoints using navigational technology and your own two feet. The journey ends at a luxury retreat. Average Get Lost trips cost around $15,000 per person—but there are shorter, less expensive options, too.

Rustic Pathways

Designed for high school students looking for an exciting summer group trip, student-travel company Rustic Pathways offers a mystery trip to an unknown international destination. Before departure you’ll get a Patagonia duffel bag sent to you that’s filled with clues and a few essentials. Then arrive at the designated airport and spend the next two weeks exploring foreign cities and remote villages with other intrepid students as a guide leads the way. As of press time, there were still a few spots left on an upcoming trip in late June. It costs $5,995, not including airfare.

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Surprise Destinations

How does journee match people.

Do I get clues about my surprise destination?

What if i don't like the destination i'm matched with, will i need a visa, how do you make sure a destination is safe for solo (female) travellers, do journee organise trips inside the uk or usa, is there any way for me to know my destination before my trip.

Here at Journee, we're all about surprise, so we'll never reveal a destination to an Explorer before their trip. However, we can share the required information with a trusted friend or employer in exceptional circumstances.

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The Rise of Surprise Travel in 2024

Marilyn walters.

• December 18, 2023
• 3 minute read

Discover the growing trend of surprise travel in 2024 , where adventure meets spontaneity. Dive into our comprehensive analysis of this exciting new way to explore the world, featuring key insights and traveler experiences.

The Allure of Surprise Destinations

A recent survey by Booking.com revealed a surprising travel trend : over 52% of travelers are keen on surprise trips , where the destination remains a mystery until arrival. This marks a notable shift in travel preferences, with 2024 poised to become the year of “surrender seekers”. Ryan Pearson from Booking.com highlights this trend as a thrilling escape from the routine, offering a fresh way to travel.

Jake and Robin O’Brien’s story illustrates this trend vividly. Faced with decision-making paralysis for their honeymoon, they turned to Pack Up + Go , a company specializing in surprise trips. This concept, often labeled “mystery vacations,” involves agencies planning the entire trip, revealing the destination only at the airport. For Jake and Robin, this method turned their honeymoon into an adventure in Portland, Maine, a destination they hadn’t considered but ultimately loved.

How Surprise Travel Works

The process of planning a surprise trip is both intriguing and meticulous. Travelers select a price package and complete a questionnaire detailing their preferences and restrictions. Pack Up + Go, founded by Lillian Rafson, exemplifies this approach. Rafson’s inspiration came from her travels and a desire to highlight underappreciated American cities. Her company has since planned over 20,000 surprise trips, with a 30% increase in bookings in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic years.

These trips aren’t just about the destination; they’re about embracing the unexpected and supporting local economies. Agencies like Black Tomato and Brown & Hudson add their unique twists, offering experiences that focus on personal growth or adventure , like the “Get Lost” trips or “Journey With No Destination.”

The Broader Impact and Future of Surprise Travel

The rise of surprise travel reflects a deeper shift in tourism . It’s not just about the novelty; it’s a response to the homogenization of travel experiences. Emily Thomas, author of “The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad,” notes that the unpredictability of surprise trips counters the uniformity often seen in modern travel. It brings back the essence of exploration and discovery that has been central to travel for centuries.

Moreover, this trend has the potential to address issues like overtourism and support local economies . By directing travelers to less-visited destinations, surprise trips can distribute tourist benefits more evenly and sustainably.

As we move into 2024, surprise travel is not just a fleeting trend but a significant shift in how we view and experience the world . It offers a blend of adventure, sustainability, and personal growth, making it an increasingly popular choice among modern travelers.

Marilyn Walters is a seasoned news journalist with over two years of experience in the field. Known for her investigative reporting and insightful analysis, Marilyn has covered significant global events with an objective lens. Her relentless pursuit of truth and dedication to journalistic integrity have established her as a respected voice in today's dynamic news landscape.

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10 Companies That Will Plan a Surprise Vacation for You

Adele Chapin

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What if you got ready for a vacation and showed up at the airport with no idea where your plane was headed? That’s the idea behind a new type of travel agency that will plan surprise vacations for very adventurous travelers. At the airport, you’ll receive a destination and custom itinerary (usually based on a survey or interview to determine your travel style). The idea is that you leave the planning, details, and logistics to someone else, and just pack up and go. Here’s how to take a surprise vacation of a lifetime with the help of these 10 travel companies.

BlackTomato

If you’ve always wanted to test your survival skills, Bear Grylls-style, BlackTomato’s elaborate surprise adventure tours might be the next best thing. Choose between terrains like “Polar, Jungle, Desert, Mountain, and Coastal,” and BlackTomato’s experts will figure out a country to drop you in—with advice on how to train for your expedition beforehand. Then it’s up to you to navigate through a series of checkpoints (with BlackTomato ops teams watching from afar to make sure all is well).

Blind Experiences

Imagine a surprise honeymoon where stressed-out couples didn’t have to plan anything at all. That idea kickstarted the luxury travel agency Blind Experiences , which then expanded into putting together tailored itineraries for families with young kids and multi-generational groups— with more surprises gradually revealed throughout the trip via sealed envelopes 

The surprise trip survey for Jubel begins by narrowing in on a country, continent or destination (beach or mountains?), then asks whether you’re more of a museum or nightlife person (you can pick both, for example). Jubel’s experts go from there to put together a proposal for you that’s just vague enough that your vacation is still a big surprise.

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Magical Mystery Tours

The founders of Magical Mystery Tours started their surprise travel agency back in 2009, and they’ve planned many customized vacations since then. The questionnaire quizzes travelers on everything from whether seasickness is a concern to which places they’ve visited and absolutely loved.

Pack Up & Go

Looking to go on a surprise road trip, a plane or train trip, or even a staycation in your own town? Those are the types of trips that Pack Up & Go specializes in, and travelers have headed off to 125 U.S. cities for a fun and completely unexpected trip with a planned-out itinerary of activities and meals. 

Spontaneous and courageous travelers are the ideal clients for SkipTown , an agency that will plan short surprise trips for you—even if you can only get away for one day. A “daycation” includes one night’s accommodation, one meal reservation, and one activity, all of which will be unexpected.

The 10 Best Group Travel Tour Companies for 2021

With Surprisit , you’ll find out your unique surprise destination a few days before your vacation begins (in case you need a bit of time for some Googling). The agency plans surprise trips in the Caribbean in addition to the U.S. and Canada, as well as a “ Eurotrip ” where you head off to a new European city every three days.

The Vacation Hunt

If you’re a beach person, but you still want a big surprise, The Vacation Hunt will set you up with an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean, Mexico or Latin America. Other surprise destinations for this travel agency include a trip within Europe or the United States, or you can open it up to any destination in the world. Surprise honeymoons are a speciality for The Vacation Hunt as well. 

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Whisked Away

Leave the real-world behind for a while with Whisked Away , which will plan surprise week-long flying or driving trips. The idea is to make this the easiest vacation ever for honeymooners, solo vacationers, families, girls’ groups, or anyone who wants an out-of-the-ordinary experience. 

Splurge trips, surprise vow renewals, solo adventures: Whym will plan a surprise vacation for all sorts of travelers. At the moment, the travel agency is only sending travelers out in the U.S.—and the surprises keep coming throughout the vacation, with blank spaces in your itinerary that are revealed gradually via “whymsies” text messages.

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Surprise Trips Are More Popular Than Ever—Here’s What It’s Like When a Stranger Plans Your Vacation

One afar editor let the surprise travel agency pack up and go plan a mystery road trip—one where she didn’t find out her destination until the moment she walked out the door..

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AFAR went on a surprise road trip to Newport and saw historical landmarks like The Breakers.

Photo by Lyndsey Matthews

After I zipped up my weekend bag and put my shoes on, I eagerly ripped open the envelope that read, “Warning: No Peeking Until the Day of Your Departure!” The envelope had arrived on Tuesday, but through sheer force of will, I had managed to keep its contents—the destination of a weekend getaway planned by Pack Up and Go , a surprise travel agency—a secret until the moment I was ready to depart on Saturday.

I pulled out a thick piece of card stock that read, “You’re going to Newport, Rhode Island!” in big teal letters. And with that, I added the envelope—which also contained a pre-planned itinerary—to my bag and headed off on a road trip to the coastal New England city.

At AFAR, we’ve been big fans of surprise trips for a long time. Ever since our first issue in fall 2009, we’ve been sending writers like Alton Brown and Charmaine Craig to destinations such as New Zealand and Lisbon with just 24 hours’ notice in our “ Spin the Globe ” feature. Surprise travel has become a full-blown trend in recent years as more companies start to offer these trip-planning services.

In fact, Pinterest discovered that searches for “Surprise Destination” increased 192 percent in the last six months of 2018, beating out other popular travel terms like “Hot Springs” and “Autumn Scenery.” The desire to be more spontaneous appears to be at the root of this trend. In their 2018 Travel Trends Report , Ford Motor Company found that 52 percent of U.S. travelers said they enjoy getting lost and spontaneously discovering hidden restaurants and shops to create unique memories when they travel.

Exploring Newport in a 2018 Ford Mustang

I’m the kind of traveler who finds great joy in researching destinations and poring over guidebooks months in advance of my trips, but when Pack Up and Go and Ford offered to let me borrow a 2018 Ford Mustang for a three-day surprise road trip, I jumped at the opportunity. As a travel editor, whenever I take off with my friends or family, I tend to handle most of the reservations and research. But sometimes, it’s nice to let someone else do the planning. For group travel it can be hard to pick one destination that checks all the boxes for your group.

But that doesn’t mean Pack Up and Go picks a place at random and sends you there. When I booked the trip, I took a short survey that asked me about the last few places I had been and where I was planning to go next (to make sure they wouldn’t send me on a repeat trip), and details about the kind of traveler I was. Do I prefer museums to shopping? A quiet night in or one out on the town?

Other than that, all I knew before I left were a few vague details. The trip would be in a midsize city within a four-hour drive of my home in New York (Pack Up and Go also plans air and train trips within three to four hours of your home for people without access to cars). I also received a weather report a week before departing. While the details I was given eliminated larger cities farther away like Boston and Washington, D.C., my mind swirled with the possibilities.

Technically, there was nothing stopping me from ripping open that envelope the second it arrived, but the secret was half the fun. The week before I left, my friends all sent me their destination guesses. Some thought Philadelphia, others were convinced it was either Baltimore or Annapolis, while exactly one friend guessed Newport correctly.

Pack Up and Go had also printed out directions to and from Newport’s Mill Street Inn , where they had booked me for two nights. The Mustang I borrowed was kitted out with Wi-Fi and Apple CarPlay, which made it easy to listen to my own music and get directions at the same time—without burning through my entire data plan.

No trip to Newport is complete without sunset drinks at Castle Hill Inn.

In addition to providing suggestions for things to do once I arrived in Newport, Pack Up and Go also gave me conveniently timed suggestions for places to stop for lunch along the way (I never would have happened upon the SoNo Baking Co. in South Norwalk, Connecticut, otherwise). It was also nice to get off the highway and into Narragansett—home to one of the best beaches in Rhode Island —for a quick detour. When I arrived in Newport, I found the Mill Street Inn to be a bit understated for my tastes. But after waking up the next morning, I realized it was in the most peacefully quiet location while also being within a short walk or drive of other recommendations like the White Horse Tavern, Cliff Walk , and Castle Hill Inn . I can deal with beige decor for an undisturbed night of sleep and convenience any day. While Pack Up and Go’s suggestions were spot-on, Instagram was another trove of information for the spontaneous trip. I got brunch recommendations from a friend’s wife who had gone to high school in Newport, and also found out that a past colleague’s brother ran the Midtown Oyster Bar on Thames Street. So while I was enjoying a glass of sancerre and a half-dozen local oysters, chef James Mitchell gave me tips for where to find affordable lobster rolls ( Anthony’s Seafood , just a 10-minute drive away in Middletown) and the best place to drink a pint next to locals ( Pour Judgement on Broadway).

How to plan your own surprise trip

Pack Up and Go offers two-night, three-day surprise trips starting at $400. But Magical Mystery Tours , Surprise Me Trips , and the Vacation Hunt also offer these kinds of trip-planning services. If you’re confident in your trip-planning skills, you can also surprise a family member, friend, or significant other with a trip (FYI, Valentine’s Day falls right before the long Presidents’ Day weekend this year).

You can take one of two approaches: To build anticipation—and give your travel partner a little bit of a warning—pick a weekend that you’re both free and drop hints in the weeks leading up to it with details about the weather and any special gear to pack. Then when you get to the airport or load up your car’s GPS, reveal the secret destination. If your travel partner really enjoys being spontaneous, you can also secretly clear his or her schedule ahead of time and pack their bag for an even bigger surprise the day you depart.

>> Next: The Best Weekend Getaways in the United States

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Surprise Travel: A Weekend at a Surprise Destination

A new way to travel?

A growing number of passionate, open-minded travelers today decides to explore new and inspiring destinations through surprise travel packages. More and more spontaneous travelers who are looking for a life-changing experience choose this new and innovative way of traveling. Surprise trips usually involve a three or four-day weekend at a surprise destination.

The weekend packages normally go from Friday to Sunday. However, you can always book a long-weekend surprise gateway for the added cost, of course. Also, you can either book a trip for yourself or you can go with a gift trip as a surprise for another person .

Surprise getaways provide a unique opportunity to explore, learn, and grow while having the best time of your life. In addition, surprise weekend retreats are your chance to visit the places you would otherwise never explore. With Next-Where , you can travel to one of over 60 possible destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

A surprise destination is a city that your surprise company chooses for your trip. The packages are usually starting right at $499 per person and the price typically includes departure and return flights as well as accommodation.

All stays are in hand-picked 2-3+ star hotels in good locations.

How Does the Process of Booking the Surprise Trip Look Like?

• You select the number of travelers and the departure city and state. If you don’t have a passport to travel outside the United States you will be sent to destinations in the U.S. only.
• Select the weekend you want to travel.
• Adjust any time restrictions that you might have. Additional fee applies.
• Eliminate the destinations you wouldn’t want to visit. Once you indicate your city of origin, you will be able to see all the possible surprise destinations. Removing up to two destinations is for free. For any additional destination deleting requests, an extra fee applies.

Since this is a mystery travel, you cannot choose a destination city when booking a surprise trip. But that is the beauty of surprise travel – Next-Where is sending you to a weekend journey with a twist! Not knowing your destination will transform yet another trip into an adventure. However, a surprise travel booking process usually allows you to eliminate cities you don’t want to visit after you see all the possible surprise destinations.

When Will You Know Your Destination?

The surprise destination is normally revealed forty-eight hours before your departure. Travelers are informed about their destination via email and via the mobile app. In addition, you may we receive a surprise box via mail. Still, you should refrain from peeking until the last minute!

When going on a surprise weekend, your flight and accommodation information as well as a necessary portfolio for transfers and information of interest are also sent to you forty-eight hours prior to your departure, so you can check-in to your corresponding flights and accommodation.

Before you pack and go, you usually get an app with  software mapping  and your travel details, including your flight times and numbers, and an assigned hotel with a map and directions. Furthermore, in the same app you have access to a city guide, a support chat to get in contact with an agent and an interactive hunt that will have you following clues around the city unlocking tasks and surprises.

A Few Quick Tips Before You Pack and Go

Firstly, make sure that you have a valid ID and/or passport. Also, it is always a good idea to scan and email yourself all your travel documents once we send them to you. Once you scan and email your passport, flight, and accommodation information and other details of interest, open the email on your computer or telephone to make sure you can access them even if you are online.

Since you are going on a weekend surprise getaway, you may want to bring only a carry-on with you. This will save you time at the airport since you don’t have check-in baggage with you. Also, taking only the carry on with you will eliminate the possibility that airlines lose your luggage and save you from useless stress.  Just make sure that the dimensions of your carry-on are within the allowed limits.

Furthermore, make a checklist to easier track all the items you need to pack for your surprise trip.

And if you get anxious about your destination…

That is completely normal. Although the whole idea of this type of travel is that surprise and mystery will be part of your experience, you can request the travel company to reveal the destination earlier. However, this usually cannot be before the Monday prior to your trip as that would spoil the surprise of an unexpected destination.

Surprise weekend gateways dare you to enjoy a city break different from everything you have experienced before. Yes, mystery travel is a new and unique opportunity to travel around America and abroad and explore new destinations in an original way.

Give it a try, use code VJ50 to get 50$ OFF on your surprise trip!

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Discover your destination 48h before, what do the wayners say, other waynabox trips, discover all our surprise trips, what is waynabox, let the destination surprise you, how it works, how does waynabox work, choose an experience, customize your reservation.

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What to expect form a waynabox, emotion, surprise and fun, unsurpassed destinations.

All the cities you can travel to have something special. You can delete the ones you do not want to visit and if you travel with us more than once we will take you into account so you do not repeat your destination.

Quality accommodation

We know that to enjoy a trip it is very important to rest well. You will sleep in hotels, hostels and apartments centrally or very well communicated with public transport and always well rated in TripAdvisor.

The surprise destination allows us to negotiate with accommodation and suppliers in a different way. This way we get discounts that would otherwise be impossible.

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Our Customer Service team will solve all your doubts before, during and after the trip.

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BLIND  EXPERIENCES

A Surprise Travel Agency

With an everlasting habit to design transformative travel experiences.

Blind Experiences is a boutique travel company specialising  in sustainable luxury holidays and honeymoon packages with a twist. We do all the planning in secret so that every destination is a mystery and every day an exciting adventure. 

As featured by

"Each destination, hotel and activity is revealed gradually through sealed envelopes to be opened throughout the journey. There’s no choice but to immerse yourself in the surroundings and savor every moment."

Is it for me?

A Blind Experience is a mind-blowing surprise trip, an adventure where every day is a thrill and every destination, accommodation, activity can be experienced with fresh eyes and a sense of wonderment. 

We are passionate about curating vacations where every moment is a surprise for each traveler. We leave no stone unturned, devoting ourselves to researching thoroughly and using our insider knowledge and own experiences to create an exhilarating itinerary filled with unconventional activities, hidden gems and roads less travelled.

We believe that there is nothing better than surprise, as it is what keeps life interesting. It stimulates our imagination and keeps us engaged in the present, creating profound memories we’ll cherish forever. We also know as a fact, that when you experience these surprises with the ones you love, you’ll be connecting like never before. Create and share long-lasting memories that will bring you even closer. Don’t just travel together, experience the world together!

So if you want to turn your holiday into an exciting, life-altering journey, than YES a Blind Experience is for you. 

What to expect

When you embark upon a blind experience, you should always expect:.

A vacation that is not factory-made or mass-produced. A Blind Experience is a handmade journey designed especially for you. There’s nothing we love more than planning every little detail.

A trip that is unconventional, but not crazy. A Blind Experience is the perfect mix of living spontaneously and enjoying a trip mapped out day-by-day to suit you.

An adventure that is not predictable, but not out of left field. Our carefully planned experiences will match your interests and desires.

A journey that is not ordinary. Each Blind Experience will blow your mind. You’ll love every minute of exploring a new place you might never have gone to otherwise.

A voyage that is never boring. Your Blind Experience will be intriguing, but not puzzling. You’ll know every time you open an envelope to expect something that will have you feeling excited all over again.

A holiday that is not tacky. Our experiences are designed for discerning travelers, without ever being pretentious. You’ll enjoy hotels, locations and activities hand-chosen especially for you both on and off the beaten track.

With every day as exciting as the last, when the time comes to return to reality, you’ll wish your Blind Experience never has to end.

Our Signature Experiences

How the magic happens.

First Contact

Fill in our form with your basic contact information. We will contact you via email to collect more details or arrange a call to get to know you better so we can begin to create your tailor-made Blind Experience!

Itinerary Design Process 

Crafting Time. We’ll conduct extensive research, use our expertise, speak to local partners and use all the other tricks we have up our sleeves to create the most memorable journey you have ever experienced. 

The Envelopes

Get ready to embark on your adventure. Open the first envelope and let yourself experience the excitement of discovering your first destination. Then, simply enjoy every moment of your trip. Soak up your surroundings and savor every detail.

Blind Honeymoon

Celebrate your marriage or anniversary  with the most romantic holiday  ever.

Blind Legacy Experience

As the only thing that really matters is the legacy you leave

to the ones you love!

Blind Family Experience

Don't just tell your children

about the world. Show them

with a surprise experience!

Blind Escape Experience

Rediscover the beauty of your country with a surprise staycation.

This is why we do what we do

"Have you ever had a vacation that felt like it went your way 100% of the time? As though the winds themselves guided you to your destination? Grant and I just had the best honeymoon anyone could ask for. Thank you Blind Experiences for planning it all, letting us just kick back and enjoy and for providing the lodging of perfection 💕"

Christine & grant hawaii blind honeymoon, "thank you for an amazing trip we appreciate your hard work and attention to all details. we talked too much about that with each other. we could tell you were very passionate about planning an epic trip for us it was the trip of a lifetime. we absolutely loved it. 10 out of 10. and hoping to do another trip with you hopefully in the next few years", mike & kelsey japan & philippines blind honeymoon, "grazie infinitamente per tutto. l’organizzazione è stata impeccabile e non abbiamo mai avuto problemi, solo grandi esperienze. quindi grazie, da parte di entrambi. ma organizzate anche viaggi in famiglia ormai siamo blind addicted. ogni giorno spero di svegliarmi con una busta. e invece no", sabrina & pierpaolo vietnam and thailand blind honeymoon, "it has been such an amazing and fun honeymoon and we can’t believe we’re already on our last envelope of course, we want to thank the blind experiences team for creating such a unique and memory-filled honeymoon for andrew and me to start our marriage with all the new friends we have made along the way. it has been an unforgettable trip 🤍", kayla & andrew lapponia blind honeymoon, "it’s hard to believe 24 hours ago i was waving goodbye to a black mantle tamarin from our porch. we are now back up in the andes, where the phenomenal folks from blind experiences have sent us to. we can’t imagine a more perfect place to relax and reflect on our adventures before our return to hawaii. hot springs—>massages—>canelazo (hot spices rum and naranjilla juice) and repeat 😁", rachel & aaron ecuador and galapagos blind honeymoon, "se devo scegliere un paradiso voglio che sia così.", sabrina & pierpaolo norway blind anniversary, "grazie ragazzi tutto veramente stupendo la vita senza buste sarà un’amarezza 😂", angio & luca japan and indonesia blind honeymoon, "thank you we are enjoying our last cappuccinos and croissants now. so sad to leave :(", alex & susan italy blind honeymoon, "thanks so much for planning an amazing adventure for us we’re already talking about when we’ll do our next blind experience 😀", ashley & peter india blind honeymoon, "grazie thank you for such a wonderful blind anniversary. you all planned a vacation perfect for kaleb and me.", kaleb & sarah oregon blind anniversary, "thanks for a great end to the trip, and all the care you guys put into it… it was a wonderful experience, and we are very grateful for all your thoughtfulness… memory for max and myself forever 🙏🏽🙏🏽", nick & max switzerland blind father & son legacy, "rifarei tutto da capo. poi vi dobbiamo raccontare tuttoooooo. grazie davvero per i bei posti che avete trovato per noi.", lisa & enrico botswana & mozambique blind honeymoon.

Like most good things in life, our company was born out of love and friendship. In 2012, our best friends announced they were to get married. We decided to give them something that would surprise and challenge them and be meaningful to our friendship. So, we agreed to organize their honeymoon, but one with a key difference – it would be a Blind Honeymoon! They would know nothing about which places they would visit nor where they would stay or the activities they would undertake, until they arrived at the various destinations we had selected.

To ensure we could plan the perfect trip we sent them a questionnaire about their passions, hobbies and past travelling experiences, and then asked three simple but very important questions: which continent they’d like to visit, which time of year they wanted to go, and how much money they wanted to spend. With this information we set out to organize what would become the first of many Blind Honeymoons. Since then our business has expanded into Blind Experiences to cover luxury escapes and family vacations – but the spirit of surprise remains the same.

Let us plan your next trip!

Discover your destination and itinerary a few days before your trip starts, how does it work.

Choose between a Road trip and a Flight trip and customize your surprise trip based on your preferences

A trip to a surprise destination in the US, a trip to the Caribbean, a getaway to a cabin in nature... Thousands of unique trips await you!

Flights, accommodations and a personalized itinerary included

Let us surprise you with a breathtaking destination, an amazing accommodation and a personalized itinerary!

Discover your destination a few days before your trip starts

Once you have made your booking, the excitement begins! You’ll receive an e-mail with all the details of your reservation a few days before the trip starts!

Our travelers’ reviews

Spontaneity served us well this trip! A few days ago we had no idea where on the map we would land 📍Philly, you were a total surprise and we love you!

Shelby Gill grade grade grade grade grade

This year I wanted to do something a little different for my birthday, so we booked a 3 day trip to an unknown destination. We found out our destination 48 hours before our trip. Austin, Texas chose us ! Thank you

Jayme Ramirez grade grade grade grade grade

Chicago, where have you BEAN all my life? Thank you @surprisit for taking care of our vacation & surprising us with the beautiful city of Chicago

Sachelys grade grade grade grade grade

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6 Rules for Planning a Surprise Vacation

By Ashlea Halpern

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I am the master of giving travel gifts. In the 18 years that my partner, Andrew, and I have dated, I’ve planned surprise vacations for us to Paris , Berlin , Prague, Amsterdam , Mexico City , Colombia, Japan, Hawaii, and the Cook Islands. Last Christmas, I decided to do something different.

I’ve known Andrew’s parents for nearly two decades. They’re lovely people but not well-traveled compared to their son and pseudo daughter-in-law (me), both of whom make our living as travel writers.

Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, the 70-year-old Parkses had never been west of the Mississippi until we moved to Minneapolis two years ago. And I can count on one hand the number of times they’ve flown on an airplane. Mr. Parks is a retired factory worker and Mrs. Parks works in admin in a doctor’s office. They’re both homebodies who stick to their usual routines: watching the Hallmark Channel or Food Network, running errands to Kohl’s and Wegmans, and gambling a few times a month at the nearby Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino .

That sparked an idea. After all the “normal” presents had been distributed on Christmas, we gave them a surprise vacation to Las Vegas . The gift included roundtrip airfare, four nights in a luxury suite at The Palazzo at the Venetian Resort , and IOU vouchers for dinners, shows, and activities. His parents were shocked and elated—and more than a bit nervous about going somewhere new.

Orchestrating a surprise vacation—especially for people with limited travel experience—is challenging. Here are my best tips for pulling it off.

Rule No. 1: Do your homework

I knew that the Parkses are nervous flyers, so I opted for a Detroit layover via Delta over a nonstop route from Southwest because the in-flight experience would be better. Where possible, I upgraded them to Comfort Plus , knowing that little extra TLC from the flight attendants would put them more at ease.

His parents’ physical capabilities and personal interests informed other decisions. I rented a car because they can’t walk long distances. I zeroed in on the Palazzo because its casino is well-lit and spacious, with designated non-smoking areas. If you aren’t sure if the person you’re surprising will like something, ask their friends or former travel companions. In our case, I turned to their Vegas-loving pals Pat and Ed. Based on their effusive recommendations, I cobbled together an itinerary I was sure they’d love.

Rule No. 2: Presentation matters

When I surprised Andrew with a trip to Colombia in the late-aughts, I shook him awake at 3 a.m. and said, “Wake up, we have a flight to catch!” He was as groggy and unamused as you’d imagine. When he realized I was serious, he started freaking out. I assured him everything was already taken care of: I had contacted his boss to request time off , checked that his passport was up-to-date, and packed his suitcase. By doing so much pre-planning, I was able to keep our final destination a secret until we approached the check-in counter. (Alas, tightened airport security makes it tough to keep a destination a secret beyond the gate. If you want a blindfold reveal, plan a road trip.)

For Andrew’s parents, I wanted the presentation to be memorable but not too jarring. The best surprises build suspense. I picked up a poker-themed piñata from a party supply store and stuffed it full of faux money, chocolate coins, and gold confetti. I scribbled a message on the back of cartoonishly large $100 bills: Pack … Your … Bags … You’re … Going … To … Las … Vegas! These bills, along with blank decoys and two additional messages ( Don’t worry, we’re going too! and This is not a zonk! ), were also tucked inside.

It took half an hour, but eventually they pieced together the full message. “Are you kidding me? Are you sh***ing kidding me?!” Mrs. Parks squealed, waving around the bills. It was exactly the reaction we wanted.

Rule No. 3: Keep the surprises coming

My favorite thing about planning this vacation was working in additional surprises, like tickets to see magician Mat Franco and Cirque du Soleil's O . We knew the former would be a hit because Mr. and Mrs. Parks watch America’s Got Talent , which Franco won in 2014. O was a splurge, but we knew they’d be floored by aquatic acrobatics.

Meal times presented another opportunity. We started with brunch at Sadelle’s Cafe , a Jewish-style delicatessen in the Bellagio Conservatory. Here, Mrs. Parks sampled her first chocolate babka and Mr. Parks tried a bagel with smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, and onion. Hits all around. They had never been to a tiki bar before, either, so we took them to our favorite off-Strip: Frankie’s Tiki Room . His dad, sipping his first boozy Scorpion, remarked, “I pulled my neck before and I don’t even feel it now.” To which Mrs. Parks chirped, “See! Seventy-year-olds can have fun, too.”

The Parkses at the Bellagio.

Jessica Puckett

Hannah Towey

Karthika Gupta

But our greatest surprise was a dinner/show combo at the new Mayfair Supper Club at the Bellagio. The sumptuous interior, impeccable service, swingin’-jivin’ stage show, and prime rib carved tableside (“It’s like buttah!” cooed his dad) made the whole experience a smash. “I’ve never had a better dinner, ever,” raved his mom. The highlight, however, was watching a sequined singer serenade bashful Mr. Parks with a flirty rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” Memories like that are priceless.

Rule No. 4: Don’t spend every waking minute together

Space is good. While the Parkses loved their swanky setup at the Palazzo, Andrew and I opted for a chic Atelier suite in the newer, hipper NoMad Hotel . Though our accommodations were located at opposite ends of the Strip, it was best to assign each party a room that spoke to their individual tastes.

We did this throughout the trip. His parents waved glow sticks at a Barry Manilow concert at Westgate ; we rocked out to Aerosmith at the Park MGM . They ate lobster lollipops at Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen & Bar ; we indulged in Jameson-spiked slushies and fried baloney sandwiches at Best Friend , a bodega-inspired eatery from Roy Choi. They pumped money into slots; we admired glittery pasties at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum . Everyone did their own thing and was happier because of it.

Rule No. 5: Nudge, don’t shove

It’s important to know your limits. A helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon was never gonna happen. Neither was kibitzing with beefcakes at Thunder From Down Under . Our goal was to encourage his parents to try new things, not change who they are.

A visit to Red Rock Canyon struck that perfect balance. They’ve never visited a national park or conservation area; this desert rockscape, with its striated sandstone peaks, was a thrill. Hiking was out of the question, but it still brought us immense joy to see his parents experience a “first” at 70 years of age. “It looks like an old Western,” marveled Mr. Parks, face glued to the window. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

In turn, I appreciated how flexible and open-minded his parents were. At breakfast at the Egg & I , Mr. Parks skipped past pancakes and omelets and ordered himself a Hawaiian plate of Spam, eggs, and rice. “I want to try something different,” he said with a shrug. Breakthrough!

Rule No. 6: Go out with a bang

Preferably one you’ve kept a secret. For our last stop on our final evening in Vegas, we surprised his Italophile parents with reservations at Sinatra , a classic Italian restaurant inside the high-rolling Encore hotel at the Wynn Las Vegas . Mr. and Mrs. Parks got a kick out of the Ol' Blue Eyes soundtrack and wall of Rat Pack memorabilia, and they’re still waxing lyrical about the veal parmigiana and “best cannoli ever.”

When asked to reflect on their trip, Mr. Parks summed it up thusly: “I’d always heard about the casinos in Vegas. But we’ve got casinos back home. For me, it’s the shows, Red Rocks, and just being here with youz guys that I’ll never forget.”

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This new national park ranking will absolutely surprise you

Why are Yosemite and Yellowstone so low on the list?

One of the best vacations you can have is a trip to a national park . It fills you with awe, connects you with nature, costs less and helps support the parks. Plus, you often have a more active vacation than you would otherwise, hiking and exploring, so that you return home feeling good and not as if you overindulged. There are a few standout national parks that everyone talks about, and two of them start with the letter Y, but the online travel guide Travel Lemming has created a list of national parks ranked by data...and it upends what we usually think.

Data, you say? Yes. This report crunches info in seven categories: crowds, reviews across Google Maps, Yelp and Tripadvisor, weather, affordability, jobs (this one seems perhaps odd, tabulating the number of jobs linked to the park), accessibility—referring to how close it is to an airport or a population hub rather than referring to disability access—and biodiversity.

First of all, Yellowstone lands No. 16 on this list, tied with Mount Rainier National Park, while Yosemite ties for No. 22 with Sequoia National Park (out of 63 parks). Why did these two well-loved parks fall so low on this particular report? For Yellowstone, data shows that it’s kind of crowded (20th) and was only the 20th best-reviewed of the national parks. It fared pretty poorly for affordability (40th), accessibility (38th), and weather (56th)—remember when flooding closed it a few years ago?

For Yosemite, it was the 37th least crowded and the 36th best reviewed. Ouch. Its weather was 45th (probably because of snow that closes parts of the park in winter ), its affordability was 46th and it’s the 21st for accessibility.

And now, to announce which national park jumped into the top ranking: Shenandoah National Park in Virginia! It was the 23rd best reviewed and the 40th least crowded (worse than Yosemite), and the 17th most affordable, with the 18th best weather. This park is about an hour and a half from Washington, D.C., and has waterfalls, spring wildflowers, incredible vistas and woodlands. You can explore 200,000 acres home to songbirds, deer and black bears, available for hiking and camping. Right now, there are “ wildflower weekends ” that include guided hikes and programs.

Second was Joshua Tree National Park in California, and third was Olympic National Park in Washington.

Winning for least crowded? Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Winning for best reviewed? Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

Best weather? Haleakalā National Park in Maui, Hawai’i.

Most affordable? Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio.

Most accessible? Gateway Arch National Park in Missouri.

And for the dubious distinction of most jobs? Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee.

Adjust your travel plans accordingly! The full list is here , but here's the top 10:

1. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

2. Joshua Tree National Park, California

3. Olympic National Park, Washington

4. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

5. North Cascades National Park, Washington

6. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

7. Channel Island National Park, California

8. New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia

9. Everglades National Park, Florida

10. Redwood National Park, California

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The cost to ride on India's luxury trains may surprise you

Luxury trains in India date back to its colonial era, when opulent carriages transported dignitaries, officials and royalty.

More trains were built in the 19th century for the country's maharajas and other ruling elites and their families.

Following India's independence in 1947, privy purses — or governmental payments to these rulers — ended. Without the money to maintain them, India's luxury rail carriages were abandoned.

Indian Railways, which is part of India's national railway system, refurbished several trains over the years, with the first making its debut in the 1980s. The trains were introduced to promote tourism in India by providing travelers with a unique and opulent way to experience the country.

Blending historical elegance with modern comforts, these trains are a glimpse into India's regal past.

A note to travelers: Travel companies have websites that appear to be official sites for the trains in this article, sometimes selling trips at higher rates. Official sites for each train are embedded in the links.

1. Palace on Wheels

Route: an eight-day journey across northwest India, including the country's "Golden Triangle" of Delhi, Jaipur and Agra

Price: from $864 (based on twin sharing)

When it runs: September to April

Introduced in 1982, the Palace on Wheels is an icon in Indian luxury train travel. Chugging along the northern reaches of India through Rajasthan and Agra, this train immerses passengers in a royal bygone era with sundowners in the dunes, camel safaris and trips to Rajasthan's palaces and historic forts.

Its 14-coach train, each named after former princely states of Rajasthan, have 41 cabins, with panoramic windows, sumptuous carpets, frescoed ceilings, mahogany paneling and attached bathrooms. The two "super deluxe" cabins come with a noteworthy perk: a private car and guide for sightseeing.

The train's two dining cars serve Indian, continental and Italian cuisines, and there's a separate bar for cocktails and drinks. Active guests can get their exercise fix in the gym, while those who prefer to relax can book Ayurvedic treatments in the spa.

2. The Golden Chariot

Routes: three itineraries, ranging from three to five nights, across south India

Price: from $3,160 per person (based on twin sharing)

When it runs: October to March

Launched in 2008, the Golden Chariot runs across South India, past historic towns, sun-kissed beaches, jungle-covered hills, temples and safaris. It has 18 purple and gold carriages, each named after the dynasties of south India.

Italy's new 'Orient Express' isn't running yet — but rates are already soaring

Cabins come with ensuite bathrooms, smart TVs, Wi-Fi and an attendant. Local and international fare is served in two dining cars, and the train's lounge bar, Madira, features decor inspired by Mysore Palace .

There is also an exercise room and spa with traditional Indian and modern massage therapies.

All journeys start and end in Bengaluru.

3. Deccan Odyssey

Routes: Six week-long itineraries, departing from Mumbai and Delhi

Price: From $8,330 for single occupancy and $11,900 for double occupancy

When it runs: September to May

The Deccan Odyssey — running since 2004 — feels like a roving hotel.

Its 21 carriages house a high-tech conference space, spa, souvenir shop, gym and a bar serving fine wines and spirits, plus mocktails. Twelve cars are sleeper cabins, which come with personal butlers and plush carpeting, private bathrooms and mod cons such as internet and DVD players.

The train was refurbished during the Covid-19 pandemic, reopening in 2023 with gas stoves in lieu of gas-powered ones in the pantry car, with added suspension for a smoother journey, according to The Times of India.

The two onboard restaurants — Waavar and Utsav — are another highlight, serving specialties from the regions traversed by the train. Sumptuously draped curtains, crisp linens, engraved wood panelling and fine silver cutlery add to the royal aesthetic.

The journey also weaves in cultural experiences. One day, passengers might be admiring ancient Indian architecture, and on the next, wine-tasting or embarking on a game drive.

4. Maharajas' Express

Routes: four itineraries, ranging from three to six nights, departing from Delhi and Mumbai

Price: from $4,890 per person (based on twin sharing)

When it runs: October to April

Lavish interiors combined with the traditional royal hospitality of India have garnered the 23-carriage Maharajas' Express numerous awards since it launched in 2010.

Passengers can choose from four categories of room in 14 guest cabins — the largest being the Presidential Suite, which has two bedrooms, a living room and a bathroom with a bathtub.

A choice of two restaurants — the peacock-themed Mayur Mahal and Rang Mahal — are suitable for vegetarians and meat lovers alike.

Travelers can mingle over cocktails at the Safari Bar or opt for a more tranquil setting at the Rajah Lounge, where they can play games or read while taking in views of the passing landscapes.

Stops along the way highlight Indian culture and history, including holy baths in the sacred ghats, jungle safaris, palace and temple visits and shopping in bustling bazaars.

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Coach service offers journeys across the UK for knockdown price of £2 each way

Hundreds of cut-price, sustainable intercity journeys are on special offer this week for trips across England, Scotland and Wales

A transport company is offering £2 tickets for coach trips across the UK to be taken up to May 12. With a £1 service fee, that means travellers planning journeys can book long-distance tickets from £3 on the FlixBus website or app.

In England there is a government-backed scheme capping local bus tickets at £2 until December 2024, but this offer opens up longer routes and also applies to journeys into and around Wales and Scotland, where the £2 cap doesn’t exist. So, if you fancy a trip through the blossoming valleys from Bristol to Swansea, or from Glasgow to Inverness via the Cairngorms, now is the time to book. The deal is available until Sunday 21 April.

The international travel tech company is celebrating three years of business in the UK. It runs in partnership with local coach companies using green, branded vehicles. Earlier this year FlixBus launched the first direct electric coach service between London Victoria station and Newport in south Wales two of around 75 UK destinations currently covered by the network.

FlixBus began as a German startup in 2013 and has grown exponentially since then to cover thousands of routes in more than 40 countries, entering the UK market in 2020. Last summer it launched the first ever regular routes from several UK cities, including Leeds and Cambridge, direct to Amsterdam. The buses aim to be cheap, sustainable, easy to book and comfortable, with free wifi and charging points on board.

The lowest-priced journeys include direct routes such as Manchester to Edinburgh, London to Bridgend, Bristol to Newcastle and hundreds more intercity connections. The whole FlixBus Scottish network is part of the £2 scheme with Inverness added as a new destination this month. In Scotland, National Entitlement Card and Young Scot cardholders can get free travel.

Andreas Schörling, managing director of FlixBus UK, said the network offers affordable tickets and “comfortable, modern vehicles” and is celebrating its third anniversary with “£2 travel around the vibrant cities and towns of the UK”. The company aims to “become the best-loved coach brand in the country”, he added, offering “reliable services to as many passengers as possible”.

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Top 10 states with longest work commutes revealed — no. 1 may not surprise you.

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If you can make it here, you’ll make it anywhere — just consider extra time for travel.

Commuting to, from and around the “city so nice that they named it twice” can be a pain. Rush hour traffic, random street closures and mass transit delays are all daily grind nuisances.

But the harrowing hassle of hustling and busting isn’t limited to the city’s limits.  

“Workers in New York State [have] the longest commute times,” stated an April 2024 report from the US Department of Energy. 

The DOE, which manages the nation’s nuclear infrastructure and administers the country’s energy policy, used 2022 data on the average 9-to-5er’s one-way travel time to work to compile a list of the top 10 worst states for commuting. 

Researchers determined that most New Yorkers spend approximately 33.2 minutes during their trek to the office. 

And while riding in a train, bus or car for just over a half hour might not sound so terrible, the trip has yet earned the Empire State the No. 1 spot on the longest commute roster. 

Straphangers in Maryland, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have it almost as bad. 

The findings revealed that folks in each province, too, lose a little more than 30 minutes of their lives high-tailing it to their cubicles Monday through Friday. 

DOE analysts attributed the lengthy jaunts around the densely populated states to “traffic and urban sprawl.”

The experts also noted that the average one-way commute time across the US is approximately 27 minutes. 

But staffers in the Midwest have it the best. 

“South Dakota and North Dakota had average commute times of less than 18 minutes,” read the report. 

Workers in similarly provincial regions such as Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Montana also enjoy quickie shuffles just under the 20-minute mark.

However, some business bigwigs don’t mind a long haul. 

NYC “super commuter” Susan Miller gladly hops on a plane every week to work as a full-time professor at the University of Michigan.

And hairdresser Kaitlin Jay, 30, told The Post she’s perfectly content spending nearly six hours commuting door-to-door from her home in Charlotte, North Carolina to work at an Upper West Side salon on a biweekly basis. 

“I love what I do in New York and I love life in Charlotte,” she said. “I get the best of both worlds.”

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What the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Visa Card offers

How other travel cards compare to the wells fargo autograph journey℠ visa® card, 3 key benefits cardholders get from the autograph journey , move over, chase sapphire preferred. this new travel credit card is turning heads.

Wells Fargo's newest card has one key advantage over the gold standard in travel cards.

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Holly Johnson is a credit card expert and writer who covers rewards and loyalty programs, budgeting, and all things personal finance. In addition to writing for publications like Bankrate, CreditCards.com, Forbes Advisor and Investopedia, Johnson owns Club Thrifty and is the co-author of "Zero Down Your Debt: Reclaim Your Income and Build a Life You'll Love."

Tiffany Connors

Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a senior editor for CNET Money with a focus on credit cards. Previously, she covered personal finance topics as a writer and editor at The Penny Hoarder. She is passionate about helping people make the best money decisions for themselves and their families. She graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and has been a writer and editor for publications including the New York Post, Women's Running magazine and Soap Opera Digest. When she isn't working, you can find her enjoying life in St. Petersburg, Florida, with her husband, daughter and a very needy dog.

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The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card * -- Wells Fargo’s latest and best travel card -- recently launched with an impressive set of features. Its competitive rewards, welcome bonus and redemption options take aim at incumbent travel credit cards from Chase, American Express and Capital One.

What gives Wells Fargo’s first foray into the point-transfer space an edge is that you don’t have to book travel in a portal to earn the highest rewards rates. 

Here’s why we think the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey could go toe-to-toe with some of the best travel credit cards, plus three insider tips to help you decide if you should add it to your credit card lineup.

Here’s a quick overview of what you can expect with the Autograph Journey:

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The launch of the Autograph Journey also marks the first transferable points program from Wells Fargo, which joins other card issuers like Chase and Capital One, which have their own pooling programs .

Autograph Journey will be able to do a points transfer with the no-annual-fee Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card . This is especially notable since the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card offers bonus rewards in different categories than the Autograph Journey. 

For example, the Autograph card earns unlimited 3x points on restaurants, travel, gas stations, transit, popular streaming services and phone plans, plus 1x points on other purchases. So you can maximize your point earning across different categories, then transfer your points to your Autograph Journey account to access premium travel redemptions.

2. It offers more options for earning bonus miles on travel than some competitors

The Autograph Journey will offer more flexibility than many travel rewards cards when it comes to earning more points on travel purchases. For example, cardholders earn unlimited 5x points on hotels booked directly with hotel brands and 4x points on airfare booked with airlines. 

This helps the card stand out from other popular travel credit cards that offer the most bonus points only if you book travel through their portals. For example, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card * and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card * only offer the highest bonus rewards on travel booked through Capital One Travel. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card also offers its highest rate of 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel℠, whereas other travel purchases earn 2x points.

Autograph Journey cardholders also earn a minimum of 3x points on other travel purchases, which could include rental cars, cruises and travel booked through online travel agencies like Expedia and Priceline.

3. The card may grow in value as more transfer partners join

The Autograph Journey Card will earn flexible travel rewards points that transfer to a selection of airline and hotel partners, similar to Amex Membership Rewards points or Chase Ultimate Rewards . While the list of transfer partners is limited, Wells Fargo stated in its initial press release that “more partners will continue to be added throughout the year.”

Points transfers could dramatically change the value proposition of the Autograph Journey, especially if new partners include domestic airlines and popular hotel loyalty programs. 

Wells Fargo point transfers will be available to new cardholders starting on April 4. For now, Wells Fargo transfer partners include the following:

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* All information about the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card have been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.

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Prince Harry Makes a Surprise Video Appearance to Talk About Responsible Tourism

By Erin Vanderhoof

On Wednesday, Prince Harry made a virtual appearance for Travalyst, a nonprofit he helped found in 2019, during its annual summit in the south of France. With the support of major tourism companies, including Expedia, Booking.com, and Tripadvisor, Travalyst aims to help consumers choose more sustainable and carbon-conscious travel options. Addressing a group gathered at travel company Amadeus’s offices in the Sophia Antipolis technology park, the prince shared a message where he spoke about some of the organization’s successes and how tourists need to do more to protect the communities they visit.

“Travel and tourism relies on destinations, held together by communities, without which we have nowhere to travel to. Communities are the beating heart of travel, and we must do better by the people who are the custodians of the places we visit,” he said. “More and more people are wanting to make informed travel choices so that the benefit of travel is felt by all.”

The video was filmed in the Montecito home he shares with wife Meghan Markle, and in the background the Gracie Award that Meghan won in 2023 for her podcast Archetypes was visible on a bookshelf behind the prince’s shoulder. According to the Mirror , Harry officially updated his permanent residence to the US in Travalyst’s filings at the UK’s Companies House earlier this week, after vacating Frogmore Cottage , his former Windsor home, last summer.

During Travalyst’s two-day summit, the group announced new additions to its Independent Advisory Group, which vets sustainability certifications for accommodation providers. In a statement , the organization said that it is planning to share a master list of those certifications to the public.

Harry also took part in a roundtable discussion, where he spoke to representatives from nonprofits addressing communities affected by tourism. In his Wednesday speech, he mentioned the conversations. “We've heard from some fantastic organizations like Invisible Cities who train people affected by homelessness to be tour guides in their own city, and Global Himalayan Expedition, whose programmes have helped electrify over 200 Himalayan villages impacting over 60,000 lives for the better,” he said.

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