For most people, the joy of traveling isn鈥檛 the researching or booking鈥攊t鈥檚 that moment you step off the airplane in a place you鈥檝e never been. So why not skip the planning and let someone else chart your next adventure for you, including choosing the destination?聽Besides, who cares where you go when you鈥檝e got expert travel agents finalizing every last detail for you?
Introducing the latest trend in travel: surprise trips to places that won鈥檛 be revealed to you until it鈥檚 go time.
Jubel
, a tech-enabled travel company founded in 2015 in California, offers customized multi-destination getaways聽and route planning. It can also save聽you more than聽55 percent in travel costs compared with聽booking a trip yourself, thanks to insider travel deals. Jubel also offers .
Fill out its聽survey with your preferred dates, budget, and travel style, and it鈥檒l send you a trip proposal. You can be completely surprised by the destination or learn the continent or country ahead of time. Once you鈥檝e booked, you鈥檒l 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聽per week.
Pack Up and聽Go
Want a weekend getaway in the U.S. without any hassle of planning it? Enter , founded in 2016 in Pittsburgh. Give the company聽your dates and聽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鈥檒l 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 , started in 2017 by a husband and wife聽in Washington, D.C., will plan a trip for you. Tell the reps what you鈥檙e looking for (spas or zoos? bars or museums?) and they鈥檒l start sending you clues as to where you鈥檙e 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 , you won鈥檛 know where you鈥檙e 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鈥檙e 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聽depends on the length of the trip, whether it鈥檚聽international or domestic travel, and the kind of accommodations you want.聽Weekend trips for two start at $1,500.
Surprise Me聽Trips
Choose between quick road trips from your hometown or far-flung destinations via airplane. You鈥檒l get details about what to bring and where to be just before your departure. For its聽weekend road trips, tell the company聽where you want to start, and it will聽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.聽Despite this travel company鈥檚 name, it聽will also arrange trips that don鈥檛 come as a surprise, if that鈥檚 more your thing. 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 聽debuted its聽 service, which creates adventurous tailor-made expeditions聽to wilderness destinations聽like Mongolia or the Arctic that are聽kept entirely a secret from you. Here鈥檚 how it works: select a polar, jungle, coastal, desert, or mountain trip鈥攐r have Black Tomato choose that, too鈥攁nd book at least six months in advance to give you time to train and prepare. When you arrive at your location, you鈥檒l 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鈥攂ut there are shorter, less expensive options, too.
Rustic Pathways
Designed for high school聽students looking for an exciting summer group trip, student-travel company Rustic Pathways offers a to an unknown international destination. Before departure聽you鈥檒l get a Patagonia duffel bag sent to you that鈥檚聽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聽other intrepid聽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聽costs $5,995, not including airfare.