“Hush trips.”“Sleepcations.” “Dupe travel.”“Dark tourism.”“Gig tripping.” There’s no shortage of trends and terms in the travel industry these days.
For vacationers who dislike planning and feel open to a little spontaneity, another modern approach to travel might appeal: mystery travel. But what exactly is mystery travel and how does it work?
Below, travel experts break down the benefits and downsides of this trend.
“Mystery travel is booking a trip where you know almost nothing about your destination or itinerary until the last minute ― or sometimes not until you arrive,” explained Gabby Beckford, founder of the travel site Packs Light. “You hand over control to someone else and trust them to plan everything. It’s essentially the blind date of travel.”
Travelers willing to be in the dark about their destinations can reserve mystery trips with companies like Journee, Magical Mystery Tours, Pack Up + Go, Whym Travel and Guess Where Trips.
“Mystery trip companies popped up pre-pandemic as a ‘new’ style of travel planning similar to a reality adventure series where the contestants have no idea where they are being shipped to until the games begin,” said Katy Nastro, a travel expert and spokesperson for the Going travel app.
Basically, think “The Amazing Race” without the pressure to win anything.
“You share your budget, dates and preferences with a travel company, and they handle all the planning,” explained travel blogger Esther Susag. “You just show up and discover where you’re headed.”
If you’ve ever wanted to show up at the airport with a bag and a desire to go anywhere, then mystery travel might be for you.Katy Nastro, travel expert and spokesperson for the Going travel app
Most mystery travel organizers do offer a little bit of guidance ahead of the departure. A week or so before the trip, travelers typically receive a weather forecast and suggested packing list based on the planned itinerary.
“I first started seeing this trend in Europe, where airlines would allow surprise destination flights, and now I’m starting to see it more and more,” Susag said. “I think it really started to become more popular after the pandemic when everyone started to travel a little more. It’s perfect for people who like spontaneous adventure and busy professionals who don’t want to spend the time planning.”
“Studies suggest that people are taking longer to book trips due to exhausting all research areas,” Nastro noted. “Social media, review platforms, word of mouth, etc. are all factored into trip planning.”
The time-consuming nature of today’s travel planning makes mystery trips an appealing option.
“If you’ve ever wanted to show up at the airport with a bag and a desire to go anywhere, then mystery travel might be for you,” Nastro said. “For anyone who has enough on their plate, decision paralysis can be a real thing, especially when it comes to travel planning.”
She pointed to Going’s latest State of Travel report, which found that lack of free time is a big reason people don’t travel as much as they’d like.
“With a limited amount of time off, travellers want to ensure their planned trip is near-perfect,” Nastro said. “A mystery trip not only gives up the planning but the decision-making process.”
If you’re willing to outsource booking flights, hotels, restaurants and activities to a third-party company, then mystery travel can make the experience more relaxing and inject a little fun and sense of spontaneity.
“People like this kind of travel because they don’t have to scroll endlessly on the internet and social media to figure out where to go, and it helps people get out of their comfort zone and experience places they may not have previously,” Susag added. “Plus, travel companies can often secure better deals since they have flexibility with destinations. It brings that true ‘giddiness excitement’ about traveling to a whole new level.”
You can also elevate your vacation by choosing a more adventure-focused mystery travel company. Competitours, for instance, offers challenge-based team competition trips, described as “part travel, part treasure hunt, part ‘The Amazing Race for normal people,’ part escape room, and all fun.”
“While mystery trips take 90% of the guesswork out of trip planning, you are relinquishing a lot of control over to the planner,” Nastro noted. “On one hand, it takes a job off your plate, but on the other hand, you allow a total stranger to plan your ‘perfect trip.’”
She traveled with a mystery trip planning service last summer to cut down on the vacation prep process.
“Their detailed survey seemed promising, and I carefully filled it out to ensure a desirable trip,” Nastro recalled. “They provided a skeleton itinerary before requiring a deposit, which helped ― but I was able to guess the destination and had already been there.”
The company revised the plan after she shared this feedback, but she wondered what would have happened if she hadn’t caught the location.
“The planner in me struggled with the lack of trip details, especially since visually-driven travelers like me want to picture themselves on a Grecian beach ― not just hope that’s where they’re headed,” Nastro added. “A mystery trip can definitely add to the sense of adventure travel bestows upon us, and I could see the benefit of just letting go for a change, but this style of travel is an acquired taste.”
Although the pre-planning questionnaires allow for some form of input, mystery travelers generally have to accept not knowing where they’re headed.
“Downsides include less control over your experience, tricky packing situations, and potential challenges for those with specific dietary needs or accessibility requirements,” Susag added.
Certain age groups might be more inclined to try a mystery trip.
“A report published earlier this year by Skift Research showed millennials in the US preferred free independently planned travel versus organised package tours, whereas a higher portion of Gen Z travellers surveyed preferred organised packaged tours,” Nastro said. “Just like the saying goes, ‘I’ll try anything once,’ we could see younger generations trying [it] out once or twice, but I don’t believe this will be as broadly adopted.”
Although mystery travel could gain popularity as a fun bucket-list experience, Beckford similarly doesn’t see these kinds of trips becoming a new norm.
“A lot of people have limited vacation time, and at the end of the day, most want to spend their holidays very intentionally, where they want to go doing exactly what they want to do ― not leaving it up to a surprise,” she said. “But, I could see it becoming a popular trend amongst Gen Z, especially if there’s a budget-saving component to it.”
Beckford also emphasised that this kind of trip is what you make it.
“Mystery travel is fun in theory, but the real magic comes from your mindset,” she said. “If you’re not ready to roll with surprises, it might not be the thrill you’re hoping for.”
