Mystery travel has been around for a while.
I first heard of this concept back in the early 2010s—when it was mentioned as a punch line for the future of travel.
I don’t remember where I read the line, but the gist was this: Travel has become so saturated with options that the only true frontier is a ‘mystery trip’ with an unknown destination and itinerary.
Whoever posited that notion was spot on, if slightly ahead of their time.
Over the last few years, mystery trips have gained popularity. They closely resemble the idea put forth over a decade ago.
To stoke a deeper sense of intrigue, excitement, and wanderlust, some travelers hand the reins over to experienced travel agencies that put together a trip for them.
Travelers just answer a few questions that lay out factors like their budget, group sizes, interests, phobias, and similarly important information.
After that, dates are solidified, flights are booked, and travelers pack their bags as best as they can with what information they have.
Who actually goes on mystery trips?
Mystery trips are sneaking into the mainstream more and more.
In 2023, Wizz Air launched a Mystery Trip social media campaign. A select group of adventurers paid a one-time fee to travel on an unknown adventure.
Wizz’s mystery trip saw passengers jet-set to Las Vegas where they were treated to a stay at the Flamingo. That sounds like a devilish trick to me since the Vegas Strip is at the very, very bottom of my bucket list.
But Wizz’s passengers seemed happy with the setup; unsurprisingly, most travelers were in their twenties. Full of energy. Undeterred by the things that they saw on the Strip.
Young and adventurous travelers are a great demographic for mystery trips—but that isn’t the only target market.
Most mystery trips rightfully come with a hefty price tag. Like any adventure, there’s a lot that goes into creating a great itinerary. And if you’re going on a mystery trip, you should be okay with investing more for a quality (and thorough) experience.
The coolest mystery trips I’ve seen offered are all squarely in the adventure and/or luxury travel spheres.
If you’re looking to venture out on a mystery trip, I’d suggest starting with one of the companies below. I would personally hand them thousands to ferry me away to unknown places.
Few & Far’s Unknown Experience
I already spent an entire article raving about how cool this trip looks.
But let me do a bit of summarizing—Few & Far is a luxury and sustainable travel company. Its founders have used their background in glamping and eco-friendly travel to roll out some of the coolest safari tours and remote, wilderness experiences I’ve ever seen.
Their goal is simple: Use eco-hospitality to not just protect fragile and gorgeous ecosystems, but actively support and improve these places. They do that through a robust community-led approach and cutting-edge sustainability practices.
The company offers an Unknown Experience that’s built on this ethos. If I’m handing total control to any travel company, Few & Far is my top selection by a long shot.
Pack Up + Go
Pack Up + Go is one of the very first companies to make mystery trips mainstream—which I think is helped by the website’s solid design. Their platform makes it easy to shop around for different types of mystery trips, which goes a long way in ensuring curious travelers that they’re experienced and legitimate.
Visitors can explore plane trips, road trips, and outdoor destinations. Trips include the basics of itinerary planning, lodgings, dinner reservations, and full-time traveler support.
Mystery trips can be as short as two nights or as long as ten. Depending on the program, solo strips can cost as little as $1,350—an affordable price point by any stretch.
That makes Pack Up + Go a solid choice for anyone who feels dissuaded by heftier bills. Additionally, I like that the platform offers plane-based travel or car-based travel. I’d probably start with a road trip as a first-time mystery tripper.
World Mystery Trips
World Mystery Trips is an international and far-reaching platform.
If you’re on the fence about whether a mystery trip is right for you, just visit the website—it’ll convince you pretty quickly with prompts like, ‘It’s time you put the thrill back into your vacations, don’t you think?’
Similar to Pack Up + Go, World Mystery Trips has a good decade of experience under its belt. It’s also a lot more geared toward international adventures, which can help travelers interested in cultural exchanges get even more out of their trip.
Uniquely, trips aren’t planned based on bookings.
Instead, travelers can sign up for a mystery trip. These opportunities are listed alongside the other trips offered by World Mystery Trips. (Even if unknown adventures aren’t your thing, the other offers look pretty cool!)