Adults need more good surprises in their lives. We have more than our fair share of bad surprises: a child vomiting at 3 a.m., the air conditioner quitting the morning we leave on vacation, or being told by our children 30 minutes before school starts that they need two dozen cupcakes/a science fair project/a giraffe costume for a play.
This is where Pack Up + Go comes in. I had never heard of this Pittsburgh-based company until
Pack up + Go on a Vacation to a Surprise Destination
my (wonderful) sister asked if I wanted to travel to a mystery destination to celebrate my 50th birthday. I was intrigued, and also excited to take a trip where I had NO responsibility for planning. I know I’m not the only one who spends countless hours reading conflicting reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp and making zero decisions.
Pack Up + Go, which calls itself “A Surprise Travel Agency” handles all of the details – booking flights and the hotel, restaurant reservations and recommendations, and providing tips on what to see and do while you are in town. The surprise is that you don’t know your destination.
All of the trips are three days/two nights, although Pack Up will add days if requested. There are options for solo or multi-travelers, along with a choice between a road trip or travel by plane or train. Plane/train trips start at $650 each, and include flights and hotel. (If there is money left over, you may receive some extras in your welcome pack. We found a $60 Uber voucher and tickets to a improv comedy show).
Once you select the type of trip, you fill out an online form, answering questions regarding your travel preferences. Pack Up wants to know your interests, what you like (and don’t like), and your travel style so that it can select the right destination for you. Your work ends once you complete the form and pay for the trip. Pack Up + Go handles the rest.
Don’t ruin the surprise
A week ahead of time, you receive an email with hints about your destination, along with a weather forecast and your flight times. Yes, you can figure out where you are going by checking for flights that match your flight times, but why ruin the fun?
A few days before departure, I received a FedEx envelope that contained my destination and travel details, including my boarding pass. My sister and I planned to open the envelopes at the same time the night before we left. My daughter, who wasn’t going on the trip, just about lost her mind because I wouldn’t let her open the envelope. Based on the hints and the forecast, we knew our initial guesses of Savannah or Memphis were wrong. If my sister didn’t live in Northern Virginia, we would have guessed Washington, D.C. Philadelphia seemed too close to D.C., which led us to Boston. Sure enough, Boston was our destination. And it was a good choice, as my last visit was 12 years ago. It was time to hit Beantown again.
We were traveling from different states, which made our travel arrangements a bit more complicated. It also meant that I had a 6:45 a.m. flight from RSW, and my return flight ended up touching down in Fort Myers at 12:45 a.m. because of delays. My sister’s flight options were much more plentiful than here in SWFL. I stated a strong preference for RSW and for a direct flight, which is what I received. On the plus side, our flights arrived in and departed from Boston within 30 minutes of each other.
The organization of the trip was excellent. We stayed at The Boxer Hotel, which was updated and comfortable, and in a location that seemed a little odd at first, but ended up being ideal. Boston Public Market (an indoor marketplace) was less an a half mile away, and we ate several meals there. We took Uber to and from the airport, and to explore places such as Cambridge. But we also walked and walked and walked, and stopped at approximately 600 coffee houses over the three days.
Our welcome pack was filled with recommendations on restaurants, aforementioned coffee houses, sites to visit, and the suggestions focused on the interests we had noted in the survey. Because I love bookstores, we had a list of the best in Boston. We relied heavily on the recommendations, and the only one that failed was Union Square Donuts in Boston Public Market (the donuts were so much better in theory than in practice). Pack Up + Go made a dinner reservation for our first night at Figs in Beacon Hill, and it was a great choice. Our tickets to ImprovBoston were for Saturday night, and it was a fun way to spend an evening, and an activity we probably would not have come up with ourselves.
We would have appreciated a map with Pack Up’s recommendations marked. Google Maps on foot is a frustrating experience when you aren’t familiar with a city, and we spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best way to navigate between stops.
Pack Up + Go is an ideal way to bring together friends from different parts of the country, but it also works for families. But be forewarned: Your kids may drive you crazy begging to know your destination.
Visit www.packupgo.com for more information.