Group travel isn’t for everyone. Sharing your space, plans and memories with a potential group of strangers can make some people rather uncomfortable. And some people are just flat out BAD AT IT. I have helped organize trips for groups of people for more than 15 years now. The last 7 years I have been the sole planner in all of my trips. I have tried to name this travel group a handful of other things, but whenever anyone talks about it they always just call it a ‘Brittney Trip’, so the name stuck. This group is growing larger and larger, and by the end of this year the number of people in this travel family of mine will exceed 100 people (I had no idea this had the potential to grow this big and after just calculating that number I am feeling so grateful for this in my life). You might see the posts, or maybe your friend is encouraging you to sign up… and you are just wondering if maybe a Brittney Trip is right for you. To help you decide… here are 10 indicators that you should probably sign up:
1. You like people.
At it’s core, Brittney Trips are about people. My main goal is to gather a diverse and quirky group of humans, and experience something very amazing with them all together. You make memories together. Years later you may meet up and say, “hey, remember that one time in New Zealand when you had to buy a new mattress…?”. If you don’t like people, don’t come. If you don’t like ALL KINDS of people, don’t come. If you can’t play nice with others, don’t come.
2. You don’t want to plan.
I am the planner. I live for planning. I will give you a day-to-day itinerary. I book everything. I research everything. Literally all you have to do is pay me on time and show up at the airport on the correct day… and I GOTCHU. If you are a super solo traveler who likes to do things all on their own, this is not the trip for you. It actually complicates things when I have 9 other people telling me what to do and when. So if you want to just come along and enjoy, THIS IS FOR YOU. Kick up your feet and hang on, my friend. It’s gonna be a journey.
3. You want to visit unique places and do unique things.
I am not afraid to go to places your average person doesn’t go. I am most comfortable when I am outside my comfort zone. Do you wanna search out the free hot springs located somewhere random beneath a bridge off a cliff? I gotchu. Do you want to whitewater raft through a rare glacial event? I gotchu. Do you want to run off the side of a mountain and paraglide in the Himalayas? I gotchu.
4. You want to make friends.
If you’re a full ass adult I think you may have already said the phrase, “but how do I make friends now…?” THIS. You want to make friends with someone real quick? Share a tiny cabin with them for 4 days. You want to bond together with new people? Shit your pants on the streets of Peru while holding hands. You know, normal stuff.
5. You want to be active.
There is an obvious difference (to me) between the words ‘vacation’ and ‘trip’. I cannot remember the last vacation I went on. A vacation (to me) is relaxing on the beach…. reading your best smut books…. sipping margaritas in a swim up pool while never leaving the resort…. THOSE are vacations and they are totally okay for other people! For me, my strongest passion is to design an actual TRIP. These are active explorations of other countries, parks and cultures. Everyday you’ll be doing something new. Something exciting. Something memorable. Something you may never have thought that you could ever do BUT HERE YOU ARE, DOING THE THING. You’ll be tired. Maybe you’ll be exhausted. But you’ll be alive.
6. You want your life to be a little changed.
Back in the day, I helped organize multiple missions trips to South East Asia. I taught myself Thai. I had dreams of moving to Thailand to help every human. I visited Thailand for 7 summers and built orphanages, taught countless classes of Thai students the English language, helped communities develop agriculturally, and shared stories with people around every turn. What was interesting, however, was I could not only see a change in the Thai people because of the work we did… but in the Americans that we brought over to do the work. You CANNOT travel and live normally when you return. You CANNOT travel and come home without a changed mindset. You travel and you change. You travel and you learn. You travel and you help others do the same. And THAT is why I started these trips. I want to give people the opportunities to experience something so amazing that their life will never be the same.
7. You want to laugh.
Some of these trips I am laughing from the minute we meet up in the airport until the minute we all go to our own separate homes. There is always a good time happening. I am very funny. I attract very funny people. Laughter is therapy.
8. You want to make core memories.
I remember the mental strength it took to run off the side of a mountain with a chute and expect the wind to catch me.
I remember how sweaty I got dancing at random dance clubs in the Galapagos while only drinking the worst beer ever made.
I remember the sound of a wild tiger roaring after we spotted it drinking from a river.
I remember my heart stopping for just a little bit as we saw our first wild rhino emerge from a misty jungle.
I remember the feeling of triumph after climbing an active volcano with an ankle 4 times its normal size.
I remember the rush of complete awe after seeing ancient ruins I have dreamt of visiting for years.
I remember the sensation of swimming with a large school of sharks.
I remember the joy of seeing people accomplish things they never thought they could.
So. Many. Times.
These are the core memories that I live for. These are the core memories that drive me.
9. You want to experience new things.
Have you ever eaten a guinea pig? Have you ever hiked up to a glacial lake? Have you ever witnessed a temple overrun by super greedy monkeys? No further statement.
10. You want to become a part of a family of travelers.
At this current point in this weird development of my travel life… I have taken a large amount of people to over 22 countries and over 20 national parks. I throw a lot of parties… and as you wander through the parties you’ll hear strangers meeting up and saying things like, “ohhh you went to Nepal? Well in Iceland we did this…” it is an instant bond. OH. YOU’VE DONE A BRITTNEY TRIP? And then the inside jokes, the odd stories, the absolute bond is just instant. We are one big family of people who want more in life. We want to see things. Experience things. Completely submerge ourselves in something unfamiliar. And we bond over all of that, and we become one big family.
And I am so happy to call you all family.
So? Is that you? If so, sign up 🙂
Wanderlust and Wildlife 
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