Mystery Traveler Q&A: Ariana and Brett

If you’ve ever wondered what mystery travel is like and whether it’s for you, check out our new blog series, Mystery Traveler Q&A, in which we chat with some of our travelers about their experiences.

Ariana and Brett on their mystery long weekend in Montreal.

In late May 2014, Ariana and Brett headed to the Knoxville airport, ready for their long weekend mystery getaway. Upon opening their mystery packet, they discovered they were on their way to Montreal, Canada!

MMT: Why did you decide to take a mystery trip?
A&B: We decided to take this trip because we loved the idea of being surprised at the airport with the destination! It seemed like such a fun and unique experience that we would remember for a long time. We only had a few days free to travel and so this seemed like a great time to try a mystery vacation and see if we liked it.

Did you have any guesses about your destination?
Given the fact that we only had a few days, we assumed the destination would be in the U.S. or Canada. We were thinking either Colorado or Canada, but we tried not to guess so we could be totally surprised.

What did you like about doing a mystery trip?
I loved the freedom to happily anticipate the upcoming vacation with no expectations and no neurotic searching of TripAdvisor, trying to plan out every minute of the trip. Often when we take a trip, I am exhausted by the time we actually leave because I’ve been trying to meticulously plan everything. It was great not knowing what to expect. We packed the day before based on the weather outlook and packing list provided and that was it! The only thing we could do was sit back and look forward to being surprised!

What did you do on your trip?
We enjoyed walking all over Montreal, eating at some fantastic restaurants, shopping, getting lost, visiting several museums, going for a day hike, and seeing the newest Cirque du Soleil show. We were able to pack a lot into a short trip, but we had no set expectations, so we were able to just go with the flow and be spontaneous.

What are your other vacations like?
We have traveled all over the U.S. and to various Caribbean islands, Mexico, etc. All trips have been planned ahead of time, sometimes at all-inclusive resorts. Sometimes we take last-minute trips to various U.S. cities for a long weekend. We enjoy sightseeing, hiking/outdoor activities, restaurants, museums, and golf and spa vacations.

What would you say to other travelers who are considering mystery travel?
DO IT! It was such a fun experience, and MMT did an excellent job planning everything for us. I liked that we picked a short trip to start with, just to see if this was for us. Now I feel confident that we would love to do a longer mystery trip somewhere more exotic. Also, I would advise potential travelers to not try to guess the destination—you’ll ruin the surprise!

Interested in a mystery trip? Just fill out a questionnaire to get the process started!