Gifting experiences, not things, is one of the best ways to show your favorite people you care about them. And you know what's even better than making someone happy with a present? Making them happy with a present you can enjoy too. Like a surprise holiday by Srprs me, for example.
If you're feeling uninspired by popular holiday destinations and don't have the time to scroll through endless flight and hotel options, Srprs me gives you the perfect opportunity to mix things up a little. You can book a holiday, they take care of all the details and guess what…the destination is a complete surprise!
Does a surprise holiday sound like something you could get on board with? In this post, we'll cover what the Srprs me concept entails, how to book with the company, and where you can travel to with this special service. Ready to learn more? Let's dive in.
Booking a surprise holiday with Srprs me
In 2014, Srprs me launched their concept of the surprise trip. The concept entails that, after having entered a few criteria, you book a trip to a surprise destination. Before your surprise vacation starts, you receive just one tip that allows you to guess where you're going
You get the chance to choose the theme of your trip and select a few Srprs me destinations that interest you. When you start to go through the process of booking your trip, you can choose from:
- One of your bucket list destinations
- A new place you have never been
- One of 15 city break destinations where you rule out 5
- A sunny escape
- A foodie escape
- A multi-city trip
You will also get to choose if you prefer a trip by plane or on land. There's even a jokey option to choose a rocket as your method of transport! Spoiler: when you select this option, you get sent to a form asking for your email address. They promise they will let you know as soon as rocket trips are an option on the platform!
What's included with a Srprs me trip?
You may be wondering what exactly a Srprs me trip includes before you get into the details of booking it.
The price of your trip covers:
- Flights to and from your destination + 1 piece of hand luggage
- If you choose a road trip, transportation by road
- All nights in the accommodation
- All organisation and logistics
- Tips for things to do and places to see on your trip
Once you're in your destination, you'll need to pay for your airport transfers, all food and drink and whatever activities you want to do on your trip. If you take a road trip, parking isn't covered. The accommodation standard depends on the type of accommodation you select when booking, which is in the step below.
How much does a holiday with Srprs me cost?
Prices for Srprs me trips vary on how far you travel, how many nights you stay, the level of accomodation you pick and the number of people traveling.
The lowest price is 120 EUR for a roadtrip and prices go up to as much as 800 EUR if you opt for a multi-city trip.
The maximum trip length is 14 days and the minimum 3 days.
Is the cost of a trip with Srprs me worth it?
You may be wondering why you would book your trip through this website and not do it yourself. The main benefit (apart from the gimmic of it surprise element) is that you don't have to worry about any of the organisation or logistics. Everything is taken care of by the experts on the Srprs me team. The company also has connections in the travel industry which means they have access to the best rates and great deals.
It seems you can get value for what you spend when you book a Srprs me trip. Of course, it depends on the time of year you travel. For example, in Europe in summer the prices will be higher.
But overall, the trips aren't expensive in comparison to market rates and you'll always stay at a hotel that is rated at least 8 on independant review sites. You can guarantee you'll stay at a vetted hotel that has reviews from previous Srprs me travelers. The hotels the team chooses are always clean, comfy and centrally located – even if you choose the budget option.
The team use their expertise to seek out only the best experiences and use feedback from their users to continuously make improvements to the service.
You also only fly with safe and reputable airlines if you choose a trip by air.
Steps for booking your surprise holiday with Srprs me
Now you know a bit more about what this service entails, let's take a look at the specific process for booking your surprise holiday:
1. Enter the criteria for your surprise destination vacation
When you book a surprise getaway with Srprs me, you basically book a surprise city break by plane or road. If you choose a road trip the destination will be between 1 and 4 hours from your home.
You indicate how many people you'll be traveling with, when you want to leave, for how long you want to be gone, and whether you want to visit a city inside or outside Europe.
The booking screen looks like this:
In this example, the bucket list option from above was chosen. If you want to book a bucket list trip, you tell the search box at least three cities you'd love to go to.
Another thing you can choose at this initial stage is which airport you want to depart from and what kind of accommodation you'd like to stay at, you get to choose from the following options:
- shared: a shared room at a hostel
- standard: a simple hotel, B&B or apartment
- comfort: a more comfortable apartment, hotel or B&B
- premium: a superior room in a luxury hotel
Regardless of the type of accommodation you choose, Srprs me makes sure you only stay at places that are rated an 8 out of 10 or higher on independent review sites.
All the criteria you select affect what the cost of your surprise trip will be.
Another option you have when booking a surprise city trip is that you can give Srprs me a maximum of three destinations to exclude. These can be places you've already visited or places you have no interest in going to.
The final step in the booking process is to select your departure dates. The calendar will show you which dates have availability that match your chosen criteria.
2. Prepare for takeoff
Yaay, you booked a surprise trip! But what now? How do you prepare for such a trip?
Don't worry, Srprs me looks after you.
A month before your departure day, you'll learn what time you need to be at the airport. That way, you can already plan how to get there. If you download the Srprs me app via the magical link sent to your email, you get to see your personal timeline which shows you a countdown to your trip.
The personal timeline also shows you when you'll get other information, such as the kind of hand luggage you can take with you and if you need any vaccines, Srprs me will tell your doctor about your destination so they can tell you what you need.
A week before your trip, you get the weather forecast for your destination so you can pack accordingly. Both the time you need to be at the airport as the weather forecast can be seen as clues to unravel your mystery vacation but you won't know for certain where you're going until your departure day.
A week before that day, you'll receive a scratch card which holds a code that reveals your destination. However, that code only works when your personal count-down clock on the Srprs me website (or app if you use it) has completely counted down – which is at the time you need to be at the airport. Then and only then can the big surprise trip reveal take place. It's the moment your personal timeline on the app has been leading up to.
The scratch card comes with all the information you need in regards to your flight and if it's possible to check in beforehand, Srprs me will do that for you.
3. Explore and enjoy
Once you're at your destination, you can enjoy it entirely the way you want to. Nothing is planned. You're free to see whatever you want to see and visit whatever you want to visit. You will have a list of local tips and great places to explore so you can get the most out of your trip.
The app is very handy to have here, as all the tips and recommendation from the Srprs me travel planning team are in one place. You can also use the app to add photos with captions and make a little diary of your trip.
And if anything should somehow go wrong, you can contact the 24/7 srprs.me emergency line.
4. Share your feedback
After your trip, you can share your feedback with srprs.me. They love hearing how it went and will ask you for your comments. Your feedback helps them improve the trips for future Srprs me guests.
Want to book your own Srprs me surprise destination holiday?
You can! Have a look at the srprs.me website, follow the process I described above and await your first clue.
You can take a look at independant reviews of Srprs me on Trust Pilot.
PIN FOR LATER
This post was published in collaboration with srprs.me.