Trovatrip Review: Camping in Alaska with 10 Strangers
Summary: In this post, I’m sharing my TrovaTrip review. I’ll discuss the parts of the trip I liked, the parts I disliked, whether or not I’d recommend TrovaTrip, and my recommendations if you’re thinking about taking a group trip with them.
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At this point, I have been on a couple of group trips through TrovaTrip and I feel like I have a grasp on what their trip style is and who it’s right for. My first experience with them was a group trip in 2019 (hosted by Helene and Michael Sula of @heleneinbetween) to Italy. I wrote about that experience in a different blog post here. Most recently, Austin and I went on a group camping trip (hosted by Erin from @erinexploring_ on Instagram) to Alaska! These were two wildly different experiences, so I wanted to write another post to update my TrovaTrip review.
Want to see what the camping trip was like? Watch it on YouTube!
What is a Group Trip?
Before 2019, I had never heard of group trips before. Now, it seems like every travel influencer is offering them as a way to get their community together. Essentially, a group trip is a group of people traveling together that have likely never met before. You can go as a solo traveler, or you can bring a friend with you. You’ll meet up with this group and stay at the same hotel, do activities/tours together, and get to know them along the way!
Through TrovaTrip, there’s usually a “host” that brings the travelers together. The trips I’ve been on were both hosted by influencers who invited their audience to travel with them. I’ve seen other trips have a focus on health and wellness, yoga, etc.
Aside from the host, TrovaTrip also provides at least one local guide. This is someone who knows the area, speaks the language, and handles the logistics for your trip. In my opinion, the guides are the biggest value that comes from a trip with TrovaTrip. They have so much useful knowledge about the places you’re traveling and they take all of the stress out of planning and executing a bucket list trip!
My Experience Camping with 10 Strangers in Alaska
Like I mentioned above, I wrote about my trip to Italy here. Now, I’d like to share more about my experience in Alaska.
I brought Austin with me on this trip, so I went into the trip already knowing someone. This has its pros and cons. For me, it’s easier to put myself out there and get to know other people when I’m alone. That said, I think we still did a good job of talking with other people and having fun in the group while being together. There was another couple on our trip that we befriended, so we weren’t the only ones.
Anchorage and Talkeetna, Alaska
We flew into Anchorage where we met the rest of the group. Our first night was at a hotel. We got to take our last showers for a few days, and then we drove north (in a 14-person van) to Talkeetna, AK. Talkeetna is a very cute, tiny town that we had some free time to walk around. We camped at the Talkeetna Boat Launch and Campground. We also did a few hikes in the area such as the Talkeetna Lakes Trail and Curry Ridge Trail. This is an excellent place to visit for a chance to see Denali, but unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperating with us to see it.
After Talkeetna, we had a travel day where we drove south down to Seward, AK. Along the drive we stopped at several lookouts along Seward Highway and we did the Byron Glacier Hike. This is where things started to pick up for me! The views we saw this day were incredible.
Seward, Alaska
We camped in Forest Acres Campground in Seward which isn’t far from downtown or Kenai Fjords National Park – where we’d be spending the next two days.
Kenai Fjords National Park is best seen from both land and water. The first day was land. We embarked on the most challenging hike I’ve ever done, Harding Icefield Trek. It included snow, ice, and freezing rain in July! Even though it was hard, it was incredible and I’m so glad we didn’t give up on making it to the top.
The water portion of Kenai Fjords National Park was next. We did a 6-hour wildlife cruise with Major Marine Tours where we saw humpback whales, otters, sea lions, puffins, and a huge glacier running off of Harding Icefield (where we hiked to the day before).
These last two days were the best days of the trip and are the reason I fell back in love with Alaska. On top of that, getting to experience these things with Austin and a group of new friends made these memories even better.
TrovaTrip Review: What I Liked
I already mentioned this above, but my favorite part about traveling with TrovaTrip that I’ll mention a few times in this review is the guides they send on our trips with us. In Italy and in Alaska, the guides were a wealth of knowledge and just really kind and helpful if we needed them for anything. It was clear that the guides really care about you having a good time on your trip.
Getting to meet an influencer that you watch content from every day is also a great part of these trips. It humanizes them and I’ll never say no to new friends! Traveling with group trips like this has led me to having friends all over the world. It’s really fun to travel to different places and be able to see people you know that live there.
Lastly, TrovaTrip does a LOT of vetting when it comes to the vendors they use for hotels, tours, etc. They make sure the company uses ethical practices and that they give a great, consistent service. If you travel with TrovaTrip, you can rest assured that you’re in good hands.
TrovaTrip Review: What I Disliked
I genuinely tried to find something to dislike and I couldn’t, but I did think of something just to be aware of. When I share the cost of these trips with family or friends, a common response is always “wow I could have planned that for much cheaper,” and while that’s probably true, you’re also paying for an excellent service here. The guides that go with you have to get paid. TrovaTrip is also doing all of the research, vetting, and booking for you.
In my opinion, the trips through TrovaTrip are reasonably priced for the service you’re getting, but it will be a little more expensive than if you were to plan everything yourself.
My Recommendations for Group Trips
If you’re thinking about taking a group trip, I have a few pieces of advice after taking several of them myself:
- If you’re going with someone, be open to meeting new people. I would recommend going solo for maximum new friendship opportunities.
- If you are going solo, I suggest getting the double room. With TrovaTrip, you can get a double room (shared room) or a single room (your own room). You’ll never have to share a bed. My best friendships have been with my roommates.
- If you know the kind of people that you like to be around, choose a host that most embodies that. The people on the trip tend to be similar to the host if they show their personality as an influencer.
- Consider arriving early to the destination or staying later. This gives you a chance to see even more, or have a short little solo trip. I love getting to the destinations 4-5 days early.
- Ask your guides for recommendations for EVERYTHING! Our Alaska guide gave us a recommendation for a smoked fish shop and I swear it was the best fish I’ve ever had. They know so much!
Personally speaking, I love group travel. I have friends all over the world because of it and I believe it’s such a great first step to solo travel. If you’re thinking about doing it…do it!
Summary of TrovaTrip Review
- The best parts of group travel: Making new friends around the world
- The best parts of TrovaTrip: Local guides and extensive vetting of vendors
- The cons of group travel and TrovaTrip: It can be more expensive than traveling on your own
Where are you considering traveling to with TrovaTrip? Let me know in the comments!
