While the swanky air-conditioned bus I was traveling in Sri Lanka, a country of nearly 15 million Theravada Buddhists, was filled with meaningless chatter and a dash of travel boasting, I was doing my best to slip into a meditative state of Buddhist compassion. . As someone who loves exploring places off the beaten path, mostly alone and almost always on local buses and trains (where daily life moves at a slower pace), I was a little nervous signing up to spend 12 days. The days when I was trapped in a minibus with nine strangers.
I had to bite my tongue several times throughout the tour and later learned that others in the group did the same thing. That’s the point of bringing together a group of strangers of different ages (my group ranged from 31 to 49) from a handful of different countries – you won’t always have the same outlook on life, values, or interests. So just what is The appeal of group travel in your 30s and 40s?
I joined Flash Pack’s ‘Inside Sri Lanka’ trip to see what the astronomical rise in popularity of group travel means. Flash Pack has operated thousands of group tours since its launch in 2014, and over the last few years they have revealed that they have achieved 100 percent year-on-year growth since the fight against COVID, with 60 percent of their total travel sales coming from the US. Travelers. Similarly, G Adventures’ estimated annual revenue currently hovers around £424 million ($532 million) annually, while Intrepid is also growing at a rapid rate, with an ambitious growth strategy to “become the world’s first $1 billion adventure travel company by 2025.” This is serious business.
As someone who has never been on a group tour before, this concept is quite foreign to me, and even more so since the cost of the 12-day Sri Lanka tour is £2,300 per person. This excludes flights, alcoholic beverages, most lunches and an extra nightly fee if you don’t want to share a bedroom. Our itinerary includes climbing to the top of Pidurangala Rock, cycling around the ancient city of Polonnaruwa with its Buddha monolith rock carvings and ornate temples, a short break in Kandy, outdoor yoga class, train ride to Tea country, safari in Yala National Park, Galle Fort One night in , and a few nights rest in Kosgoda, all while staying mostly in four or five star hotels and moving to the next destination every two days.
You can probably get whatever you want, every need is met – pretty impressive.
Meanwhile, everything is being taken care of in public bathrooms, down to providing toilet paper and hand sanitizer when needed. ATM stops, chilled towels and drinks at the top of the mountain, and impromptu gin and tonics thrown into the mix along the way. Whatever you want, you can probably get it. Every need is met; quite impressive.
For our 12 days in Sri Lanka, we had our own driver, the extremely competent Shantha, and her smiley right-hand man, Sachintha, who ensured we never had to lift our luggage throughout the trip. Backpacks and suitcases were seamlessly transferred from the bus to the bedroom and from the bus to the back at each destination; It’s an aspect of the tour that felt indulgent, but it made traveling so much easier than my usual solo experiences. And therein lies the appeal: Joining a tour is undoubtedly the easiest way to travel, plus you can see a huge amount of things in such a limited time frame – perfect for anyone short on time, rich in cash and curious about another country.
If I had been traveling the same route alone and by public transportation, I would not have been able to see all the places in the time period we visited. Of course, instead of half a day, I would have liked to have spent a few quiet days wandering around the awe-inspiring ancient ruins of Polonnaruwa, and yes, I would have loved to have spent a few days hiking through cloud forests and tea plantations. We are in Haputale but I am aware that most people have limited vacation days. This means such a tour is the ideal way to make the most of your limited annual leave.
Flash Pack also highly encourages the friendship-making aspect of joining one of their tours. Their Instagram account explains that they are “on a mission to create one million meaningful friendships around the world.” A quick scroll through their feed reveals inspirational quotes about being single and traveling later in life. They’ve tapped into a growing market, and boy does it make it.
For me, the first few days of the tour were a bit strange as people just didn’t understand each other. As in most environments with a mishmash of personalities, the loudest voices dominated the conversation and a few outdated opinions irritated the others, but by day six something had fallen into place. During the amazing train ride from Kandy to Nanuoya, past waterfalls and village life, past lush tea plantations, I had one of the best conversations of the trip with two incredible women. In fact, I enjoyed the company of all the women on the trip and one of the guys from the UK. With these people, once the small talk stopped and we talked honestly and openly, the travel experiences I loved began to emerge, and from then on it was mostly a smooth ride.
Once the small talk was over and we talked honestly and openly, the travel experiences I loved began to emerge, and from then on it was mostly a smooth ride.
For most of the group (four men, six women), this wasn’t their first Flash Pack experience. Many had done multiple trips, while others had tried different tour providers like G Adventures or Intrepid. Besides the ease and variety of excursions offered, I found that the luxury feel of Flash Pack’s tours was the main draw. The company currently offers 51 tours to countries such as South Korea, Colombia, Rwanda and Albania. For the women in my group, a big draw was the appeal of traveling to places where they typically wouldn’t feel safe traveling alone.
At the helm of our tour and the highlight of the entire trip was one of the sweetest souls I have ever met. Our group tour leader, Suranga, or Razz as she likes to be called, has the patience of a saint, a truly addictive smile, and an attitude where nothing is a problem. Every day I was in awe of his patience, his knowledge, his love and passion for his beautiful country.
On day eight, a little more than halfway through the journey, we visited Yala National Park, which borders the Indian Ocean, and learned how teenage male elephants abandon their herds at about age 13 to live a solitary life. I had a very difficult relationship with them. As much as I love wandering around and never having to think once about which cocktail to order, I’ll most likely go back to my solo travel experiences.
Flash Pack is a great concept and a lucrative business model, but I personally love the random travel experiences I encounter while traveling alone. For example, when I met a local family on the bus from Medellin to Jardin and was invited to their home for dinner; or the time I rented a shack for the night with a backpacking friend in Hampi, India, because every room was full because it was Gandhi’s birthday; or drank red wine while reminiscing about life and love with a random Airbnb host.
But I would return for the Flash Pack trip in a second, if only for Suranga, Sri Lanka’s best, utterly delightful guide. Besides the girls I met on the trip (I still keep in touch with all of them), she was the real standout – I hope the Flash Pack knows how lucky they are to have her.
Flash Pack group trips start from around £2,075 per person. To find out more or to make a reservation, visit flashpack.com.