Pack Up + Go Avis 595

A few nights in Philadelphia over the 4th of July holiday was my surprise trip planned entirely by Pack Up + Go. The best place to celebrate the history of our forefathers. The Kimpton Monoco hotel in Old City was very comfortable, and within walking distance to so many historical sites. I had my first Philly cheesesteak sandwich, and a slice of tomato pie on the walking City Food Tour.

I first reached out to Pack Up + Go in March. The customer service was outstanding right through the end of my trip. I will definitely have them plan another trip for me.

Hi Pack Up + Go Team,

I want to start by saying you did a fantastic job building suspense and delivering a polished, professional trip packet. Unfortunately, that’s where the excitement ended for us.

We had a $1,700 budget for a 3-night, 4-day kid-free getaway with hopes for a moderate outdoor adventure and close dining options due to unpredictable weather. Instead, we ended up underwhelmed by both the accommodations and the activities.

First issue: most key emails went to spam because they came from a new address—not ideal for a surprise trip. I only found them by chance the night before we left.

Our destination was Charlottesville, VA, and our hotel—while well-intentioned—felt more like staying at a grandparent’s B&B than a romantic escape. The bed creaked, the décor was dated, and privacy was limited. Not exactly ideal for a much-needed couple’s retreat.

The activities—while nice in theory—fell flat. The kayak trip was short and uninspiring, the show cave tour was pleasant but far from adventurous, and Skyline Drive, while scenic, was a passive experience. No real "moderate adventure" to be found.

Meals were pre-reserved, but none included in the budget. Our hotel hosts actually suggested better dining options than what was planned for us. We appreciated the first night’s spot, but nothing stood out enough to justify the cost.

Unfortunately, I now have to go back and tell them that while I was away I had a Sl$ttyRed Head followed by a Buttery Nipple and a Tongue in the Pants followed by an oatmeal cookie. Sounds like a raunchy exciting and raucous 1st night, except they are all alcoholic drinks. I don’t usually drink, but I was bored to tears and couldn’t make my own excitement bc of the damned squeaky bed

After calculating expenses, we estimate only about $1,050 of the $1,700 went toward our actual experience—leaving a 38% cut for PU&G, assuming no discounts. That stings, especially given we’ve purchased around $2,500 in gift certificates over the years and spoken highly of you to friends and coworkers.

In short, we loved the concept and the anticipation, but the execution didn’t deliver on value or experience. We expected a bit more excitement, some thoughtful adventure, and a setting that encouraged connection—not a squeaky bed in a house full of retirees.

Sadly, I can’t recommend PU&G based on this experience. I hope this feedback is helpful in refining future trips for others.

Best,
Anthony & Melanie Damiano

Booked an easygoing outdoor road trip and loved our beautiful surprise location! Pack up & Go booked a guided hike for us and a hotel in a great spot with walking access to most attractions. Something I thought was strange was that we noted we were vegan and both locations on our road trip had great vegan spots but not one was recommended in our itinerary. We changed a dinner reservation made by the company for Italian food- (which is a notoriously difficult cuisine to work with for dietary restrictions) for a great local plant based spot walking distance from our hotel. Normally I wouldn’t complain but it was so easy to look up vegan spots it seemed like a company oversight.

This was one of the BEST you have done for us. We have been using Pack Up & Go for nine years now and have enjoyed every adventure. Looking forward to our next experience which, hopefully, will be in the fall.

Our pack up and go trip sent us to Philadelphia and I have to say we had an amazing experience. Our travel packet gave us really good information for our trip and it made it really straightforward with what we wanted to do. The hotel was great and having the uber voucher came in handy when we got tired from walking. We didn’t have to worry about what we were going to have for dinner since there were already reservations put in place. All the paid activities were perfect for us as well. Everything about this trip was so well planned so we were never stressed about planning what we were going to do. Thanks pack up and go for such a well thought out trip! It was everything we wanted and more!!

Our trip was a surprise- we opened our envelope at the airport. It was well organized and planned out. We had a ball in Philadelphia- over the 4th of July!!! What a great place and time to celebrate our anniversary and learn about our historic roots. Our hotel was within walking distance to almost all attractions. And we were able to take in a Philly’s game. We could not have been happier with our mystery trip!!

Knocked it out of the park once again! Location, activities, food. All just wonderful!!

We had a fantastic trip to Chicago - way more planned than we expected and everything was perfect for us! Will definitely be booking another trip soon

You guys did such an amazing job with the trip. Planning the food tour early was smart so we had places to go through the trip. The dinners were selected so well. We told our food tour guide about the dinners you choices and they were blown away by the choice bc some of them were lesser known gems. I look forward to using your service again many many times in the future!

It's a small world. The Inn we stayed at we were planning on talking to about our Kansas City Irish fest! I loved how the activities you reserved for us are some that I would have chosen to do myself. The only thing I would have changed were some of the supper reservations.

Enjoyed activities in Boston and walking around the city. Places selected for dinner were fun. My partner-in-crime was not at all excited about Boston and ended up rating the city / trip an 8/10 - huge improvement!!!

Would NOT recommend for families. Didn’t take into account my goals or preferences.

We headed to Savannah, not too far from our home but a pleasant drive. The choices of things to do and restaurants were so much fun, but with the flexibility of a morning hanging out in the hotel.
They took the guesswork out of the trip, we had so much fun!

This experience was amazing! I loved where we ended up (Savannah, GA), which I would have never chosen on my own. I felt like the activities chosen for us were spot on to match our interests and what we were looking for when we completed the survey. So many details were covered, that I felt we truly got to take a vacation where we could just go with the flow and enjoy instead of worrying about planning everything.

Overall it was great! I was happy with the destination. I appreciated the public transportation from the airport. I was happy with almost all the prepaid activities. The only one we didn’t do was going to the production of Mama Mia. I was disappointed so much of our budget went to those tickets. This is our second pack up and go trip, and we’ve been booked into hotels in downtown locations. These are neighborhoods that we don’t generally want to spend a lot of time in. It would be be nice to stay in quirkier neighborhoods that aren’t the central business district.

We had a good time though!

My husband and I had so much fun and the mystery of it was the best part! We didn’t have to decide or do any research on the location and what to do once we arrived at our destination. The extra things that were planned or recommended was a great incentive to using pack and go as well! Highly recommend, will be doing every 1-2 years!

When I found out my flight was cancelled on the way home Pack and go called the airline on my behalf and submitted a reimbursement request. I really appreciated this so I could continue to enjoy my trip.

Overall, they planned a fun trip. The lodging and experiences were great. Would recommend and can’t wait to another trip!

This is our second trip with Pack Up & Go and it was equally as memorable as the first. Despite an initial hiccup which the service team quickly resolved with minimal interruption, it was a great trip! They really took our preferences into consideration. The whole trip was wheelchair accessible, restaurant reservations went smoothly, and the room was top notch. Thanks for a great vacation!

I (51F) used Pack Up + Go for the first time for a short trip with my mom (73F) for her birthday. We both love surprises, so it was great to not know the location, yet have plenty of stuff planned. They booked a couple of excursions and made dinner reservations for us. It was clear that someone local had planned the trip. Thank you so much!

This was our 2nd trip with Pack up and Go. The first trip was driving and this one was flying. Both experiences have been excellent. They always book things to do that we would never think of (or maybe wouldn't do to treat ourselves), but would enjoy. We went on a donut tour which felt like it was picked just for me and a brewery tour which felt like it was picked just for my husband. There are always one or two things planned a day which allows you to fill in if you want to do more or relax if you don't want to cram every minute with things to do. The lists provided of other things to do or places to eat are helpful if you want to do more (like we do). Having a dinner reservation each night is wonderful and the restaurants chosen are always great. I would highly recommend travelling this way. For us it is a stress-free vacation.