A Wheelchair Accessible Way to Pack Up + Go

Surprise Itineraries for Everyone

Have you heard of Pack Up + Go? I discovered them through their partnership with the United Quest Card as part of the Questination Unknown ^SM campaign. Pack Up + Go is a surprise travel agency. That means they plan a trip for you… and don’t tell you where you’re going until you get there!

Sounds like an accessibility nightmare, right? Someone planning your trip with no wheelchair experience seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

When I asked about this, they assured me that they had experience planning trips for wheelchair users, and they were eager to work with our needs for an inclusive trip.

*We traveled with Pack Up + Go as part of a paid campaign, but all opinions are my own. *

How it works

Pack Up + Go plans customized domestic trips with the added element of surprise through not knowing where you’re going or what you’re doing.

When you go to book, you complete a survey to provide your budget, ideal dates, trip preferences, desired excursions, and activities – and leave the arrangements, including the choice of the destination, to the travel agency. 

They cover it all. After picking between a plane/train trip, a road trip, a staycation, or an outdoors trip, we completed a quick, but thorough, survey to help plan our trip. We put in our previous trips, so we wouldn’t get any repeats, and all our upcoming trips. We also had the ability to put anything else in. We were able to put in our schedule of medical needs, bedtimes, dietary needs, accessibility needs, allergies, and anything else that we work around in our own travel planning. Writing it all down did make me feel a little high-maintenance but Pack Up + Go was absolutely brilliant with everything. They communicated throughout, to make sure they got it right.

What you do

After you complete your survey, you pretty much just show up! A week before your trip, they send the weather forecast so you know how to pack. (Ok, you DO have to pack on your own – no one is showing up at your house to take care of your bags.) They check you in for your flight, arrange (accessible) transportation to your hotel, and provide a detailed itinerary with all confirmation numbers, passes, and contact information in case any changes need to be made. Thanks to the United App, once you show up at the airport you can just head straight to security (assuming you’re not checking a bag) and scan your app as your boarding pass!

I realize that sounds too easy for accessible travel, but here’s why…

Accessible trip planning

All of the hours of research, phone calls, and mapping accessibility that you usually do before a trip is taken care of by Pack Up + Go. Our itinerary included accessible transportation and accessible walking routes. It also included accessibility details and tips for each attraction. Our itinerary walked us through every step of the trip, with detailed notes on what to expect and how to navigate. As long as we were following the plan, we had 0 barriers.

The scoop

The idea of surprise travel is just fun. I don’t know that I’ve ever been so excited for a trip – it felt like Christmas! Usually, for a surprise like that, I’m on the giving end. It was such a joy to be able to experience each moment as a family. I’m sure you know the weight that planning an accessible trip can add to a vacation. That weight was gone, and we were free to experience the joy of spontaneity together.

You can book your own trip here. If you’re looking for an awesome gift, you can also send a gift card! Don’t forget to charge it to your United Quest Card too, so you can earn miles for future travel.

Check out videos from our surprise trip on our Instagram feed!