I had never travelled with
Trek America before, but I knew a few people who had and after listening to
their experiences I just knew it was something I wanted to do at least once.
The hard part was actually deciding on which trip to do. Anyone that knows me
know how obsessed I am with America, so I knew I wanted to do a trip that was
solely in the USA or one that incorporated Canada. I searched the website on a
daily basis, I ordered their brochure and yet still I was at a loss. I didn't
really have anywhere specifically that I was dying to see, because I'm dying to
see it all.
After hours of searching,
writing pro and con lists of each trip and working the financial side of things
I finally decided. I was going to do the five week Coast to Coast South trip
starting in New York and finishing in LA. It looked seriously amazing, hit so
many of my 'must see' places and I was disgustingly excited. After leaving my
job for personal reasons, I knew that it would be unlikely that I would be able
to still afford to do that trip. Insert crying face here. I was undoubtedly
gutted, then back to square one in terms of searching for which trip I wanted to
do in its place.
After another few days of
searching and changing my mind between a select few trips, I finally made up my
mind. Hurrah. I settled on the two week Canadian Pioneer. The itinerary was as
followed: New York area, Finger Lakes, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Algonquin
Provincial Park, Montreal, Quebec City, Acadia National Park, Boston and
finishing again in New York. It had a little bit of everything I wanted:
amazing cities, National Parks and not really any horrifically long drive days.
I can't remember exactly
how much my trip was, I think around the £1280 mark. I know at the time there
was some kind of promotion going on which meant I got 10% off the price of the
trip. I also booked my flights with Trek America. These were actually fairly pricey
at £1059 and I probably could have found them a lot cheaper had I done it
myself, but honestly, I just wanted the ease and convince of having someone
else do it for me. I also paid for a shared room at the Hilton Newark Airport
(the starting point of the trip) for two nights before the trip started which
was £128 and then one night after the trip ended which was £64. So in total it
cost me roughly around £2400. When you book, you can either choose to pay it
all off in full, or they allow you to pay in instalments. They generally give
you a date which the trip has to be fully paid by. I chose the latter option
and would pay an amount off whenever I was paid from work. I could do this
online if I wanted, or by phone, and everyone I spoke to via the phone was
extremely helpful.
There are other costs
involved, such as $10 a day food kitty (everyone on the trek has to contribute
to this, even your tour leader), between $5-$7 a tip for your tour guide (I
chose to pay this in full at the end) and general spending money. I know it
seems quite expensive and that's because it is. However, I chose to do a
camping tour where all the camping fees and equipment (except sleeping bag)
were included, entry into National Parks are included and you get the
experience of your leader. It is well worth the money.
There were seven passengers
on my trip and my tour leader (hey Kaley!). There were four Brits including myself
(hey Lucy, Megan and Dan), two Germans and an Austrian. Generally the trips can
be booked with a maximum of up to 14 people, so our van was quite roomy which
was actually really nice. Kaley wanted us to rotate seats on a daily basis so
she could get to know us individually which was a really lovely idea, and it
was only myself, Lucy, Megan and Dan that followed this. Whoever was in the
front was van DJ which was hilarious because we all had really different
tastes.
I was a bit apprehensive
about the camping aspect because I'd never camped before. I was also worried
about what the shower and toilet facilities would be like. I can confirm that
at every camp site we stayed at, the bathroom facilities were absolutely fine.
Towards the end of the trip we stayed in KOA (Kampground of America) sites
where the bathroom facilities were a lot better. I always felt really safe
sleeping in the tents - there was one night in Algonquin where myself and Megan
were shitting ourselves in our tent as Lucy laughed from hers as we were
terrified that a black bear was going to get us. I should mention that the
campground had a warning sign stating that there were bears in the area.
There were a lot of early
mornings and the pace of the trip was generally quite fast, something I liked.
I know this wouldn't be for everyone. Because it was a camping trip as opposed
to a BLT, team work is pretty imperative. Having people to help load and unload
the trailer, pull together when cooking and cleaning dishes and just generally
being helpful makes everyone's life so much easier. There were a few times on
my trip I had to really bite my tongue as I felt like not everyone was pulling their
weight.
Onto my tour leader (hi
again, Kales). It was Kaley's first season doing Trek and from the outset she
was just amazing. Kaley is one the most genuine, kind, humble and generally
awesome human beings I could have ever hoped to meet. She was always so
organised, giving us tips on the best places to eat, or visit and always
endeavoured to answer any question I or my fellow trekkers had. Kaley had a
great sense of humour and just made the trip so so special for me, something I
will be forever grateful to her for. About my trekkers - Lucy is an incredible
human with an incredible story and we just clicked instantly. She's the type of
person who you feel like you've known forever because of her warmth and
kindness. Megan is equally as amazing and my fellow fake Northerner, we bonded
on the first day in the back of the van over our shared music taste. She's just
so lovely and approachable and generally fab. Then there was Doctor Dan, who
made me laugh countless times with the hilarious and absurd stories he had to
share. I have never laughed so much in my life as I did with these humans and
I'm so thankful that I got to experience such a wonderful time with such
wonderful people. I couldn't have wished for better people to spend a part of
my summer with and they'll never truly know how much it meant to me.
Would I do it again? In a
heartbeat. It was worth every penny I spent. Obviously my main attraction was
the fact I would be seeing so many different parts of the US and Canada in such
a short space of time. I loved each and every place we visited. I had pretty
low expectations about the trip if I'm honest and I never expected to come away
from it having met a handful of amazing people who I know I'll be friends with
for life.
I think I'll end up writing
more in depth posts about the places I visited, but until then I'll leave it
saying this. If you are considering doing a trek with Trek America my advice
would be just to do it. Just book it, now. You will have the most incredible
time and make memories that will be with you for life. It was truly the best
summer of my life and I cannot wait to do it again.
Love,
Brogan
Love,
Brogan
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