‘Roamies’ combines the social hostelling experience with small group adventure travel
Hostels have long been a cornerstone of the tourism eco-system, making travel accessible and affordable, and fostering a sense of community and camaraderie among young people keen to explore together. It’s this sense of community and joint passion for innovation that has led Hostelworld and G Adventures to join forces to bring a new style of travel to 18 to 35-year-olds – Roamies.
This new collaboration launches with a collection of 38 tours in 15 countries staying across more than 50 hostels, and sees travelers exploring iconic destinations with the world’s hottest hostels as their home-base – to both hang out and kick-start adventures. Tours start to depart May 8, 2022 and all are available to book from today (December 8, 2021), with between 16 and 24 travelers sharing experiences on each departure. The Roamies collection is the start of a longer-term partnership that will see more tours being added across further locations.
Roamies captures the free-spirited nature of adventure travel and combines it with the inherently social side of hostels. The collection brings independent-minded travelers together to explore the world on tours between five and 34 days duration, with maximum freedom and flexibility. Extra free time, with optional activities available to book, has been built in, with all trips having the support of an expert chief experience officer (CEO) every step of the way.
G Adventures’ founder, Bruce Poon Tip, says the traveler has changed following the pandemic, and the partnership was born out of the desire to create something entirely new for younger travelers, many of whom have been deprived of the opportunity to travel over the past 20 months.
“We’ve always had great respect for Hostelworld – it’s an amazing company with an incredible commitment to the advancement of travel, a quality we appreciate and share. The pandemic gave us the opportunity to act like a start-up again. As we learned more about Hostelworld’s business, we realized there was an opportunity to create something special by bringing our brands together to create the perfect mix of backpacking and organized travel.
“Together we’re creating a new style of travel for our customers that will allow them to have a better travel experience and support our model of community tourism, which is based on investing in as many local and small businesses as possible. There is no better representation of that than in the hostel market, of which many are family-run businesses,” says Poon Tip.
Gary Morrison, chief executive officer of Hostelworld Group, said the partnership presented an exciting opportunity to create a new type of backpacking adventure for young travelers.
“Our mission is to help hostellers meet other travelers they want to hang out with while traveling, so partnering with G Adventures to offer a combination of hostelling and adventure travel made absolute sense. When young people travel, they want to do more than just see places – they want to make meaningful connections and have new experiences that positively change their perspective on themselves and the world.
“We truly admire G Adventures’ ability to create tailored group tours that put meeting new people and supporting local communities as the focal point, something our customers are extremely passionate about. With so many young people missing out on trips of a lifetime in the last couple of years, Roamies will offer them an entirely new type of planned backpacking adventure in 2022,” says Morrison.
Roamies trips are priced from $199 USD* for a three-day trip, and countries visited across the entire current collection include Albania, Austria, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Peru, Thailand, and Vietnam. Example itineraries follow:
The Peruvian Coast: Seafood, Sandboarding & Dune Buggies – Buckle up for this five-day tour of the Peruvian coast. Heading out from Lima, stop at a small coastal town to devour fresh seafood and to try your hand at sandboarding before zooming around on dune buggies at sunset. Spend a couple of nights by a desert oasis with lots of time for optional activities nearby or at the hostel and catch a boat to the Ballestas Islands before settling into your hostel in the bohemian neighborhood of Barranco that’s jam-packed with trendy bars, restaurants, and art galleries. Priced from $599 USD for a five-day Roamies tour featuring funky hostels like Kokopelli Hostel Barranco in Lima.
South East Asia Trifecta – Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangkok – With awesome hostels as home bases, start things off with a street food crawl through bustling Ho Chi Minh City then hop on the back of a motorbike to explore the Mekong delta. Relax on a beach-bed with a cool drink on remote Koh Rong Samloem Island before the rush of zipping around Phnom Penh on a cyclo tour. Are markets your thing? Because we’ve got them all, from the buzzing Siem Reap night market, to the edible insects and spiders of Skun Market. Finally, head to Khao San Road for an epic party, bittersweet goodbyes, but non-stop good times. Priced from $999 USD for an 11-day Roamies tour which includes a stay at the Lub D Siem Reap with its Instagram-worthy swim-up bar.
Central Mexico & Yucatan: Mexico City, Oaxaca, Oh Yeah – They said it wasn’t possible, but we went and did it anyway: we combined the best of Central Mexico and the Yucatan into an incredible 13-day adventure with awesome hostels at every stop. Discover hidden (and delicious!) corners of Mexico City before visiting the always-buzzing cities of Puebla and Oaxaca for more culture and cuisine. Spend a couple of days at the beach, then fly up to Mérida for jungle bikes and cenote swims. After that, check out the massive pyramid at Chichen Itzá before finishing up at the beach town of Tulum. Descend into a cenote for a delicious spread of Yucatecan cuisine for dinner cooked over the fire Meet new friends and get social at the hostels, including the stylish Che Tulum Hostel & Bar. Priced from $1699 USD for a 13-day Roamies tour.
Gotta-See Europe: Germany, Austria, Italy – Amsterdam to Rome – with Europe’s best-of-the-best destinations in between — yeah, this epic 17-day, hostel-based adventure really is as good as it sounds. Get up close to Berlin’s history and vibrant art scene as well as the jaw-dropping architecture of Prague and Vienna. Walk along Europe’s highest natural rock bridge at the Pravčická Gate, and hike around a ridiculously scenic mountain lake on the way to Salzburg. Get immersed in Innbruck’s alpine charm and live out Italian fantasies in the Tuscan countryside. Priced from $2999 USD for a 17-day Roamies tour staying in awesome hostels like the Czech Inn in Prague.
Roamies tours will be sold by both G Adventures and Hostelworld, as well as via travel agents. For more information or to book, please visit: http://gadventures.com/roamies