Every girl deserves the opportunity to explore her world, and Girl Scouts offers many opportunities to make that happen!

As girls explore new places, meet new people, and try different activities they are learning about themselves and others, navigating new terrain, and putting their skills to work. So where will you and your girls go in Girl Scouts?

From short troop outings to the local firehouse in her neighborhood to exotic destinations across the globe, there are so many opportunities to broaden girls’ experiences and horizons with travel!

Where do you start?

Check out our Troop Trip Training for some great ideas on trip progression and our policies and procedures. Then start planning your first trip with the girls. We recommend to start with short local day trips and expand to longer and farther away locations as the girls’ abilities and confidence (and yours!) grow!

Here’s a great overview of trip progression to follow with your girls from our Troop Trip Training resource. Don’t forget to notify us of your trip ahead of time if it’s over 100 miles from your regular meeting place, an overnight (not at a council property), or includes a high-risk activity.

• Meeting Time Trips: Travel to points of interest in your troop’s neighborhood. Examples include a walk to a nearby park, or short ride by car to a fire station or courthouse.
• Day Trips: Go on daytime excursions away from the group’s meeting place and outside their regular meeting time. This could be an all-day trip to a point of historical or natural interest where they bring their own lunch or a trip to a neighboring city where they make plans for a meal in a restaurant.
• Simple Overnight Trips: Spend one to three nights away. The destination may be a nearby state park, historical site or city for sightseeing. The group stays in a hostel, hotel, motel or campground. For younger girls (Brownies), the trip could include family members like a Mom and Me overnight.
• Extended Overnight Trips: Spend five or more nights away. Trips range from a week at camp to extended travel in the continental United States. The group might use several accommodations and modes of transportation throughout the trip.
• International Trips: Experience traveling outside the country! This type of trip is most successful with girls who are 14 years or older and have successfully completed extended overnight trips. These trips are subject to special requirements including regulations and procedures from the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

Girl Scouts of the USA organized trips

Getaways are short term travel opportunities set up for troops or groups. GSUSA partners with several organizations that sponsor trips just for Girl Scouts! They provide a fun itinerary and special deals to give your group the perfect start to your travel plans. Check out their list of over 25 trips to find out which ones your troop is most interested in.

Destinations offer girls the chance to take big trips, domestically or internationally, with Girl Scouts from around the world. International travel is considered the ultimate travel experience for girls! Travelling abroad can be a wonderful opportunity for girls to gain cultural insight, an appreciation for differences and similarities, and a broadened perspective. As girls mature in Girl Scouts, many consider travel one of the most exciting aspects of their membership.

Financial assistance is available through host agencies as well as Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, and you can also fund the trip through participation in the Girl Scout Cookie Program. Contact Elizabeth Vessell at elizabethvessell@gswo.org for more information on Destinations.

So what do you think of our travel opportunities? See something your troop would love? Start planning the places your girls can go with Girl Scouts now!