Discover that Girl Scouts is the best way to travel. Girl Scouts will challenge themselves in a safe environment that sparks their curiosity, and they’ll create lifelong memories with their Girl Scout siblings. And the Girl Scout Cookie Program can help to make travel dreams a reality as Girl Scouts use their cookie earnings every year to power amazing adventures for themselves and their troop.
Traveling with Girl Scouts is very different from traveling with family, school, or other groups because Girl Scout youth members take the lead. As they make the decisions about where to go and what to do and take increasing responsibility for the planning and management of their trips, Girl Scouts build important organizational and management skills that will benefit them in college and beyond.
Girl Scout travel is built on a progression of activities, so members are set up for success. Daisies and Brownies start with field trips and progress to day trips, overnights, and weekend trips. Juniors can take adventures farther with a longer regional trip. And Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors can travel the United States and then the world. There are even opportunities for older Girl Scouts to travel independently by joining trips their councils organize or participating in Destinations.
Planning Ahead for Adventure
Get in touch with Girl Scouts of Western Washington as you start thinking about planning a trip. We have training programs that will raise your confidence as a chaperone as well as an approval process for overnight and extended travel.
Girl Scouts of Western Washington offers virtual and in-person workshops that cover the different types of trips your troop could take. For more information on our online learning platform gsLearn and workshop descriptions, please visit our Volunteer Learning page.
For more information on Girl Scouts of Western Washington travel opportunities and policies, please visit our Travel page.
Not sure where to begin? Check out the Girl Scout Guide to U.S. Travel. This resource is designed for Juniors and older Girl Scouts who want to take extended trips—that is, longer than a weekend—but also features tips and tools for budding explorers who are just getting started with field trips and overnights.
Once your Girl Scouts have mastered planning trips in the United States, they might be ready for a global travel adventure! Global trips usually take a few years to plan, and the Girl Scout Global Travel Toolkit can walk you through the entire process.
Safety First
If you’re planning any kind of trip—from a short field trip to an overseas expedition—the “Trips and Travel” section of Safety Activity Checkpoints is your go-to resource for safety. Be sure to follow all the basic safety guidelines, like the buddy system and first-aid requirements, in addition to the specific guidelines for travel.
Note that extended travel (more than two nights) is not covered under the basic Girl Scout insurance plan and will require additional coverage. (*On Federal holiday weekends only (e.g. Labor, Memorial Day) basic insurance is extended to three nights. All other trips three nights or more require additional coverage).
Girl Scout Connections
It’s easy to tie eye-opening travel opportunities into leadership training and skill building! Your Girl Scouts can use their creativity to connect any leadership Journey theme into an idea for travel, like a Sow What? trip focusing on sustainable agriculture and, naturally, sampling tasty food!
There are abundant opportunities to build real skills through earning badges too. The most obvious example is the Senior Traveler badge, but there are plenty more, such as Eco Camper, New Cuisines, Photography, and, of course, all the financial badges that help Girl Scouts budget and earn money for their trips.
Looking to incorporate Girl Scout traditions into your trip? Look no farther than the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace in Savannah, Georgia! You can also deepen connections to Girl Scouts around the world by visiting one of the WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) World Centers, which offer low-cost accommodations and special programs in five locations around the world.
And if your Girl Scouts are looking to stay closer to home this year? Consider visiting one of Girl Scouts of Western Washington’s camp properties.
As your Girl Scouts excitedly plan their next trip, remember limit your role to facilitating brainstorming and planning, never doing the work for them. Share your ideas and insight, ask tough questions when you have to, and support all their decisions with enthusiasm and encouragement!
