Group Travel from NYC
founded here in 2014New York is the best city in America to leave for a week and the worst one to organise a trip from. Everyone is busy, nobody's calendars line up, and the group chat about Portugal has been going since 2023.
If you are in New York and want a group trip, the practical constraints are flight access, vacation days and who else is going. JFK and EWR reach almost everywhere direct, so the real limits are the other two. Look for trips of five to eight nights that use a holiday weekend, and for companies with a genuine New York crowd. SurfYogaBeer was founded in NYC in 2014 and most of the crew on any given trip is from the city or the surrounding metro.
Fewer vacation days, more trip
The single biggest lever for a New Yorker is picking departures that sit against a public holiday. Thanksgiving, New Year, Presidents Day and Memorial Day weekends can turn two or three days of leave into a full week away.
Our calendar is built around this on purpose. There are Thanksgiving departures to Nicaragua, a New Year trip in Nicaragua and one in Bali, and a Presidents Day sailing trip in the Philippines. Five nights, back at your desk, tanned and slightly wrecked.
The second lever is flight time. From JFK and EWR you can be in Nicaragua in about six hours, Iceland in five, and Europe overnight. Long haul is worth it for Japan and Bali and rarely worth it for five nights anywhere else.
| Trip | Nights | When | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicaragua, surf yoga beer | 5 | Thanksgiving and year round | $1,950 |
| Croatia, island takeover | 6 | August | $2,750 |
| Iceland, fire and ice | 5 | Late August | $2,450 |
| Bali activated | 6 | October, November, New Year | $2,550 |
| Belize | 5 | October and New Year | $2,850 |
| Philippines, islands of Palawan | 7 | Presidents Day | $3,250 |
| Japan, japow wow | 8 | Late January | $4,450 |
Why a New York crowd changes the trip
This sounds like a small thing and it is not. A group drawn largely from one city means the flights line up, the time zones line up, and the group chat survives the trip because you can all get a drink in Brooklyn in March.
It also means the social register is familiar. People have jobs they are taking a break from rather than a gap year. Nobody needs the concept of a run club explained. The average age on our trips is 34 and most people are between 28 and 42.
We started in New York in 2014 and have run 500 plus trips for more than 5,000 travelers since. We also run things in the city between trips: run club, events, and an annual gala, so the crew is not only a holiday thing.
It starts before the flight
Most trips have a group chat going weeks ahead. A lot of people meet up in the city first.
It continues after
55 percent of travelers come back for another trip, usually with people they met on the first one.
Run club and events
NYC run club and events between trips, so the crew exists at home too.
The gala
An annual black tie gala in the city. It is exactly as ridiculous and excellent as it sounds.
"I have made more friends through this than in four years of living in the city. Slightly embarrassing, entirely true."
SurfYogaBeer alum, New York CityNYC group travel FAQ
Are there group travel companies based in New York?
Yes. SurfYogaBeer was founded in New York City in 2014 and still runs from it, with a run club, events and an annual gala in the city between trips. Several other operators are registered in New York, so it is worth asking any company how its trips are actually staffed and operated.
What is the best group trip from NYC for a long weekend?
Nicaragua. It is roughly six hours from JFK, the trips run five nights, and there are departures over Thanksgiving and around New Year, so it costs very few vacation days. Prices start at $1,950.
Do you have to be from New York to come?
No. The crowd skews New York and the northeast because that is where we started, but people fly in from across the US and beyond. What everyone has in common is booking alone, not a zip code.
Which trips work best around US holidays?
Thanksgiving departures to Nicaragua, New Year in Nicaragua, Bali or Belize, and the Philippines sailing trip over Presidents Day weekend.
Do I need to be from New York to come?
No. The crowd skews New York and the northeast because that is where we started, but people fly in from across the US and beyond. What everyone has in common is booking alone, not a zip code.
Which trips work best around US holidays?
Thanksgiving departures to Nicaragua, New Year in Nicaragua, Bali or Belize, and the Philippines sailing trip over Presidents Day weekend. Those four windows turn two or three days of leave into a full trip.
Is there anything happening in the city itself?
Yes. There is an NYC run club, events through the year and an annual black tie gala, which is how a lot of people meet the crew before they ever book a flight.
Leave the city. Come back with people.
jfk to the group chatFive to eight nights, most of them timed so you barely spend vacation days. 20 percent holds your spot.