As COVID-19–related travel restrictions are lifted across the globe
and you and your troop feel safe doing so, your girls will find that
Girl Scouts is the best way to travel. They’ll challenge themselves in
a safe environment that sparks their curiosity, and they’ll create
lifelong memories with their Girl Scout sisters. And the Girl Scout
Cookie Program can help to make travel dreams a reality as girls 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 girls 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, girls 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 girls 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 girls to travel independently by
joining trips their councils organize or participating in Destinations.
Planning Ahead for Adventure
Get in touch with your council as you start thinking about
planning a trip. They likely have training programs that will raise
your confidence as a chaperone as well as an approval process for
overnight and extended travel.
For members within GSCSA, find and register for in person training
on our Activities 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 girls 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.
For members within GSCSA, a Troops and Service Unit Activity Approval Form
must be completed for:
• any activities that take place away from your troop’s normal
meeting location
o that are not at a Girl Scout camp property, or
o that are not delivered by a GSCSA staff member or program partner
• any activities that take place at your troop’s normal meeting
location but is listed as requiring council approval in Safety
Activity Checkpoints
• all service unit events (by the service
unit organizing, not individual troops)
• all activities
that aim to earn money
Incident Report
• When an incident or accident involving a Girl Scout member
(girl or adult) occurs, we ask that an Incident/Accident Report be
completed and submitted to the council office immediately. It is
important that the report be filed with council as soon as
possible following the incident. Forms should be completed by an
adult who was present when the incident or accident occurred and
be completed with as much detail as possible.
• GSCSA’s Incident/Accident Report can be emailed to
info@girlscoutcsa.org.
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 three nights) is not covered
under the basic Girl Scout insurance plan and will require additional coverage.
Girl Scout Connections
It’s easy to tie eye-opening travel opportunities into the
leadership training and skill building your girls are doing in Girl
Scouts! Your girls 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 girls 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! Your girls also have the chance to deepen their 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 girls are looking to stay closer to home this year? Ask
your council about council-owned camps and other facilities that can
be rented out. Members of GSCSA can visit the Camps portion of our website for more details.
As your girls excitedly plan their next trip, remember limit your
role to facilitating the girls’ 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!