What we’re about
Looking for a community of adventure loving, boundary pushing, encouraging women to explore the world with?
You found it!
Explorer Chick is a 2022 Travel and Leisure World’s Best Tour Operator changing the lives of thousands with our supportive community formed organically by the women who have traveled all over the world with us on our small-group adventure travel tours.
What we got here is a happy by-product of Real Women embarking on Real Adventures. Women bonded together by challenging themselves in the outdoors. Women who naturally encouraged one another and connected right away. Women who live to LIVE.
🦸♀️ The friendships are REAL.
🦸♀️ The vulnerability on the trails is REAL.
🦸♀️ The empowerment is REAL.
🦸♀️ The personal growth is REAL.
🦸♀️ The cuss words, inside jokes, and SHE-naningans are REAL.
And we’ve been doing it since 2014! That year, Explorer Chick founder, Nicki Bruckmann was a wife, cat mom and home owner who worked full-time in corporate finance. Instead of feeling fulfilled by ticking all the boxes, she found herself feeling stifled. She made the choice to break away from it all and step out of that life. To figure things out, she needed a vacation reset. But not just any vacation. She wanted something that would feed her adventurous soul and push boundaries. But the thing about divorce? You lose that built-in travel buddy. Believing that other women must also be in the same situation; craving adventure and travel and not wanting to do it all alone, she launched Explorer Chick! Check out the whole story here. Launching in 2015, Explorer Chick ran one trip with three bold ladies looking for adventure. From there, this amazing community of women continues to grow, and in 2022 more than 1100 women traveled with us on 133 trips over 5 continents!
Whether you arrive as a solo traveler or with several of your closest gal pals, you’ll be greeted by a group of like-minded women travelers of all ages who love to go hiking, camping, rafting, backpacking, canyoning, surfing, kayaking, climbing and more. Basically, we’re all in on anything that gets us outdoors and active!
We travel the US National Parks and bucket list destinations like Iceland, Jordan, Galapagos, Croatia, Uganda and so many more.
The best part? You are taken care of by Explorer Chick’s professional, certified guides. They handle all the details: from food to accommodations to gear and extra words of encouragement when you need them the most. Leaving you to simply “mindlessly wander”.
“Okay, so how do I join Explorer Chick?”
It’s easy!
We’re not a club. There are no dues. You can simply engage with us on any of our social media (linked below), send us an email, introduce yourself in our Facebook group, learn what we’re really about on our Google reviews, or go big and book your next adventure on our website.
Say Hello 👋
💻 Website: https://explorerchick.com/
📧 Email: hello@explorerchick.com
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerchickadventureco/
❤️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExplorerChickAdventureCo/
👯♀️ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/weareexplorerchick
🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@explorerchick
What are women saying? Jump down the rabbit hole with our Google Reviews.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Moab Hiking + National Parks WeekendMoab, Moab, UT
Join us for several unforgettable Moab hikes in the deserts of Southern Utah over one long weekend! Spend four days trekking the best hiking trails in Canyonlands and Arches National Parks by day. At night, explore the Moab area or relax in our private Explorer Chick lodgings.
Your weekend has been carefully curated and “in the field” tested by your Explorer Chick team! We’ve spent YEARS playing in this outdoor mecca in the desert. You’ll squeeze in some serious ground over the course of a long weekend working on those hiker booty gains. Most of the ground you’ll cover doesn’t even show up on Moab, Utah hiking blogs.
MOAB HIKES HIGHLIGHTS
ARCHES NATIONAL PARK
Explore six arches in one hiking trail to discover the namesake of Arches National Park. Witness the power of wind as you trek among iconic red rock formations where over 2,000 arches have been documented. Descend down layers of red, pink, brown, and white sandstone to enjoy a well-earned lunch on the White Rim of the Colorado River.
CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK: NEEDLES DISTRICT
Wander through red rock slot canyons, among sandstone hoodoos, and across wind-eroded plains in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. Feel like you’re on a desert planet as you admire the vast and desolately beautiful landscapes.
SUNRISE BREAKFAST AND ISLAND IN THE SKY
Catch an unforgettable sunrise at Deadhorse Point State Park as you sip your coffee and munch on your breakfast. Next, gear up and hit the trail in Canyonlands to conquer the steepest trail in the park. (You’ve got this!)
DELICATE ARCH HIKE
You better believe we wouldn’t let you miss this! Your reward after a brief hike? One of the most famous geological structures in the world. Gaze in awe at some of Mama Nature’s best work before taking your turn to pose in the photo op sweet spot.
Every day, expect to be challenged by a new trail, and a new horizon, and new friends. Your thighs will sing every day as you walk a new hiking trail, admire a new desert horizon, and conquer a new national park!
REST AND RELAXATION IN THE MOAB AREA
Your heart will swoon every night as you kick off your dusty hiking boots, share bad jokes, and enjoy fresh-made meals in the Explorer Chick lodge. We’ll enjoy the occasional meal out and even squeeze in some time for you to meander and shop in the funky town of Moab. Your weekend of epic Moab hikes begins with an easy rendezvous at a Salt Lake City airport hotel—we take care of all the transportation from there!
(Phew, did we mention this is all going down in four days?!)Explorer Chick is an approved and permitted Commercial Operator for Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.
See the website for full itinerary, details and to book.
https://explorerchick.com/adventures/moab-utah-hiking/Say Hello 👋
💻 Website: https://explorerchick.com/
📧 Email: hello@explorerchick.com
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerchickadventureco/
❤️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExplorerChickAdventureCo/
👯♀️ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/weareexplorerchick
🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@explorerchick - Great Smoky Mountains Hiking and Glamping WeekendGreat Smoky Mountains, United States
Join us on our Great Smoky Mountains Hiking & Glamping Weekend for women only! Enjoy four days of sweeping mountain vistas, a private whiskey tour, forest hikes, and more. Spend a long weekend with a small group of women hiking the best trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (including parts of the Appalachian Trail). Luxuriate with nightly glamping near Gatlinburg, TN.
Your hiking adventure has been carefully (obsessively?) curated by the Explorer Chick team over countless in-field tests. Only our top treks make the itinerary. Prepare to be challenged on the trail and rewarded with the most OMFG-level mountain views and waterfalls.
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS HIKING
Stride through sweet-smelling pine forests to reach sweeping panoramic vistas with a girl gang you’d trust more than Paul Bunyan. Climb to only one of three remaining fire towers in the National Park when you embark on the strenuous trek up Mt. Cammerer. You can take it “easy” on a moderate hike to the park’s highest single-drop waterfall, Rainbow Falls. Then, inch out to a bald rock outcropping on Charlie’s Bunion to get your heart hammered by mountain scenery in every direction. Walk in the foot path of thousands of Appalachian Trail thru hikers that have come before you on two hikes. Your Insta feed won’t know what hit it. Yes, this is real life with WILD women.
WHISKEY TOUR
Of course, what’s a trip to Tennessee without whiskey? You’ll spend a few hours on an exclusive, private tour with our local guide visiting distilleries on the Tennessee Whiskey Trail. Go behind the scenes at a real working still house and see how everything is made start to finish. Learn the history of whiskey throughout the Prohibition era, the state’s romance with whiskey, and why these mountains were such an integral part of moonshine culture.
GLAMPING
Each night, put your feet up in total Pinterest-worthy digs at our adorable glamping site minutes from Gatlinburg. You will sleep in a tent that has been tastefully decorated and luxuriously appointed with WiFi and temperature control – with meals freshly prepared at camp by your Explorer Chick guides. You only have one task after hiking: RELAX.
It’s a wonderfully wild weekend with a small group of women hiking the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Over the course of the long weekend, you’ll quickly grow close with your posse of Explorer Chicks as you hike the trails and share memories of summits.
See the website for full itinerary, details and to book.
https://explorerchick.com/adventures/smoky-mountains-hiking-and-glamping/
Say Hello 👋
💻 Website: https://explorerchick.com/
📧 Email: hello@explorerchick.com
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerchickadventureco/
❤️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExplorerChickAdventureCo/
👯♀️ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/weareexplorerchick
🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@explorerchick - Save 10% on ALL National Park TripsLink visible for attendees
Save 10% on ALL National Park Trips
Sale ends: Sunday, June 2
Discount: 10% off all National Park Trips
Your Discount Code: Explore10There are the national parks and then there are THE national parks. Similarly, there are national park tours and there are the living your best life/feel like a badass/bond with new besties national park tours. We run the latter.
We’ve got incredible trips waiting for you in some of our country’s most magnificent national parks including Yellowstone National Park, Zion National Park, and Yosemite National Park.
Climb the cables of Half Dome in Yosemite, rappel and rock scramble around remote areas of Zion, ride to your dinner on horseback in Yellowstone, howl from our favorite summits in the Smokies, or squeeze through slot canyons in Canyonlands. Look, we don’t care if you’ve never seen a purple mountain or its majesties (hey, us either)—come play with us!
Your Explorer Chick Dream Team provides expert-led guided tours with some of the best female outdoor guides in the business. Sure, we take care of those pesky travel details like entrance fees, equipment, meals and lodging. But that bonding that happens around the campfire at night? The friendships forged while toughing it out on the trail? Those famous Explorer Chick SHE-nanigans? All we can say is once you travel with us, you get it.
See the website for full itinerary, details and to book.
https://explorerchick.com/sale/Say Hello 👋
💻 Website: https://explorerchick.com/
📧 Email: hello@explorerchick.com
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerchickadventureco/
❤️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExplorerChickAdventureCo/
👯♀️ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/weareexplorerchick
🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@explorerchick - Galapagos Island Hopping and Underwater AdventureSantiago Island, Santa Cruz
Love animals and staying active on vacation? How about both! Channel your inner Darwin and get ready for our guided Galapagos Islands Tour and Multisport Adventure in Ecuador! Meet bold women who love to adventure travel and ugly-cry about nature just as much as you. Tour the islands, enjoy a variety of outdoor sports, and say buenos días to all the animals in the Galapagos.
TORTOISES AND OTHER WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS
The meet-and-greet crew on our Galapagos Islands tour are a wild bunch—literally! Experience incredible animal encounters throughout your trip. This is the binge-worthy Planet Earth on Netflix, but in REAL LIFE. Narrate your own nature film starring tortoises, sea lions, iguanas, penguins, boobies, reef sharks.
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS TOUR AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Over the course of our 9-day tour, you’ll visit three different islands. Each features a plethora of adventures to keep your intrepid soul curious. This trip is “check off the vacation bucket list” time. Why settle for a ho-hum tour where you have to pick and choose activities? This is Explorer Chick! We’ll do it all, baby! Snorkel, kayak, and hike amidst the wandering beasts and spewing volcanoes.
ALL OUTDOOR SPORTS EQUIPMENT PROVIDED
Yep! Explorer Chick provides everything you need to play outside on the Galapagos Islands!
- kayak and paddles
- snorkeling equipment
ALL-INCLUSIVE TOUR PERKS
Every evening, stay in 4-star boutique hotels. We’re talking roof top terraces with harbor views and beside pools with a cocktail. Plus, enjoy all-inclusive perks including:
- round trip flight from Quito to Baltra
- Galápagos National Park Pass
- Transit Card
Heck, you’ll even squeeze in some white sandy beach time! Relax with a book (and a neighboring sea lion). #MermaidParadise
Adventure Highlights
- Hike to the still active Volcano crater, Sierra Negra
- Snorkel the clear waters at Concha Perla looking for penguins, seals, and colorful fish
- Kayak the volcanic islets of Tintoreras while scanning for white-tip sharks and sting rays
- Explore one of South America’s best white sand beaches, Tortuga Bay Beach
- Visit the crystal clear pools of water surrounded by volcanic cliffs at Las Grietas
- Relax in the cute beach town of Puerta Villamil
- Hike to the highest point of Santa Cruz for a panoramic view of the islands
- Experience three total islands, including creepy-cool Floreana with black sand beaches
- Visit tortoise farms and breeding centers to learn more about conservation efforts
- Take a Chiva (local transport) to the highlands of Floreana, through banana, cocoa, and coffee plantations
- Participate in a cooking class in Quito with a local chef.
- Don’t sweat the often extra cost of the Internal round trip flight from Quito to Baltra (~$600), National Park Pass, ($100), and Transit Card ($20). These are included in your price.
- Kick back in 4 Star boutique hotels throughout your adventure that offer fabulous views that pair well with a cocktail
- Relax with a comprehensive itinerary that makes the logistics, transportation, navigation, meal planning, lodging, and everything in-between easy.
- Geek out with encouraging and supportive Explorer Chicks on a private, women-only, small group adventure tour.
See the website for full details and to book.
https://explorerchick.com/adventures/galapagosSay Hello 👋
💻 Website: https://explorerchick.com/
📧 Email: hello@explorerchick.com
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorerchickadventureco/
❤️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExplorerChickAdventureCo/
👯♀️ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/weareexplorerchick
🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@explorerchick