Known for his vibrant and authentic social media content, travel influencer and clinical pharmacist Cedric ‘Cedtripping’ Woods has never really been a fan of group trips.
One of the most popular male, travel content creators on Instagram, Woods didn’t take his first international trip until 2012. A few years later, after a trip to France with some friends, an ever-burning passion for travel was lit within him; leading him to over 50 countries to document and curate content surrounding his travel experiences.
However, Woods still wasn’t sold on group excursions.
“I generally don’t like going on group trips,” Woods said. “I’ve done a couple, and you’re not able to do what you want to do. Sometimes the experience and accommodations are not at a certain level or are like on a level of mid-luxury to full luxury.”
Nevertheless, Woods’ high-quality, engaging content continued to entice his social media friends and more people began requesting to accompany him on his international quests.
“A lot of people were interested in traveling with me, so they could see what it was like to be a travel content creator and capture beautiful photos,” he said.
Finally, Woods gave in and began planning a voyage to Zanzibar, Tanzania for a group of his loyal social media followers. The 20 traveler experience sold out in one month, and guests were excited to enjoy the rich travel experience only Cedtripping could provide.
“I wanted everyone to have the authentic feel of a Cedtripping trip,” he said. “I can truly say that the Zanzibar trip was a complete success. I was just blown away.”
For five days in March 2022, Woods and his guests explored the turquoise waters and white sand beaches of Zanzibar. Their hotel was right on the water and guests woke up to ocean views each morning. Suddenly, the photos they’d double-tapped on Woods’ Instagram page became their reality, and the African horizon served as the perfect backdrop.
“African destinations are destinations that resonate with me more than others,” Woods said. “There’s something special about Africa and for me, it’s a personal connection that runs much deeper than the people, the history, and the food. This could only be found in the Motherland.”
Woods led the group on excursions throughout the stay that took them all over Zanzibar. Guests enjoyed beachside massages to unwind before taking sailboats out on the Indian Ocean. They also swam with sea turtles at an aquarium and learned more about the region’s culture in a traditional Swahili class.
The entire stay was packed with excursions from sun up to sundown. Although this meant very little sleep for Woods, the influencer wanted to ensure his guests got the most out of their trip and that they understood they were in control of their itinerary.
“I expected them to do as much as possible on the itinerary but I encouraged them to make this trip everything they wanted,” he said.
A unique facet of Woods’ trip itinerary was that all combinations and excursions were selected specifically for creating travel content. Not only that, Woods accommodate every traveler’s need by having videographers and photographers on deck to help guests with producing their social media content while in Zanzibar. While the trip was content-driven, participating in content curation was optional for all guests.
“Whether it was their pose, posture, or just directing, they helped the guests with what to do to capture great, beautiful content,” he said.
During the trip, the guests were able to experience the market at Stone Town as well as have lunch at the most famous restaurant in Zanzibar, The Rock Restaurant. Knowing how some group trips can be centered around hotel food and buffets, Woods wanted his travelers to experience the flair and flavor of Tanzanian cuisine.
“I wanted this group to have great food and great options and to experience different restaurants,” he said. “So I basically had us dine at different places in Zanzibar, so we could experience different types of foods, different spices, different menus, and different dinner scenery.”
Once apprehensive about group excursions, Woods has found a new appreciation for traveling with a diverse group of individuals. Guests have been raving about their experience since returning to the US, and many expressed how the trip was life-changing in more ways than one.
“Many of them were going through issues or something at home, so it was such a peaceful experience for them to get away and basically a great way for them to cope with some of the stress that they were experiencing,” he said.
Realizing the impact tailored and detailed travel experience curation can have, Woods, left Zanzibar with a fresh perspective and plans to have more Cedtripping group trips in the future. He believes travel is transformative and, although he has experienced it himself, was amazed when he saw it manifest in other travelers.
“You can really design travel experiences in a way where it really helps people cope with stress and make their lives more manageable and better,” Cedtripping said. “You can design a travel experience that saves someone’s life and frees someone who has depression. You can provide that space to clear their heads and give them time to think and give them more hope.”
