TORONTO — You’d be surprised by what you might find at the bottom of a rabbit’s hole.
For Zach Vanasse, Founder and Director of Dinosaur Trips, he found an entirely new career, a brand new calling and an exciting new niche in guided touring. All because he started looking into a lifelong hobby and kept digging until he found, well, bones.
“I’ve always been into paleontology,” says Vanasse, a former travel journalist, editor and travel & tourism consultant. “While doing some research for a destination tourism project in the midst of the pandemic, I found myself looking up dinosaur museums and paleontology sites across Alberta. Before long, I expanded my digging to across North America and beyond. I couldn’t believe how much more there was to see and experience. It got me wondering if there was a travel company out there that can put together the kind of vacation that explores a destination through the lens of paleontology. I found nothing.”
Zach Vanasse while on an expedition
And so, the story of Dinosaur Trips begins, launching in November 2022 with an expedition to Alberta’s Badlands. Focusing on dinosaurs and the fascinating field of paleontology, the company has since expanded to include destinations like Colorado, Utah and, new this year, Patagonia, its first venture off the North American continent. Each trip includes an expedition leader, accommodations, park and museum entry fees, guides and experts, most meals, fossil dig fees and transportation. Trips range from $6,000 to $10,000 in price and can be customized to accommodate as few as one guest or, typically, anywhere between six to 12.
“People who are interested in the science of dinosaurs and paleontology are our main guests, but really anyone who enjoys learning and discovering during their vacation gets so much out of our trips,” says Vanasse. “There hasn’t been a single guest yet who has participated in a dinosaur dig before they come with us. When I’m hosting an agent training, I always bring up the example of the Mona Lisa and how millions of people flock to see her despite not knowing much about art history or Da Vinci. But they go because Mona Lisa is a one-of-one. The same can be said of the Black Beauty t-rex skeleton in Drumheller.”
UP NEXT: AN ALL-WOMEN EXPEDITION
This year, Vanasse is hoping to convert more travellers into lifelong dinosaur fans with an exciting lineup of expeditions, including Triceratops Gulch Project Dig (June and July), South Dakota (Aug. 16-24), Patagonia (Oct. 27-Nov. 8) and, coming up next, In Mary Anning’s Footsteps (May 4-13), an all-women expedition along England’s Jurassic Coast that honours the 19th-century paleontology pioneer. The idea behind the latter, says Vanasse, was to balance the scales, so to speak, of what has been a male-dominated field.
“Since launching Dinosaur Trips, I’ve been concerned that women might be hesitant to join our trips because of how much this space has been unfairly and overwhelmingly male. I wanted to do a trip that ensured women wouldn’t have to think about that as they considered joining us for an expedition. And I knew that I wanted Dinosaur Trips to offer trips to the Jurassic Coast, the home of Mary Anning. It just made sense to make our first all-women expedition one that celebrated one of the field’s most important historical contributors,” says Vanasse.
The expedition will be led by Amy Atwater, Director of Paleontology at Colorado’s Dinosaur Ridge, co-host of the paleontology podcast, ‘Weird and Dead,’ and author of the children’s book ‘The Fossil Keeper’s Treasure.” Like Anning, Atwater had to contend with rising in the ranks among mostly men (“I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve been the only woman present in the lab or in the field,” she says), which is why she feels a close affinity with the pioneering giant.
Amy Atwater is also the co-host of paleontology podcast ‘Weird and Dead’
“Mary was uneducated, female and from a poor family, all of which played a role in her being barred from the very scientific societies that were praising (and selling) her fossil discoveries. While she gets a lot of recognition in the science communities of today, we will never truly know the extent of her discoveries as so many of her finds were attributed to men,” says Atwater. “Learning about Mary’s groundbreaking contributions gave me faith that I am in the right spot and that I can do it, too.”
Though Atwater has never before been to England’s Jurassic Coast, known for its world-class, Mesozoic-era geology, she is confident that her passion for the field and her deep appreciation for Anning will help guests – even those with little to no experience with paleontology – walk away with once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
“I’ve been told my enthusiasm is contagious and I pride myself on communicating science in a way that is approachable for everyone,” she says. “As a former park ranger with the National Park Service, I look forward to guiding this trip in a way where we are all learning and exploring together. Every fossil tells a story, and I love making space and time to value and appreciate all the lessons a single rock can teach us.”
‘In Mary Anning’s Footsteps’ is priced at US$7,990, double occupancy; solo travellers are welcome. All 2025 tours are available to book now and are commissionable to travel advisors at 10%.
For more information go to https://dinosaurtrips.com/.
