To be able to jet set on an adventure with your friends would most probably have been a thing of your bucket list as a child.
Going on a trip with friends can be a wonderful and memorable experience, full of laughter and adventure. You’ll get to explore the world and create beautiful memories with your closest friends.
However, as much as you’d prefer not to hear this, you’ll need to be cautious when planning for a group trip. Whether or not your trip turns out well depends on several critical factors which need to be carefully considered.
Questions To Ask Yourself Before Planning A Trip Together
When choosing friends that you intend to travel with, here are a few questions to carefully consider:
- How well do you know this particular group of friends?
- Do you all share similar values and interests?
- Do you all generally have similar likes and dislikes when choosing outdoor activities and preferred travel destinations?
- Is this group of friends trustworthy?
What are your answers to the above questions? These will determine the group of friends that you’ll choose to go on a trip with.
Having made the initial decision, you will then need to embark on a systematic method of planning.
Below are 11 tips that are useful for the process. They are broken down into tips to be taken note of before and during the trip.
Travelling Tips To Note Before The Trip:
1. Come up with a detailed budget and agree on it
This should be the first thing on your group’s mind when planning a trip. After all, your group’s country of intended travel heavily hinges on the budget that all of you have to work with.
Everyone should be involved in this critical stage of the planning process. Different travel destinations require different budget amounts.
The budget needs to be agreeable to everyone in the group. Those who have slightly more to spend should accommodate those who do not have the same capability.
There should also be a clear decision made regarding the total amount required for the entire trip, and the individual amounts to be contributed by each friend. Each one of you should fully commit to contributing their amount within the stipulated time frame.
2. Cooperation from each friend during planning sessions
It is great if all of you can be present during most of the discussions and decisions made regarding the details of the trip. If not, being present for all of the planning sessions would be the most ideal.
This will limit conflicts that may arise later on in the course of the trip as a result of someone being absent during the planning process and disagreeing with some of the decisions made by the group.
During these discussions, everyone’s view should be taken into consideration before making a final decision that strikes a middle ground.
3. Agree on a destination that will be enjoyed by everyone
The choice of destination is very vital. Generally, the place chosen is what will actually make the trip worthwhile, so this is a make or break decision.
If most of you prefer relaxing on the beach, then those who don’t necessarily enjoy the beach settings will either adjust and flow with the decision, or choose to be left out of the whole trip.
The same is true for those who would prefer hiking or mountainous destinations. The facilities available in a particular destination will also contribute to its suitability for the trip.
4. Decide on the preferred type of accommodation
Travelling with a group of friends can be tricky as there will be differing opinions.
There may be people in the group who enjoy 5-star facilities, while there could be those who prefer to rent an Airbnb and cook themselves.
The collective decision made here will depend greatly on the budget outlined at the beginning. If the total amount quoted in the budget can easily cover the type accommodation preferred by most people in the group, then this will be the most reasonable choice.
Several options of the various types of accommodation in the area of the travel destination should be explored before making a final decision.
5. Agree on how long the trip should be
Each person may not be able to get the same number of leave days or off days from work.
With this in mind, nobody should feel side-tracked. The days scheduled for the trip could be reduced to accommodate those who are unable to get too many days off.
As a group of friends, all of you should be willing to reduce some activities scheduled for the trip so as to adjust the number of days, if need be.
Travelling Tips To Note During The Trip:
6. Give freedom to have personal time apart from the group
As much as this is a group travel arrangement, it is important that each person is given their own personal space. Some of us may wish to engage in some activities privately without the involvement of the other group members.
This gives each of you an opportunity to enjoy a few personal preferences on the trip without inconveniencing the rest of the group. It is also important to check in with one another from time to time to ensure that all of you are safe.
7. Ensure there is good and open communication
Wherever there is more than one person present, there are bound to be conflicts. How much more a group of several friends?
A trip like this can expose the worst in some people, and this may cause a counter reaction from those who are not willing to be patient. Whenever possible, it’s best not to be petty and instead communicate openly and politely about any pressing issues.
Going on a trip with your friends is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. It will be unfortunate and regretful if the trip were to be riddled with arguments.
8. Limit time spent on the phone or on social media
An ideal outcome of this trip is that all of you will become closer to each other.
Having noted that, it is important to mention that the time spent on phone or on social media should be limited drastically. Everyone should make a conscious effort to socialize more with each other than on their phones.
9. Agree to go with the flow when necessary
It is impossible for each person to have 100% of their preferences met on this trip.
Therefore, it’s important to go with the flow where necessary for the sake of peace.
In cases where they need to give a contrary opinion that is worth mentioning, it should be done with utmost respect.
10. Plan activities together as a group
As much as it has been agreed that some activities should be done individually, most of the activities should be organised as a group.
Each day, there should be a suggestion given by a different person as to where to eat and which sites to visit.
This also encourages each person to participate because it shows that their views matter and will be incorporated at some point.
11. The aim of the trip is for the group to have fun
As a group, all of you should desist from doing things that will bring unnecessary conflict.
You should be accommodating to each other. Remembering that the main aim for this trip is to have a great amount of fun. You should also be willing to overlook minor irritations and offences from others. This will ensure that you have a worthwhile trip worth looking back on.
With all that’s said, as a group of friends, all you wish for is to go on a group trip that will bring back plenty of fond memories. The above travelling tips will assist in ensuring that this trip becomes one to remember fondly for a long time to come.
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