There’s nothing quite like traveling with the people you love. Getting to see beautiful new sights, try exotic and delicious new foods and drinks, experience local customs and excitement – all of it is better when you have a friend with you. Better yet, keep the fun rolling when you travel with a bunch of friends, otherwise known as group traveling.
Sharing journeys and making memories with friends is one of the greater gifts in life. However, take it from any group travel agent, things can quickly and easily go awry when you try to plan a vacation with a number of people. Everyone has different taste, preferences, budgets, wants and needs. Trying to balance all of that while in a new place can be stressful at a minimum and a nightmare in its worst iterations.
Rather than having a massive fight and blowout during the trip, or even before it stats, plan ahead to ensure smooth sailing, or flying if you aren’t going on a cruise, and heed these words of wisdom from Denver travel agents that have seen it all and know how to mitigate any troubles.
Agree on a location
Obviously this is the first thing you should all do if you decide to travel as a unit. Oftentimes, people default to majority rules, but that will often leave one to a few people left out and bummed out about the choice. Always be open to suggestion and compromise. Consider one location for this trip, and a different one to give the others a chance to take the lead. Even if you all agree on location, the net big concern is money.
Set a budget
Some people like to live lavishly when they travel and stay in five star hotels, throwing their credit cards around for the finer things in life to feel pampered. Others might want to take a more modest and conservative approach and spend their funds on other endeavors. Set the budgets ahead of time so no one feels uncomfortable later. Make sure everyone is willing to pitch in on essentials, such as accommodations and groceries for group meals; feel free to discuss optional activities that people can opt out of if it isn’t for them.
Let the planner take the reigns
Every group has that one friend that loves to plan every minute of every day. Let them be in charge of booking and making decisions to make things easier, assuming everyone else is on board with that hierarchy. There’s nothing worse than 5 friends arguing about where to eat for dinner at 8pm when you’re all already famished from a full day of activities.
Book flights and hotels early
Waiting till the last minute means you’ll be greeted with sky high airline fares and top dollar per-night charges for hotel rooms. By booking in advance, you can lock in low rates, meaning more money for the important actives and meals.
Collect shares before confirming bookings
There’s nothing worse than spending hundreds to thousands of dollars on a big excursion to have people back out last minute, driving up the cost for everyone else. Before you hit confirm on some plane tickets, or a hotel website, make sure you receive everyone’s payments. This way, if people find out that they need to back out, you have time to come up with a backup plan. Additionally, agree as a group that deposits are non-refundable to avoid any headaches later.
Enjoy your vacation
Don’t hesitate to break off from the group for a little solo adventure; don’t forget, this is your vacation as much as it is the group’s! Explore on your own if you have the energy, but everyone else is feeling a bit worn out from travel, or from an earlier activity. Don’t miss out on something you want just because the others don’t want to go.
We’ve got plenty more expert travel agent tips to help you make an unforgettable trip (and not an unforgettable nightmare). Contact us today for help with planning your group vacation and we’ll be happy to assist.
