Heading into colder, winter months, it’s natural to start planning the next summer adventure. Country roads, sunshine, exploration, and excitement are things that many of us begin to crave. Especially after two years of restricted travel and a stunted social life, you and your friends may especially want to plan a summer road trip together. You can reunite, catch up, and rekindle friendships while exploring new and exciting places as a group. However, it’s one thing making a group chat and share Pinterest board about a travel plan. It’s another matter when it actually comes to finalising these plans and taking a trip! How can you have a successful trip with so many people to organise and so many ideas to take into consideration? How can you plan a vacation that everyone will enjoy and look back on with fondness for years to come?
The thought of planning such an escapade with a large group of people can feel daunting. It might seem impossible even, for everyone to agree, get along and have fun. The good thing is that there is a lot of information out there, full of tips and suggestions, that will help you to make the dream of a group holiday come true. A great deal of the end results success will come from thoughtful and considerate planning beforehand. Let’s look at a few key pointers that will help to get you started, and make you feel a lot calmer and more confident about the prospect of planning a group trip.
Dos For Big Group Trips
Here are a few great suggestions to help you work towards your goal of a big group trip. Try and do these things as soon as you can in the planning process:
- Nominate for yourselves a team leader… or two.
This doesn’t mean you should have a dictator that makes all the decisions which the rest of the group have to obediently agree too. Rather, this individual will be responsible for booking tickets, informing the group with what they need to know, possibly giving tasks and responsibilities to others to ensure that everything gets done. They will be a port of call when anyone in the group has questions about the trip and they will ensure that everyone’s ideas and opinions are listened to. They will make sure that compromises are reached when possible and everyone is happy about the decisions and plans made. As they say, too many cooks spoil the broth, so having an individual or two to take the lead will really help the plans to come together.
- Plan ahead and book what you can.
Arrange some planning meetings that everyone in the group can attend and contribute to. In the pandemic, everyone got very well acquainted with various virtual meeting platforms, so use one of these to discuss plans and make decisions. If you can, you can use these opportunities to make the important bookings you need to agree on as a group. This could be things like the destination or kind of trip, or booking airplane tickets or passenger van rentals, aspects of the vacation that need to have everyone’s agreement.
- Make a budget and look for ways to stick to it.
Right from the off, there needs be open and honest communication about the budget of the trip. Everyone’s financial situation is different so people should have the opportunity to speak freely about how much they are willing to pay without feeling embarrassed or unheard. From this you can decide on the itinerary of the trip, or perhaps on the inclusion of a few simultaneous itineraries to fit slightly different budgets. This will remove any awkwardness in the future when a bill comes that the group wasn’t expecting to pay for. Furthermore, put your research skills to use by looking for discounts that may be available for group bookings. Do what you can to reduce the financial burden of the trip as you don’t want the worry of money to ruin anyone’s holiday.
- Write things down and make a schedule.
There are some very useful apps out there designed to help groups plan their travel together. They allow everyone to be on the same page when it comes to the trip and ensure that everyone has the information they need. Everyone can work together and help each other to plan and prepare for the trip. If anyone as a question, there may be someone else in the group who can answer it. You don’t need to make a military timetable for the trip but having a rough written schedule of what is planned for each day will help everyone to know what’s happening. If you are sharing accommodation, make a rota for meals and cleaning so that it doesn’t just fall on the shoulders of one or two people for the whole holiday. Everyone will feel a lot calmer and organised when they know what’s happening and when.
We’re All Going on A Summer Holiday!
Evidently, with thoughtful planning and genuine communication, a group trip doesn’t have to be a stressful experience for anyone. Everyone can feel like they are heard, appreciated, and valued in the group, which will allow for a smoother vacation. When disagreements or disputes arise, which they undoubtedly will at some point, take the initiative to resolve things peaceably, validating the concerns of others and encouraging apologies when mistakes are made. If each member of the team can do their bit to encourage the others, keep the peace and look after one another, the whole trip will be a resounding success. You won’t return home with a horror story holiday and no friends! You will return home happy, well-rested, and content, with your relationships even stronger than when you started. This amazing experience can be an excellent opportunity to solidify bonds, learn new life skills, all while seeing the world and exploring the vast array of sights it has to offer.
