Travelling with a larger group can be an incredible experience, but can take a little extra planning. With lots of people comes lots of ideas, some of them can be conflicting and so it’s important to find a happy medium that suits everyone on the trip. If you’re off on an adventure with a group of friends, family or even strangers- here are some things to bear in mind.
Decide on the Location
First things first, you will need to decide where you are going to visit. The group already might be swaying one way or another, but if you can’t decide then you could pick locations from a hat or do another activity to decide at random. If for example you’re travelling with children, you will need to bear in mind things like flight times and temperatures of the location. If anyone has a disability, you will need to ensure that the airline and destination can cater to them. There are lots of things to bear in mind, so make sure you’re deciding on this in plenty of time as it might take a while to reach an agreement. If you look for group discounts, a bargain price might help to persuade some people who are being difficult or are caught on the fence with their decision.
Find Accommodation
Once you know where in the world you will be going, the next step is to find accommodation. You have the option of booking hotel rooms, but for a more shared experience why not look into home vacation rentals such as cottages or villas where you can all share the space. Lots of places will give you the option to book for larger groups and it can work out far cheaper too. You can cook meals together and chances are you’ll have your own pool too.
Work Out Responsibilities
If you’re going to be sharing accommodation and cooking for yourselves then there needs to be some kind of structure. Washing, cooking and cleaning will of course need to be kept on top of, deciding who will do what ahead of time can avoid conflict later on. Perhaps the children could tidy away the toys each evening, the teenagers could make the beds and set the table for dinner. Anyone who loves to cook could prepare the meals and everyone else could do things like wiping surfaces, washing clothes, shopping for groceries or other chores. Between everyone it doesn’t need to be tedious or time consuming, but it keeps your environment tidy and lets you stay organised.
Don’t Be Afraid to Split Up
As a larger group, it can be tricky staying together for every element of the trip. You will likely find that people have different ideas as to what they want to do. This is fine, let the group break down into smaller groups and those shared interests can go and enjoy their day or activities in the day. This adds flexibility and takes off pressure, and means people aren’t being forced into activities that simply don’t interest them. After all, you’ve all gone away to have a good time, so have a good time!
Decide on Some Activities Together
With this being said, one thing you can do if you’re allowing the group to break up as needed is to arrange a few shared activities. This allows you to really enjoy the entire group and can give you some fantastic memories to look back on together. Perhaps you could all cook a meal together one evening, or visit a restaurant. Maybe it’s an afternoon at the beach that you all go along to, or a day out such as a theme park or water park. Since you all have flexibility for the rest of the time, spending this set time together won’t create too much pressure. Arrange an activity that’s fun for everyone.
Be Patient
With lots of different people are personalities on the trip, things might not always run completely smoothly. The best thing to do is to be aware of this ahead of time, and resolve yourself to being patient. If someone is dawdling or generally being difficult, don’t let this impact you and your trip. If you have children with you who are crying or playing up, just breathe. This is why agreeing to split up throughout the trip is useful as you have the freedom to escape these situations when needed.
Travelling as a group can be a wonderful experience, it’s great for bonding and you’ll make memories that last a lifetime.