We love to travel with friends and family. And while we love a good solo trip, just the two of us, group travel is our favorite. Over the years I’ve realized there are a few things that help make group trips successful, especially if you’re traveling internationally. Not everyone in the group will do these things and that’s ok. They’re just options for helping things go a little bit smoother.
Top 5 tips for traveling with a group:
- Share Google Maps. Did you know you can save places to a list and then share that list with others? You can even make notes for the places you save. It’s an awesome way for everyone to do their research on where you’re going and pick things each of you would like to do and see. If you save it on the map that everyone in your group has access to then you’ll easily be able to see where things are and map out an itinerary based on those places.
- Bring games. If you’re not a games type of group, then move on from this one. But bringing compact travel games makes for such fun nights when you’re back at the Airbnb after a long day of sightseeing. It’s a way to wind down together and reminisce about the day while having a cocktail, mocktail, glass of wine, cup of tea…whatever you prefer. We love to bring dice for Farkle and cards for any of our favorite group card games. Both are easy to pack but add so much fun to the mornings and evenings when we’re sitting around.
- Have a rough itinerary but leave some free time. It’s always nice to map out a few things ahead of time. If you’re trying to go to that amazing restaurant that books up way in advance, you need to plan it. Not everyone will want to plan things out and that’s ok too. But if there are some places to see or restaurants to go to that you need to book in advance, do it. Then you’ll have a rough outline for the trip but that still leaves room for factoring in the variables…i.e. unexpected events, people’s moods, weather, exploring places you stumble upon, etc.
- Split the cost of the shared things. We’ve found that a lot of times it’s easiest to have one person pay for everything and then split it up in the end. This depends on the type of trip you’re on and who you’re with. Some people may not like the idea of this. However, sharing the cost of things can make it cheaper for the group as a whole. We have found it works out so well to have a “designated buyer” for all the things you would normally share. The rental car, gas, food (if staying in the same place and sharing), hotel or Airbnb, etc. One person puts it on their card for the trip and at the end, they add it all up and split it however the group decides. We recently traveled to Iceland and we “mostly” did this as a group of 7. In the end, we added up what was on our card, split it by 7 and that’s how much each person had to pay to the “designated buyer”. Of course, if there are things that only you are going to use, buy them on your card. But if you’re sharing, one person paying and then splitting it all in the end is so easy.
- Share a group photo album. It’s fun to dump all of your photos into a shared folder (Google Photos or Apple shared albums are nice options) as your trip unfolds. That way everyone has access to all of the pictures taken and you don’t have to airdrop, text message, or email them. Just drop them in the shared album and you’re done. I tend to take a lot of photos and videos each day so I try to upload them at the end of each day so that it doesn’t take forever to upload them at the end of the trip.
It is so much fun to bond with the people you love on trips. Those shared experiences will be forever memories that you’ll reminisce about for the rest of your lives. I would love to know what you like to do for group trips to make them a success! Please share in the comments ☺️.
Here are a few other top 5 posts you might like:
- Things to see in Iceland: https://pourtu.com/top-5-things-you-must-see-in-iceland/
- Buying a winter coat:https://pourtu.com/top-5-winter-coat-must-haves/
- Best things to do in Grand Cayman 7 Mile Beach: https://pourtu.com/grand-cayman-7-mile-beach/
- Amazing sights in Yellowstone National Park: https://pourtu.com/top-5-sights-to-see-in-yellowstone/
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