Group travel is no picnic. Well it can be, but it will take a lot of coordination and communication to make it enjoyable for everyone and not just the leader or planner.
Close quarters for extended periods of time and a near infinite number of decisions to be made can prove that you are besties after all, or it could leave you wanting some serious space when you return.
Whether you’re going somewhere with friends, family or complete strangers, the pace, budget, dietary needs, and must-sees are all things you should discuss before you begin planning. My travel questionnaire is a good place to start your conversation.
Plan wisely
Not every trip is meant for every group. Forcing your bougie friends to go backpacking with you probably isn’t going to end well. Vegas with your conservative parents, maybe not. Asking your friend who just graduated school to join you in Fiji, all they see is dollar signs.
Some trips are better for you and one other person while others may be exponentially more fun with a big group.
You can decide who you want to travel with and then plan a destination together, or you can choose where you want to experience and determine who would be best to join you.
Set appropriate expectations
Some people prefer spending their time lounging by a pool while others want to explore and stay active. Neither is wrong but if you both have your own preferences in mind when planning you may be disappointed when you find you have to compromise on the pace and activities of the trip.
The same could be true about budget. Imagine spending hours pouring over research and finding the best hotel only to find out that your travel partner only intended to spend half that much. If you can have the tough conversations in advance of planning, you’ll save yourself some headache later. No one wants to feel guilted into spending more than they can afford.
You may have in your head that the best flight is a nonstop early in the morning, but your travel partners would rather do two long layovers overnight because it’s cheapest. Those are very different experiences so a discussion about value is just as important as budget.
Communicate clearly
Depending on the length of time and personality types, some of your fellow travelers may need time to themselves. That very well may be a few hours in the middle of the day where you explore separately before meeting up for dinner. It could also mean you take a weekend side trip while they would rather stay put. But you have to be attuned to your own needs and communicate what you need as well as ask questions about theirs.
Are there things on your list that are must-sees? Ask if they are on their list as well and if not and it’s still important to you, plan to check that one off on your own. Perhaps you’ll discover something new from their must-see list that you are newly interested in joining them for.
Be flexible
If you’re used to planning most of your own travel, letting someone else take the lead can be difficult. They may not be as detailed a researcher as you are but going with the flow and traveling their way may be a fun experiment. I just don’t recommend this for a bucket list trip. You’ll of course want to do that one your way. But for a weekend trip to a place you’ve already been before or know you’ll visit again, flexibility can make it fun.
Additionally, you may have the opportunity to try foods that aren’t common in your part of the world. Be open to trying not only new foods and drinks, but exploring the culture of the local people. It’s of course okay to be a tourist and take photos, but learn something about the history, art, literature, theater, traditions, fashion, music, etc. It can add magic to your vacation. But you have to go with the flow.
Generally, being a good travel partner includes knowing what you want and communicating that, and being considerate of the other travelers’ needs and looking for ways to accommodate them flexibly. Hopefully your travel brings you together, but remember that you can still enjoy a person and not travel well with each other.