There is a HUGE difference between traveling solo and traveling with friends, family, or a partner. From planning the trip, to how you travel, and the experiences of your trip will vary.
Maybe you’ve never planned a group trip before so you’re looking for tips on how to make it stress-free or you’ve experienced a disastrous group trip and you’re here to find out how to avoid that in the future. If you’re like me and you’ve been traveling solo for a while now, it can be difficult to remember how to travel with others.
My first group trip after I’d been traveling solo for 18 months was kind of a disaster. Reflecting on that trip plus trips following it has helped me learn from my mistakes. Communication and realistic expectations are key when planning a trip with others. I put together these tips for planning a trip with friends, family, or a partner.
1. Discuss Budget 💰
Discussing the budget of the trip with all parties traveling is crucial to avoid miscommunication. There are budget-friendly travelers, fancy travelers, and everything in between. Just because you’ve seen your friend travel fancy doesn’t mean they have the budget for that on this specific trip and vice versa.
I’ve stayed at 5-star resorts and hostels on the same trip. 🤣 It depends on where I’m going, who I’m with, the experience I want to have, and my budget at that moment. When traveling with others, I always ask what their expectations are.
Not sure how to ask? Start with accommodations. (Hotel, Airbnb, Hostel) Their answer will be a good starting indicator to you.
2. Figure Out What Type of Trip 🏖️🌃
Are you having a relaxing vacation lying on the beach, hitting up the spa, and drinking Mai Tai’s at the swim-up pool bar? Or are you waterfall hiking, free diving, and hitting up every smoothie bar along the way?
These are 2 very different types of trips. If Traveler A expects the first and Traveler B the second, well…let’s just say there’s going to be some issues. Communicating what type of trip you want to have is key to ensuring everyone has an enjoyable time. This leads me to my next tip…
3. Compromise 🤝
While you might be Traveler A and really want to lay on the beach for 10 days, try to compromise with Traveler B. You might end up doing something you never knew you REALLY enjoy!
By having a conversation about what you want to do in advance, you can work out an evenly balanced trip; a few days of relaxing at the pool and spa mixed in with waterfall hikes sounds perfect to me!
4. Organize Things to Do 📝
Whether it’s places to see, things to do, restaurant recommendations, or must-stay accommodations; having a broad idea of what your trip will look like is important when planning with others. This is a great tool to help you budget for your trip. It can also determine the number of days to book.
I used to be extremely type-A and write out detailed itineraries. (Detailed down to the hour.) I wanted to make the most of my time, so I wasn’t running around in a million directions. While I don’t recommend such a detailed itinerary, I do still find it useful to at least bucket your ideas into areas.
A great way to start is to use a group trip board on Pinterest and saved inspo boards on Instagram to find ideas. Then do a tiny bit of research to bucket the ideas into areas. Sort your ideas on a shared document on Google Drive or iPhone Notes. (An example of bucket areas for Seattle would be: Capitol Hill, U-district, West Seattle & Alki, Ballard, Fremont, Queen Anne, etc. You’d spend more time in traffic if you were in the U-district, went to West Seattle, and then back up to Ballard.)
5. Create a Playlist 🎶
Create a custom playlist that matches your destination’s vibe. This is not only a fun thing to have on your trip but it’s a great way to get everyone in the mood while you’re researching and booking flights & accommodations. Playlists are especially great to have on hand if you’ll be spending a lot of time in the car, on the beach/pool, or hiking. It’s also helpful if you’re going somewhere without an internet connection. Have fun with it!
Do you have some rituals for planning a trip with your friends, family, or partner? Share them in the comments below.
Interested in the benefits of traveling solo, check out my post Why I Like to Travel Solo here.
