Some of my best travel experiences have been with others. Girlfriend getaways in California. A Jamaican road trip with three adventurous buddies. London with extended family.
But a great group trip takes effort to make happen. Here’s how to plan it well – whoever you’re traveling with and wherever you go.
Tips for planning a great group trip.
Establish the key components early.
Once you have a core group interested (about 3 or 4 people), you can start hashing out the most important elements of your trip:
- Budget: Determine a price range everyone is willing to spend
- Vibe: Is your crew craving a tropical beach getaway? A European city break with world-class museums and restaurants? A carefree road trip?
- Dates and duration: Align on a time frame that works for everyone, taking into consideration that the longer you stay, the more it will cost
An easy way to get started is with KAYAK Explore. Explore lets you easily filter to find a destination based on the above – you can even search by great group trips.
Once you have some ideas in mind, get the ball rolling by sending a quick poll to your group via a messaging platform like WhatsApp, and make sure to specify the deadline to respond.
Once you have these general parameters established, the trip will start to take shape.
Assign a trip leader, but have everyone pitch in.
Luckily, people who love to travel tend to take on the role of trip leader. This task can include researching destinations, pricing options and making reservations.
That said, while your point person will oversee the big-picture stuff, everyone should contribute in some way (i.e., researching restaurant reviews, making reservations, etc.). This way, the main planner doesn’t feel overwhelmed, and it creates a sense of buy-in for everyone.
Bigger isn’t always better.
Group size plays a critical role in the overall trip experience. Generally speaking, the bigger the group, the more complicated the logistics, and the longer everything takes.
For example, expecting to snag a walk-in table for 10 people at a popular restaurant is far less likely than for a group of four. In my experience, the sweet spot is usually between four and six people.
That said, once the group has been established, I highly recommend keeping most conversations about the trip among yourselves (more on that below). That way, you avoid any potentially hurt feelings.
Create a dedicated group chat.
Get the party started early with a dedicated group chat to build excitement and share key trip details. Here’s where you’ll alert everyone about key tasks like booking flights and stays while building anticipation.
Plan for the last-minute holdouts.
According to research from KAYAK, a whopping 90% of travelers agree that the biggest obstacle to making a group trip happen is those holdouts who won’t commit. To avoid this common dilemma, put these tips into your group trip toolbox:
- Make sure deposits are paid early. This way, you’ll avoid last-minute changes – especially if they’re non-refundable.
- Ask a couple of enthusiastic people to be vocal about their RSVPs early. This is what the group chat is made for. Seeing everyone else make plans and get excited can be the nudge the undecided need.
Plan your trip early (but embrace impromptu getaways, too.)
In my experience, most group trips need at least four to six months’ advance planning – maybe even more if you’re headed abroad.
This has several advantages. First, it gives you plenty of time to take care of the logistics – like booking flights, hotels and creating an itinerary. Second, it allows for wiggle room for changes or more people who decide to join. And finally, you’ll have enough time to secure sought-after reservations – as well as better deals on flights and hotels.
That said, last-minute getaways can work if dates align. Especially if you spot a great deal.
Build an itinerary that includes group and free time.
Everyone has a different travel style. Some like to charge full-force into a destination, while others (raises hand) prefer a more laid-back approach. But you can still build an itinerary that accommodates everyone and still feels like a shared experience. Here’s how:
- Let people explore at their own pace. This way, the ambitious types can museum-hop to their hearts’ content, while the lounge-by-the-pool crowd can relax. A win-win!
- Plan one group activity per day. In my experience, an evening meal is ideal. You can gather over dinner and trade stories about what everyone did during the day.
- Don’t overschedule on travel days. Even for the most seasoned travelers in the bunch, trying to squeeze in too much on travel days or the day after a redeye flight is a recipe for disaster.
Let your itinerary do the heavy lifting.
Keep the group engaged and informed by creating an itinerary that handles the heavy lifting of real-time travel updates and enables easy collaboration – even offline. Here’s where KAYAK Trips comes in.
Trips lets you plan, build and manage itineraries for trips of any length, in any location. Plus, it provides real-time updates on any cancellations, delays or gate changes.
And shared editing permissions makes it a cinch for everyone to collaborate without the hassle of nonstop scrolling through the group chat or complicated spreadsheets.
Consider a recurring trip date.
One way to eliminate the hassle and headache of aligning on dates? Pick a recurring date for your group trip like Labor Day weekend or the first week of October and let people adapt to it, instead of working around individual schedules.
A standing date can make it easier to score deals too, since you know when it’s coming. Once you know the date, set a Price Alert and KAYAK will alert you when flight prices change.
Go back to a destination you love.
Once you find a formula that works for your group, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. A dear friend of mine and his extended family have been vacationing in St. Augustine every summer for decades. Their multi-family crew stays at the same mid-range resort every year, share cooking responsibilities, and split expenses like rental cars.
They’ve figured out a budget, destination and vibe that works for them – no decision fatigue or drama, just great memories. In fact, I crashed the party last year and had so much fun I’m bringing my son with me this summer.
Practice makes perfect for group trips.
While planning a group trip may seem daunting, the memories will be well worth it. And with some helpful strategies (like creating an itinerary that works for everyone), it’s easier than ever. You might even volunteer to plan your next group trip.
