Plan a Trip With Friends

Holidays with friends can be great fun and a good way of getting to know each other better. Once you are on holiday the trip can be full of fantastic memories—if it was planned correctly. Planning the trip well will ensure you get there easily, find somewhere to stay without any trouble and know what's in the area when you arrive. Also it will help you to save money if you start planning earlier rather than later and prices rise as you get closer to the event.

Steps

  1. Choose a destination. The first step is to work out where you want to go. Going abroad will cost more but be a more exciting experience. Don't go abroad if this is the very first trip you have helped to organise. Going to a different place in your own country can also be fun and will be cheaper.
  2. Collect your friends. Work out how many people you will be able to plan the trip for. If you want to travel abroad it's probably best to plan it for a smaller group of people; otherwise aim for at most about 15 people to avoid too much stress and keep lodging arrangements easy. Find out how much interest there is from people to go on the trip and then work out your maximum and invite people who you think will enjoy themselves and who you get on well with.
  3. Meet up. Everyone will have their own idea of what they want the trip to be like so meet up, maybe at a local cafe or restaurant, and share your ideas and concerns. The organisation should be shared to a certain extent - rather than just one person organising everything. If it's a big group maybe just have a small number of people (4 or 5) doing the majority of the organisation and just have them to this get-together. One person will naturally be the leader (probably the person who's idea this was). Don't try to overpower them; if they are natural leaders, then they are best for the job. Keep a notebook to jot down ideas as they are mentioned. Write down things to do, how money should be spent, accommodation, and budget. Once you've all shared ideas you'll have a much better idea of how to start organising the trip.
  4. Work on the details. Start with the two most important things: accommodation and travel. Once you have those two things sorted the rest should start to form around it.
    • Look for accommodation near to the place you want to visit. If it is a low budget trip camping or youth hostels are probably the best idea. When you are searching for a place to stay, read reviews and ratings.
    • Check that the location works with your transportation. If you want to go camping in South England and you will be traveling by train and will then have to travel everywhere by foot, then don't stay in the middle of the countryside If you have a car, you can stay much further from the town centre. Once you have found an ideal place, make sure everyone is happy to stay there and that they haven't found a better place and BOOK YOUR STAY! Book it as soon as possible because leaving it too late is going to make things harder because you'll have to find another place to stay.
    • Avoid the awkwardness of payments between friends and family by using technology. There's a variety of new tools on the market to help you and your friends split payments for both the vacation rental and other events. You can use PayByGroup which is designed for vacation rentals or use alternatives like PayPal to make the process easier.
  5. Book transport. Once you have accommodation, you'll know the dates of your stay and will be able to book transport, e.g. coach, bus, train, airplane, etc. Booking transport well in advanced lowers the cost dramatically so it's really worth booking as soon as you find something ideal. Remember to coordinate with your companions.
  6. Choose things you want to see and do there. When you are on your trip it will be more relaxed if you have a good idea of what kind of things you want to do. Research the area on the internet and talk to your friends about which activities to book. Don't book these things before the accommodation and travel. Match the activities to your budget. People won't be so happy if you book a load of things which they can't afford.
    • Don't expect everyone to want to do the same things. For example - You could let a few of the group go off and try surfing while you go shopping then you could meet on the beach at an arranged time.
    • Get a few ideas of what's in the area before sharing the idea of the holiday in the first place.
  7. Pack as a group. Work out the supplies your whole group will need. Chances are that you'll already have most things if you ask everyone who's going. That is, if you need several 4-person tents, ask all 15 people on the trip if they have any and you may get them all without any money spent.

Tips

  • Be especially open and up-front about costs. Make sure nobody is surprised with the cost of any part of the trip.
  • Be open throughout the process to suggestions.
  • Consider a day trip if you feel like you can't handle a long trip.

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