WHY GROUP TRAVEL? THEY SAY, “YOU CAN PACK FOR EVERY OCCASION, BUT A GOOD FRIEND WILL ALWAYS BE THE BEST THING YOU CAN BRING.” PERSONALLY, THAT’S ALL THE ENCOURAGEMENT I NEED TO BRING 10 GOOD FRIENDS!
A lot of people automatically assume that planning a group trip means higher expenses, more opinions to deal with, more work, and difficulty coordinating an entire group. I recently returned from a group trip to Mexico with 18 people, as well as coordinated a villa group of 10 to Bali. I’ll also share a few groups travel tips I picked up.
COST
I was surprised to find that splitting the cost 10 ways in a villa was a great value. Initially I was nervous that we would have to divide the group and the cost would end up being higher. It was impressive to see that (even in Bali) our small group size was easily accommodated in a villa, with access to minibuses for transport, dining reservations, and our villas. The average cost to stay in 4–6-bedroom villas was around $1050 for the 6 nights stay, plus the cost of dining, transport and tours. I was shocked at the budget cost of this stunning destination! All and all this priced out to be about $2500 per person, not including air fare.
While our Mexico group experience, came at a bit higher cost per person ( $2800-$3200) including air. Some shared a room saving money while others did not mind paying a bit more to have their own room.
As far as resorts, when you book as a group, a lot of times as Travel Agents we can negotiate group pricing. This either brings the cost down or adds additional inclusions for your party. Typically, once a certain number of rooms are booked the final one is free! The cost is returned as a credit and can either be given directly to the lead traveler or split between the entire group.
PLANNING
While there were more opinions to work with, there were also more ideas, and more people to do things with! Our group spent the majority of our time and meals together. We split up during some of the days for activities. It just meant that there was a “relax” group, an “adventure” group. This also meant that we had a lot of fun things to talk about when we did all got back together. This made our group activities even more special.
COMMUNICATION & COORDINATION
Communication is key with group travel. Make a list of the things that you must do and restaurants you want to try! I guarantee there will be people who will want to do those things too. You might even discover an activity you didn’t know about. That’s how we found out about this hike in Bali. A sunrise volcano hike! I’m so glad it was suggested and that the entire group experienced it together.
One of the number one benefits of booking through a Travel Agent is that we will coordinate everything for you. No dealing with getting money from your friends or dealing with splitting things evenly. We will keep track of all of that for you and we will contact each party directly.
TIPS
- Make sure you’re on the same page with overall trip expectations
- Be flexible – I can’t stress this enough!
- Invite your favorite photographer to join you to capture the moments.
Just like solo travel, I would highly recommend trying group travel at least once! You may end up loving it. Our group loved it so much that we have plans to continue a group trip annually.
Contact us today to find out about how we can design the perfect group trip for you based on your travel wish list.
