Why Group Travel

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 Bali with 10 other people and I wondered if we would struggle with those things. I’m happy to say that NONE of those were an issue. In fact, the opposite was true. I want to break down these categories and how we effectively dealt with the cost, planning, communication and coordination. I’ll also share a few group travel tips I picked up.

 

Cost

I was pleasantly surprised to find that more doors opened for us splitting the cost 11 ways. Initially I was nervous that with such a large number we would have to divide the group and the cost would end up being higher for two small groups. It was impressive to see that (even in Bali) our large group size was easily accommodated with access to mini buses for transport, dining reservations, and our villas. The cost for us to stay in 4-6 bedroom villas was around $40-50 USD per night per person!

As far as resorts, when you book as a group, a lot of times as Travel Agents we can negotiate group pricing on your behalf. 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

In my experience, although there were more opinions, there were also more ideas, and more people to do things with! Our group spent the majority of our time and meals together. We did split up during some of the days for activities. Nobody ever had to go alone though. It just meant that there was a “relax” group, an “adventure” group and a “surf” group. This also meant that we had a lot of fun things to talk about when we did all get back together. This made our large 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 I found out about one of my favorite activities in Bali. A sunrise volcano hike! It’s not something I would have sought out, but 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 keep track of all of that for you and we will contact each party directly.

 

Tips

  1. Make sure you’re 100% on the same page with trip expectations
    1. Accommodation type, activities, budget, trip length, who’s actually booking
  2. Be flexible – I can’t stress this enough!
  3. A global phone plan or local SIM card are great options if you plan to split up
  4. Keep track of costs during trip that will need to be split – Check out the Trail Wallet app
  5. Invite your favorite photographer friend & pack a deck of cards 🙂

 

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 our group trip annually. #CostaRica2020

 

Contact us today to find out about how we can design the perfect group trip for you based on your travel wishlist.

Niki (71)

MEET THE EDITOR