How to plan a group trip with friends

Tired of wandering the world by yourself? Want to bring your pals with you on a trip after years of yearning for it? This post will serve as a guide to how to plan a group trip with friends…

Pull together a list of friends that you want to invite on your adventure

So you’ve always wanted to get out of the country with a group of your best buds? It’s time to break through your self-constructed wall of procrastination and put together a Facebook group message or e-mail that will invite them on an escape from the corporate B.S. that each of them is shackled to on a daily basis.

Keep it to around fifteen people, as it gets stupid difficult to manage logistics beyond this point … besides, there will be a decently high percentage of them that will decline, so you’ll want to cast a wide net.

Take the lead

Don’t let the conflicting ideas that a group of people will inevitably have jerk you around. While it is important to find common ground among your friends so that you can all have a genuinely enjoyable trip, at the end of the day, you are the planner, and thus, are the one making the executive decisions.

Some of the more outspoken ones in the group might gripe, but they’ll get over any disagreements once the first beer is cracked, or margarita is poured. Keep your head, and believe in yourself. You can do this!

Schedule a meet up to discuss the plan

Via meetup.com or via Facebook’s event tool, set a meeting at a cafe or at a bar with a decently low level of noise (earlier in the evening is best). The latter is preferred, as a few adult beverages will get the creative wheels spinning in your head and those of your friends.

Come here with a baseline of how the planning will proceed, when you will leave, who will bring what, when payment would be due, etc. While you should have suggestions of where you should abscond to, be open to other ideas, as your crew might know of a killer destination to which you are unaware.

Update the plan, and work it

With all the input and information you obtained from the meet up, execute on your plan. Nail down a sweet accommodation, and lock down the rooms with your credit card. Book all the necessary flights, ensuring you all get to sit together.

Don’t delay on either count, as the longer you wait, the harder it will be to stick together. Be assertive yet persistent when it comes to collecting payment, as you don’t want to be shorted money by someone you thought you could trust, but bailed at the last minute.

Sketch out a basic plan for things to see, but view it as a guide, and not as an itinerary that is set in stone. Spontaneity on group trips is what makes them so much fun!