Summer is fast approaching, and group chats everywhere are full of messages about going on a group trip. But whether you’re travelling with your closest friends, or going away for a hen holiday with people you don’t know so well, planning a trip for a group can be full of disagreements, stress, and drama.
The TikTok search “is it normal to fight on a trip with your best friend” has 14.3 million views, so travel expert Justin Chapman at Go2Africa reveals the biggest mistakes you’re making when planning a group trip, and how to survive with your friendships intact!
NOT GETTING COMFORTABLE TALKING ABOUT MONEY
As difficult as it can be to discuss finances with your closest friends, let alone friends of friends that you don’t know very well, it’s essential that you get comfortable with talking about money as early as possible. Discuss a budget that you’re all comfortable with, not just for the flights and accommodation but also for activities, sightseeing, and meals out.
BOOKING SOMETHING BEFORE EVERYONE IS READY
Once you’ve made your budget clear, make sure everyone else is happy with how much you’re going to spend before you make any commitments or bookings, so you don’t end up owing someone more than you can afford, or stuck waiting for people to pay you back because they didn’t speak up about not being able to afford it either.
NOT LEARNING TO COMPROMISE
Are you looking for extravagant boat trips and five star dinners, or something more budget friendly? Is the one person hoping for an African luxury safari but you can only do a self-catering city break? It’s important to learn to compromise, so if some suggestions are wildly out of your price range, suggest some alternatives.
Look at destination dupes, or think about staying outside of the main city to make it more affordable. You could suggest a cheaper hotel that has options of luxury upgrades, for those who want them, or you could stay in a cheap apartment that means you can budget for more extravagant activities and nights out.
ONLY COMMUNICATING IN THE GROUP CHAT
Schedule time to get together and discuss the travel plans, rather than trying to do everything via the group chat. It’ll be easier to brainstorm ideas or discuss concerns, rather than sending hotel suggestions that only one person in the group chat responds to and someone else in the group never gets rounds to replying. Seeing everyone get excited in person is contagious, and means everyone will want to be more involved in the planning – even on a video call, if you can’t all be in the same room.
LEAVING IT ALL TO ONE PERSON
Remember that one person doesn’t have to be in charge of doing everything! It can be overwhelming to try to arrange and book travel for a group, and can end up making the trip feel more like a second job than a holiday, so make sure you delegate tasks to other people, even if you just give them smaller tasks like buying decorations.
NOT SCHEDULING SOME ALONE TIME
Group trips can be intense, with plans and activities scheduled for every minute of the day to keep the everyone entertained. But remember to schedule in some down time to avoid exhaustion and burnout, which can lead to irritability and tension. Even just an hour to yourselves can be the difference between a trip that goes smoothly and one that ends with arguments!
NOT BEING FLEXIBLE
When the booking responsibility is in your hands, it can be easy focus on the tiniest details, making everything perfect. But sticking too rigidly to your carefully planned itinerary and forcing fun when everyone else wants to rest can have the opposite effect and be not fun at all! Things can go wrong, itineraries can be changed or abandoned, and it’s important to embrace flexibility and focus on fun, not perfection.
