I am typing this on my way back to Dallas after a getaway with friends. The camera and blogging notepad stayed home and everyone was on the same page. Most of my travels are solo which makes traveling with a group challenging, sometimes. My top challenge traveling with a group is getting everyone on the same page with itinerary, cost sharing, budget etc. Thankfully, this was not one of those trips. Today, I thought I would share my five tips that make traveling with friends stress free and memorable.
Agree on the budget before you start planning. This will help you avoid the "oh that seems lovely, but I was not planning to spend that much" conversation. You don't have to budget every line item but it is a good idea to know what each person is willing to spend.
There is no such thing as overplanning. Have a plan for each day of the trip. I suggest having each person plan a day of travel or let each person pick what is a must see or do. These should be the first activities you check off the list. If you don't get to the other stuff at least you have checked off the most important thing on each persons' list.
Make sure your itinerary works with everyone. If you have a mix of morning people and night owls, agree on your start time and end time for sightseeing. It helps when those who are not morning people know what days they have to be up early.
It is ok to go off on your own. You have a set budget and you have planned every detail, but you get to your destination and hanging out in the hotel is more exciting that exploring. If you are like me, this will irritate you, don't let it. Go off on your own and agree on meet up time. If a day of laying around the hotel is a must, agree on the day to avoid conflict.
Cost share. Will one person pick up the tab and be reimbursed or are you splitting the cost evenly. You don't want to be that travel group that cannot decide who is paying or how much each person is paying when the check arrives. Splitwise is a great tool to keep track of who and how much needs to be reimbursed.
Do you travel with friends? Any tips that have made those trips stressfree and memorable?